The majority of my gigs are outside on wood stages or concrete. I have a Hartke 4x10XL and have been thinking about getting a Gramma to try out.
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Auralex Gramma: Worth the money, or worthless?
- Thread starter engedi1
- Start date
I have used one for about 10 years and it is the best thing I own. On a hollow stage it works the best at taking out the overdriving low tones.
And on the ground I use it to get my amp up off the ground.
As with American express, I won't leave home without it.
And on the ground I use it to get my amp up off the ground.
As with American express, I won't leave home without it.
Well said, Lenny. It's also useful in my home studio, which has a "floating" wood floor pieced together on top of a 3/4" plywood sub-floor and concrete underneath. Helps decouple the vibrations that otherwise go straight into my room's wall joists and framing.
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Burwabit
Likes guitars that tune good and firm feelin women
After reigniting gas for a Gramma from a thread about amp stands, I came across this thread. Read the whole thing, which confirmed that I NEED it (gas talking). Now I have a Gramma v2 on it's way. This one will pair up with my CN212, which usually sits right on the stage.
I didn't know if I should get old style Gramma or Gramma v2, but I went with the new and improved.
I didn't know if I should get old style Gramma or Gramma v2, but I went with the new and improved.
I was looking through the live sound section and saw this thread was still alive.
I don't doubt that a Gramma pad type device does help mechanically (and somewhat acoustically) decouple cabs from wooden and/or hollow stages. My issue is the cost (what can I say, I am a cheap b**tard). If you have a materials shop anywhere near, you can basically replicate the Gramma pad by taking 2 pieces of foam with 2 different densities and composition, ie. closed cell urethane and poly olefin, and gluing them together with spray craft glue, and you will get pretty much the same effect as a Gramma pad. Doing it this way will save about %50 of the cost of a Gramma, you can size it any way you want and the foam almost all comes in stylish black/dark grey.
I have done this for cabs as well as to isolate tube heads on top of vibrating cabs.
enjoy!
I don't doubt that a Gramma pad type device does help mechanically (and somewhat acoustically) decouple cabs from wooden and/or hollow stages. My issue is the cost (what can I say, I am a cheap b**tard). If you have a materials shop anywhere near, you can basically replicate the Gramma pad by taking 2 pieces of foam with 2 different densities and composition, ie. closed cell urethane and poly olefin, and gluing them together with spray craft glue, and you will get pretty much the same effect as a Gramma pad. Doing it this way will save about %50 of the cost of a Gramma, you can size it any way you want and the foam almost all comes in stylish black/dark grey.
I have done this for cabs as well as to isolate tube heads on top of vibrating cabs.
enjoy!
You are absolutely correct - You are a cheap B&^(&_(tard and I am a lazy B(^((+tard - So I bought one. Either way it works. LOL
s'all good brother, just saying that there are other ways to get the same thing done and cheaper.
s'all good brother, just saying that there are other ways to get the same thing done and cheaper.
Yes I know
It is funny, my friend said the same thing and he built his almost the exact way you described, and it works great.
I showed him your post and he laughed and said, "there is always another way to get there."
I just used a graphic EQ and an app with a pink noise generator and spectrum analyzer to identify the problem fequencies and tame them at a gig with an elevated plywood floor off of a concrete floor.
Could you versically stack a couple of 2x10s on a Baby Gramma if the Gramma is slightly smaller than the cab? The 15" dimension of the smaller two Grammas would mean I'd have to get the too-big XL size for it to be bigger in both dimensions. Or would my idea be tippy?
I got one of these. As others have said, good for decoupling from a thin floor/stage, good for putting between amp and head. Sound-wise, a HPF that cuts subsonics makes a much bigger difference in taming boomyness.
Tell me more about that...cool idea. I think..because I have no idea what you're talking about
Easy, and relatively cheap to do, or expensive to do, depending on how you like to spend your money on gear. I use my iPhone to run a pink-noise generator out of it into my amp's S/R return. You can also use specifically-made outboard gear to do this. I then use an inexpensive RTA mic placed at the area I am most likely to occupy all night to read the levels generated by the iPhone and send them into an analyzer. I adjust the EQ to get a flat response, which eliminates peaks and valleys in the area where I am going to be standing. You can also use your iPhone and an analyzer app to read the generated pink noise as well, and you'll get pretty close. Moving your measurement location to the dancefloor instead of where you are at would work in cases where you don't have PA support for your bass.
I A/B'd the two (iPhone and RTA mic) and the RTA was slightly more accurate, and I could kinda hear it but it wasn't a big enough difference for me to think that in a pinch, an iPhone wouldn't work.
Regardless, it made a boomy stage into a nice place to hear my bass. I spent most of the night parked there enjoying the basswash.
I A/B'd the two (iPhone and RTA mic) and the RTA was slightly more accurate, and I could kinda hear it but it wasn't a big enough difference for me to think that in a pinch, an iPhone wouldn't work.
Regardless, it made a boomy stage into a nice place to hear my bass. I spent most of the night parked there enjoying the basswash.
Thanks for this info all. I got the Gramma Pad to fix a boomy stage. Worked really well.
I used the Gramma Pad for years on stage. It was part of my normal setup. I use it at home now as I have wood floors. It makes a huge difference. I had the radiator, windows, and doors rattling in my house and I remembered I had the Gramma Pad in the basement. I stuck it under my cabinet and all the rattling stopped and my sound is more focused.
Well the old thread is awake.
14 years ago I wrote in this thread. Still have the same gramma pad and two additional ones. Works great at home and on gigs. Highly recommended.
14 years ago I wrote in this thread. Still have the same gramma pad and two additional ones. Works great at home and on gigs. Highly recommended.
