#93911  by JonnyBoy
 
wolftigerrosebud wrote:I'm with you. My bandmates are all kind of on the oblivious side, even if they're well-meaning, and they just can't seem to be told to turn down. This whole weekend I could barely hear the keyboardist's synth and his vocals, but the bassist and other guitarist keep turning up. Then, when I turn down to try to give them a queue, they don't pick up on it or choose to ignore it, and I'm playing so softly that I can't hear myself for 10 minutes. Shit.
One guy here told me once,(paraphrase/very close to the quote) "If they can't tell they are playing too loud in the mix or choose not to care about it, they are not being professional. They need to turn down when advised plus take better notice of it. If they still won't we don't hesitate to replace them."
I am sure the other guys in bands that play big stages for bigger dollars feel the same way. Volume, is about as important as "good tone" from an amp. That tone ain't so good when it hurts peoples ears. :lol:
 #93913  by tcsned
 
Volume wars get tiring - I have been a participant and an instigator in the past but try to be aware of why it happens and heading it off before it gets going.

We did the ampless thing for a while but have gone back to amps and after a couple of years of no amps I think everyone has the awareness to not go back to "too loud" again. Amp placement is one thing that could be a reason - if the bass player has his speakers a foot away and pointing right in his a** he is not likely to hear it as well as if there was some space between player and amp. Guitar players set their amps on the ground sending the death ray at their knees and then up towards you ears (and not theirs) and say they can't hear themselves. If the death ray was pointing at their ears, I'm sure it would get turned down. I'm running 50w and that's way more than enough. The 85w Twin sounds great but is overkill in most venues, 50w is probably more than I really need but I like the 6L6 tube amps.
 #93915  by wolftigerrosebud
 
That's some good information, guys. I'll have to get some space between the players and the amps next rehearsal, and maybe put my combo up on a chair. The other guitarist has a 4x12 cabinet, so I'm pretty sure he can hear himself just fine, but he's a bit of a control freak so I'm not sure if it's his amp or his ego.

I'm starting to think that the Blues Jr. with Waldo's mods or Fargen mods or some other component upgrade might be the way to go... If the Deluxe is too much for me now, 40w is probably going to be much too much. I saw Strummin has a Fargen modded Blues Jr. and seems to like it. For rehearsals in a warehouse and the occasional gig in a bar or a record store, is the Blues. Jr a good choice? I would be a little worried that 15w might not cut it, but I just don't know.
 #93916  by tcsned
 
wolftigerrosebud wrote:The other guitarist has a 4x12 cabinet, so I'm pretty sure he can hear himself just fine, but he's a bit of a control freak so I'm not sure if it's his amp or his ego.
How about getting shock collars with a foot controller? One of the handy stage inventions I've wanted to build for some time :lol: :lol:
nothing like a little jolt of electricity to remind folks of that the volume knob can be turned counter-clockwise too

Kidding aside, a frank discussion about how too much volume makes the group sound worse and takes the fun away from others in the band - it's a band not a solo act, etc.
 #93917  by strumminsix
 
wolftigerrosebud wrote:That's some good information, guys. I'll have to get some space between the players and the amps next rehearsal, and maybe put my combo up on a chair. The other guitarist has a 4x12 cabinet, so I'm pretty sure he can hear himself just fine, but he's a bit of a control freak so I'm not sure if it's his amp or his ego.

I'm starting to think that the Blues Jr. with Waldo's mods or Fargen mods or some other component upgrade might be the way to go... If the Deluxe is too much for me now, 40w is probably going to be much too much. I saw Strummin has a Fargen modded Blues Jr. and seems to like it. For rehearsals in a warehouse and the occasional gig in a bar or a record store, is the Blues. Jr a good choice? I would be a little worried that 15w might not cut it, but I just don't know.
Something to do is require ever to point their amps at their upper back. That'll force some to turn down.


I don't like it ...
... I LOVE IT

However, I now have a mesa 2020 and an SMS on the way.. I'm seeing stiff competition!

I also have one of his half twins and one of his DRs. All his stuff is top notch, IMO!


Regarding the 4/12, it's still just aimed at his ass. So unless he it tilts it, he's gonna be loud
 #93921  by JonnyBoy
 
Picking an amp is such a personal thing. If you like the sound of a twin, want to have gobs of headroom at will, then that's what you should get. Plus after all the mods, you will have an SMS Classic anyway, or very close to it. If you want the SMS classic, I would get it and a CHEAP SS amp($50-$100) to power it for the time being. you would be around the 1k mark with that. That would be more economical than buying an amp and selling it at a loss. With the SMS all you really need is clean power, the preamp is all the tone.(although a good power amp does make it sound better), I think you will find pairing up a 50 watt SS amp with an SMS will be plenty loud. You may be able to use the amp you have to power the SMS...
 #93924  by raisingfreen
 
Just thought I would throw this out.... but if your interested in a mix between a Twin and Deluxe Reverb I have a handwired Super Reverb in a 1x12 Combo. The Cab was built by JD Newell. I believe the amp (chassis) is from 1967 however I would have to look inside. The output Transformer has been replayed with one from Heyboer, SED Output tubes. I will entertain any offer on this as I don't use it much. It has been serviced and even had the unused ground switch modded to bypass the Vibrato circuit for a tad more gain. The amp is just a tad larger than a deluxe reverb by about .75 inches. My favorite aspect of this amp is the fact that the vibrato channel has a midrange pot. These are the same basic fender circuit for the bandmaster reverb, super reverb and vibroverb.

Send me a PM if interested.
 #93940  by JonnyBoy
 
yes a good monitor mix works well too, especially with vocals, which is a whole other world of volume issues :lol:

It seems like to me that bands without sound people, they usually have the guitar or band up too much and the vocals too low. I think every band could use a Girl friend, a devoted fan or a band member that is a "sound engineer" that can without prejudice go to any band member and say "Turn Down!!" and knows how to control the volumes FOH if the club doesn't have someone to do it. Plus the band needs to follow the advice... :smile:
 #105991  by Jerry1996x
 
hmmm. i dont know how to think about this thread. I play in a moderately loud band. I play an 80 watt partial tube amp. volume usually up almost all the way. Just barely enough. We practice in a basement and play bars and school auditoriums. I just got a Twin and a JG1 hahahaha :roll: we will see how it goes......
 #106001  by Tony6Strings
 
Silverface Fender amps get bad rapped quite often. I really can't figure out why. I have one, it's a 78 Pro Reverb, 70 watt I believe. From what I understand it's the least desirable of all the Pro Reverb amps cause it has a ultra-linear solid state rectifier. I'm not too hep to what this means in a practical aspect. What I do know is that I love my amp! It's got one of the cleanest, sweetest tones I've ever heard. Seems like the notes just burst out of that thing... I wouldn't trade it for anything of comparable value.