Putting your amp at a useful height

[sacahill42]

I have used one of these for over a decade and it shows no signs of wear. Works like a champ. Collapses down to nothing. Adjustable height. Sturdy as an oak.

+1
This stand is the bees knees!

 

[-Asdfgh-]

You're going at this from the wrong direction. Doesn't matter what it sounds like to you on the stage. All that matters is what it sounds like to people in the audience, and the final settings may not have anything to do with your stage preference. You need to get someone to help coordinate the EQ/volume. Whether the amp is next to your ears, your stomach, or your ankles doesn't matter at all!

If I am going to play well, it very much matters if I can hear it.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

How about a bass wedge cab and put your amp on a small stand?

I have a stand for tilt back. But then the amp falls off.

 

[DJ Bebop]

If you are rocking a 2 4x10 or whatever, your amp is at a convenient height for adjustments. If you are just using a single 15" cabinet, it is at knee level.

• Firstly, my knees are not my primary hearing organ, not can I adjust the knobs on an amp with them.
• The first can be solved, if the cab is an on-stage monitor as its primary purpose, by tilting it back. Then the amp slides off, or you put the head on the floor on one end, making it even less accessible.
• I have a keyboard stand, but I don't fancy balancing a 25lb head on top of an X-stand closed enough to balance a head one. It's not stable.
• I could bring 2 x 15 and only use one, or turn them down, but that's large extra bits of gear. It does get the audible sound to closer to ear level, and works better than tilt back if the amp is also providing FOH sound as well as on-stage.
• I could balance the amp on something else - but what?
• I could just use an EQ pedal in the loop as for on-stage sound all I want to adjust is EQ, maybe, and overall level but nothing that goes to FOH. So I could somehow attach an EQ pedal to a stand (music stand - I have one somewhere, I think) or microphone stand.
• I could just go IEM and give up amps, at least for on-stage sound. I do have wired IEMs, but I am not sure if I am ready to try it. Plus wired is one more thing to trip over.

Do other people have solutions to this sort of issue?

Not this old thing again

You're welcome

 

[2F/2F]

People overthink this stuff.

Did sound for a friend last night at a tiny shotgun paisa dive bar with an absolute joke of a PA (6 channel Yamaha mono-block mixer located BEHIND the stage, no monitors, two home-stereo-level speakers mounted to the walls, and a single no-name, beat-to-piss subwoofer with tweeters, located on the floor behind the stage). Rock bands, with a few drummers who only have one dynamic: 11.

1. I insisted on backline combo amps and drums ahead of time. No stacks, no 12-piece kits, no bringing your own amps.

2. I put the amps on chairs that I found on the back patio of the bar. Put the "floor speaker" up on a table.

It barely worked...but it sounded good. Proper planning combined with some improvisation, and not being picky/uptight, or overthinking things.

Can't find a chair large enough? Use two per amp, coming in from the sides. Egg crates are another good option easily found lying around many venues. As are sturdy cardboard boxes. As are tables.

You make do with what's around you...or you bring something. It need not be anything fancy. It can be practically anything that elevates the amp, and won't let it fall off. If it's something you can find at the venue, that's best. Less crap to haul.

 

[6thplanet]

Or a couple milk crates.
Also, didn't someone make a shelf thingy that has a lip that goes over the front of the cab and a lip at the back that holds the amp from sliding off? ...for a tilted back cab situation?

 

[DJ Bebop]

DIY collapsible bass amp stand

 

[6thplanet]

Not the one I was thinking about, that's a little bit more elaborate. Very nice, though.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I have a stand for tilt back. But then the amp falls off.

I'd be more concerned about my beer toppling over.

My business carries any number of goods with telescopic (push-button) legs with a weight limit of 250 lbs. I'm brainstorming a quick-connect system where one can lay the enclosure on its side, snap the legs into place, then manhandle into an upright position. You can probably do the same with the offset leg mounts and screw-in uprights (legs) you find on cheap end & lamp tables.

Riis

 

[chris_b]

My Barefaced 112 cabs have very good dispersion, and I can hear them without any trouble, even when they are on the floor. Also I don't play with guitarists who use half stacks.

Maybe that's the real issue. The band is to loud, or has an unbalanced sound on stage.

I do play with loud guitarists, Fender Twin guys, and I know I have to be louder, so I just bring both 112 cabs.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Maybe that's the real issue. The band is to loud

I've never really had that issue. But I do like to have an amp pointed at my hearing devices.

Barefaced cabs on the floor still doesn't make my amp a convenient height unless it's a relatively tall cab. Maybe I want to turn myself down

 

[-Asdfgh-]

DIY collapsible bass amp stand

View attachment 4678080 View attachment 4678081 View attachment 4678082 View attachment 4678083 View attachment 4678084

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

If you are rocking a 2 4x10 or whatever, your amp is at a convenient height for adjustments. If you are just using a single 15" cabinet, it is at knee level.

• Firstly, my knees are not my primary hearing organ, not can I adjust the knobs on an amp with them.
• The first can be solved, if the cab is an on-stage monitor as its primary purpose, by tilting it back. Then the amp slides off, or you put the head on the floor on one end, making it even less accessible.
• I have a keyboard stand, but I don't fancy balancing a 25lb head on top of an X-stand closed enough to balance a head one. It's not stable.
• I could bring 2 x 15 and only use one, or turn them down, but that's large extra bits of gear. It does get the audible sound to closer to ear level, and works better than tilt back if the amp is also providing FOH sound as well as on-stage.
• I could balance the amp on something else - but what?
• I could just use an EQ pedal in the loop as for on-stage sound all I want to adjust is EQ, maybe, and overall level but nothing that goes to FOH. So I could somehow attach an EQ pedal to a stand (music stand - I have one somewhere, I think) or microphone stand.
• I could just go IEM and give up amps, at least for on-stage sound. I do have wired IEMs, but I am not sure if I am ready to try it. Plus wired is one more thing to trip over.

Do other people have solutions to this sort of issue?

I use a tiltback cab (genz benz neox12t) and my super light head will indeed slide off when it's tilted

Solution was to affix a narrow piece of wood to the top of the cab so the amp head's feet have something to hook onto when it tilts back. Works like a charm. Cab is tilted back, head is securely on top at a good angle.

Sorry don't have pix of the rig, it's at the band room.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

People overthink this stuff.

Did sound for a friend last night at a tiny shotgun paisa dive bar with an absolute joke of a PA (6 channel Yamaha mono-block mixer located BEHIND the stage, no monitors, two home-stereo-level speakers mounted to the walls, and a single no-name, beat-to-piss subwoofer with tweeters, located on the floor behind the stage). Rock bands, with a few drummers who only have one dynamic: 11.

1. I insisted on backline combo amps and drums ahead of time. No stacks, no 12-piece kits, no bringing your own amps.

2. I put the amps on chairs that I found on the back patio of the bar. Put the "floor speaker" up on a table.

It barely worked...but it sounded good. Proper planning combined with some improvisation, and not being picky/uptight, or overthinking things.

Can't find a chair large enough? Use two per amp, coming in from the sides. Egg crates are another good option easily found lying around many venues. As are sturdy cardboard boxes. As are tables.

You make do with what's around you...or you bring something. It need not be anything fancy. It can be practically anything that elevates the amp, and won't let it fall off. If it's something you can find at the venue, that's best. Less crap to haul.

Cab on chair, amp on cab would work. But now I have to find myself a suitably strong folding chair that looks sufficiently rock and/or roll! Sometimes the only chair that a venue has is some overly upholstered one that amps are not stable on.

Milk crates - now I have to bring some cloth to make it look good. And have to know there are milk crates. Although there are some stacking high-strength ABS crates such that look a bit better than milk crates. If you were in a band with theatricals, back drops, etc., milk crates are not appropriate.

A friend of mine builds wooden stands as a sideline. Not for amps, but he might be able to make something.

 

[Spidey2112]

Depending on the situation and what gear, I use these.

View attachment 4677842

View attachment 4677843

Bwawaahaha! The KOA campgrounds will be rockin' tonight!

 

[Altitude]

I haven’t used a 4x10 in quite a while, but I used to put mine on this stand:

It is an amp stand from On Stage stands and works well. The angle didn’t seem enough for the head to slide off.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

If you are rocking a 2 4x10 or whatever, your amp is at a convenient height for adjustments. If you are just using a single 15" cabinet, it is at knee level.

• Firstly, my knees are not my primary hearing organ, not can I adjust the knobs on an amp with them.
• The first can be solved, if the cab is an on-stage monitor as its primary purpose, by tilting it back. Then the amp slides off, or you put the head on the floor on one end, making it even less accessible.
• I have a keyboard stand, but I don't fancy balancing a 25lb head on top of an X-stand closed enough to balance a head one. It's not stable.
• I could bring 2 x 15 and only use one, or turn them down, but that's large extra bits of gear. It does get the audible sound to closer to ear level, and works better than tilt back if the amp is also providing FOH sound as well as on-stage.
• I could balance the amp on something else - but what?
• I could just use an EQ pedal in the loop as for on-stage sound all I want to adjust is EQ, maybe, and overall level but nothing that goes to FOH. So I could somehow attach an EQ pedal to a stand (music stand - I have one somewhere, I think) or microphone stand.
• I could just go IEM and give up amps, at least for on-stage sound. I do have wired IEMs, but I am not sure if I am ready to try it. Plus wired is one more thing to trip over.

Do other people have solutions to this sort of issue?

Can't you just make quick adjustments as it is? Like you've always done?

If it's really that much of a problem, put an eq pedal in your chain. Bend over all the way to the ground, and fumble with those tiny little knobs. Instead of turning around, bending over slightly, and turning standard size ones.

 

[MIMike]

With a small cab, I need two crates to get it up where it belongs.
Hearing it isn’t a huge issue because of the design of the cab, but the crates get it up where I can see the amp controls without bending over.

 

[J-Bass RMR]

I've always made use of "road cases" - usually a heavy duty flip lid hardware tote that we used for all the PA gear, but I always had a tote for my bass gear (which nowadays, I can transport everything* in in - including my ampl *(other than bass & cab)

Back in the day, I set my amp rack on top of the case, and my 4x10 on top of the amp rack.
The 4x10 was in my ear, and i could reach the amp controls just fine.

The "modern" set-up;

 

[Plain Old Barry]

If you tilt the cab back and don't want your head sliding back then put something like this on top.
BRÄDA Laptop support, black, 16 1/2x12 1/4" - IKEA

Let one of the lips dangle over the front of the cab, the other lip with stop it sliding back.

Or a piece of plywood with a couple of 1x2 for the lips would be a snap to build.

Beat me to it! Either simple hook would work very well keeping the head in place on a sloped surface.

If the cabinet has side handles, a flat bungee would also work.