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.
Comments
800 all the way - you know it, you know how it performs at a gig - you say it sounds really good - complete no brainer
PA Hire and Event Management
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?
If it's not a big gamble then I say experiment - at least you'll know for next time
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?
Run it cleanish with a boost for solos and a drive pedal for crunch. Guitar volume for the rest.
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?
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!
Be fun to try the vox if other guitar uses Marshall
Yes the drums could be played quieter but this quickly gets forgotten....so i dont like drummers playing anything than their normal volume
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
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.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
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 .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein