Can I make my rig louder without a new head?

[Discount Saint]

My guitar player has the opposite problem - he's playing through a Mesa Triple Recto and a 4x12 and can't seem to cut through..

 

[greenboy]

...but watch out.....certain notes will sound ungodly loud and boomy while others sound weak or less prominent.

Corner loading treats lower frequencies pretty much equally. It's room effects - reinforcements and cancellations at various frequencies at various listening positions - that sometimes causes a great jagged disparity in note prominence.

 

[Nick Kay]

...but watch out.....certain notes will sound ungodly loud and boomy while others sound weak or less prominent.

Of course, you could just calculate which frequency the coupling cuts off at by measuring the distance to the boundary, multiplying it by four, and dividing the speed of sound by it. To make it easier, convert to metres and approximate speed of sound to 340 m/s. This will give you the corner frequency of coupling in Hz, so you can just throw a shelving low EQ to shave 6dB off of everything below that frequency, which means you can turn the rest of your amp up louder.

THAT'S free watts.

Some notes sounding much more prominent than others is just a fact of life when you don't play in anechoic chambers regularly. There are ways to deal with it, though.

My guitar player has the opposite problem - he's playing through a Mesa Triple Recto and a 4x12 and can't seem to cut through..

This is a bit of a thread hijack, but your average guitar player has no idea how to EQ a Recto. Try bass at 9 o'clock, mids at 3 o'clock, treble at 9 o'clock, presence at 3 o'clock, and gain less than noon. It looks funky, but it gets rid of the fizzy high-end and puts some really beefy, roaring mids into the mix.

 

[greenboy]

Of course, you could just calculate which frequency the coupling cuts off at by measuring the distance to the boundary, multiplying it by four, and dividing the speed of light by it. To make it easier, convert to metres and approximate speed of light to 300 million m/s.

I know you just brain-farted; it's speed of SOUND you meant. 1130 ft per sec or thereabout, depending on elevation, humidity.

 

[PSPookie]

Of course, you could just calculate which frequency the coupling cuts off at by measuring the distance to the boundary, multiplying it by four, and dividing the speed of light by it. To make it easier, convert to metres and approximate speed of light to 300 million m/s. This will give you the corner frequency of coupling in Hz, so you can just throw a shelving low EQ to shave 6dB off of everything below that frequency, which means you can turn the rest of your amp up louder.

THAT'S free watts.

Some notes sounding much more prominent than others is just a fact of life when you don't play in anechoic chambers regularly. There are ways to deal with it, though.

OK, but what the heck does the speed of light have to do with this situation?

 

[greenboy]

OK, but what the heck does the speed of light have to do with this situation?

It means you can see your EQ knobs faster ; }

 

[Discount Saint]

Thanks Nick Kay, I'll get him to do that next practice and see how it sounds!

 

[Pilgrim]

Hey Greenboy, thanks for clarification on the increase in actual sound level caused by the proximity effect. Good to know!

And as for the speed of light, there's nothing like checkin' out the audience for good "knobs".

 

[OtterOnBass]

Actually the 55'-wide headphones was my example - I used it on a mailing list and other forums long before I imported it to tb (yes, these types of audio myth debates never get entirely go away and have been around forever!); Bill just borrowed it ; }

Thanks for the great example, I heard it misquoted then. From now on I'll say, as green boy says ...

 

[Korladis]

One 2x10 cab just isn't enough in most full bands. You need more speaker area. Plus, 2x10's tend to not be able to handle a lot bass on their own forcing you to cut the bass to get more volume. I'd recommend the a 1x15 cab. You will honestly find that a 1x15 stands alone better than a 2x10 if the 1x15 can handle the power. I use 1x15 for live and practice in both of my bands. Both bands are louder rock bands. My cab is rated at 600 watts though.

For quite a while my 115 was my only cab. Then I added a 210 and my setup was perfect (for its size; my ultimate rig would be four times as large). I still view the 115 as the main cab and the 210 as the "extension" though.

 

[greenboy]

Thanks for the great example, I heard it misquoted then. From now on I'll say, as green boy says ...

Hopefully it's an example we all get, and can use. It certainly illustrates the absurdity of believing that "it takes bass waves n feet to fully develop".