Anyone stack their guitarist's amp on their bass amp

[ben604]

As the title really. Is this a silly idea?

Edited August 17, 2011 by ben604

[Truckstop]

Sometimes stack odd cabs and leave amps on the floor, but that's it really.
In my current band, we put the lead guitarists Twin-Reverb on top of my cab and I leave my amp on the floor. Gets the height of the amp up, looks cool and saves space!
I don't find anything wrong with it, soundwise.

Truckstop

[scalpy]

I've done it, in a silly size band, with no adverse effects.

[skidder652003]

nope, he wont let me go near his mesa!

[icastle]

[quote name='ben604' post='1343092' date='Aug 17 2011, 01:43 PM']As the title really. Is this a silly idea?[/quote]

In our setup, yes, it would be a silly idea...
...I'd have to give him a bunk up to plug his guitar lead in.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='ben604' post='1343092' date='Aug 17 2011, 08:43 AM']Is this a silly idea?[/quote]Not if he's sitting atop your shoulders.
Otherwise, no, because with his cab in your ears you won't be able to hear yourself. The ears his cab should be aimed at are his.

[thebassman]

[quote name='skidder652003' post='1343105' date='Aug 17 2011, 01:47 PM']nope, he wont let me go near his mesa! [/quote]

Nope, i wouldn't let the Guitard near my Mesa

[Mr. Foxen]

Guitarists always seem to be using my amps.

[Adrenochrome]

Yes, we do it occasionally when limited space demands it. It provides passable onstage sound, and obviously our front of house sound isn't affected.

[Alec]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='1343138' date='Aug 17 2011, 02:13 PM']Otherwise, no, because with his cab in your ears you won't be able to hear yourself. The ears his cab should be aimed at are his.[/quote]

Which is exactly why I don't mind a guitar cab stacked on my bass cab, it means that he might turn his down a bit more, as it's more in his face (I make sure it's aimed right at him!). Just as long as it's not firing into my ears!

To be honest, I'm happy playing down (level-wise), but it's the guitarists that are my worst problem. Anything that aims the sound at their ears has to be a benefit.

I have the same problem engineering at our local venue. One name tribute band had their front man's 4x12 aimed right at my FOH mix position, which was blisteringly loud (though good). Even with his master volume set to 0.5 (from 0 to 10) it was way too loud. And, of course, because it was firing at his knees, it was still too quiet for him - grrr! And that's before we come to the bass player who was set to muffled rumble on stage...

[JTUK]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='1343138' date='Aug 17 2011, 02:13 PM']no, because with his cab in your ears you won't be able to hear yourself. The ears his cab should be aimed at are his.[/quote]


Agree.... you do not want a gtr amp/cab in your ears and the gtr standing say 10ft plus away as bang goes your mix...and your ears, no doubt.

The best way to mix a gtr is have them be deafening themselves.


On a broader note..... you shouldn't be playing stages where someones elses kit encroches massively on your hearing domain...especailly gtr and cymbals.
A mix is fine..an overbearing one isn't.

[flyfisher]

I don't think it's a silly idea, especially if space is tight, and I've done it a number of times without any problems.

As mentioned above, if the guitarist can hear himself better there is less temptation to crank up the volume.

Because the bass and guitar frequencies are well separated in the mix, I've never found had problems hearing my cabs.

Definitely worth some experimentation I'd say.

Edited August 17, 2011 by flyfisher

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1343497' date='Aug 17 2011, 01:40 PM']Because the bass and guitar frequencies are well separated in the mix[/quote]The problem is that they aren't. And if you're getting all the mids from a guitar cab at ear level you can't hear any of the mids from your cab down below waist level. The technical explanation is called Precedence Effect. It's tough enough to hear your mids with the cab down low and not tilted back, it's impossible with the mids from the guitar masking them.

[Marvin]

I personally wouldn't. My guitarist's amp is way to bloody loud as it is, last thing I need is it blasting me right in my lug 'oles. I'd let him put his amp under mine

[gafbass02]

I'm thinking of at backline only gigs having a bass cab and a guitar on either side of the stage for maximum and even spread, silly idea?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='gafbass02' post='1343561' date='Aug 17 2011, 02:20 PM']I'm thinking of at backline only gigs having a bass cab and a guitar on either side of the stage for maximum and even spread, silly idea?[/quote]
With guitar it would be OK, with bass you end up with cancellation effects that can result in less output and dispersion, not more. This explains why. What applies to PA subs also applies to bass cabs.
[url="http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/in_search_of_the_power_alley/"]http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/in_sear...he_power_alley/[/url]

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='1343508' date='Aug 17 2011, 06:48 PM']The problem is that they aren't. And if you're getting all the mids from a guitar cab at ear level you can't hear any of the mids from your cab down below waist level. The technical explanation is called Precedence Effect. It's tough enough to hear your mids with the cab down low and not tilted back, it's impossible with the mids from the guitar masking them.[/quote]

Fair point, but there's still plenty of bass to be able to hear what I'm playing, so my performance isn't affected.
The on-stage sound might not be the best but surely it's what the audience hears that is most important.

[gafbass02]

Cool, Cheers Bill. I thought that may be the case.

[OzzyGreg]

.
I built a rehearsal studio in the garage of the last house I owned.
We'd leave all of our gear in there and yes, I used to stack the guitarist's combo on top of my bass cabinet.
It wasn't that we were pressed for space, it was just that doing it made the space seem just that little bit bigger/nicer.

Sorry, totally off topic.......
I miss having that room. It was superbly insulated and so "dead", beautiful for recording. I was working in the construction industry and I sourced pretty much all of the materials from various site's leftovers and stuff over time. I think all I actually paid for was the door jamb and hinges.
It was even air conditioned! (Got that for free too!)

Greg

Edited August 20, 2011 by OzzyGreg

[EdwardHimself]

I've done this in my room before, since there is a lot of room on top of the bass amp and not a lot at the side. It's fine really.

[grenadilla]

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='1346376' date='Aug 20 2011, 01:53 PM']I've done this in my room before, since there is a lot of room on top of the bass amp and not a lot at the side. It's fine really.[/quote]

[grenadilla]

I had a Fender 412 (angled baffles Chris Squire model) on the other end of the stage for an extention cabinet. The guitar player wanted to put his Musicman combo on top to hear himself. The vibrations shook those old tubes bad. The amp was put on a chair next break!

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='grenadilla' post='1360635' date='Sep 3 2011, 01:59 AM']I had a Fender 412 (angled baffles Chris Squire model) on the other end of the stage for an extention cabinet. The guitar player wanted to put his Musicman combo on top to hear himself. The vibrations shook those old tubes bad. The amp was put on a chair next break![/quote]

I should have mentioned this was a line6 and not a tube amp lol

[Beer of the Bass]

It's also worth mentioning that reverb pans (usually mounted in the bottom of guitar combos) don't like being near power transformers - it makes them hum. Probably only a problem if the guitarist uses loads of reverb though.