Dani Pace said:
The best blues tones that I've heard come from small tube amps, cranked up. If you need more volume either mic them or line out to a bigger amp. Another thing about playing blues is finger picking, I once heard an old black dude named Willie something say, "I started learning to play the blues after I threw away all my picks." He did this on the advice of Muddy Waters.
All of Dani's post is great advice. That being said, in some cases it isn't practical to mic a cranked small amp. Especially if you need clean headroom in addition to the cranked sound. A pedal like
the Xotic RC Booster can be the next best thing.
Another possible problem with the miced amp approach is that it can be tough to have a blended sound if other instruments aren't miced or the PA is at it's limits just trying to handle the vocals. It can be difficult to keep the guitar and vocals from masking each other while mixing a recording. It's more of a challenge to do it live when you don't have a soundman (or an experienced soundman.)
To beat this further beyond the intent of the original post, one of the great joys (for me) of live music in a small venue (club, rehearsal space, basement, etc.) is a great balance between the instruments and vocals. I like to compare it to a great conversation between people sitting around a living room. The contrast of center of direction helps to understand who is saying what in natural surround sound. It would be a different experience if everyone had a mic in front of them and their voices were coming from one or two speakers located in a particular spot in the room.
Likewise, if every musician is responsible for their small area in the soundstage and play to blend with the other musicians who are responsible for their own areas of the soundstage it can be a fulfilling experience.
I know my post here is a tangent from the original post but the course of the thread got me to thinking about how a guitar sound fits into a live situation. A little morning caffeine came into play here, too! Of course, some people aren't interested in this approach, and they should play the way that makes them the most happy.
