Will placing a small combo amp on a chair give it more volume?

In theory no.

But in a rehearsal situation or for practice in having an amp on an incline, the amp will be better directed towards your ears, and will have the impression of being louder and more direct sounding.

So while putting an amp on a chair doesn't make magical decibals appear, high and mid range presence will increase, while bass prescense decreases. And with the amp on the ground and you standing, there will be more bass presence and less treble/mid presence. You get more percieved mids and treble with an amp directed at your ears, and you get more percieved bass with the amp planted on the ground.

 

Sure thing! As the amp gets closer to ear-level you begin to hear its entire frequency range. The EQ knobs actually start to make audible changes, and you'll naturally ease off the gain.

If the amp's too big to sit (comfortably) on a barstool/table you can lean it up against the wall so the speakers pointing up at you. If the amp doesn't have rubber feet or the floor isn't carpeted, make sure to put some kind of stopper to keep the amp from sliding down while you play. Been there...

I personally can't stand playing through an amp flat on the floor, pointing at my knees. I read an article by Gary Willis a few years back that suggested elevating the amp to prevent "boominess" and after trying it once I was hooked. Works great for g**tar amps too. In general - speakers work best when they're pointed at your face.

 

you'll hear the mids and highs better, but you'll lose low end as soon as you lift it off the floor.

a good compromise might be to keep it on the floor, but tilt it back.

 

All close but misleading or incorrect.

The sound coming out of the cab is the same.

The sound heard by the player standing near it is perceived to have less lows relative to the mids and highs. It sounds louder overall from being nearer the players ears. Having ears properly within the radiation pattern of the speaker gives prominence to the mids and highs previously directed at knees.

Away from the cab the sound is identical except if you raise it too high, over 2.5ft off the floor, losing coupling of bass frequencies off the floor and replacing it with cancellation.

Bringing it out from the wall in order to put it up on a chair may bring it over 2.5ft out from the wall, will similarly lose lows.

 

If you want to get a little combo to punch above its weight put it in the corner up on a box. The lows get a big boost from the corner so you can eq them down, saving power which you can throw into mids and highs without blowing it up..

 

Dang DownUnderWonder, you beat me to the corner comment, but you also had added info of which I was unaware. So, Thanks for those extra tidbits.

I was going to try the following at my weekly Friday nighter, but the resident gig just got cancelled after nearly half a year there. All the gigs have dried up suddenly for summer. Woodshed time; Hope things pick up in the fall. Anyway, on to the question...

What about experimenting with aiming the cab at the wall/corner for a larger reflective radiating surface (tilting back the cab if necessary)? Does this work? Does the same 2.5' distance apply?

 

The low bass would be very similar but a guaranteed epic fail for everything else!

 

Yes, the chair will be much louder.

 

You can never have enough loud chairs at a gig.

I bought an Eden cab in the shape of a foldback wedge. It stays on the floor and it is angled up so I can hear everything.

 

Seriously, though, yeah, elevating it will be a real improvement all the way around.