how much does the amp matter?

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cake1122

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when i record guitar the sound is bairly satisfactory. i close mic with a 57 and then use a 990 a few feet back. its always a combo solid state amp. crate, fender w.e im thinking the sound might be because of the amp. i dont think it sounds good comming out of it in the first place. so i am planning on buying an orange 15 what tube combo amp this weekend and just always use it for recording. only 120 bucks.......good idea??? or am i missing something?
 
DUDE!!! let me stop you before you waste money....there is no such thing as a 120$ orange 15 watt tube amp....I think your thinking of the orange 15 watt practice amp...(which is solid state) And not made in england...thats why it's 120$its a piece of crap made in china....dont get it. as far as your bad sound....you could have a bad micing technique or it could be because your using a crate amp...why dont you use direct input...if it still sound like crap then you know its not all your micing problems

P.S if you can find a 15 watt all tube orange amp...then show me how i will shit my pants for that
 
even crappy solid states can produce usable tones..... my advice..... tweak it as long as it takes to get the best possible tone, then try different mic possitioning. On smaller speakers, you can often get a better tone by not having the close mic kissing the grill cloth.
 
You didn't mention the guitar. The sound starts with your guitar and your hands. Then, yes, the amp. If the guitar itself isn't putting a good tone out, the best amp in the world probably won't help much.

After that, yes, the amp of course is very important. If you're getting a good tone out of the amp, then putting a '57 in front of it should start to sound good. Move it around to find the "sweet spot".

And don't be afraid to turn the amp up a bit. It doesn't have to be rattling the windows, but you want it to move some air. Once you get a good sound in the '57, then think about adding the room mic.

good luck.
 
sometimes it takes a good chunk of experimenting to find the right tone... That can be fun, or it can be a nightmare... If I'm not hearing it, I chuck it out the window...
 
wow thanks alot for telling me that would have sucked.....i dont think its the guitar because its a gibson s.g.....not the epiphone one either...( donno if that makes sense i dont play guitar at all) well i have mic placement down. i have recorded bands befor that use tube amps and it sound great. but the average band right now that i record has pretty crappy equipment thats why i was looking into getting a small tube amp to always have and use....are there any small tube amps that arent too expensive...?
 
Name some killer tube practice amps for this guy.

Epiphone Valve Juinor. very affordable, Chinese I'd wager, 1 12x7 and 1 el84 tube set up for sweet tone. buy the head and get a 1x12 cabinet for easy speaker swapping.

Tubes = tone karma.
 
It depends on what you mean by "not too expensive". And just because it's tube doesn't necessarily mean it sounds good. By the same token, solid state amps don't have to sound bad either.

If you're looking new at a tube amp for the studio, I'd look at one of these

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vox-AC15CC1-Custom-Classic-1x12-Tube-Amp?sku=482625

If you don't want to spend that kind of dough for an amp to keep around the studio for other schmucks to play on, look at one of these. Not tube, but I have one and it is a damn fine sounding little amp.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-AVT20X-20W-1x10-Combo-Amplifier?sku=482632
 
so i was looking and i came across a 15 what epiphone tube amp....only 300 bucks...what do u guys think about that. would that be atleast a desent in studio amp to have.
 
cake1122 said:
so i was looking and i came across a 15 what epiphone tube amp....only 300 bucks...what do u guys think about that. would that be atleast a desent in studio amp to have.
Click to expand...

It's the bigger brother of the 5 watt Valve Junior mentioned above. I have only played the junior model, not that one. 15 watts valve power is more than enough for studio use. The 5 watt Epiphone head through a 12' speaker would possibly be cheaper, yet also adequate.

Incidentally, I would definitely agree with gtrman_66's post. A solid state amp can be fine. The Marshall AVT series is fantastic, my brother's got the fifty watt version. If you're on an even tighter budget, I know people who use the Roland Microcube all the time.
 
32-20-Blues said:
It's the bigger brother of the 5 watt Valve Junior mentioned above. I have only played the junior model, not that one. 15 watts valve power is more than enough for studio use. The 5 watt Epiphone head through a 12' speaker would possibly be cheaper, yet also adequate.

Incidentally, I would definitely agree with gtrman_66's post. A solid state amp can be fine. The Marshall AVT series is fantastic, my brother's got the fifty watt version. If you're on an even tighter budget, I know people who use the Roland Microcube all the time.
Click to expand...


Man I never liked my AVT. I listen back to some songs and yeah it's better than an MG but it's still not a tube amp. I think I'd take the Epi VJ head and a nice cab over my old AVT anyday.
 
jonnyc said:
Man I never liked my AVT. I listen back to some songs and yeah it's better than an MG but it's still not a tube amp. I think I'd take the Epi VJ head and a nice cab over my old AVT anyday.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd agree that the Epi is better, but the AVT, even though it's just not tube, isn't bad for solid state.
 
I'll get shot for saying this, but buy a used POD 2.0. It will prove to be extremely worthwhile. When a band comes in with a shitty amp, which you can't always fix with mic placement, its extremely handy and can cover a wide range of styles if necessary. What I'll do is get the best sound I can with the amp they have, and track that along with a DI signal. You can go back and just reamp the track. Blend it with the original amp, some other amp models, amplitube etc., and you can end up with a pretty full sound. Even if you don't have a reamping box, the POD doesn't really mind the impedence of the signal it's seeing, since it's going to process the crap out of it anyway, just watch the levels going in.
 
In the hands of a good player, amp choice can have a huge impact on a track.

In the hands of an average player amp choice won't make a ton of difference.

Does the amp sound good in the room? Does it sound like the guitarist wants it to? They you *should* be able to get that sound to tape.

And its an interesting idea to get an amp for other people to record with... but then they have to figure out how to get *their* sound out of your amp. Again, that usually only works with the more experienced players- the ones that can make anything sound good.

I once had a great player revive my faith in an old Peavy Classic Chorus 212 I've had since I was 14. I thought it was a POS old amp that I bought when I didn't know any better and I could never get the sound I wanted out of it way back when. Jason got ahold of it for a few shows on the mainland where he needed an amp made the damn thing sing. OK, I'm humble now.

I couldn't believe it. Now I won't part with the amp for any money- and I use his technique of using the clean channel- which usually more shaping tools than the distorted channel- and balancing the settings on the overdrive pedal and the amp to get a good clean and distorted sound out of that one channel. Turns out its just the distorted channel that sucks. And my ability to coax a good sound out of the amp...

-C
 
Hey cake1122, sounds to me like you have a phase cancellation problem because of the use of two microphones placed improperly. Can you get a more satisfactory tone with the use of only one microphone?
 
amp's

i use 2 marshall mg's ...... solid state....... playing live or recording..... i love the sound i get clean or overdrive ...... i use verry few effects... cry baby and a delay.. i belive you can get great tone from a ss amp .... but thats just me :D
 
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