Amp stands for loud gigs, yay or nay?

cvogue

cvogue

Yes, that's Oolong. :)
I've got a Blackstar HT-40 (with the extension cab) and I've been using an amp stand at practices and for some gigs. It works well for letting me hear myself better (we often don't mike the amps through the PA and I don't have a monitor anyway since I don't sing much... separate issue).

So we had an outdoor gig yesterday and, amazingly, I kept getting told to turn up! Guitarist's dream right? Well I turned up and was blasting my own ears but the crowd still wasn't hearing enough of me. The extension cab was doing it's job but it wasn't enough.

I guess for gigs I should go back to stacking the combo/extension cab and ditch the amp stand. I have beam blockers in both the combo and ext cab... that will help a bit for hearing myself. But it's really about what the audience hears...

So, what do you amp stand owners do at a larger/outdoor gig? I know, miking through the PA is ideal... but any other insight appreciated.
 
Sadly a larger amp. While not economically viable, it is the most reasonable solution next to being mic'd. Some times you can run an extension to the other side of the stage and that helps too.
 
as far as the stand is concerned, most are angled up so YOU can hear yourself, but when they're angled up like that, the sound is not going out to the crowd, especially if you're on an elevated stage. my suggestion to you would be to bring an extra cab and point it at the crowd/ have it on the floor pointing straight out.
(or have the extra cab pointed at you and the amp pointed at them. which ever has the most speakers, point at the crowd.)

just my thoughts.
 
mongooz said:
as far as the stand is concerned, most are angled up so YOU can hear yourself, but when they're angled up like that, the sound is not going out to the crowd, especially if you're on an elevated stage. my suggestion to you would be to bring an extra cab and point it at the crowd/ have it on the floor pointing straight out.
(or have the extra cab pointed at you and the amp pointed at them. which ever has the most speakers, point at the crowd.)

just my thoughts.
Click to expand...

Your thoughts are perfect.

What I find interesting is the mention of an outdoor gig. Usually in outdoor gigs (unless it is a backyard party) you have decent stage depth. Because of the depth, you can stand 5-10 feet away from your amp making it easy for you to hear without angling it up. But hey that is me....
 
Outside gig, mic everything and run a direct line out the bass amp. Adjust for stage vol, and if you're on a large enough stage put instruments into the monitors.

Can't do it? Don't angle your amp up, most of the sound will continue in that direction and away from the audience.
 
I'm all in favor of an amp stand for a combo amp. I have yet to find one that isn't either a raging piece of shit (Proline) or otherwise practical. Somebody here needs to design a better option than what's out there.

After about a year of hatred toward my Proline, I tossed it in the dumpster behind the club after a gig one night.

I smiled all the way home.
 
mongooz said:
as far as the stand is concerned, most are angled up so YOU can hear yourself, but when they're angled up like that, the sound is not going out to the crowd, especially if you're on an elevated stage. my suggestion to you would be to bring an extra cab and point it at the crowd/ have it on the floor pointing straight out.
(or have the extra cab pointed at you and the amp pointed at them. which ever has the most speakers, point at the crowd.)

just my thoughts.
Click to expand...

Modern Saint said:
Your thoughts are perfect.

What I find interesting is the mention of an outdoor gig. Usually in outdoor gigs (unless it is a backyard party) you have decent stage depth. Because of the depth, you can stand 5-10 feet away from your amp making it easy for you to hear without angling it up. But hey that is me....
Click to expand...

wagdog said:
Outside gig, mic everything and run a direct line out the bass amp. Adjust for stage vol, and if you're on a large enough stage put instruments into the monitors.

Can't do it? Don't angle your amp up, most of the sound will continue in that direction and away from the audience.
Click to expand...

+1 to all of the above.

Last gig my band played was effectively an outside gig in a marquee with big open sides so there were no hard surfaces to reflect the sound around.

We didn't mic up for logistical reasons but our standard set up is a 4x10" bass cab either side of the drummer and I run a 1x12" combo on top of each of them. You should be able to see it in the picture. Spreads the sound well and can be tamed for indoor gigs and cranked for outdoor gigs. Obviously if the outdoor gig gets too big, you have no option but to mic up.

Not Forgotten Rally.jpg
 
Gorgon90 said:
+1 to all of the above.

Last gig my band played was effectively an outside gig in a marquee with big open sides so there were no hard surfaces to reflect the sound around.

We didn't mic up for logistical reasons but our standard set up is a 4x10" bass cab either side of the drummer and I run a 1x12" combo on top of each of them. You should be able to see it in the picture. Spreads the sound well and can be tamed for indoor gigs and cranked for outdoor gigs. Obviously if the outdoor gig gets too big, you have no option but to mic up.

View attachment 29459
Click to expand...

not to go completely off topic, but if an outdoor gig gets 'too big'....there's a sound company with their own sound system running everything, so no prob.
 
Gorgon90 said:
+1 to all of the above.

Last gig my band played was effectively an outside gig in a marquee with big open sides so there were no hard surfaces to reflect the sound around.

We didn't mic up for logistical reasons but our standard set up is a 4x10" bass cab either side of the drummer and I run a 1x12" combo on top of each of them. You should be able to see it in the picture. Spreads the sound well and can be tamed for indoor gigs and cranked for outdoor gigs. Obviously if the outdoor gig gets too big, you have no option but to mic up.

View attachment 29459
Click to expand...
I like that setup a lot. It must make your stage sound very good provided the volume isn't out of control.
 
mongooz said:
not to go completely off topic, but if an outdoor gig gets 'too big'....there's a sound company with their own sound system running everything, so no prob.
Click to expand...

Hopefully! :grin:

Seen a few times where the understanding of "the band has its own PA" varies quite a lot. Band means we can play to the 100 people in the pub, while the booker thinks more of 5000 people at a mutli band festival. Band I was in years ago turned up to one of these festivals and as we had a 5kw rig ending up doing sound for everyone for an additional fee as no one else had any kit with anywhere near enough guts to play to the field it was in.

gtrjunior said:
I like that setup a lot. It must make your stage sound very good provided the volume isn't out of control.
Click to expand...

It does work well as we can all hear each other and just balance our volumes against the drums and each other. Started using the second combo to fill out the sound as being a one guitar band it could sound "thin" at times coming from just one point on the stage. After that we started doing the bass cab each side to spread that evenly as well. It also doesn't really take any more floor real estate than if I just had a guitar amp my side and the bass amp on the other side so we still fit into the same space which is important in a lot of the venues we play.
 
Gorgon90 said:
+1 to all of the above.

Last gig my band played was effectively an outside gig in a marquee with big open sides so there were no hard surfaces to reflect the sound around.

We didn't mic up for logistical reasons but our standard set up is a 4x10" bass cab either side of the drummer and I run a 1x12" combo on top of each of them. You should be able to see it in the picture. Spreads the sound well and can be tamed for indoor gigs and cranked for outdoor gigs. Obviously if the outdoor gig gets too big, you have no option but to mic up.
Click to expand...

The other nice part about having a cab on both sides of the stage is less strain on trying to hear what the other band member is doing. Biggest trouble is if you use closed cabinets where the sound is more directional. Good on you and your band GG90!!!
 
Modern Saint said:
The other nice part about having a cab on both sides of the stage is less strain on trying to hear what the other band member is doing. Biggest trouble is if you use closed cabinets where the sound is more directional. Good on you and your band GG90!!!
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing...I usually like to be on he opposite side of the stage (in a 2 guitar setup) and this way I could still hear the bass as well as I'd like to.
I usually would run the other guitar player in my monitor, just a hair so I can still hear what I need to.
 
gtrjunior said:
I was thinking the same thing...I usually like to be on he opposite side of the stage (in a 2 guitar setup) and this way I could still hear the bass as well as I'd like to.
I usually would run the other guitar player in my monitor, just a hair so I can still hear what I need to.
Click to expand...

That works well when you are playing dual harmonies or contraapuntal parts. If you and the other guitar player are playing the same thing, I usually don't want to hear them.
 
Modern Saint said:
That works well when you are playing dual harmonies or contraapuntal parts. If you and the other guitar player are playing the same thing, I usually don't want to hear them.
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Absolutely!! Lol
The other instance I like to hear the other guy if there is a section where the band drops out and he is playing the riff...or for whatever reason he is "driving the bus" and you need to be able to hear so you can come back in on time.
 
gtrjunior said:
Absolutely!! Lol
The other instance I like to hear the other guy if there is a section where the band drops out and he is playing the riff...or for whatever reason he is "driving the bus" and you need to be able to hear so you can come back in on time.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah!
 
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