Amp Positoin

[cunnins4]

Hi, i've been noticing recently that the position i put my amp (only a feeble 10w) in my bedroom has had a dramatic impact on the sound i get out of it.

The first thing i've noticed is that when i put it on my bed, leaning against the wall with my stereo just above it i get the best sound. Then when i play with it on the floor (carpet), about 7ft to the right and in front of my stereo and the same again below it (my stereo is up high on the wall) i get a slightly less decent sound out of it.

However, i played it in my brother's bedroom yesterday and he has hardwood flooring and it sounded shite.

So my question is, what exactly is the best place to put your amp in relation to your stereo if you're playing along to it? under, beside, facing the same direction etc... and what is the best surface to have under it? carpet, wood, mattress?

Anything else anyone knows about the acoustics of a room that can improve the sound would be helpful. cheers.

[Daniel Sorbera]

Thers no real way to preditct auccreatly the way things will sounds by moving the speakers around (to the best of my knowledge...)

It changes from room and from person to person. Just play with it until you are happy with the way it sounds.

Edited October 29, 2005 by Godin SD

[feylya]

Personally, I'd put it beside/under the stereo so it's all coming from the same place. Place it on a chair to raise it up too. And watch the swearing.

[Mickguard]

Lately I've been practicing through my mixer -- I use a Sansamp preamp and the music (my mp3 box or my computer) is also plugged into the mixer. That way it all comes from the same source.

Of course, these are normal stereo speakers, they can handle the volume --although I don't tend to practice at high volume this way.

When I want to get loud, I plug into my amp instead...which is on the other side of the room, against the wall, just because it's convenient to have it there.

I'm not so worried about tone while I'm practicing, more concentrated on technique.

[cunnins4]

And watch the swearing.

←

Swearing?

I do tend to worry more about technique too, but i just like the sound to be the best possible sometimes when i just want to crack out a quality song. technique's great and all, but if you're an excellent player but your amp sounds pants, well, you're not gonna sound too great.

[TenderSurrender]

Hey mate i think the swearing comment was referring to this...

and he has hardwood flooring and it sounded "sh*te".

Just go back and edit your post mate, This forum is for all people, Try to keep posts as clean as possible

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As for the topic...

Usually when playing along with a CD/Computer, Ill chuck my amp facing the same directions as the speaker.

But as commented before, all rooms have different accoustics and so the best way to find out is to move the amp around until YOUR happy with the sound

~~ Slain Angel ~~

Edited October 30, 2005 by SlainAngel

[GMan123]

When I play with my stereo, I just leave my amp where it is:

I'll be in the middle of my room, the stereo on my dresser against one wall, my amp on the opposite wall, and the pedalboard against the wall inbetween. Works for me.

[slayer63636]

i may not a real "expert" but heres my 2 cents. this is all based on what i know and experince.

as far a floors goes in MY opion concreat will give you the best sound. it works good since its really hard and with that obsorbs as little sound as possible. hard wood floor is the next best thing. while its not as hard it dose works as good. carpent in my book is what i would try to aviod. expesaly when the amp is on the floor. carpet has foam padding underneath and this can obsorbe some sounds.

amp hight is very inportant. think of ur speaker(s) as a dark board. typicaly you want to hit the middle, right? well same with the speakers. to get the most sound out of them u want it to be as level with your ears as possible. i even went as far as making an amp stand/bookshelf when i had my crate 15 watt combo.

you could have ur amp at the same hight as the stereo speakers. this way they could keep up with them. if u have it on the floor try to point it up so the speaker faces you. but as Godin SD said its all about finding what YOU want. its all about trial and error untill you find what suits YOU best.

[j. pierce]

another thing you'll notice is that it might not be so much the placement of the amplifier itself, but it's placement in relation to you. If the speakers is aiming at your ankle, and your fairly close to the amp, it will sound a lot less harsh than if you take the same amp with the same tone settings and move it to head level, or simply back up a ways from the amp. The sound on the high end of the spectrum seems to have a tighter "cone" than the mid range or lower end. I've had this problem playing live, where my amp sounds great to me, but I'm on a fairly small stage and right next to the thing. When I back out to where the crowd is standing, I realize it sounds ear-piercingly bright (and awful) to them and I have to roll the treble knob back a lot.

Also, with open back cabs/amps, the sound tends to change a fair amount depending on whether there's a hard surface like a wall behind them.

Edited October 31, 2005 by j. pierce