Amplifier Set-up & Positioning
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Awesome limited edition amp!
When you are playing a gig, it is important to set up your amplifier and effects so that they are transparent - in other words,
so that they don’t distract from the actual performance. There's nothing more frustrating than spending more time playing with
the amp or effects than playing your actual instrument!
Here are a few ideas that may help you to achieve this:
- Raise your amplifier and speaker cabinets off the floor. Beer crates are handy for this or if you're lucky enough to have your amp
in a flight case then use this.
- Wherever possible, wander out towards the back of the room whilst playing your instrument at the sound check (drummers
excluded – obviously). A wireless system or a very long jack cable will help with this. Check out the sound at the rear of the
venue as this may cause you to adjust your volume level and equalisation. Also remember that the sound will change once the
room fills with people.
- If your amplifier has on board memory to remember specific settings or if you have floor pedals or a processor, number them
logically and use recognisable descriptions on the LED read-out so that you know exactly what they are. Also, check for
differentials in volume as you switch from patch to patch – crunch, distortion and overdrive tend to have much higher gain levels
than a clean, compressed rhythm sound.
- Some amps have a clean channel and a "dirty" channel and supply a foot switch to swap between the two. Once again, remember to
match the volumes on each channel.
- The actual positioning of a bass amplifier is less critical because low frequencies tend to be omni-directional, however,
raising the bass cabinet off the floor may provide a little more punch and clarity.
- Guitar amps that are close miked and fed through the PA can have the guitar signal routed back through the foldback (monitor)
system. This is especially useful when playing on big stages where a significant distance exists between the backline and the
vocal mikes and will help you to hear your instrument.
- Certain guitar effects should be programmed at "gig" volume - reverb and delay are two such ones that spring to mind – again
these should be tested from the back of the room at the sound check.
- If you do need to adjust your amplifier during a gig, try and memorise where the controls are by "feeling" or counting knobs
from the edge of the amp. Remember that the backline may be in relative darkness so you'll need to make sure that you adjust
the correct control by the right amount. Failing this, make sure you pop a mini torch into your gig bag and leave it near your
amp to illuminate any adjustments that are required during your set.