Not used to being so loud on stage... No one can hear me though.

[Scotty 2]

If every musican could and would get this ONE thing in their brain.And believe it
and do it, life would be much better and more fun as a band member.That ONE thing
is:: MAKE THE VOCALS SOUND GOOD!!! It's not about the lead guitarist,it's not
about the keyboard,it's not about any one band member,,it's about the band as
a musical unit,working together to MAKE THE VOCALS SOUND GOOD!! OH,,you
don't believe me.Well then,just go on and do your own thing.See how long you
last in a dedicated band..The reason I can say this is because,,,,,,I did my own
thing ,,,,,,,,,,,,for a while.

[JayDee]

Do not ruin your ears just because someone else wants to ruin his. Wear earplugs if you get stuck in a situation that's painful. No, it's not cool, but it's smart.
We had an "equipment issue" this past Saturday at a gig. It was the perfect opportunity to tell the group that we're going to have to play quieter. Everyone played better that night because they had to listen instead of thrash and bang.

[Old Cane]

You for sure want to mic the amp. Then it is the sound man's issue.

Not all of us po' folks use soundmen.

I think a lot of you are missing the part where he seems happy with his stage volume. Since you say you are using a soundman, get another soundman. This guy doesn't like you and turning, tilting, stooping, standing on your head is not going to change that. He's deliberately not turning you up. Find out why and fix that, usually a good fix is "you're fired".

[rangercaster]

Perhaps you should alter Your tone so that it cuts through the mix better.

simply, each instrument and any vocal occupy a specific part of the tonal spectrum ... if more than one try to occupy the same space at the same time, there is a cancelling effect ...

[Toto'sDad]

Earplugs, uh, they go IN you EARS.

[fender4life]

It's simply a balancing act. Where you stand in relation to your speaker must give you a volume level you are comfortable with that is also correct to the audience's ear. You can adjust that balance by where you stand, whether the speakers are up high or low. i hated micing because it never sounded near as good as my rig. So i would go into the audience with a wireless and see how it sounded there. If it was too soft i'd turn the amp up a bit and try and situate it in a place that wasn't as loud to me where i was standing. This isn't something i did one time. It was something i did over the years and got good at over time to the point i knew just where to stand in relation to may amp or visa versa,

But more than that balancing act, this is what i found most important over the years. Mids are the key, as is a open back cab. (i use combos) Without a healthy portion of good sounding mids the sound can be loud as heck to you or parts of the audience yet quiet to various points in the room because the mids aren't affected by room acoustics like highs and lows are. For me, mids and a open back cab were the key to a sound that was least affected by room acoustics and the other instruments. After that it was easy to do the balancing act i mentioned. Neutralizing the bad effects of room acoustics is the #1 key. Once you nail that balancing what you hear to jive with what the audience does is easy.

[fezz parka]

Question: Is the whole band louder? Who is loudest?

[lespaul_79]

Wow, who knew this would be such a great topic! And all of y'all responding in the middle of the day!

Well, a quick response before I get back to work....

I dont think anyone is overly..... loud. I hear myself fine, but the amp is usually behind me. So ear plugs are an interesting thought.

I'll digest more of your great feedback tonight. Gotta get back to work now. Thanks!!

[Cymro14]

Take it from me. Earplugs are a must. Look at the number of bands on TV these days that use earplugs....90+%. All you young players out there who think you're invincible will have a big time coming down to earth with hearing problems and tinnitus in later years. Do it now.

[Jack S]

Originally Posted by Old Cane

You for sure want to mic the amp. Then it is the sound man's issue.

Not all of us po' folks use soundmen.

I think a lot of you are missing the part where he seems happy with his stage volume. Since you say you are using a soundman, get another soundman. This guy doesn't like you and turning, tilting, stooping, standing on your head is not going to change that. He's deliberately not turning you up. Find out why and fix that, usually a good fix is "you're fired".

He mentioned that he might need to do a line out to the board. I took it to mean that there is no mic on his amp, so the volume is dictated by his amp alone. That is why the suggestion to mic it and allow the sound guy to adjust things. If he isn't mic'd the sound guy has no control over his volume.

[Mad Kiwi]

I think EQ is part of your problem. Your not cutting through properly. Don't forget that practice and a sound check (if you get one) is for setting eq and balance for the band as a whole too...

However, if you have a soundman then no matter what you do to your amp, he can stop it from happening out front. I think the band need to tell him, they and the audience can't hear you. Otherwise he may think it's just another lead guitar w-----r complaining of being too quiet, just like he's heard a million times before....

Find out if he has you maxed out on the board, if he doesn't, well then you have your answer....

[Mad Kiwi]

As Jack says, you need to mic the amp if your not.....

[lespaul_79]

Y'all rock....

So I dont always mic my amp. Depends if we have a sound guy. (perhaps I should if there's room in the PA)

Saturday night, we had no sound guy and my amp was not mic'd.
Sunday night, my amp was mic'd and we had a sound guy.

Depends on the gig. Sometimes we use a house PA, sometimes we have our own PA, sometimes there's a sound guy, etc, etc.

[Rich_S]

Guitars amps tend to be fairly directional, that is, if you're standing in front of it (especially if you have it raised to tilted to point at your head), then you're going to hear it and others (band members or audience) who are standing to the side won't. Putting your amp on the side of the stage pointing across will help the band hear you, but make it worse for the audience. Micing the amp through the PA (whether under control of a soundman, or just set-it-and-forget-it) will help spread the sound around so more people can hear you. You may not need more volume, just better spread and coverage.

That said, you're Classic 30 (I'm assuming it's a combo amp) is less of a problem directionality-wise than many amps. Marshall cabs (and other closed-back quad boxes are the worst in this regard).

As some one who both plays guitar and mixes sound (occasionally both at the same time) I'll say that having the band sound good out front is the most important thing. Having you guitar sound good to you is the other most important thing. You need both. I say, keep doing what you're doing - point the amp, at yourself, or close to it. Move it around as much as you can to satisfy the band. Always mic the amp. If the audience can't hear you, put it in the PA, whether you have a soundman actively mixing you or not.

[mrboson]

Most of the responses in this thread seem to be centered around trying to get the right volume cutting through the mix. But to the OP: I agree with the few responses that have to do with your switch from an acoustic to an electric. I would bet the your rig can get plenty loud enough on its own, but you probably are not used to hearing all that sound coming at you at gig volumes. Like you said, just touch the strings while your amp is up, pedals engaged, volume pedal down, guitar volume maxed (because you are about to lay down a killer solo). You hear the noise, you are not used to it (coming from an acoustic background) it makes you think you are too loud so you set your rig volume lower and play quieter.

The good news is, you'll get used to it, and eventually your problem will be the opposite!

[JCSouthpawtele]

Tilt back legs points it toward your ears. Buy a Shure sm57 and point it slightly off axis. Not in the middle of the cone or too far to the edge of the cone. Cut some of the lows at the mixer and add it to taste for the mix. Read my tutorial on mixing from stage. Find it in threads I posted. Jcsouthpawtele.

[elmicko]

I was running sound for a friends band a few years ago and I kept getting told the guitar was lost in the mix. I kept telling them it was there because I was hearing it loud and clear from the sound booth in the back of the room. Finally out of frustration I walked out to the middle of the audience and sure enough the guitar was lost. I had to mix the guitar to where it sounded (from the booth) like it was blowing everything else away. I had mixes in that club before with no issues, it was just that amp.

Moral of the story: Listen to what the audience hears if you want the truth about how you sound.

[lespaul_79]

Thanks good people. Very helpful tips here.

[KC]

This is why I turned to playing Voxy amps onstage: the sound profile they put out will cut through any mix, even at reasonable volumes. The classic band problem is that everything piles up in the mids, where the vocals are, and it gets indistinct and muddy. AC30 with a gold in it seems to shift the emphasis to the high mids and the highs. You can get a nice bright sound that doesn't compete with the vocals but is still present in the mix.

A long-winded way of saying you might try screwing around with the tone controls. Also maybe ditch the dynacomp for now. My experience has been that it's very hard to keep that compressed guitar signal in the mix. It just seems to disappear.

[chezdeluxe]

Here is an idea. Leave your amp on the floor, untilted, stand as close to it as you can with the amp directly behind you and turn it up. I bet it starts to appear louder to you as you start to move a few feet in front of it and the volume reduces as you back up to it. Let the sound blast out around your legs at the audience while your ears remain a few feet higher and off axis.