Question:
Not sure if this belongs here or in the electronics, but here's my question:
I usually only play on friday night youth services, which is in a smaller room, but we are doing 2 songs on sunday night. This will be in the main auditorium that seats about 400 people, so it is a pretty large room. Last time we did this I plugged my guitar into the main speakers whatever its called im not sure, but where the mics plug into. I didn't really like how it sounded. I want to use my amp so I can use the blues amp mode with chorus+delay. How can I make it louder? I have heard of people plugging it into the speakers. Is this done by plugging it into the headphone jack? If not, how?
If this doesn't work I'll probably use a mic in front of my amp.
Answer:
mic the amp. It will sound better.
Answer:
But if you do plug it in, use the line out or headphone jack. Do not use the external speaker jack. And its called a PA or sound system.
Micing is preferable because the amp speaker plays a part in the sound chain. If you want to plug directly into a sound system the best way to go is with a modeling processor which uses speaker modeling.
Answer:
As BSPE noted, mic the amp. If you don't have a large enough amp to fill the room, the mic'ing is the best solution. I have found that using your amp in a kick-back setup (with the amp pointing at an upwards angle towards your head) not only allows you to hear the amp better, but also allows the amp to fill the room easier. By no means is this an absolute truth, but it sure works wonders for my setup.
just out of curiousity, what amp are you using?
Answer:
Instrument mic
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve As BSPE noted, mic the amp. If you don't have a large enough amp to fill the room, the mic'ing is the best solution. I have found that using your amp in a kick-back setup (with the amp pointing at an upwards angle towards your head) not only allows you to hear the amp better, but also allows the amp to fill the room easier. By no means is this an absolute truth, but it sure works wonders for my setup.
just out of curiousity, what amp are you using? Note: Tube amps need ventilation, if you kick a tube amp against a wall, make sure there's a fan or something back there.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Rainer. Note: Tube amps need ventilation, if you kick a tube amp against a wall, make sure there's a fan or something back there. Indeed...though if you'redoing an angled kickback, it's still going to vent out the back.
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve Indeed...though if you'redoing an angled kickback, it's still going to vent out the back.
Kinda off topic, but get one of these and you can lean back away from the wall.
http://www.ampstandback.com/
These work great for a couple of reasons. There's a school of thought that says the amp must be on the floor to optimize the sounds; therefore, regular amp stands that hold your amp off the ground don't work as well. Another, it's portable, light and fits in the back of your amp (if it's open backed so no more extra hands or fingers needed when transporting your setup). And, lastly, it was cheap at $20.
Answer:
I would agree Mic the amp with an instrument mike (an SM-57 works good) is the best option, if your amp has a line out jack you can run that into the PA (public address system). I stay away from using the headphone jack as a line out, the impedence is different, and (to my ears) you don't get very good sound quality.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Hopeful These work great for a couple of reasons. There's a school of thought that says the amp must be on the floor to optimize the sounds; therefore, regular amp stands that hold your amp off the ground don't work as well. Another, it's portable, light and fits in the back of your amp (if it's open backed so no more extra hands or fingers needed when transporting your setup). And, lastly, it was cheap at $20. I actually used to use church hymnals to prop my amp when tilted. I now use the box I keep and transport all my effects in to prop my 2x12 cab.
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Originally Posted by thesteve I actually used to use church hymnals to prop my amp when tilted. I now use the box I keep and transport all my effects in to prop my 2x12 cab.
I have a homemade wedge made from a piece of plywood and a piece of 2x4.
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I have a Vox DA-15
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Originally Posted by Luder I have a Vox DA-15 In that case, I'd definitely mic it. You're probably not going to get a decent amount of spread volume from it. Then again, it could vary from place to place.
Answer:
On the subject of amp-tipping, I use one of the small boxes that my crunch stomp box gets stored in. It works great.
Nate
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve I actually used to use church hymnals to prop my amp when tilted.

Good to know those hymnals are good for something!