Do We Really Need More than a 1x12 for Gigs?

[gtr31]

there are SO many variables her .how big is the club ,how many people are in it .What i know from 1/2 stacks is they are very directional .the girl dressed like Brittney at the 4 th table to the left will be half deaf .they rest of the club will hear mud .When you mic an amp whether it is a 212 combo or a 6 foot stack the difference will not be noticeable to the people in the room .Unmiced YES ...but i dont know a lot of bands that run umiced . again cool factor ..sure more metal yes ..but more effective than a 112 other than looks ..not nescessarily

 

[MetalMajik]

All this talk about adequate PA's and soundmen that know what they are doing is just not the reality for most of us. I don't know where you people are playing, but, at most of the corner dive bars around here you are lucky if you get a couple of burned up 80's-era peavy 2 way speakers on stands, a burned up 6 channel powered mixer, and a burned up bartender, bouncer or cook is your burned up sound man. Any of the clubs around here of any repute require the bands to furnish their own burned up PA and sound man. This is why I'm not a gigging musician anymore. I got tired of trying to make chicken salad out of chicken sh#t all the time.

I don't mean to rant, but my point here is that you have to overkill a little because you can never rely on having adequate sound reinforcement

 

[maximus1]

nobody's wrong here i don't think but for me i just couldn't justify playing out of something so small. there's a certain feel that only a 4x12 gives you , maybe its low end chunk or cutting tone or just being able to hear yourself well against drums, bass and vocals. drums are very loud and some drummers are even louder. the drummer in my band is so loud sometimes with my 4x12 and 2x12 i'll wish i had more, at least for practice anyway, live on stage its different but for practice and rehersal i could never get away with less than a half stack

 

[EWSEthan]

The biggeest problem I have is that whether I bring a 1x12 or a 4x12 is pretty much irrelevant because the soundman simply does not allow me to play at any reasonably loud stage volume. The only guitar I get to hear is whatever he decides to give me out of the monitors. Its atrocious. So basically, I was originally wondering if a 4x12 buys me anything more than coolnees, and Im pretty convinced it doesnt.

Dont get me wrong though, Id LOVE to crank a 4x12 on stage! Just doesnt happen at venues we play.

 

[JayDA]

The only guitar I get to hear is whatever he decides to give me out of the monitors. Its atrocious. So basically, I was originally wondering if a 4x12 buys me anything more than coolnees, and Im pretty convinced it doesnt.

I'm telling you...try two 1x12 cabs with one pointed at you, since I started doing it, I don't know how I ever lived without it. Don't get me wrong either...I wish a 4x12 was an option, I still own 2 of them, but most of the time it just won't work.

 

[tung]

It's a good discussion here. I think everyone has a point, it's all relative to application.
I do think that 1X12, 2X12 and 4X12 each do have their own distinctive tones, especially in the bass.
I agree with JayDa with running two cabs though. With two, the sound is just much fuller and you can hear yourself with better frequency clarity. These days I prefer to run 2 amps, but only if the venue is big enough. Can't do this in a tiny jazz club
I remember seeing Yngwie tossing and running across the stage, flinging a Marshall 4X12 around. I thought "This guy is freakin' strong", but then I quickly realized, it's a dummy cab! the thing is empty, no speakers. :roll:
Tung

 

[khingpynn]

How about a sheet of plexiglass as a monitor instead of a second spkr cab... SRV did it.

Khing

 

[EWSEthan]

How about a sheet of plexiglass as a monitor instead of a second spkr cab... SRV did it.

Khing

Khing,

Sorry Im not getting it... What?

 

[3 Mile Stone]

He put plexi-glass in front of his amps becasue he was so freakin' loud. This echoes back to my original point about being in the mix. Amp too loud = not in the mix (or mix that is way too loud). Mark Ford was doing this when I saw the Black Crowes too. Same story. Mostly guys with non-master volume amps use the plexi-glass trick. It is definately not a means too monitor yourself from what I know. Mostly controls overly loud amps or drums from bleeding into other microphones to keep control of the mix.

 

[EWSEthan]

He put plexi-glass in front of his amps becasue he was so freakin' loud. This echoes back to my original point about being in the mix. Amp too loud = not in the mix (or mix that is way too loud). Mark Ford was doing this when I saw the Black Crowes too. Same story. Mostly guys with non-master volume amps use the plexi-glass trick. It is definately not a means too monitor yourself from what I know. Mostly controls overly loud amps or drums from bleeding into other microphones to keep control of the mix.

Aha! Got it, thanks for the follow-up Tommy.

 

[3 Mile Stone]

No problem brotha! I've also seen dudes use the cover of an anvil case over thier cab.