Took Rick Davis' suggestion and started a new thread. Earlier Greg H mentioned a SJ Avenger has more cut than another SJ amp and that made it less suitable for beginners. I was hoping to get a definition of cut to understand this better.
Last Edited by SmokeJS on Oct 05, 2013 9:45 AM
While wearing ear plugs - the sound is still going to GRAB your attention and make an impression… -
Especially with the right mic and settings on the amp - particularly the treble and middle knobs set high... :)
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 05, 2013 12:54 PM
The "cut" in Sonny's amps come from the 8" speakers. When you get correct speaker combo i.e. 8's,10's and 12's,that sound is projected deep into the house-the eights surely help here.
Add Sonny's proprietary blend of smooth and ribbed cones,8" ceramic and alnico 30 oz. magnets ,and you've got a killer sound all it's own-nothing sounds like the Cruncher,Super Cruncher or Avenger.
And they all have their own unique sound-how cool is that?
Last Edited by tmf714 on Oct 05, 2013 1:02 PM
Not really-when I brought the Super Cruncher to The Beach Shack, a lot of players said that was the best amp they had heard me play through-Dano,HarpKing,Sonny #1,and a Brown Pro were the others I had played there-
Last Edited by tmf714 on Oct 05, 2013 3:17 PM
Boost the upper midrange and your amp amp will cut more. Guitars and harmonica are mid range instruments. Thats why Tubescreamer type pedals mainly boost the mids.
That's the purpose of a presence control, some kill highs while keeping the lows and mids, some boost mids only to create more presence.
Plus using a different input on amp...mine has 4 inputs, can set off a mic to really connect with some serious cut :)
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 05, 2013 5:12 PM
cut is most of what you don't want the audience to hear tone wise. It is also a path to volume with less feed back. Push or balls or whatever is all that bass that you want the harp to be but puts you closer to feedback and clearly lets though your breath sounds. Figuring out that balance makes you appreciate Gruenling and his ability to have the technique, the gear savvy, and the band that lets him cut in the lower registers.
I disagree. If you've got good mic technique and tone, having an amp that will cut makes a huge difference. Having an amp that is all low end just sounds woofy. It sounds dead and lifeless 15 feet off the stage.
If a person has mic technique and tone, they will sound good through most amps that were used back in the day. Those amps tended to cut a bit more. Most old amps like Fenders and Gibson don't have a massive bottom end to them. They do cut. Most of the old guys ran those amps with the bass on full and the mids and treble off for a reason. They didn't sound dull and lifeless.
Most guys who try to out Gary Smith, Gary Smith tend to sound dull and lifeless. Gary doesn't sound like that. His tone is full. Not one dimensional. They aren't hearing anything other than the huge bottom end that he is associated with. ---------- The Blues Photo Gallery
Last Edited by Joe_L on Oct 05, 2013 5:57 PM
When you are a new amplified player you will not have good cupping technique. You might think you do but trust me, you probably don't. You'll love a 4-10 because you can dial a lot of highs OUT. This can give you the more mellow fat tone you crave. But as you get better, and your cupping technique improves, you can get rid of any harsh highs JUST BY CUPPING. Then you want to start turning the treble up - and you end up with much more tonal range between tightly cupped and more open. At this point the 4-10 might not have ENOUGH "cut".
An amp with "cut" has a nice higher frequency edge to its tone that helps you be heard and gives you more definition, without being harsh - but you better have very good cupping technique to control it. ---------- *************************************************** /Greg
I read so often on forums, "treble at zero, bass at 10". This is a teraable setup on 95% of the amps out there. Slopy mud is all you get. When you set up in a room set the tone controls to 5 to start with and work from there. You want the full tonal range of your instrument to come out. Learn to deal with feedback with body position and cupping tecnique. If you roll off all your treble, you just lost half your tone. (Tone Controls) On low key harps you can use a Bright Sw., if available, to get more cut...BN
Good point...depending on which keyed harp your using ( particularly the LOW and HIGH ones) - the tone controls can be utilized to help make that harp sing to its fullest ability...Also being in the correct channel input is real helpful to gain that CUT :)
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 06, 2013 6:42 AM
Tone controls get set very differently based on the amp AND the player.
When I started I use little treble and a lot of bass because I didn't cup well and it really helped my tone. As I improved the bass started coming down and the treble up.
The Cruncher and Avenger amps really don't like having the bass turned up much or you get TOO much distortion when you hit a chord - even with a tongue slap. Bass needs to be WAY down - no more than 3 - on those amps - for me. Treble is up at 7.
Aki Kumar has an SJ four-ten and has killer tone. It is harder to get cut from that amp but he gets it by plugging into the bright channel. But he has excellent technique - many players would not be able to get away with that.
My ear and body like to feel tonal CUT... and for me, that requires using the correct mic... correct channel input/s... and treble and middle knobs workin hard to give the "most life" possble to the tone :)
If I remember correctly, Aki cranks the mids and treble up on the SJ410. He had some work done on the 410 a few months back. It sounds great.
The past few times that I've seen him, he was using the Fender Deville. I love the sound of that amp. You've really gotta have your act together to make that thing sing. He does and get some great tone out of it. Bass on ten, mids and treble off. It is brighter than the SJ amps , but the Deville really cuts.
"Cut" is note definition. It comes from well-balanced high frequency sounds and from your amp's ability to play sharp transients. What separates notes one from the other is the sound on the leading edge, the attack. If it is crisp and balanced the music sounds colorful and airy. If it is too bright or too loud the music is harsh and annoying.
When you get it right the notes all seem to pop out. The audience does not get listener fatigue. But push is as important as cut. That is the power of your amp to drive the lower notes accurately, not just a big mush.
One of the things I like best about an amp that has good cut is that I can hear it better on stage.
Is it just me, or can a microphone's characteristics also have a playing factor on cut as well? I've noticed the tonal differences between my mics. The JT-30 with the ceramic is far brighter, hotter, and more treble-happy. My DM13 has a pretty ballsy but versatile tone. And my 630 is quieter than the Akai, but easier to cup and still versatile. I think it cut fairly well here...
Of the three, I would say the JT-30 probably has the best cut, but there's almost too much cut to it. No matter how you dial in the amp's EQ, it wants to ring back on the highs. Looks like I might need to cap the pot to roll a smidge of it off. ----------
The mix sounded fine - the sound man maybe could of twisted a knob or two for a bit more "soar" when you did your thing :)
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 07, 2013 10:58 AM
