Do amps sound better on the floor?

Squonk

A real NOob to Amps

Recently acquired A Roland Cube 30X, my first real Amp.
Not the best but definately a reasonable one to start with.

Been fiddling for 3 weeks with the amp on a table about waist height. This afternoon I put it on the floor and had a standing up jam, the differece in tone was quite noticable.

Is this just my untrained ears?

I had been using headphones before the cube, what a difference!

StephenG

why not tell us what you think??

you saying you noticed a difference between waist height and floor, so what is the diference?? better or worse?

Gearhead

Two factors right there: firstly putting it on an unstable surface like a table (or a temporary stage or drum riser for that matter) can take away tone, especially from a lighter amp. The other issue is where in the room you put it: the closer to a wall/floor corner or even wall/wall/floor corner, the more emphasis on the bass.

Keira-WitherKay

congrats on the amp buy .i know you been looking for one for a while........

as for where to put it..... i have always lifted my amps off the floor.......at gigs.......... but at home it makes little difference ?

the lifting of the amps actually makes a small amp sound better in that it's lifted and the sound isn't projected into peoples feet at the gig and closer to ear level.......i use a "amp stand" available at amy music store that tilts the amp slightly backward by a few degree's and can lift the amp as high as waist hieght on max height ...... (it's variable for height) but this helps on stage as well when you using the small amp as a monitor and angling it towards you and the angle up lets it project more at your ears .....cos mostly with small amps you will mic it up at a bigger show.......... so it's mostly a monitor for your onstage sound.....

placing an amp on the floor also makes the amp more bassy .and the tech boys will explain how the sound wave couples with the floor to add to the bass , so it can boom if on the floor........

and yes huge amp stacks usually stand on the floor but for a small amp i would lift it ........

again at home i don't mind where the amp stands but at a gig it's always on an amp stand or even a chair if i don't have the stand with me

Squonk

It definately sounded fuller, I was playing through the clean channel, the one that's modelled after the roland chorus amps.

I used the neck pickup of my Peavey T60, which is the closest I can get to a strat sound, I am quite impressed with the Cube so far.

Keira, maybe waist height was a bit too high.

What a change from headphones!

Keira-WitherKay

Squonk wrote: .

Keira, maybe waist height was a bit too high.

? i said the stand can go as high as waist high

can lift the amp as high as waist hieght on max height ...... (it's variable for height)

but mine stands just over knee high and angles back a little ..... BUT i sit and play so in reality it's prob about where waist high would be for me if i was standing heheheh but i hear the guitar loud and clear ? .......and thats what matters..

PeteM

I've got a cube 60 and started off using it on the floor but battled to hear it at practices with the band... all mushy. I now use one of those tilt-back stands that Keira talks about (it's a Proel) and the difference is remarkable... it cuts through better and the definition is all there. I couldn't do without it... at home, at practices and at gigs.

vic

Bass amps on the floor...all others at chair height off the floor

Squonk

I must try one of these Amp tilt jobbies.
I think my main problem is that the table it was on, was slightly more than waist hight, well my waist(I am 6ft) so when I sit down to practice, it's basically in line with my ear.

thanks for all the tips.

Bob-Dubery

Gearhead wrote: Two factors right there: firstly putting it on an unstable surface like a table (or a temporary stage or drum riser for that matter) can take away tone, especially from a lighter amp.

This is interesting. Does the unstable surface resonate or soak up some of the sound waves somehow?

UncleGoatLips

I know people who take the casters off their 4X12's immediately because the amps sound better on the floor, as in not even on the wheels. I also used to jam with a guy who insisted an amp sounds best on the floor, it was on a hard surface about waist height and he said he lost tone and he can't judge the amp it its not on the floor.

So if the amp is on the floor it resonates better with the room (but in that case rather face the amp at an angle to the walls to avoid problems with standing waves) but if you are in a band practice situation you might want to tilt it upward or have it ear height in order to hear it more clearly even though you lose tone.

When recording guitars or having practice in small spaces, such as a bedroom or a project studio, the physical connection between the amp and the floor can cause the amp to sympathetically vibrate with the floor. This creates an artificial sense of low end which often interferes with the bass and in a recording can often be hard to eq out and can make your recording sound muddy. By isolating the amp from the floor with dense insulation, the amp can accurately reproduce the low end without vibrating with the room.

The sound of the amp is largely impacted by the room that is exists in. Standing waves are created when a loud guitar amp is played in a small space. To minimize the impact of standing waves, angle the guitar amp at 45 degrees to parallel walls. This will help to keep prominent frequencies from building up in the room. This obviously has a huge effect on what you hear and wherever you stand in the room it is going to sound different.