Amp position/amp stand

Mel Mandville · Post by **Mel Mandville** » 21 Mar 2004 7:55 am

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on this. I played bass and guitar for a lot of years and I would usually be a ways
from my amp. Now playing steel sitting down I find I need my amp close enough to access the controls . Also last night I put a brick under the front to tip it back a little bit seemed to help my intonation. So I'm thinking of getting a stand. I play in a country rock outfit. So I'm learning to play it loud and proud for sure and I'm miked.
I've got a Nash 1000. I fiqure tipping the amp back I can turn down and actually hear myself better. Maybe this is kind of a dumb question, but I haven't been gigging for that long with the steel and I'm still tweeking my stage set up.

Joerg Hennig · Post by **Joerg Hennig** » 21 Mar 2004 8:42 am

I like my amp to be at the same level as I am sitting, so I simply place it on a chair or a flight case if there happens to be one around. In that way I can hear myself alright and have good access to the controls. Tilting (my Fender amp has tilt-back legs) would also help to some degree, as far as hearing is concerned, but I have the habit of placing various accessories on top of the amp so I want it to be horizontal.

Regards, Joe H.

Fred Justice · Post by **Fred Justice** » 21 Mar 2004 8:54 am

Being totaly deaf in my right ear,i use a rack and two speaker cabinet set up,with one speaker about 4 feet behind me to the left a little,the other speaker is in front of me and my steel about 4 feet, both on stands and my rack by my left hand.Strang i guess but it works for me.
_____________________________________________

Fred Justice
Events Dir.
SWSGA [This message was edited by Fred Justice on 21 March 2004 at 08:57 AM.]

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 21 Mar 2004 9:25 am

A brick is cheaper than a stand.
A small hunk of 2by4 (reffered to as an "audio log") is not only in the same price range as a brick but is lighter.

Bob

Gere Mullican · Post by **Gere Mullican** » 21 Mar 2004 9:35 am

I have a stand that a friend made out of PVC pipe. I can put my amp on it and tilt it back or keep it level. If you like to hear yourself this is a great stand. I think it has about 10-15 dollars worth of material and if you are mechanically inclined it wouldn't be any trouble to build. Our keyboard looked at mine and made him one for his amp. I know they say it is best to have your amp on a stand or chair but that puts it level with my ears and I don't want to hear the bad stuff I play so I dont use the stand any more. I keep it on the floor and within reach so I can twist a knob if I need to. When I first used the stand or chair it was a totally different sound and I never could get the sound I was looking for. So back to the old way. Just thought I would pass along the info about the PVC stand.
Gere

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 21 Mar 2004 11:08 am

I find that setting the amps on the floor pointed flat and out of the ear plane does a couple things: One is that it saves my hearing, and Two that it allows for the proper amount of highs to get off the bandstand. You'll always hear a sharper "tinnier" sound with it/them pointed at your head, besides getting blasted.

Plenty of "Top Shelf" guys point them directly at their heads, or even pointing away from the "crowd" and put the Onus on the Soundman.

I can't seem to do that.

In a place where there is no PA plug in, and you have to get out, pointing it darn near up at the ceiling and cranking it way up will get you PA type coverage. Again, away from your ears to save them.

Ash trays work good for tilting. I prefer Mel-Mac.

EJL

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 21 Mar 2004 11:43 am

You can buy Fender tilt-back legs for around $35 and put them on just about any amp.I have them on my Session 400 and there's no brick,log or stand to carry around. For my 3 nighter sitdown gig at Viva Cantina tho,I do use a little stand that brings my Nash 400 up about 8" and puts about a 5 degree tilt on it.A chair is too high for me - on gigs where I'm not miked,it makes me play too quiet to be heard - or so others have told me.Maybe that's a good thing..... -MJ-

Scott Swartz · Post by **Scott Swartz** » 21 Mar 2004 12:51 pm

Milk crates (legally obtained of course -lol) also work well for a medium height stand, and can stow pedals, cords, etc also.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 21 Mar 2004 1:05 pm

Love those Fender tilt legs, especially if that is the only positioning choice you have.

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 21 Mar 2004 3:21 pm

Gere,
Could you post a pic or dimentions of that pvc stand,or email me .....ugltrk@att.net.

What does your amp weigh?

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Bill Ford

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 21 Mar 2004 4:25 pm

Moved to 'Electronics' section.

Glenn Taylor · Post by **Glenn Taylor** » 21 Mar 2004 7:41 pm

I always use an amp stand, one with adjustable angle and height. I prefer the consistent sound of my amplifier 4 or 5 feet away pointed at my head. The initial inspiration to use a stand (or a chair or whatever) was so that my volume would not be overbearing on stage. My sound should be best heard by me; I usually encourage guitarists I work with to use a stand as well.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 21 Mar 2004 8:57 pm

I use separate amp heads (Dual Showman, or Twin or Vibrasonic chassis in a head cabinet) and 15" speaker cabinets. That way I can put the amp beside me for tweaking (I especially like to change the reverb for different songs), and I put the speaker(s) as far behind me as possible (I mostly play small clubs and small stages). If my speaker is too close and pointed at my head, I hear myself fine, but I am too quiet in the mix, and neither others in the band or the audience can hear me. I've noticed the same problem with other steelers. If I see their speaker very close to them and tilted up toward their head, I know I am going to have a hard time hearing much steel. If their speaker is far behind them, they automatically get their volume up and it projects well. Speakers should be pointed directly at the audience, not up toward the ceiling.

Micing doesn't always help. Soundmen don't always mix the steel well. And if you end up with a loud monitor near you, you may hear yourself well through it, but soundmen will often feed your own sound louder to you than it is in the mix. Because of the way we play with our volume pedal, you will adjust to that loud monitor, but your sound wont be up high enough in the main mix.

Mel Mandville · Post by **Mel Mandville** » 22 Mar 2004 10:36 am

Thanks for the info guys.
Now I don't know if I want a Audio Log or A Mel Mac ash tray. Got to like the product with your name in it.
I'm trying to get my guitar player to use a stand. He can't fiqure out why he can't hear himself with his amp pointed at his Knee. Duh....what ya gonna do.

Hey Eric west. I'm coming down to Portland this coming weekend. Where are you playing? Me and Randy would like to come out and see you.

Bob Storti · Post by **Bob Storti** » 22 Mar 2004 1:34 pm

I've been using an Ultimate Amp 150 Genesis amp stand (about $30 from Musician's Friend) and I really like it. It's a tripod stand, has three tilt angles, and can handle up to 75 lbs.. The center piece is threaded to accept a standard boom or gooseneck for miking. It folds up simple and easily fits in back of my Peavey Transtube 112 amp. A nice little stand!

Craig A Davidson · Post by **Craig A Davidson** » 22 Mar 2004 5:38 pm

If you put your amp on a chair you will lose the advantage of the extra lows that develope by being on the floor. The floor acts as a resonator. Also as a word for bass players, there is no need to crank your lows and cut most of your highs. Your low end will almost double 20feet out. What you will end up with is woof. Those treble and mid knobs aren't just to make the amp look pretty.

Kevin Mincke · Post by **Kevin Mincke** » 22 Mar 2004 7:03 pm

This is what I use but prefer to have my amp further away than what space is currently available at the church I play at. This do to it being "dual" purpose for the traditional & contemporary services. The stand is just about the perfect angle & lightweight & foldable. www.bjmusik.dk/da/dept_2007.html [This message was edited by Kevin Mincke on 22 March 2004 at 07:08 PM.]

Michael Haselman · Post by **Michael Haselman** » 23 Mar 2004 9:10 am

The only problem with you guys that like your amp on the floor (and I speak from experience)--since the high end is going under you, you might tend to overcompensate on the eq and the actual sound up front is way too high-endy. When it's pointed at your ear, you get the true sound that's going out front.

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Marrs D-10, Webb 6-14E

Steve Alonzo Walker · Post by **Steve Alonzo Walker** » 23 Mar 2004 12:08 pm

I Use Two Pieces Of 1/2" x 16"Long Electrical Conduit With Rubber Tips On Both Ends To Tilt My Nashville 400 Back. Position Them In The Upper Corners Of The Cabinet And Lean Them Back Till The Tips Hit The Floor Moving Them Till They Are Steady Enough To Support The Amp. Works For Me.

Mel Mandville · Post by **Mel Mandville** » 23 Mar 2004 1:00 pm

I think I might get one of those Genisis stands.
I like the idea of packing it in the back of the amp.
Moving all this stuff around is getting to be a bit of a chore. I think I am adding more highs than i need when the amp is sitting flat.
It should hold my Nash 1000. I think it weighs about 70lbs.

Larry R · Post by **Larry R** » 24 Mar 2004 2:45 pm

What Bob Storti said, Ditto's. The Genesis 150 is such a great invention. Wish I had thought of it. I liked it so well I bought 3. Our lead guitarist kept borrowing mine and finally bought himself one.
Light weight,holds up to 80 lbs, folds up compactly and is adjustable.

Larry R.

Gary Walker · Post by **Gary Walker** » 24 Mar 2004 10:40 pm

I have the Sound Enhancer that serves as a stand and tilts the amp back while directing the sound off of the rear of the amp through a folded horn out the front. Pretty cool.

John Hawkins · Post by **John Hawkins** » 25 Mar 2004 6:36 am

I play through two tuned closed back cabinets that Gerry Walker ( Stereo Steel builder) made . I use a fold up type stand by the brand name of "QUIK LOK " they are very strong and fold up for pretty easy storage . They are light weight and adjustable .

Just something else us old folks have to carry around .

John

Roger Crawford · Post by **Roger Crawford** » 27 Mar 2004 7:59 am

...or go to WalMart and pick up a folding camp stool for about $6.00. Folds flat and easy to store.

Emmett Roch · Post by **Emmett Roch** » 28 Mar 2004 3:10 am

Apparently I'm not the only one whose life has been affected by this amp-angle thing.

I've installed the Fender legs on amps, and I think they're still about the best idea. I've made "lean-backs" from conduit, lumber, car parts, you name it.

The first Nashville 1000 I saw was a demo in the Peavey room at a Dallas steel show a few years back. Inside the cabinet on both sides, they had installed the brackets used to secure the spurs/front legs on a bass drum. I got some drum parts from a local music store and installed the same system on an amp I had.

SWR made some amps that had a spring-loaded handle (like on the sides of some road cases) installed under the front edge, to tilt it back a bit.

The farthest I ever took this quest was when I built a whole new combination road case/cabinet out of 1"x12" pine boards for a Nashville 400 head I got in a trade. I angled the speaker baffle board so that it was aimed at my head, which meant I could have the amp close enough to turn the knobs easily.

Melmac ashtrays sound fine, but I always liked the high-end clarity of the glass ones.

Has anybody tried putting black mica on their 2x4 audio log? Would it sound better than a laquered one?