When did separate "bedroom amp" and "gigging amp" become a thing?
- Thread starter 3-Chord-Genius
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bgmacaw
Poster Extraordinaire
When I lived in one I had a pull out couch for my bed. Since I usually left it pulled out, I had to make sure it was folded up before friends came over. I only had a couple of acoustic guitars at the time so an amp wasn't an issue.
Maps & Guitars
TDPRI Member
For me it's about a) disliking the consequenses of pissing off my wife, b) consideration for my neighbors and c) still wanting to get some air moving. For years my home rig (and still, tbh, my main recording rig at home) has been a Pod 2.0. For most recording and prac, it sounds FINE. But headphones are less fun, less satisfying, than sitting in a *room* with sound in it.
My gigging/ rehearsal amp resides at the practice space, which is in a different borough.
Prior to marriage, I was storing my amps higgledy-piggledy in my apartment, and prior to THAT there was also the ancestral family basement. And also then I was a cheez-eating kid who didn't know from tone and also did not have enough money for more than one bass amp and one guitar amp
Now I'm a cork-sniffing fiftysomething and I can get the amp I want.
My gigging/ rehearsal amp resides at the practice space, which is in a different borough.
Prior to marriage, I was storing my amps higgledy-piggledy in my apartment, and prior to THAT there was also the ancestral family basement. And also then I was a cheez-eating kid who didn't know from tone and also did not have enough money for more than one bass amp and one guitar amp
Now I'm a cork-sniffing fiftysomething and I can get the amp I want.
Muadzin
Tele-Meister
They may not live with mom or dad, but married men tend to have their hobbies and gear banished to some small bedroom, if they're lucky. They should really stop calling it bedroom amps and call them mancave amps.
Newsflash, the sound guy will decide what your guitar tone sounds like REGARDLESS of whether or not you brought a modeler or a real amp. Unless you're one of those guitar douches who absofragginlutely has to turn up his full Marshall stack to 11 EVERYWHERE. But those bands don't tend to be very popular with venues. Unless they manage to draw in a crowd. In which cause you hold a tea party on stage, as long as it draws in a guaranteed crowd you will be booked.
I use a modeler, I hate having a stage mix, it only causes unwanted feedback anyway. I always tell the sound guy to ditch the wedge in front of me as I want more space on stage. With wireless in-ear and wireless guitar I want room to move. Not be tied to my spot because that's the only place on stage where I can hear myself.
In today's society as a man you basically have to hand over your balls to the missus when you marry. Happy wife, happy life has crushed more male dreams and hobbies then having to work for a living.
Jjmatashi
TDPRI Member
Me. I am Dad, and I play in my bedroom, thanks!
Maps & Guitars
TDPRI Member
OH AND ALSO
When I was in high school, the practice amps I could get were *small* but they were also *****e* solid state harmonies and globals and the like.
The advent of the "bedroom level" amp is the advent of "small amplifier that actually sounds really good, also"
Sure, the little champs and princetons all existed, but unless you were lucky enough to see them and try them out in a used shop that *happened* to have one, it wasn't as easy to go looking for something as it is now.
And the guitar stores were all selling amps for musicians playing clubs with LOUSY sound systems, that couldn't be counted on to mic a small amp properly. You needed that twin or marshall 4x12 for your stage level because the PA wasn't going to do you any good at all. So the stores couldn't be counted on for having a whole lot of good, small amps on hand (unless they were pretty weird, oddball shops, which I didn't really encounter until my 20s.)
When I was in high school, the practice amps I could get were *small* but they were also *****e* solid state harmonies and globals and the like.
The advent of the "bedroom level" amp is the advent of "small amplifier that actually sounds really good, also"
Sure, the little champs and princetons all existed, but unless you were lucky enough to see them and try them out in a used shop that *happened* to have one, it wasn't as easy to go looking for something as it is now.
And the guitar stores were all selling amps for musicians playing clubs with LOUSY sound systems, that couldn't be counted on to mic a small amp properly. You needed that twin or marshall 4x12 for your stage level because the PA wasn't going to do you any good at all. So the stores couldn't be counted on for having a whole lot of good, small amps on hand (unless they were pretty weird, oddball shops, which I didn't really encounter until my 20s.)
Jimmythefish
TDPRI Member
When I became an adult.
My bedroom and gigging amp are the same one. H&K Tubemeister 18 - 18 watt tube head with built in attenuator and a built in Redbox to go straight to the board. At the full 18 watt setting, it's louder that I will ever need.
marymurrah
TDPRI Member
Not old or experienced enough to really answer this but I guess the main difference is pissing off your living partners / neighbors!
oregomike
Tele-Afflicted
I think the term "bedroom amp" is more of a marketing term and honestly, I have no idea who was the first to coined the term. You could very well call it a studio amp, as many recording artists/engineers like to use low wattage amps and mic them. Ideally for someone like me who plays quite a bit in his garage but also gigs, if I were to only have one map I'd have my 40w with an attenuator (think Tone King Ironman II).
OregonMike
: well I'm in Arizona where everybody is armed Maybe heavily-armed. And did my neighborhood while I did indeed soundproof my garage I am the band house. And we might be a little loud sometimes we're not crazy when I use a Marshall's or anyting music Tweed Deluxe most of the time enter volume with moderate. But in my neighborhood we're all Sinners no Saints. Usually the weekends there are mariachi bands going on at one of my neighbors homes so I'm not the loud guy in the neighborhood between Harley motorcycles my neighbor 70s pickup truck a little something bass for mariachi band I am not the loud guy in the neighborhood it's all good no one calls the cops everybody's happy and if you are wishing a neighbor to be a little quieter we simply asked. Try to go for a combination of respect and civility seems to be dying in America but I hear politically it might be making it come back next year
Don Rich Rules
Tele-Meister
When my wife doesn't want my Bogner 101B half stack in the bedroom.
That's when I brought out the old Princeton reverb
That's when I brought out the old Princeton reverb
bigjohnbates
Tele-Meister
Well I live on a boat so the "salon amp" is a Marshall MX30 (with a 10" greenback) and the recording/live amps are a pair of Fender Vibrolux or the Amplitube plugin on my DAW for writing. Of course I do have a tiny iRig with a 4" speaker that runs on batteries for "solos at sea" ...
JunebugJones
TDPRI Member
I think one simple answer to the question of why folks choose to have separate gigging and "bedroom" amps is because they can. In the '90s, when I was gigging in a small punk/rock band, I was a lot less knowledgeable about amps, had less money, and my ear and playing style didn't demand a wide range of tone. I hated my guitar amp, so I'd run my SS amp through an old PA speaker for a warmer tone. Cobbling together sound solutions wasn't perfect, but it worked for me. Since then, I've had the chance to play through some nicer amps, and the genres of music I play became more varied. I got rid of the cheap bass and guitar amps and upgraded to better pieces. I gig out these days with a Fender Twin, which stays in my practice space because it's heavy and bulky. For everyday use, I splurged on an old Fender Vibro Champ to use around the house and in my recording space, and I am absolutely in love with its tone. I bought a Roland Cube for outdoor jams because it's lightweight, battery-powered, and I don't mind it getting knocked around. I've found that when I have the right piece of gear for the situation at hand I tend to play more and feel more inspired.
3-Chord-Genius
Poster Extraordinaire
I'm understanding that some people need the "sustain, dynamics, rectifier sag", etc. at home when the only one hearing it is themselves; I guess that is probably the root of what I don't get. But if that's what people are into, I'm cool with that. I just know that for me, I just turn it down and as long as I can hear it, I'm good. Playing out, I know I'll have it louder and if that results in anything in the area of tone, that's great - but my main concern is being able to hear it. I only bought Marshalls because they looked awesome and guitar players are always trying to outdo each other...
bigjohnbates
Tele-Meister
It happens in Vancouver all the time, we're coming for your NYC prices and tiny spaces ; p My GF has a studio with guitars and cowboy hats on the walls - and a Fender Pro JR beside the couch. She says "Come over to mine" ...
I had a a Yamaha THR 10, gag! It sucked. I gave it to a friend for free. He sold it at a swap meet for peanuts. There are many better amps out there both big and small.
I live in a third floor condo. My amps range from twenty to 36 watts but can scale down. Been here 5 years, no complaints
I first started noticing it 30-35 years ago
