Where do y'all put your amps on stage?

[David Charles]

On a pro-line stand aimed right at my kidneys...I use the DI/XLR out on my Nashville 112 for the board mix.

[Alan W. Black]

Here's an amp stand for you - http://m.instructables.com/id/DIY-Guita ... tep4/null/ Mind you don't have a dairy farmer in the group.
A milk crate and a jigsaw. I used a sawzall. A big wood file to take off any sharp bits. The above is not mine - I did a greater tilt. Make sure when you are lining it up for cutting, that you get the rear top edge to hit the amp in a good spot. You don't want it to block some jacks or smack the tubes. It's very stable.
All due respect, but it must be said, the guy in the band who doesn't raise or tilt his amp is the guy who turns up too loud in order to hear himself. With or without a PA and monitors. Then that chain reaction sets in, and everyone's diving for the knobs. Or for cover.

[chris ivey]

that's a good height. but with all due respect, i used to watch bobby black at the saddlerack in san jose. at the time i used to raise my amp, but bobby just had his session 4oo sitting flat on the floor a little back and to the side. it sounded just right.
what makes people play too loud is insensitivity.

[Mike Wheeler]

what makes people play too loud is insensitivity.

And lack of understanding of how the band sounds out front and how to play with dynamics as a group, I might add.

[Bud Angelotti]

Ron wrote

This is interesting. Why is it that most amateurs put the amp on something to get ti off the floor, but if you look at (not all) most pros, they have their amp flat on the floor. The tones that they get such as (Mike Johnson, Tommy White, Paul Franklin, and many others) are killer. Pay attention to a lot of videos that are on youtube. Someone explain why. If there were advantages to the amp being up, the pros would be doing it one would think.

I'm with you Ron. I believe part of the reason for this is the pro guys tend to play with other pro players who know how to keep their volume down and really work to create an ensemble sound, rather than a blaring loud musical noise.
I'm with you, I try to just keep the amp on the floor if possible.
Not always possible though.

[John De Maille]

I use a Stereo Steel Amp and I place one cabinet behind me, to my left and the other behind me, to the right. Both cabinets are on the floor. I don't want my speakers hitting me directly in my ears anymore. Years ago I used to place them higher, but, I have a strange feeling that, that's why I'm going deaf in my left ear. Most of the stages I play on accommodate this set up, if not, I just place the whole system directly behind me, but, that does block some of the sound from going out front.

[Dave Hopping]

I have my amp on a small milk crate close enough behind me to reach the controls if I need to.Most of the stages I play on aren't deep enough to get it any farther away anyhow.

[Jamie Mitchell]

This is interesting. Why is it that most amateurs put the amp on something to get ti off the floor, but if you look at (not all) most pros, they have their amp flat on the floor (...)If there were advantages to the amp being up, the pros would be doing it one would think.

lots of pros get the amp up off the ground.

[mike nolan]

To the OP..... you will always have problems with your sound if the band plays that loud. Have a band meeting and discuss ways to keep the stage volume down, then try it out at rehearsal. Play the instruments like it is an acoustic gig.... listen to what everyone else is playing. I always get the best sound with bands that keep the stage volume down, let the house guy worry about the level for the audience. When playing in a band with good stage volume discipline, amp placement becomes a lot less of a problem.

[Austin Harper]

I'm also lucky enough to play in a band with musicians who have been playing long enough(myself excluded) to have what I believe to be good volume discipline I'm just new to the steel and even newer to this amp(I played through a Line 6 before because it's all I had and could afford... Those were dark days) and I'm trying to get a handle on things. Last night I was able to have my amp behind me and slightly to the right, tilted up. I think I really liked that, especially since I'm on the far right of the stage usually, it was like it was steel to the right, band to the left.

Thanks again for all the advice, and pictures! There's some good lookin rigs here. I guess I need to find some R2-D2 legs, lol

Oh and thank you, Chris, for suggesting changing the pot in my volume pedal! I never would have thought of that.

[Richard Sinkler]

To the OP..... you will always have problems with your sound if the band plays that loud. Have a band meeting and discuss ways to keep the stage volume down, then try it out at rehearsal. Play the instruments like it is an acoustic gig.... listen to what everyone else is playing. I always get the best sound with bands that keep the stage volume down, let the house guy worry about the level for the audience. When playing in a band with good stage volume discipline, amp placement becomes a lot less of a problem.

This great if you actually have a sound guy and mic everything. You don't see that much around here for bar bands. If not, you need to play a little louder to fill the club. I've never been able to do it, but you can wear earplugs if you can't take the volume.

[Austin Harper]

I'm with you, I've tried earplugs a few times and those things drive me crazy. That got me thinking, though, I wonder how it would be if i had an earplug in my left ear, towards the band, and had my right ear, towards the amp, open. Might make the steel easier to hear.

[Richard Sinkler]

I've tried the one earplug thing. Drove me crazy.

I really think that placing your amp on a tall stand, aimed at the guitar player's head would be the best.

[mike nolan]

As I said, I normally don't get involved in loud projects.... but I always carry a set of good earplugs in the pick and bar pouch for those unpredictable occasions. I don't really like using them, and it is a struggle to play, but it is better than hearing loss. I did a recent pick up gig with a Dolly Parton cover band at BB King's Blues Club in Manhattan. The one rehearsal that we had was acoustic... we hit the stage, and those guys were one of the loudest bands that I ever heard. In went the plugs.

[Richard Sinkler]

I hate the tone loss from wearing earplugs. Drives me crazy. On a good note (pun intended), I had a hearing test done last year, and after 50+ years as a PSG player and rock drummer, my hearing was average fora man of 59 years old. So, I've been luck. I can hear a flea fart from two blocks away.

[Quentin Hickey]

If you cant hear you own insturnment chances are the sound will not be balanced out front.

The worst scenario I have been in was on a stage too small for 5 of us. My amp had no place to go but almost under my steel seat facing directly out and I was setup right next to a loud drummer.

Talk about playing on a leap of faith that day.
May as well have just been deaf lol.

[Paul Wade]

same as Dave Hopping

p.w

[Rich Upright]

The stages I play on are so small, and I use 2 amps since I run a stereo delay--PV Renown 1-15" or PV Blues Classic 1-15" behind me, and a small 1-12' Fender or Hartke about a foot away from the PV, with the dry signal going to the PV, & the delayed note going to the Fender. Very spacious, but if the Fender is too far away (more than a foot) you lose the spacious delay effect. Here's a pic; you can see the Hartke next to the PV, which is facing rearward.

That spacious delay only benefits you. As soon as it leaves the stage, the crowd doesn't hear the stereo effect, unless you have them mic'd and have one amp panned right and the other panned left.

Actually not true. The farther out in the audience you go, the more pronounced the stereo effect. I know that from the few times other steelers have sat in on my rig; I always specifically get them to play when they come in so I can hear what my rig sounds like. On occasions where the steel is miked with PA support, I CAN'T use the stereo setup because all PAs are mono, so I must have wet & dry signals coming from just 1 amp. And, even if there was a way to mike the steel in stereo, the PA speakers would be too far apart to get the delay effect & would just sound like 2 notes bouncing back & forth.

[Richard Sinkler]

There are many threads on the stereo thing. Look it up. I too have listened to guys playing in stereo, and could not tell from the audience.

And, all PA's are not Mono. The small PA's, and larger boards with built-in power amps, that most local type bar bands use, are stereo, but use one channel for mains and the other for monitors. And larger PA's usually have a mixer with multiple outs running to 2 power amps for the mains and another output and power amp for the monitors. The result is really a stereo PA, as you can pan channels left and right.

[b0b]

I place my amp behind me to the right, within arm's reach so that I can reach the knobs. I often put it on a little crate, about 8" tall, because I hear it better if it's up off the floor.

I like to set up stage right so that the only sound coming to me from that direction is me.

[Ray DeVoe]

I'm the first to agree that on the floor has the best sound but when playing out, I always end up raising it up enough so the speaker can project over the top of my preamp rack which sits in front of it. I usually end up putting the powered speaker on a chair. The band I work with does not really play that loud.

[Terry Winter]

I am real lucky that the groups I play in are not real loud. A good friend of mine made a light aluminum Folding stand that sits ear level when I sit so I can place it well back and still hear and able to blend in with the others real well. Play a couple of outdoor venues with a Boss sound system so I can really then just play with amp on the stage tilted and miked. Works real well too.

[chris ivey]

why do you put the rack in front of the speaker?

[Quentin Hickey]

I agree with you Ray. Playing at home the speaker sounds the best on the floor. Especially on hard surfaces like hardwood.
In some live band situtations you can even get away with it until the levels go up.

[Ray DeVoe]

Hey Chris

I always have the rack sitting "upright" to my right side where I can get to it easily. A lot of stages that I play on are kind of tight, so the speaker sits on a chair a couple of feet behind the rack. I normally only use one powered speaker when playing out unless its a large venue.