amp shopping

**Rainer.** · 10-30-2006, 06:12 PM

If you're willing to drive around a bit for gear, searching seattle.craigslist.org would probably be a pretty good idea. Even if what you want isn't on there, put a wanted ad out, and you'll get responses. It seems to be what most Seattle musicians are using to sell their gear now, and it's an incredibly active site. I've gotten lots of great stuff and saved hundreds through the Seattle Craigslist.

thekingprawn · 10-31-2006, 06:57 PM

I'm a little confused now that I have my new amp. I've been tweeking my sound ever since I brought it home, and I just can't make it sound exactly the way I want it to. At really low volumes it is mellow and balanced, when turned up just a little it starts getting brash as glassy sounding. Last night at worship team practice it sounded perfectly wonderful no matter what. The room we practice in is the loft of a very big barn. Is the increased space what makes a difference and makes the sound full and balanced? Is it the hard walls in my living room that causes the harshness? Any advice would be helpful.

**thesteve** · 10-31-2006, 07:05 PM

that could very well be the case. While your ear is going to be hearing the sound directly from the speaker, it's also going to hear the reflections off of the walls. Room acoustics can have a huge effect on overall tone.

**Rainer.** · 10-31-2006, 09:05 PM

Also, what you hear in a band mix will be much different than what you hear playing on your own. Guitarists will usually like a brighter tone when playing in a band for better definition in the mix, however a darker tone when playing alone.

thekingprawn · 11-01-2006, 04:49 PM

The better tone was even while playing on my own, so it had to be room acoustics that make the difference.

Hopeful · 11-01-2006, 08:24 PM

If you listen to many recordings closely, you will notice that the guitar will likely be very bright sounding compared to the other instruments. It's been my experience that my live tone is always different from my tone when I play by myself - i.e. brighter. I love the sound of my neck pickups, but rarely use it by itself when playing live. If you want to be heard, you gotta adjust your tone so you're not being redundant with the other instruments.