It's a longshot, but is he aware that there's a volume knob on his guitar?
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My guitar Player is Drowning Me
- Thread starter altarsofmadness
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It's a longshot, but is he aware that there's a volume knob on his guitar?
Try playing with your EQ I played with a 3 piece heavy metal band a while ago And the guitarist had a Peavey 5150 full stack. I had My Peavey TNT-150 And never had a problem being heard
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All good posts about ear protection, band balance, etc.. The thing is, if you check the OP's info, the band is playing Heavy Metal. I think that the probability is that the volume will generally be going in the upward direction until the band is at it's "working level" compared to other bands of this type and the venues that they play. So, his equipment requirements (for volume capability) are going to go up.
Alas, with a lot of guitar rigs, the guitar volume actually functions as something of a distortion/tone control that'a not really very useful for managing sound pressure levels.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I don't care what style of music he's playing. That's not an excuse. The smaller amp worked fine before.
+1
I think you should be looking at having your guitarist run that Sunn at 16 ohms to get a manageable and tasty sounding 90ish watts out of his head. I do that all the time with my friend's Sunn Concert head and Marshall 1960A 4x12. I run it on the speaker out of the head to the 16 ohm input of the cab. The mismatch cuts power, reduces headroom and adds crunch (compression) which will make your guitarist a lot quieter. Now you can go on and on about 150 watts vs 100 watts but there is an audible difference with these amps.
Also I might have missed it, but what kind of music are you playing OP? If your band is going in a certain direction, your guitarist's new Sunn amp might just be the first step in a series of steps each band member must take. And you or other members might simply actually be the stubborn ones that think your current gear and soft handed drumming is gonna cut it when it's not. Not saying that's the fact of the matter, but I've experienced this in situations with bands thsat I've played in where they're satisfied with what they have until after a few weeks of badgering them I provide them with my backline at a practice or gig and then they understand the wall of amps and vintage heads sounds better than their Peavey Transtube or undersized bass amp.
Just noticed in the quote of the post that appeared while I was typing mine that the OP's band plays heavy metal. Like Annihilation Time, Lecherous Gaze and Red Fang? (That's the vibe I get with the guitarist having a Sunn now) Then in that case the answer is more amp and more speaker because THAT'S PART OF THE STYLE!
Yeah. This is actually how I go from "clean" to "overdriven" in my doom metal band. The amp is set to be overdriven all the time, and so my bass's volume knob is what I use to control the amount of overdrive by feeding the amp a lower or higher gain signal.
I fought this battle back in the '90's. The trick is, you need 10x the wattage and tons of speakers. I used two 4x10's and a 1500-watt, 60-lb power amp and it did the trick. Bring ear protection. And a hand truck or a dolley, you'll need them.
Or get him to turn down through convincing, coercion, or threats. It's cheaper and easier on your back, that's for sure.
Tom
Or get him to turn down through convincing, coercion, or threats. It's cheaper and easier on your back, that's for sure.
Tom
I do see your points, but I agree with buldog. It doesn't matter what you're playing rehearsal volume should always be played lower than stage volume. I've been in metal bands...it really isn't an excuse.
Best way to turn that Sunn down is to mismatch the impedance up to 16 ohms. Also it's important to know what kind of 4x12 he has. If it's a Sunn 412L, those cabs suck at being clear, responsive and tolerable in volume. The one I had I quickly sold because it was too loud and boomy compared to a Marshall 1960 or even a Marshall MG 4x12 when paired with a Concert Lead for that matter! 
As I've said before in this thread, my opinion is that the drums pretty much set rehearsal volume. Even if you don't have PA support for drums live, this will still probably be quieter, as most drummers hit a bit harder live than they do at rehearsal. Guitar and bass should be turned up enough to get a good mix with the drums, no louder. So I think you're arguing with a stance I never took.
What the other person and I were saying was in response to using the volume knob on the guitar. Most guitarists (and probably a large portion of bassists), don't use the instrument's volume knob to set overall volume. That's what the amp's knob is for. If the amp's knob is currently on 2-3... set it on 1-2.
find another guitarist. At rehearsal,you don't need volume. you want to be able to hear each other. Idiot guitards and drummers have ruined my hearing.
This- guitards that won't turn down, won't play with me. Save your hearing now before it's too late.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Best way to turn that Sunn down is to mismatch the impedance up to 16 ohms. Also it's important to know what kind of 4x12 he has. If it's a Sunn 412L, those cabs suck at being clear, responsive and tolerable in volume. The one I had I quickly sold because it was too loud and boomy compared to a Marshall 1960 or even a Marshall MG 4x12 when paired with a Concert Lead for that matter!
No, the best way to turn the amp down is to turn the volume knob counterclockwise.
This. You're dealing with a huge ego here. If he has to be that loud at practice, he has other issues that he is compensating for.
Here's another thing to think about. Isn't the Sunn a solid state amp? (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) If so, there is no real "tone advantage" to cranking it up to 11. Arguing with a tube amp guitar player will get you nowhere, because "You can't get that tone without warming up the tubes man!" (Oy. Gimme a break.) But transistors don't care as much. Have him use a distortion pedal (which I'm sure he has 75 of) and turn down. It won't sound much different at any volume level.
Guitarist I played with for some years had two of those 5150 full stacks. Nowadays he leaves them at home and just brings a 212 Orange.
Actually, since it's a solid state amp, having it go into 16 ohms rather than 8 or 4 will reduce its power greatly, which will make it easier to turn it down if its volume pot has a taper that results in huge changes in the lower range of its turn.
Yeah, I'm not sure why he has a solid state amp so loud. I don't think Sunn Concert Leads really change all that much in sound as you turn them up... I mean, other than delivering more of what you're already getting. This is in sharp contrast to the Sunn Model T, which changes in sound quite a bit depending on volume level.
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