Response to a question: Guitar Amp Wattage
December 26th, 2007 by Travis Swan | Posted in Gear, Production
Jeff wrote: I’ve been online researching different amps to use for worship. But there are so many opinions out there, I can’t decide. If money isn’t an issue, what do you reccomend? I saw that he reccomended the smaller wattage amps. What does Travis use when he plays live?
I use a Peavey Classic 50/50 amp. It’s all tube, 50 watts per channel if I’m running in stereo. I run it into two Mesa 1/12″ speaker cabinets and mic them with two Sennheiser e906 mics (the BEST guitar amp mic I’ve ever used!). I absolutely love how this amp sounds, but it’s gotta be cranked up pretty loud to take advantage of the tube sound, which creates too much sound for our stage.
I add to this volume problem by slamming the input on the amp with a huge amount of gain out of my Digitech GSP2101 preamp – this then saturates the tubes further, causing that warm even order harmonic sound that tube amp enthusiasts love.
My solution is to put things backstage. I set up my gear in the hallway behind our stage, and send in my guitar signal from the stage. I then rely on the sound person to route the guitar into my monitor on stage. Lately I’ve also been running my guitar wireless using a Shure SLX wireless system. I was a little nervous to go this route because of the added compression to the initial guitar signal that wireless inevitably adds, BUT I was pleasantly surprised at the newfound smoothness of the tone. I highly recommend it.
There are so many directions to go in choosing your rig. You can reference my article on guitar amps for more detailed information. Since writing that article, I’ve landed even more solidly on the side of the tube amp because of its natural warmth and fullness of tone. I love the sound of the larger Mesa and Marshall amps cranked up, but these aren’t that useful in church situations. There’s a ton of other smaller amps that can sound really good when cranked and miked, such as the Vox AC30 or AC15, Crate Palomino V32, etc.
In the past while leading worship at the Rock, I focused more on a heavy rock/metal side of playing, but lately since becoming our church worship director (i.e. Sunday morning service!) I’ve had to dial it back a bit and have found a more blues/rock oriented tone suits this style of music better. Think U2 – lower wattage tube amp, (In the Edge’s case, a Vox AC30) some reverb, a little delay, (or a lot, depending on the song) and that’s about it. I add some compression to lead parts, but mostly leave it off my main tone. Simplicity rather than complexity is what I’m leaning toward – pull all the effects off the guitar (including distortion!) and set the main EQ at the amp to sound as good as it can possibly sound, then start adding effects one at a time.
I hope this has been helpful. Remember as you work with your pastors, congregation, sound people, band members, etc, that you are there to serve. Let every effect you choose, every amp setting you pick, every microphone you set up reflect the glory of God to those you are leading in worship. He is the only reason we buy amps, play guitars, and sing songs. It’s all for Him.
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We have been on an Orange kick or a while in Des Moines. One of our guys just got a Orange Tiny Terror that he loves. We have two Fender Blues Juniors and another guy plays a Fender Deluxe with a Orange 2×12 below it, Also another dude plays the little Orange combo amp. I use this obscure Legend something that sounds tuby enough. I love the sennheiser 906’s. I love those on one side with a simple 57 on the other. Actually, when I have tracked recently though, I like the audix i5?? on a mesa cab and an orange 30-watt class a tube head but that is a little loud for worship. The peavey 50/50 is a great amp too. I am really into tuby stuff though.
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It’s no secret that Fender makes great guitar amps, but which one is the best? We think it’s the Blues Junior. Find out why. http://fenderbluesjunioramps.com
[...] an issue, what do you reccomend? I saw that he reccomended the smaller wattage amps. What does Travihttp://www.rockworship.com/gear/response-to-a-question-guitar-amp-wattage/Crate Palomino V32 112 Combo: Harmony Central User ReviewsCrate Palomino v32 112 Combo Musician’s [...]
Another small amp to consider is the Mesa Express series amps or even the Epiphone Valve Junior amps. For more info check out http://MesaBoogieOnline.com.
hi there! I am a lead guitarist and been playing guitar since i was 6. Among the best gear i used Marshall amps especially the AVT series are good choices for rhythm and clean solo. It has the most natural compression settings that creates harmonic tones without distortion. Crank its gain settings at maximum and you’ve got crunch volume in the clean channel . Its overdrive gain settings gives you the power of warmth bluesy sound, grunge or metal powerhouse so amazing! Plus you’ve got 3 EQ channels to perfect your overdrive tonality and a reverb knob for a creative feedback and natural guitar signal. Remember to set to its overall volume to an acceptable 3-4db depending on your church settings.
For best results, use a DI output cable and link it to your mixers or use a good condenser mic set at full ambience effect. Tell your mixer guy to tweak your mid settings around 4 to 5 level.Don’t forget to play clean. Marshalls are sensitive to the whims of your picking!
You may use whatever effects you have but remember a good amp, a creative playing, a heart of worship is always the key!
Shred’em!
btw, try to use 30W for small settings or 15W if your plugged to a mixer to play around with feedback and echo. toodles!
I’ve always love the smaller 30-50 watt amps, for live and recording. I still have two old fender twin’s and a Peavy JSX which is a kick butt little amp. Sometimes smaller is better…well kinda.
Occur on dude, these facts* and proof* i mean who is posting* lol