A few weeks we were playing in a community outdoor gig. There were several bands there and a few other bassists used my Acoustic B200 combo amp. It has casters. This one particular seasoned bass player; when it came his time, he turned the amp on its side. I meant to ask him if it made a sound difference but I got pre-occupied. Does anyone know why he would have done this. I was not on stage when he was playing so I couldnt tell. The amp was just used for on stage monitoring. I direct out with a GT "Brick" Preamp to the house.
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Combo Amp on its side
- Thread starter bass.strings
- Start date
I don't know why he would have done this. The only thing I can think of would be to get more of the cabinet in contact with the stage.
Frankly if that had been my amp it would have kind of hacked me off cause I'm pretty sure they're not designed to operate in that configuration. Did he at least ask you first?
Anyway... when I transport my combo (Line6 LowDown 150), I do usually ride it on its side but that's because it's a kickback style form factor so it tips over pretty easily when it's transported upright. But I would never turn it on its side while it was plugged in and powered on.
Frankly if that had been my amp it would have kind of hacked me off cause I'm pretty sure they're not designed to operate in that configuration. Did he at least ask you first?
Anyway... when I transport my combo (Line6 LowDown 150), I do usually ride it on its side but that's because it's a kickback style form factor so it tips over pretty easily when it's transported upright. But I would never turn it on its side while it was plugged in and powered on.
That's what I was thinking to & no, he never said anything. Just got his bass and left afterwards.
He could have done it for the Floor effect; getting bass reflection from the floor, or just not trusting casters in general (they can rattle, resonate, roll away on ya...)
you could hang that amp upside down, and it would still operate, by the way...
If you try this, and it ends up burning the house down, I'd recommend returning the charred remains back to GC for a refund
you could hang that amp upside down, and it would still operate, by the way...
If you try this, and it ends up burning the house down, I'd recommend returning the charred remains back to GC for a refund
Very rare that I've heard of anyone wanting to get a combo amp closer to the floor. If anything people try to get them elevated (or at least tilt them back), so they are firing closer to your ear level and you can get the volume you need without turning up so much. In fact that's the whole principle behind the "kickback" form factor.
But different strokes for different folks I guess.
Another thought is that in the OP's case, if the bass was not going through the P.A. (or the P.A. was under-equipped to carry the bass being put through it), then maybe the guy was trying to beef up the bass in the house by gettting more coupling with the stage. Which would be a sound strategy if it were a typical "hollow box" stage in a storefront bar. But being this was a "community outdoor festival" then the stage was probably a flatbed trailer 3 to 4 feet off the ground -- in which case tipping a bass amp on its side would not affect the FOH sound one iota and would only marginally increase whatever bass was being felt onstage.
My best guess is that that is what the bassist in question does with HIS amp and so he just presumed to do it with somebody else's as well. Which may not be a problem in and of itself but he should have at least had the courtesy and common sense to ask the OP first.
But different strokes for different folks I guess.
Another thought is that in the OP's case, if the bass was not going through the P.A. (or the P.A. was under-equipped to carry the bass being put through it), then maybe the guy was trying to beef up the bass in the house by gettting more coupling with the stage. Which would be a sound strategy if it were a typical "hollow box" stage in a storefront bar. But being this was a "community outdoor festival" then the stage was probably a flatbed trailer 3 to 4 feet off the ground -- in which case tipping a bass amp on its side would not affect the FOH sound one iota and would only marginally increase whatever bass was being felt onstage.
My best guess is that that is what the bassist in question does with HIS amp and so he just presumed to do it with somebody else's as well. Which may not be a problem in and of itself but he should have at least had the courtesy and common sense to ask the OP first.
Prolly for the floor effect. He might have thought (correctly?) That the amp wasn't gonna push enough air for him to hear it on stage...so even though it was lined in.....he layed it down so he could hear/feel it while he was playing.
I doubt it was a sound/casters thing as taking the weight off the casters frees them up to jangle and rattle.
Its actually not a bad idea...hmmmm:thumbup:
I doubt it was a sound/casters thing as taking the weight off the casters frees them up to jangle and rattle.
Its actually not a bad idea...hmmmm:thumbup:
jaywa,
try it out when you get a chance, in a few different rooms...both ways. I don't think anyone's going to say it's "simply superior", at times its effect might be psychosomatic, or the action itself might be a lil rote.
Kikstand,
as far as casters go...in a recording situation, sure..while loose, they can rattle more freely. However, for some combos and cabs, standing on bad casters can cause them to resonate at the cab's frequency, increasing that "BWAAH" sound emanating directly from the cab. Putting the cab on its side can diminish this effect. Since you're certainly going to be pushing the volume, the free-rattling sound of casters will be lost to the sound of bassy speaker goodness...
try it out when you get a chance, in a few different rooms...both ways. I don't think anyone's going to say it's "simply superior", at times its effect might be psychosomatic, or the action itself might be a lil rote.
Kikstand,
as far as casters go...in a recording situation, sure..while loose, they can rattle more freely. However, for some combos and cabs, standing on bad casters can cause them to resonate at the cab's frequency, increasing that "BWAAH" sound emanating directly from the cab. Putting the cab on its side can diminish this effect. Since you're certainly going to be pushing the volume, the free-rattling sound of casters will be lost to the sound of bassy speaker goodness...
