Guide to getting and playing better gigs
Get A Big Sound
Remember the famous guitar amp in Spinal Tap -- the one that sounds awesome, 'cause it goes all the way up to eleven? Sure, it's a joke, but there's a lot of people out there who are definitely of the opinion that "louder is better." A generation of hard rock bands have done little to dispel this myth -- the "solid wall of Marshalls" is a staple of stadium rock.
Well, here's a little eye-opener for you. The dozens of Marshall cabinets you see on the stage for a Kiss show are mostly dummies. Lead guitarist Ace Frehley actually just plays through a single Marshall stack to get his sound -- one of the cabinets in the stack is then miked, the signal goes through the PA, and it's the PA that provides the main part of the volume -- not the amps on stage. Of course, if you're not a stadium-size rocker, even the sonic muscle of a single big amplifier can be overkill. A smaller amplifier often gets better tone than its big brothers, so a small combo amp may be the best way for most live shows.
Here's why: if you're using a large amp in small venue, you won't be able to drive it hard, which is what is required to get a decent tone. Master volume amps provide distortion at lower volumes -- but that's no substitute for the sound of actual power amp distortion. A smaller amp actually allows you to get more real amp tone, since you can turn it up higher.
There's more. Place a mic in front of the speaker and run the signal through the house PA, and you have the volume you need as well as the tone. The house sound guy can now get the best possible sound through the PA without excessive bleed from your amp. The more amp noise on stage, the harder that is to achieve. Plus with a lower on-stage volume, you can get just the right amount of your own amp sound fed back through the stage monitors, along with the other instruments, to give you the ideal stage mix.
High-quality small amp offerings from the likes of Fender and other major amp companies show that the hard rock "wall of sound" movement is losing its grip. Get with the times, and think about trading the 100-watt monster for a smaller model -- your bandmates (and roadies) will appreciate you for it.
Tip:
Many modern amps are designed for stage power levels. When required for studio or home use, their background noise and power may be a nuisance. A short patch lead with a 50k resistor in series with the inner conductor attenuates the amplifier to a more suitable level when connected to the effects send & return sockets.