rbeetsme
535 posts
Jan 01, 2012
11:20 AM
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I picked up a few new tube amp heads this year and some interesting pedals. Reading the instructions I have had second thoughts about how to set-up my vintage amps. When you play out, what volume, mic settings do you use?
Last Edited by on Jan 01, 2012 11:20 AM
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KingBiscuit
143 posts
Jan 01, 2012
11:54 AM
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Not tying to be flippant here...I set it up whichever way works the best for the situation...you have to find that out when you get there. It all depends on what amp you're playing, how loud is the band, what mic are you using, venue, and on and on. This is a very personal thing. I don't think anyone can give you specific instructions on how to set up...they can give you pointers, but it all comes down to you and the situation.
Dan
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hvyj
2032 posts
Jan 01, 2012
12:09 PM
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This may not be a one size fits all recommendation, but when I play through one of my tube amps, I crank the amp volume up to the "sweet spot"(which is usually pretty high) and then I control performance volume level (and feedback) by rolling of volume on the mic (I use a 545 Ultimate). FWIW.
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rbeetsme
536 posts
Jan 01, 2012
1:18 PM
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hvyi, this is what I've been reading. Dime the volume, adjust the gain till it feeds back and fine tune. The new amps have gain adjustment, my vintage amps don't, so I would have to adjust the gain at the mic as you suggested. The logic is, as I understand it, to push the tubes. If I wanted a clean tone, I suppose you'd try to keep the volume lower. BTW: the new amps I tried were a Mesa Boogie and an Eggnator. I found the Egnator to work better for harp. An interesting concept. Variable watt tube amp with both 6L6 and 12AX7 tubes. An adjustment to choose either 12AX7s, 6L6's or a combination of both. Very versatile.
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timeistight
278 posts
Jan 01, 2012
1:22 PM
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"Variable watt tube amp with both 6L6 and 12AX7 tubes. An adjustment to choose either 12AX7s, 6L6's or a combination of both. Very versatile."
I don't understand this: the 6L6 is a power-amp tube whereas the 12AX7 is a preamp tube. You need them both, not either/or.
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rbeetsme
537 posts
Jan 01, 2012
1:30 PM
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Oh yeah, EL84's. Here's the description:
Rebel20
Last Edited by on Jan 01, 2012 1:33 PM
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hvyj
2033 posts
Jan 01, 2012
2:54 PM
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@rbeetsme: Personally, I've never been able to get decent tone for harp from a tube amp that has separate gain and volume controls, but YMMV.
I happen to prefer a relatively clean tone. I don't actually "dime" the volume, but it's cranked up around 6, 7 or 8. It's not that I am after distortion, but I find that my tube amps (Fender Super Reverb RI and Fender Princeton reverb RI) come alive and produce audibly better depth and dimension of tone at these higher volume settings. Then I reduce input volume at the mic.
If you do have an amp with separate gain and volume controls, higher gain settings with lower volume settings will be dirtier and higher volume settings with lower gain settings will be cleaner. But higher gain is usually a prescription for feedback. Personally, I've never had a tube amp with separate gain and volume settings that I thought sounded particularly good for harp.
Also, you've got to keep in mind that what sounds good at home does not always work well at a live performance venue. So, from that perspective, sometimes the fewer knobs you need to tweak the more controllable/reliable your rig will be under actual performance conditions.
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jbone
723 posts
Jan 01, 2012
6:10 PM
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i find a balance between amp volume and mic volume. amp is usually set at past feedback, and mic is turned down to reasonable. if band/song is getting stupidly loud i can crank the mic past reason only when i'm playing into it and immediately turn down after a solo.
i have a silvertone 1482 for small/medium rooms and a replica '59 bassman for big rooms and outdoors with full band. i use a cm bullet, a modded dynamic e- m43u(excellent work by greg heumann), or a ruskin crystal mic. no pedals, processors, just a decent mic cable.
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