What a difference a good rig makes

[Monkey Steve]

On 03/12/2018 at 22:57, Rich said:

I've done the whole 1kW head + 2x4x10 cabs route and yes it sounds great. There's nothing like having a hefty 1.3 horsepower roaring away behind you. But my back's not getting any younger, so I'm quite happy to compromise my sound for the sake of a much easier life. FOH it all sounds the same anyway, once the engineer has finished mangling it. Ooh what a cynic.

yeah, this.  Not the weight issue, but the fact that the audience won't notice.

Love the feel and power of a full stack, own a SVT-2 Pro, and currently playing in the rehearsal studio with an H&K QT600 with 1x15 and 4x10 cabs...but live I'm happy with my VT Bass pedal and DIing as the crowd aren't going to notice the difference once the soundman has done his job.  In fact I'm seriously telling the band not to bother bringing the amp to the next two shows as I'm not at all fussed (but it seems we have promised to provide the backline for one of them so it's coming whether I use it or not)

Interestingly the guitarists say the same - they use Kemper heads, and in the studio take a line out to the PA as well as through their Marshall cabs (and this means they don't have any squabbles about needing to be at stupid volumes at all times to achieve "their sound") and while they miss the kick in the chest that a roaring valve head/stack would give them, it serves no purpose for the audience

[Muzz]

I take it everyone who's using big heavy old rigs for the whumf and heft is using hearing protection? You know, the attenuators that drop 20db or so off the volume? Or is going deaf worth the whumf? 😉

[dmccombe7]

54 minutes ago, Muzz said:

I take it everyone who's using big heavy old rigs for the whumf and heft is using hearing protection? You know, the attenuators that drop 20db or so off the volume? Or is going deaf worth the whumf? 😉

My Mesa rig is only putting out max 300W because i'm using the 8 ohm cab but its still never more than 10 o'clock on master volume. It gives me a great tone even at lower volumes however if i do crank it up i get an even better sound from the cab which i think is 600W. 

I do wear ear protection if rehearsals or gigs get beyond a talkng level on stage. We're not really a loud band on stage.

Its just that the bigger cab or should i say deeper cab  (physically) seems to give me a fuller sound than the smaller cabs i've used and i feel better and in my mind i play better because i'm confident of my overall sound. It does go thru FOH at the end of the day but i like to hear a good on stage sound too.

I've not always worn ear protection and i think i have a little tinitus but not enough to bother me. Not sure if that's with playing in bands in last few yrs, motorbikes (now wear ear protection on bike too) or if it was something that's happened from my work as an engineer in gas plants. No matter what, it was caused by me not wearing protection when i should have been so everyone out there should really be wearing ear protection.

Dave 

[discreet]

4 hours ago, Muzz said:

I take it everyone who's using big heavy old rigs for the whumf and heft is using hearing protection? Or is going deaf worth the whumf? 😉

Definitely not worth it. I always use hearing protection and have done for 40 years regardless of rig and/or band. It's surprising just how little noise can damage your hearing. Even at my advanced age I can still hear up to 16kHz, which is pretty good.