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Post by slartybartfast on Oct 12, 2010 11:40:06 GMT -7
I've had the Gal for a month now and used her for 4 gigs. I absolutely love this amp. Still getting used to the settings though.
The first three gigs were in medium-ish venues. I had the gal set to: Pentode / V1: .2.00 / V2: 10.30 - 11.00 / Bass: 10.00 / Treble: 3.00 and Presence +/- 12.00 depending on the room. Air-Brake on 2. The amp was mic-d through the PA and monitors and sounded perfect through my Gibson SG 61 Reissue with the presence up, and really nice through my Telecaster with the presence down a touch.
For a few heavier tunes I switched to channel 2, but overall I used Channel 1 and controlled the gain/tone with the guitar volume for leads.
HOWEVER... this Friday I had a gig at a small venue. I didn't realize how small. It was tiny! I was told to keep the volume down as well (I hate it when they ask that). I would have used my Trace Elliott Velocette (great amp for small gigs), but alas I'm hooked on the Gal now, I didn't realize how small the place was until I got there.
I found it hard to reign her in. V1: down to 9:00 - I played around with the T-B-P settings for ages and found it hard to find a sound that worked for me.
The Air-Brake sucked the tone at 4 and was marginally better at 3. I ended up using my Xotic RC Booster to control the volume and kept the A-B at 2. I had trouble getting the Bass to sound crisp so I reduced the bass on the RC Booster which helped. Channel 2 was far too much for this gig, so I used a Maxon Overdrive to add gain to channel 1 set at such a low volume. It was adequate, but tough to get her sounding as good as she did in larger venue gigs with her natural overdrive.
I read in one forum that her max volume is 9.00 and beyond that it's all gain. I didn't find this. Beyond 9 she was getting too loud - my lead singer was giving me dirty looks every time I dialed her up a bit. Ouch... don't want to get fired since I'm a hired gun.
Anybody out there have any advice (apart from making sure I have a smaller amp for small venues). Triode instead of Pentode? Would a volume pedal help? Different settings? Looks like I need to study her a bit more.
Cheers.
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Post by T-R☼CK ♫ on Oct 12, 2010 12:23:16 GMT -7
It IS, a 2x6L6 45+ watt(conservative) amp, bro. I HATE freekin' attenuators, but.......for low volume stuff....you just gotta use one, man.
I stay away from the Triode. Just 'aint the same rig, to me. Crank dat summanabitch up, & dial down the power soak when necessary.
After almost 3 years, and more gigs w/it than I can recall (some here wud say that's in the neighborhood of...2), I have never been disappointed w/my tone from this amp. Attenuator, or not.
My best advice would be;
Play the sh!t out of it at home, on lower volume. REALLY, REALLY, learn how to use the tone stack @ those levels. It pay will off BIG, later.
BTW....the MV mod helps.......a LOT!!
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Post by slartybartfast on Oct 12, 2010 13:38:42 GMT -7
I guess there are no short-cuts. I just have to play her at both high and low volumes and experiment with the tone-stack to understand her nuances. Thanks for the advice.
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Post by amakitalo on Oct 12, 2010 13:49:35 GMT -7
Hi there. I've had the Galaxy for a couple of years now. I ended up buying a pair of JAN-Philips 6L6WGB tubes from the Tubestore. Nice tubes and less headroom than the stock tubes. Still using the Airbrake for gigs though. I have a Maz Jr as well and generally cannot play a gig without attenuating it either. That's pretty much what the "clients" want.
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Post by slartybartfast on Oct 17, 2010 13:31:56 GMT -7
So, I did another small-venue gig this weekend with the BrakeLite at 4 in the first set and 3 in the second and third set - with the amp cranked. The attenuator may have sucked some tone out, but the overall sound was excellent, far better than playing through my Blues Jnr or T.E. Velocette.
No overdrive pedals needed. So nice to get the sound I want just out of the amp alone.
Thanks for the advice on this.
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Post by T-R☼CK ♫ on Oct 17, 2010 14:05:09 GMT -7
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Post by galaxieman on Oct 30, 2010 3:21:24 GMT -7
I don't gig with mine as the band I play in is not a gigging band but just a jamming blues band and a really good time. Anyway I do have the situation where I need lower volume for the home studio and higher volume for the rehearsals (we play kind of loud).
At home I keep the vol at 9:00 or even a little lower and the brake on 2 or 3. I totally agree that on 4 the brake sucks way too much tone. T=1:30, B=10:00, P=2:00. I like a brighter tone with a lot of high end. I play at this volume after the kids go to bed at night so it's a manageable volume.
At the rehearsal I turn the vol up to noon and leave the brake off. All else stays the same. Unfortunately any louder and I find you are starting to break up too much for a nice clean rhythm guitar sound. I use pedals exclusively for my drive sound so I want the clean head room.
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Post by robb on Dec 9, 2010 6:30:54 GMT -7
I find in general that writing down settings is useless. Many of us get so caught up in gear that we forget that the ROOM has the single greatest effect on your tone, more than strings, pickups, speakers, pedals, or even your guitar or amp. Room shape, size, ceiling height, ceiling material, floor material, presence of windows, etc will have more effect on your eq, volume (and verb!) than any knob setting. You can be stubborn and fight it, but the room wins EVERY time and you'll just end up being disappointed with your sound.
The only things I've found work in every situation is to a) get your amp off the floor and b) approach your settings as a blank slate every gig. Turn knobs until you find your tone in that room. They may be in a completely different position than they were at home!
As mentioned, an attenuator is also a NECESSITY in clubs with amps of this size. Most gigs with my Stangray the Airbrake is on bedroom, or at least 4. Does it change my tone? Maybe. But you know what'll change your tone even worse? Having a sound guy that's pissed at you 'cause you wont turn down like he asked.
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Post by mtlrecords on Dec 9, 2010 7:27:52 GMT -7
Robb-
Excellent points. I was playing in a huge room recently (1400 seat+) and I just could not get my amp to sound right. With the reverb off, there was still reverb (natural, room reverb, but too much). Also, the low end was just out of control, as the floor was hollow.
The room really does dictate the tone, but since normally I play small to mid size venues, the tone is reliably more consisent until I jump up to bigger, "roomier" stages.
Cheers for the good thought and compelling points.
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Post by slartybartfast on Dec 16, 2010 9:56:43 GMT -7
Yes, I totally agree (especially regarding keeping the sound guy happy). Thanks for pointing this out.
I recently played a couple of corporate gigs in larger rooms - hotel ballroom size. One room had a hollow stage. Absolute nightmare controlling the low-end until I popped it up on a tilted amp-stand. Way better. However, when using the amp-stand on a solid floor, I found the low-end to thin out. So yes, it depends on the room, the floor, the set-up.
One interesting note. The lead vocalist in my band consistently wants me to turn down - to the point where I get frustrated. Our sound guy suggested I mic the amp, have it running through the mains and also back up through the stage monitors. He then placed a baffle in front of the amp (a screen with some egg-carton foam). This allowed me to turn up to get some nice tone, yet keep the stage volume down. We controlled the stage sound through the monitor mix (the vocalist had her own mix - which allowed me to have more guitar through my monitor and less through hers). I also had my monitor pointing away from the vocalist a touch.
For me (on stage), my guitar in the mix it didn't sound as rich and full as usual, but through the mains, it actually projected nicely into the crowd (so I was told). The vocalist was happy and I could tap into CH2 for leads with no volume issues.
Not sure I'd do this for every gig, but it was an interesting solution which gives the sound guy full control over volume, mix and also helps reduce natural reverb in a difficult venue.
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Post by mtlrecords on Dec 16, 2010 20:52:30 GMT -7
That is the unfortunate state of live playing. Inner-ear monitors are the most popular thing right now, and although I deal with them regularly, I much prefer big ol stage wedges. This makes things harder for the front of house guy, but any FOH engineer should know that if the volume of an instrument is easily heard from the instrument itself, there isn't much call for adding it to the mains.
This is highly debatable, but if my amp sounds good on stage and the audience can hear it, why should I turn down so that the audience can hear a Shure SM-57 a 1/2" away from the speaker, amplified by 4000 watts. That isn't a better sound, not much chance * (*there are exceptions at certain reflective venues or giant outdoor spaces).
So if it makes you happy, turn up, tell the FOH engineer to enjoy the great tone and have one less thing to worry about in the mix!
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Post by slartybartfast on Dec 17, 2010 11:34:25 GMT -7
It's a tough call. I agree with you regarding having an SM57 in front of the amp. Much better not to have to do this. It's purely a issue with the lead vocalist wanting the stage volume kept at a reasonable level, regardless of the FOH volume. It's only the larger venues that require a full mic set up.
I'm still getting used to the Gal. I love the tone at higher volumes, but it's just too loud for the stage mix but usually perfect for the FOH mix.
Usually I have the amp right behind me, tilted up slightly. However, this still bugs the lead singer. The lead singer is set up right next to me, so she gets a lot of Gal in her mix.
You hit the nail on the head with using in-ear monitors. It's perhaps the way to go.
Thanks for your advice.
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Post by mtlrecords on Dec 17, 2010 13:19:36 GMT -7
Singers.
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