Gigging with a combo

[richard]

To the pub giggers out there playing through a combo do you:

a) Stick it on a chair or crates

b) Put it on the floor

Anyone think that sticking it on crates sucks out too much low end ?

Or do you lose too much cut if it's on the floor ?

Would you rather compromise on low end or top end ?

[Plenum n Heather]

I use a tilting studio stand.



Works great and is very stable, but a chair would work also.

[38thBeatle]

Beer crates are good but you cant get the wooden ones any more- the plastic jobbies suck tone........ I'm kidding.  I use a stand similar to Ben's.

[AndyR]

Beer crates are good but you cant get the wooden ones any more- the plastic jobbies suck tone........ I'm kidding.  I use a stand similar to Ben's.

How old are you then?! 

I was last gigging over 15 years ago (started some 15 before that) - and I never came across a wooden beer crate in all that time! 

I used plastic beer crates for years. Until I got a flight case for all my leads and cr@p. That was exactly the right size for the combo's footprint.

The idea was to get the the amp nearer to my own ear level so that I could actually hear some of it without having to turn it up louder than was needed for out-front. In my experience, I never found it took any bottom end away, or not so's I noticed, anyway.

[richard]

Manufacturers for years have been telling us to put cabs on the floor. This from Orange: Our unique skid feet design helps to acoustically couple our cabinets to the stage, thus providing a tighter bass response and full range tone definition. Just wondered what your expereince tells you.

[Plenum n Heather]

I have no experience with Orange cabs so I cannot speak as to that. However, my ancient Hiwatt 4x12 is similar ... but as it weighs over 100 lbs it's about as inert as you can get. However, I still prefer the sound of it on an Auralex Gramma to being on the floor...

[38thBeatle]

Yeah Andy, I was just milking the guitarist tone quest aspect. Wooden beer crates went out long before my time too just for the record.

But in reference to the question of the amp being on the floor and any loss for it being mounted on a chair or stand etc, I can't say I have noticed any losses. In fact for me, the amp being on the floor is less desirable as I wouldn't be able to hear it. As Andy said, it is good to be able to get the amp to near ear level. Mine is angled upwards and I can hear it very well and have it at a better level in terms of volume. The  stages are not consistent, some are carpeted , some are hollow and for that reason I can see no advantage to putting it on the floor. On a stand, I can control things.

[Telerocker]

Open back-combo's I prefer on the floor. Imo I loose bass when I put it on a stand. And I don't like too close to me, I like a bit of ambience from the hall.

[Kiichi]

Another factor to think about is the directionality of the high end. When you put it on the ground there likely is some place in the crowd where you just get an overwhelming amount of piercing high end from the speakers being aimed at you. Alone for that reason the angle is cool. Then you as the player actually hear what the mic pics up and are not directly hitting anyone. Of course this applies more to closed back cabs.

When I used to mix bands in a small venue I always encouraged them to use their cabs as their monitor. That meant aiming them towards themselfs, preferably at an angle if the were combos (donīt want heads slipping off). That had multiple advantages. For one our monitors were really great for voice (designed by an expert for that), but lacked in the low end, so guitars and stuff over them were often critical), so they could go around that. Mostly though the thing was that that in a small venue that piercing high end death zone is suddently like one third of the room when you have two guitars. On top of that, cause the high end is so directional we guitar players tend to dial the high end in to sound good to us. But where we stand we are above the directional stream. So when it does sound good to us the audience, especially the dedicated ones up front, and the mic going to the PA get waaaayyy too much of it. Really not cool.

Thus from personal experience I strongly encourage angled designes of any kind. =)

[Telerocker]

I never have a piercing (or pierced  ) topend. And I never turn the amp straight to the audience when miked. It's more on the side and projection hits mainly the stage.