For me, it's got to be brighter than I hear it right next to the amp, or it comes out muddy in front. I've gone to see countless guys that it seems clear at the rig, but muddy out front.

If a gig isn't miked, I don't see how it could be loud enough halfway out in the hall and not make your ears bleed sitting three feet away from it.

One of the biggest issues I have noticed with Steel players is that they place an amp directly behind them, and set it up to taste.

It sounds awesome behind the..

but thats where it ends. The sound cannot get past there bodies !

What I have done, when we have the room ( even if we don't) I have gone to two amps almost exclusively now. Not two 112's , two of the big brothers. Session 400 and Nashville 400. One is sort of behind me aimed kinda toward me and across the bandstand kind of like a monitor, the other is set up to be unobstructed for stage presence..meaning nothing is in the way of the speaker dispersion.

12" speakers are great, but they don't disperse like 15" in a larger room, especially if the amp is setup behind a player sitting down and the sound can't get past the sitting players back.( or butt)

In very large rooms we mic either one of the amps...I am not an advocate of to many Instruments in the floor wedges..so I , we, refrain from that..I prefer to BEND my ear to listen to the the other players rather than to have all the music in my face..It forces me to lay back a bit more..especially on the right foot...

oh, and I do raise the amps, generally with a 6 or 7 inch plastic tupperware sort of step stool( Wallmart $3.00) and sometimes up about 18 or 20 inches on the custom amp stands/dolly's that we made...When it's a one amp situation that is when I use the higher stand...

But I have noticed, having the amps on the floor, raised 6 inches or raised 18 inches..the same bad notes keep showing up

t

[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 19 January 2006 at 02:53 AM.]

At first I laid my amp on the floor all the time, but I couldn't hear it well enough to play accurately. The sound got lost in the drums or guitar amps. But's it's just as bad to have your amp right up in your face. You have no idea how loud it is on stage when you're that close. A bit behind me, pointed diagonal seems to be the best for me.

The sound i get next to amp is muddy with bass but sounds good at 20+ feet away. A 25ft patch cord with amp 25ft away is a good way to hear what it sounds like at distance. I had to cut the highs WAY DOWN because on the floor the treble was killin' ears, opps.

If it is not miked (and most small clubs where I play don't mike the guitar amps), your amp needs to be placed the same as the lead guitar player's amp. Most have theirs some distance behind them, pointing directly out at the audience. Maybe the floor boosts the bass a little, but that's what the bass tone knob is for. Raising the amp for a clearer shot at the audience seems a good idea, especially if the stage is low (some small clubs don't even have stages). On a very high stage you may need to raise the amp just to keep the front edge of the stage from blocking the sound path to the audience. But I don't see the point of tilting an amp up, unless you are trying to project to a balcony or to the rafters. The idea is to point the amp at the head level of the audience, directed to the center of the back wall. If the guitar player's amp is 10 feet behind him pointing at the audience, and your amp is 3 feet behind you pointing at your head, then you will play quieter than he will (because you are hearing your amp louder than he hears his), and you will be lost in the mix out front. If you put your amp toward the back of the stage like the guitar and bass amps and you cannot hear your intonation, then you are simply not playing loud enough. Having perfect intonation is useless if you are the only one who can hear it. I have seen many steelers play with their amp pointed at their head. It is very frustrating, because out front you can't hear them, and they don't seem to have a clue.

Oh yes, and our ears are more sensitive to high frequencies. Feeling that bass thump in your chest feels good, But that ice pick in the ear from the guitarist or steeler playing up the neck does not feel good. Generally, the louder you turn the volume, the more you have to turn down the highs. It does complicate things in that the highs are more directional. Off to one side they may be too quiet, while directly out front they may be too loud. The best remedy for that is multiple speakers pointed in different directions.

[This message was edited by David Doggett on 19 January 2006 at 10:27 AM.]

If I'm on for more than one set I like to use two amps (just got a second Session 500).

------------------
Dave Wren
'95Carter S12-E9/B6,7X7; Twin Session 500s; Hilton Pedal; Black Box
www.ameechapman.com

------------------
Gordon Borland
MSA D10,FENDER STEEL KING, NASHVILLE 400,PEAVEY SESSIONS 2000, 1963 BROWN FENDER DELUXE NO REVERB. 1973 FENDER JAGUAR SUNBURST SIX STRING GUITAR, PEAVEY T60 SIX STRING GUITAR.

Different posters above are talking about two completely different situations, miked and unmiked speakers. Even if my amp is miked, I want it to be heard evenly across the whole stage. This means getting it toward the back, raised closer to ear level, and pointing across the stage. It doesn't bother me at all if the crowd in front of the stage hears the stage volume. At least those down front hear what the musicians intend rather that what the sound man wants. But then, I don't have a lot of experience using my amp as my personal monitor. At times when I have had my amp miked, I usually position it the same as the guitar players position theirs, which is usually so that it projects to the entire stage, not just to me.

[This message was edited by David Doggett on 22 January 2006 at 12:50 PM.]