Hey all, I've been tinkering at my local pub the past few shows to try to get the best position for my amp. Last night: drummer, bass and me. The PA was for vocals only, We place the amp on a high bar stool, so it was about chest high and I got very positive feedback from members in the crowd. The said it was a nice balanced sound.

Problem is, it's piercing my ears because I'm the one closest to amp, usually standing right in front or near it.

Anyone have any experience or suggestions?

I'd get a longer cord and either move the amp so that you are not so close to it, or move yourself to a different part of your stage.

The stages I play on usually are cramped. I usually put my Hot Rod Deluxe on it's road case...behind me...so the bar stool height you mentioned is great....just turn it slightly so your ears don't get blasted...

Behind you, slightly angeld to the middle.

Get a chair instead of a bar stool. Or tilt back on the ground.

Behind you, slightly angeld to the middle.

Get a chair instead of a bar stool. Or tilt back on the ground.

boom

Behind you, slightly angeld to the middle.

Get a chair instead of a bar stool. Or tilt back on the ground.

boom

Yep! I agree.

Man, I love the amp right in my ear! Well, pointed right at me from somewhere on the stage so I can get a clear solid stream of that Gretsch/'64 Bassman/Nocturne tone. I'm in love with it and it helps my attack and vocals even to hear exactly what I'm putting out.

Twin reverb style tilt-back legs.

Hmm, come to think of it... I do have an angled amp stand that was once used for an old PA. Perhaps I give that a shot.

Thanks for all the advice!

Crowd maybe loved the sound, because you heard yourself so well, that you were able to adjust the sound properly. If I have the amp aimed at my feet, I do not hear the high frequencies well and I easily dial too trebly sound to compensate it. So maybe better to pierce own ears than crowd ears ;)

Best set up I ever used with 2 guitars 1 bass and a drum is a bit unorthodox but in a small to medium sized bar type set up was with all the amps on the sides of the stage area facing in at 90 deg to the drummer,slightly in front of him for the guitar amps and closer to and facing him from the side for the bass.Everybody hears themselves without anybody turning up because the other guy is drowning him out,and the mix out in the audience was always well balanced and yu dont get obnoxiously loud in a smaller place.

You will go blind and grow hair on you palms if you keep your amp aimed right at your head. Put er on the floor and angle it back a bit.

My band doesn't mic up the backline amps or the drums. The drummer hits as hard (or not) as he feels is appropriate for the venue and we try to adjust amp volumes accordingly.

Even so, if the stage area is very cramped it's sometimes difficult to gauge exactly what sort of balance is being heard out front. I've started to use a long lead at rehearsals so I can walk out in front of the band and hear if our balance is right. Then I get back in line and what I hear when standing close to my amp is what I aim for at a gig. A bit hit and miss, but it seems to work most of the time.

At gigs we generally have someone in the audience with ears we can trust. If something isn't right they'll just point at one of us and indicate 'up' or 'down'.

I'm amazed when I see bands with everything mic'd up through the PA and with Mr. Big busy trying to look cool on the front of house desk — yet you still can't hear a word the vocalist is singing. But, wow, that's some bass drum you've got there.

I used to walk off stage to get the idea of balance, but my apalling guitar sound from 10 or 15 feet offstage made me want to stop playing :-(

On-stage it was fine, but the frequencies that were lost over just a few yards made me sound like I had the worst and the cheapest tone coming from the worst speakers and amp imaginable.. weedy, and shrill and really tinny..uggghhh!

And that is what the audience must have heard, although it would differ once the place filled up a bit I suppose. But still, very different to my intended tone..

I have never done it since..

There was a thread a couple of months ago that might tie into this. Amp stands. After reading some of the comments, I tried setting my amp on the floor, tilted back with a roll of duct tape. I did that for a couple of gigs, but just couldn't get used to what i was hearing. I went back to the amp stand.

My duo's small venue set up is maybe a little unorthodox. I use both an acoustic and electric guitar, depending on the song. We both run our acoustics and mics through our individual Crate acoustic amp, on the floor in front of us, tilted back. A cable from each amp goes to a 12' Peavey PA speaker, on a stand, positioned over our heads, directly in back of us. It serves as a PA (with the two Crates on the floor) and a monitor. We hear both acoustic guitars and vocal mics coming through it. My electric guitar amp is on a stand, slightly in back of me and to my right. It is positioned directly in the middle of the two of us, so we can both hear it in relation to what is coming through the main/monitor. Finally, we are both seated on stools. I hope my description enables you to visualise the set up. At any rate, we get compliments on our sound from folks quite often.

For those of us that play out, live sound is vastly different than what we are accustomed to at home/bedroom/rehearsal. But there are so many variables, and about 1000 ways to approach it, I'm a little shocked we (music boards) don't discuss it more often.

I agree Neal. I think it's interesting to read what others are doing to get their sound across in a live music scenario. I'm always looking for something to improve. And you are so right about the variables. A couple of weeks ago we played a private party in a very small room. Carpeted and low ceiling. The sound just seemed to evaporate as it left the speakers. That was in contrast to the wine bar we played one week earlier. A very old brick building. The room was long and narrow, with tin ceiling. The room seemed to boost the sound system. At low volume settings the sound sort of mushroomed. No reverb needed.

Neal, a raked back amp stand is worth trying. Keeping the amp off the floor should aid definition, too.

If the bar stool sound is so good you might try ear plugs with fairly low attenuation; this may help you get the sound you want and still hear it and without damage to your hearing.