Gig on saturday what amp would you use

billando

Pub gig unmiced on saturday with 5 piece rock band. Drummer medium hitter, other guitarist uses orange ad30. No need for clean sounds. What would you use from the following options and why?

Marshall jcm 800 50w combo 4010 with single G12m70 speaker - Used this for last two pub gigs (we mainly play unmiced pub gigs). Sounds really good but only can get the master volume to 1.5/10 as this gets real loud real quick

Marshall jcm 900 dual reverb 100w combo with half power switch option (pentode to triode). This has two G12T75 speakers. I have also gigged with this amp before with varying results.

Vox ac15 master volume with alnico blue speaker - Havent gigged with this yet.....being able to push this amp may sound better than the bigger amps at lower volume....or may get lost a bit..

Marshall valvestate 8080 combo with G12T75 speaker - Doesnt have a valve power stage which may be a good thing for lower volume gigs...i have gigged with this before...very reliable.

slacker

If you can dictate stage volume or the other guitarist doesn't start volume wars ac15 all the way. If there's any doubt take the 800. All imho of course.

welshboyo

For me, smaller amp turned up is a no no - they just sound shouty IMO.

800 all the way - you know it, you know how it performs at a gig - you say it sounds really good - complete no brainer

ChrisCox1994

800 all day, those 50w combos are perfect

slacker

welshboyo said:

For me, smaller amp turned up is a no no - they just sound shouty IMO.

800 all the way - you know it, you know how it performs at a gig - you say it sounds really good - complete no brainer

There's a sweet spot at the point of breakup where a small amp can sound glorious without deafening people. However last band I auditioned for my Morgan sounded like Motorhead, unfortunately we were playing Beatles songs. 

billando

Thanks for the input so far. 

When i say i dont need clean thats not entirely true. There are only 3 songs we have clean so i just use a different amp for those if im using the jcm 800. I know i could use the low sensitivity input of the jcm 800 but the volume pot is so sensitive i dont want to risk not being able to put it back exactly where it was and ruining the band levels. So options would likely be jcm 800 for driven sounds on top of the jcm 900 for clean on the normal channel.....or just use the jcm 900 for driven sounds on lead channel and also for clean sounds thus not needing the jcm 800...

Although both of these amps will sound good isnt there something to be said about using the vox ac15 which will be more into the sweet spot at this volumes? Or will it get drowned out by the ad30 and drums?

gatheredinsong

It seems like you want to try the AC15. How important is sounding great at this gig? Will it jeopardise future gigs at the venue? Piss off bandmates? Are people paying to see you or are you just background noise anyway? (sorry if that sounds harsh!) 

If it's not a big gamble then I say experiment - at least you'll know for next time  

billando

How important is it to sound great?.....Absolutely important. I play lead guitar in my band, its my hobby and my passion, i watch endless youtube vids and look at forums to try and get the best possible tips to get the best sounds possible...and i have went through countless amps and attenuatots in the past. People are not paying to see us but we get a great reception when we play normally.

The day i lose interest in my gear or settings or how we are perceived as a band is the day i will stop playing. I would imagine most people on here will share the enthusiasm i do being a guitar forum haha.

I maybe will try it at sound check on sat....one way to find out right?

hywelg

800. No brainer. 

Run it cleanish with a boost for solos and a drive pedal for crunch. Guitar volume for the rest. 

monquixote

I wouldn't play a small amp that you need to be in the sweetspot for unmiced gigs it's a total pain in the arse.

Depending on the venue you are going to get too much or not enough compression and have to tweak all your pedals accordingly.

Miced up is fine you just set it how it needs to be and lean on the PA.

paulphoenix

Rehearsals are for experimenting with different set ups. 

Stick to what you know for gigs - go with the 50W JCM 800. Unless there were problems against the Orange last gig? in which case would it be wise to consider the type of guitar he/you play also? 

Roland

paulphoenix said:

... Stick to what you know for gigs - go with the 50W JCM 800...

This. You’re being paid to perform, so stick with what you know works

billando

paulphoenix said:

Rehearsals are for experimenting with different set ups. 

Stick to what you know for gigs - go with the 50W JCM 800. Unless there were problems against the Orange last gig? in which case would it be wise to consider the type of guitar he/you play also? 

Our rehersal room is a small box where we have no option other than to set up in a circle which has no real resemblance to a more open space of a gig where we are facing the same direction so we have to have a degree of experimenting at gigs. I agree though it will probably be the jcm 800 solely because the 800 is more thicker when competing with the AD30 than the jcm 900

CaseOfAce

slacker said:

If you can dictate stage volume or the other guitarist doesn't start volume wars ac15 all the way. If there's any doubt take the 800. All imho of course.

this. I've used an AC15 for pub gigs with a powerful drummer and it was more than loud enough.
But I was the only guitarist.
So I guess the JCM800 and see what happens with the other guitarist. You'll soon know of course if you see the bar staff
screaming at the punters to repeat their orders!

hollywoodrox

Sounds like the JCM 800. Or the valvestate which you say you have gigged reliably before .
  Be fun to try the vox if other guitar uses Marshall 

billando

Ha the volume at our unmiced pub gigs is totally dictated by the drums volume....the only thing without a volume knob ha.

Yes the drums could be played quieter but this quickly gets forgotten....so i dont like drummers playing anything than their normal volume

jdgm

Use the unexciting reliable one which you know will work because it always does.

billando

In our last gig i used the jcm 800 and the valvestate for cleans...worked well and the 800 was a good fit atop the valvestate for lack of room. Ill likely do this again as the valvestate is also a capable backup for driven tones if the 800 goes wrong.

The valvestate doesnt have the punch of the 800 i have noticed when listening back to gigs...it does the job...just...when unmiced. In the practice room it has plenty volume/punch...for a gig it just has enough. Thats an example of how you cant always experiment at rehersal.

Throw into the mix attenuators....i used to have a marshall bluesbreaker 30w which needed an attenuator not having a master volume. The lack of punch due to attenuating meant it got buried in our mix...also if i use the attenuator with the jcm 800 or 900 the same happens....yes the valve opens up more but in my experience they sound more punchy and better using the master volume lower than using an attenuator

ICBM

You've already answered your own question .

Yes, I would use the JCM800 and take the Valvestate as a backup if you don't have a more convenient option. (Also will help out the other guitarist if he doesn't have a backup - you'd need to be really unlucky to have both amps go down at the same gig.)

If you're unmic'ed or the PA is questionable, always take more power than you might need not less - but the 800 is still smaller and lighter than the 900.

It's what works for you that matters - regardless of popular wisdom that amps need to be 'opened up' more.

How are you finding the G12M-70 compared the G12-65? It should be a bit duller or softer-sounding, but with that amp it's not necessarily a bad thing.

billando

As you know ICBM i had the 4010 with the 65 previously now have a 4010 with the 70. I had heard bad things about the 70 but tbh i think this amp sounds great with it.  

ICBM

billando said:

As you know ICBM i had the 4010 with the 65 previously now have a 4010 with the 70. I had heard bad things about the 70 but tbh i think this amp sounds great with it.

The 70 is notoriously a bit dull, soft, or muddy sounding, and not generally popular... but the 4010 has a tendency to be bright, hard and shrill - so they may well be a perfect match. If it sounds good, it is good.

The guitarist in my band has a Marshall cab which he had a Heritage G12H-30 and Greenback in - a classic combination of two great speakers. But he always felt the Greenback sounded a bit fuzzy/buzzy at the top end - so when we came across an old Laney cab with a G12L-35, I suggested we tried it instead. The L35 is not a highly regarded speaker at all, in fact it’s usually thought to be total junk! It’s rather dull, and not very efficient.

But guess what... he much prefers it. The cab sounds slightly softer and the buzzy top-end is gone. That doesn’t mean the Greenback is a bad speaker, just that it doesn’t quite ‘fit’ with his amp - a Laney LA30BL - as well.

Trust your ears .