Metropoulos Forum

There's a discussion over at the gear page about getting a good live tone.
A lot of people are suggesting tilting your cab or speakers to avoid the direct beam to the audience.
Also it's mentioned that you should be shaping your tone this way too but I rarely see tilted amps or cabs.
I wonder if part of this is because alot of performances are with full PA so the audience and band are getting their levels from a controlled source and there's no need to avoid beaming.

But my question is when shaping your tone, do you focus on the beamed sound coming directly from the speakers or from the wash or all over? For me having the your speakers at ear level always sounds crappy. I always angle my cab horizontally (45 degrees)so no one gets the beam or the least amount of people do.
So when you guys are shaping your tone do you check it from all angles?

Ever since I put in some homemade beam blockers in my 1960bhw,I haven't had that problem. As a matter of fact it sounds the best standing in front of it.

Tenderfoot wrote:Ever since I put in some homemade beam blockers in my 1960bhw,I haven't had that problem. As a matter of fact it sounds the best standing in front of it.

The foam donuts?
I tried 2 different density's and couldn't tell much of a difference.

I would have to search to find the density I used, but I ended up using the donut "hole" about four or five in. across.

Tenderfoot wrote:I would have to search to find the density I used, but I ended up using the donut "hole" about four or five in. across.

4-5 inch donut hole?

I had read a long article where someone used a certain type of foam cut to the size of the speaker, cut a soup can size hole in the middle and got great results. I used the same density he used and even ordered it from the same manufacturer( McMasters in Atlanta I think). It cut too much of the highs for me so I used the cutout instead and got great results.

kool thread.
Is your question for a Live full stack or half stack ?
There are multiple options for this I can list, but I'm not sure what Cab "Tilting" and shaping your tone means

JimiJames wrote:kool thread.
Is your question for a Live full stack or half stack ?
There are multiple options for this I can list, but I'm not sure what Cab "Tilting" and shaping your tone means

1-4x12 cab.
You know how the old Fender amps had the 2 legs attached to the sides so you could lean your amp back to a 45 degree angle and have your speakers facing upwards towards your head? That's what I mean by tilting.

Some guys like their speakers facing upwards towards their head so they can hear themselves more onstage. Compare that to having the speakers being directed at knee/waist level.

As far as tone shaping goes, because the tone changes depending on where you stand in relation to your cab, which would be the most accurate place to judge your tone. Standing to the side of your speakers tends to have more bottom end but the low end seems to go away when you stand in front. That kind of thing.

So more for you, than live audience... but both
yea...even Leo took that into consideration with tilting.

I think this deals more about frequencies being added or lost.


Saw these...?


Andy Timmons uses these and says they're great for his sound

ex.


I see more & more with plexiglass in front of rigs, and lately with drummers.
I've been doing that for a while now and seems to have the best results.
The sound plumes around the room, is less beamy and is more consistent in sound.
Different from the "open back" designs. I like this also, because I can turn up a notch, or not have to turn down.

Having your cab on the floor or on casters is also a "tone shaper"

JimiJames wrote:So more for you, than live audience... but both

I actually never like the speakers tilted as I hate the direct sound, I prefer my sound to appear as if it's coming far away.
My main concern is for small clubs, I don't want to punish the front row.

What are the specs on that plexi-glass?

I found this kit at GC for super cheap because they couldn't sell it to the kiddies....
I think it's made by ClearSonic same company that Joe Bonamassa uses.

FL6 wrote:I prefer my sound to appear as if it's coming far away.
My main concern is for small clubs, I don't want to punish the front row.

I hear ya ! This is an area of interest for me as I want the best tone I possibly can when playing live. It has to sound right or "I'm just not feelin' it, man."
For an open mic I used to take the combo and face it towards the side or back wall which meant I could keep a good level volume without much sacrifice to both audience and my comfort zone.
Experimenting, I built one of these:

for a small combo and that seem to work better as it had the angle and whatever freq's I was loosing out the openback were being thrown forward. Making my tone sound thicker/fatter and keeping a decent level volume, but that was good for certain gig's.

The plexi shield was the best choice to cover all the bases. It's not such an eye-sore whether and you don't have to change anything ! Easily see why the Heavies use these

It's comes with me like an effects pedal....


...yes... the room smells like it looks...

beam blockers....
If they were a removable concept... perhaps
I don't wanna' be locked in.

I just place a spare guitar right in front of the cab and also try to stand in front of the cab, guitar and my legs are between the cab and audience. That's more than enough blocking IME.
A male body (didn't try it with a female ) in front of a 4x12 cab attenuates up to 3 db's according to my experiments

There' s another cool trick - during the solo just take one step to the left or right and there's an instant 3 db's volume boost in the audience