Got any amplifier tricks for us? Let us know in the comments! In a previous video someone said that they have their guitar tone at zero FIRST, then dial in the amp. -Lee
I watched one video where the amp makers set their preferred sound to 5 for treble, bass and mids and that's where one should start. Have the speaker facing the head of the guitarist when tuning the amp. We all know mic placement matters, the same goes with placement of the ears relative to the speaker. Watts mean clean headroom and not loudness. Factors determine loudness. A cranked 100w amp is twice the loudness of a cranked 10w amp. However, a 10w amp with go into amp distortion quicker. If you want that amp distortion in the studio, one can use a 10w, with one speaker, at a lower volume and save some hearing.
lean your amp back and tilt it so the speaker points upward to the sky at a bit of an angle, use some sort of make shift kickstand or whatever to do it. it will fill the room with sound instead of just blasting it forward at ground/stage height.
Live performance. Treble on 2-3 for Single coils, 4-7 for Humbuckers. Start with Bass on Zero, Get your volume up to where it needs to be, then gradually add in Bass till it's warm, but not boomy. This prevents the muddy sound many guitar players have and allows you to pass the governing restrictions of a Bass heavy amp/cab. Volume = Bass, so avoid feedback and blowing speakers by restricting Bass from you diet. Hope this helps someone, cheers.
Amp off the ground on a " Victorian" dining table chair made of Mahogany and pointing towards the Hubble space telescope, that never fails to get the Guitar sounding its best.
I’m a Deathcore drummer. Got to see Joe live in New Hampshire. Absolute BEST sounding rock artist I’ve ever heard live. What a wealth of info. Thanks guys.
There are two ways - first is to listen for the hiss/hum. With guitar unplugged or volume at zero, start with volume and roll it up until you hear the floor noise jump up. Depending on the amp there may be two places it does it - those are the gain stages. Then do the same for the tone knobs listening for jump in hiss or hum. I also do it for presence and even reverb just to find the most sensitive level. Its really just finding the amps "idle" where its ready to jump at the press of the gas pedal. Adjust to taste from that point. The other way is just a quick and dirty, where you strum a chord )open G is good) and do the same slow turn of knobs until you hear the hump.
Joe Bonamassa is a class act. I've never heard of any musician being nicer to their entire crew than what I've heard about him. He has a true heart. Great guy and outstanding guitar player. I wish the world had more people like him.
Amen brother. If we have to double the power just to get 3db in output (regarded as a minimum noticeable change in volume be amongst common folk), then the amp gets extremely inefficient past 25% (around 10 o clock). Double it twice to 100% and you’ve only added 6db. Take the edge off with a the volume knob and play a bit softer and save that extra available amp power for dynamics and solos. Use inefficient speakers for some extra fuzz and you can cover all the ‘feels’. Lanois shared this trick on Gearsl*to about 25 years ago and changed my world.
As a sound guy and Guitar player, understand that the amount of guitar effects that sounds good (studio like) on an amp solo in a room will make it sound like mud in a live mix. Start with the amount of reverb or delay level at about 1/2 of your normal live. The room will add to it naturally.
Actually I find the opposite of this to be true. Wet effects don’t really muddy a mix up, they just can’t be heard if you set them at the same volume you would in a studio. If you intend them to be an effect that’s audible then they usually need a hotter mix live.
You both are right, bu you did forget the environment: yo need wey effects outdoor and dry effects indoor often. . So, that's what you need to have in mind when setting up your sound. u need wet effet@@ledrew2370
I agree, I run an old 55 year old Deluxe for blues off a strat or a telecaster. Works at its sweet spot with the amp cranked to 2 o'clock, full bass, treble on 2 o'clock. At any gig ... regardless of size. Control your volume on the guitar because you know the amp is in it's sweet spot. It gets no louder above that, it just starts breaking up way too much and destroying the sound. That works for no pedals ... just straight in. Beautiful.
@@user-zx5gg8od6l " You’re not going to get ANY KIND of rock sound at volume and tone at 1 on your guitar in a small venue." ... but I do, although I am not now a ROCK guitarist. More blues/jazz mix. Maybe not on 1 but that's the obvious extreme, but anything from about 3-4 I can get notes hanging quite easily. ;-) And modelers are getting pretty close now I agree. The worst are the Fender ToneMasters ... they absolutely cannot "hear" the light touch or feel of fingers on the strings. The closest I get is still going back to the old Kemper (which is meant to be outdated now) that listens to your playing technique for about 10 minutes as the last phase of the profiling process. I've not found another profiler that learns from you ... not just the sound of the amp.
My Fender DeVille was just as loud at 4 as it was at 10. There are two flavors of pots. Linear and taper. I don't know which is which, but I had the stock pot removed and the other installed so that you could use some of that upper volume and it wasn't full blast. No joke you could be at 2 and going from 2 to 3 was like flipping a switch. Like a "max volume bypass switch". Best mod ever. I wish I could remember what was in it and what he replaced it with.
Glad joe agrees with me on in ears versus not. We all played our rock albums through the stereo as kids, on big old fashioned headphones - full treble, full bass, yay. Ok in your bedroom but on a big noisy stage thats going to need to be loud for a full set constant. No escape. Multiply that by night after night into older duller ears .. and your on the way to deafness despite it all being very hi tech and professional
The higher gain channel of the Egnater Rebel 30 is great, but I want to ditch it because the lower gain channel was like wet paper. I finally just turned it up louder and got an attenuator. I love it now.
Good to hear a mention of Blue Cheer, I picked up an album in the 80's at a garage sale and it seems like nobody talks about them. Forget about Summertime blues and check out their other works like Magnolia Caboose Babyfinger, etc.
I'm pretty close to Joe. I almost always start at 12 o-clock. I figure, the designer of this amp has those positions as "Here is the middle of what this amp can do and possibly this is where it might sound best." Then of course all the other random factors involved and they might get changed a bit from there. For example, back in the day people complained about fizz on the VS100R. Against popular judgement, I turned highs and presence to 1 (or less)...fizz gone and amp still alive. Another trick is keep the bass in check. Having a template starting point is a great way to figure out amps best sounds.
My local music shop stocks a range of guitars and amps ranging from entry level to high end. The manager told me they might sell one 100w head/ quad box combination a year. Their bread and butter is in the smaller combos. I worked with a guy years ago who owned a Fender Super Reverb. He ran a strat into tube screamer and could peel paint. Great sound but jfc he could be loud. The days of filling a pub venue with sound are over and aren’t coming back. Not down here anyway. We can’t all play stadiums. Gotta keep it real.✌️🇦🇺🎸
Which one do you use? Been looking at the Fryette Power Station. Had a Rivera Rock Crusher, worked really well but hated the stepped volume knob. Even at the least attenuated setting, it wasn't loud enough for band rehearsal, with my 100 watt Marshall dimed
I saw Buddy Guy do that at Antones in Austin. He was playing with the house band on a borrowed es-335 into a borrowed tweed amp. He walked up adjusted the knobs for under 2 seconds then plugged in. The house guitar player walked over to assist with the tweed that I think was his and Buddy kinda rudely shooed him off. Sounded fantastic and he didnt touch the amp the whole show.
Huge respect for Joe! But, as a musician and audiologist I have to disagree with the statement that in-ear monitors do more damage than direct stage sound. Of course it all depends on how loud you crank up your in-ears but I for one and 100% sure I get less 'noise exposure' in a rehearsal with my in-ears than if I take them out, by a significant amount.
The best middle ground would be stage sound with those earplugs that don’t ruin the tone (assuming they work as well as I have read online, they seem to be made for concerts with variations in db reduction etc). Unless you have problems hearing yourself this way of course, loud sounds directly in your ear is scary, especially when it has to be heard over all the outside noises of a rock concert.
I agree. That was a very idiotic statement. IEM are the best solution for live playing and it’s almost undeniable at this point IMO. I love an amp behind me blowing my hair. But an amp offstage mic’d is a MUCH better solution for EVERYONE.
well you can't be changing your amp volume on the fly so its your guitar volume that really is the key to the sound esp if your needing different amts of gain...
In reality, very few amps in Yngwie's wall of Marshall are running. Look at how few have cables running into them. Also, watch the video on his signature Marshall head and when they go around back, notice how few cabinets are actually connected as well. It's pretty funny for all but those who have to load in and load out all of that...
Angus Young’s live sound has actually become quite complicated trying to capture his original tone for arena shows and stadium shows. There’s a video from Premiere Guitar that shows everything involved including all the details from his live guitar tech that you can view here on TH-cam, which also includes Stevie Young’s setup which was used for Malcolm Young’s live setup.
Soooo true!! I have a 100watt tube Marshall Plexi and 2.5 or 3 is LOUD and turning it past yes it gets louder and breaks up more but you cannot perceive the difference audibly other than it sounds more "fluffy" due to breaking up the signal. I like it about 2 and run a preamp to break it up with distortion. So go to my other practice amps... yep same thing unless I am practicing with people then I crank up to hear myself more but the tone really doesn't change much nor does the perceived volume when played by itself. Also great point about the white noise!! One of the most impressive things about the Marshall Code amps is they emulate the white noise of a vintage tube amp VERY well!! Nothing in the room beats a 100 watt Marshall tube Plexi going through a few 4x12s but we all trick them out with different Celestians and preamps/pedals to get "our sound" you will never be able to record it exactly the tone yes but the same as being in the room nope. This is because you "hear" with your whole body not just your ears. When a big tube amp is on 2 or 3 everything in the room is vibrating and falling down off the shelves and walls. Your body converts this data into sound for your brain just like your ears do it is just more obvious you hear with your ears but ask a deaf person when they go to a room where a big assed Marshall is playing if they can feel a difference and does it feel cool/good. Likely they will have a lot to explain to you which you know is something you have overlooked for years being that you are distracted by your ears on what the rest of your body is "hearing". There is no mic that can record that.
I've had this discussion with dozens of people over the years, and specially with other vocalists and band members with some difficulty understanding basic studs. It's ALWAYS the drummer who sets the volume. Doesn't matter if you're on a stage or a rehearsal room! Guitars, bass and vocal speakers always have to go as loud as the drummer plays. Period!
It has always been about not getting sound blasted from the drums. It’s the unamplified instruments that will determine how much amp you need to maintain a hold on reality.
Nice one! Except for volume, it's plus and minus with color knobs on amps / pedals, Start at twelve o'clock not zero. You can then add or subtract each color knob to get your sound in the ballpark. Tweak with a graphic E.Q.
I would loooove to totally agree with Joe. Unfortunately, if you're not a blues/jazz musician or superstar that is a creature of habit, in ear monitors and more quiet amplifiers are essential for the sound technicians. There is a minimum bleed, so the level of clarity and the options to do a better mix are unmatchable. I honestly envy every artist that can overcome these obstacles without giving hell to the FOH guy and in the meantime deliver great sound quality to the audience.
Its all too easy to stand by your cab and dial it in at sound check. I go off stage to front row and see how it sounds there invariably i will reduce treble a tiny bit. Esp with a very directional 4 x12 if you are in the line of it it can be very harsh. Recently i angle my cab across stage a bit so front row not getting that ear piercing sound and it gives me better monitoring across whole stage so i can hear what im playing
That's interesting he says he thinks in ear monitors do more hearing damage than having the amp further away with you (I'm assuming he means while still wearing hearing protection).
Joe B is a Poet - an instinctive tone master and an ES-335 master (oh, by the way, he kicks ass on a Les Paul) - but his playing is pure poetry - thanks largely to his own soul. and also, Danny Gatton (RIP)
My God, someone finally said it! IEMs are terrible. Use an amp appropriate for the venue and tun it up to where it just breaks up. Back off the treble and keep the bass in balance (usually below noon).
Literally just realized this with my amp yesterday. There’s almost like 3 different levels. Like 7-10 is one then 10 to around 1 but after 1 the amp sn’t getting any louder.
Mildly disagree with a couple of things for what it's worth. 1 - a snare is not masking anyones guitar tone, it is too short in its decay, the only way a snare could do this would be a sustained blast beat but then no one blasts as hard as they hit in the slow bits. The cymbals are what is masking everything. add a few vocal mics for bleed and suddenly all you have is cymbals. It is rare I will mic up cymbals in a venue smaller than a 1k cap. and if i do its for in ear sends and the quiet bits if there are any. A guitarist has the option to turn down their amp if they have the wrong amp for the room. A drummer is essentially a neanderthal with wildly oversized cymbals for most venues and they don't have volume controls. Cymbal sustain is nice on record, not so much live. 2 - micing up and re-inforcing an amp/cab through a PA, even if you are only adding 5% of the tone back in should feel like you are adding 50%. One main thing most guitarists don't get is how laser beam directional guitar speakers are. They will dial in their treble and presence knobs with the drivers shooting at their ankles where they don't have as many ears, and that shit can be like going to the dentist to anyone in the crowd. 3 - in ears are the way forwards if you have the right ones. Yes you are directing a lot of dbs directly into your ears but it doesn't need to be as loud; as you are blocking out all the stage volume, and stage volume is reduced by a fat level by not having floor monitors. Another thing not many people pay attention to is phase coherency between guitar amps and floor monitors, if your monitor is out of phase with your guitar amp, the guitarist will ask for it to be cranked beyond where it needs to be for them to hear it properly. before asking for more guitar in your floor monitor, ask whoever is doing sound try try reversing the polarity on your guitar mic.
🎉i' ve spent my Life at 2 O'Clock or less. Thanks Mr Bonamssa for Confirm. Us apartment dwellers do a lot of lo sound. Mostly unplugged - which gives the unaccompanied song Created Bass and background 🎸 effect. when playing out with my partscaster,, 4 loaded picgds. Inc. Fender American, srv,, and my Epiphone Hummingbird, I play better, W/Flattering Result.
Is this interviewer thick? The point is, the amp doesn't get louder after a certain point, it just gets more compressed/ distorted - the volume output isn't linear.
My approach is that it's the sound man's job to bring us through his P.A. It's not my job to change everything I do to suit them. I know how my band sounds it's best and we're experienced enough to know how to dial ourselves to the stage and the venue. The audience is there to hear us, not the sound man. It should be; "we sound like this, you get that out to them", somehow that got flipped around. I'm sick of how everyone has decided we have to select amps and dial them in to suit the sound people instead of the band and the music.
Naah, Joe is a great artist but he is clearly showing his age lol Its like getting angry with my grandpa cause he loves classic cars even though those are a bunch of scrap metal that is barely working these days He can do whatever he wants, hey pays the bills, but I still encourage younger players to go ampless
@@mattreeves6145 No, I am not. But since you are young I'll give you the benefit of the doubt since you probably don't know any better yet. How am I wrong?
@ as a guy that his been on 2 national tours, playing stadiums to baseball fields… and has been in the music business for the last 26 years. I can with 100 percent certainty tell you that no, a Kemper can’t give you the clean tone that an old Music Man can give you. I’ve tried multiple times and it’s not the same. And it’s not even remotely close. It’s sterile and disgusting. Now it almost hits it dead on when it’s overdriven but clean it’s terrible, at best!
@ Well, working on a big national producer I can tell you that there is a reason why more than half the international acts are moving to ampless solutions for stage And working on a studio for the last 8 years I can also tell you that it is physically impossible for you to discern the difference at a volume louder than 90db or through in ears, sound waves are sound waves, even harmonically rich ones. But you can disagree of course, there are still players on 2025 that request amps as backline at work and we provide, in the end the product is the same, nobody in the audience notices.
Love Joe but L take on IEM’s. You can control the volume in your IEM’s. It doesn’t have to be blaring. It’s only damaging to your ears if you have it blasting.
I'm kinda different. I like to set the EQ to 10 and then back off on whatever I need to. Too flubby and I'll lower bass, too harsh and ill lower treble, too AM radio sounding and i'll drop mids. But the signal is the most clear at 10. If you put all your EQ to 0 it will sound like trash.
I never understood the whole hard hitting drummer thing. I play guitar these days, but have played drums since the mid 80s. I can bang a drum harder than Bonham and Nicko McBain combined. I can also traditional grip and jam in a basement with guitar players using 5-10 watts transistor amplifiers- and they can be heard just fine above my drumming. Who are these drummers that have zilcho command over their own playing dynamics?
@ a guy who couldn’t learn how to hit a drum more lightly is something I never understood. Sure certain cymbals and drums are designed to not spread in sound unless hit hard. But manufacturers in the last 30 years have made cymbals and drums that are designed to have that sound spread with lighter impacts. All you have to do is buy that gear and tone down the playing. As a drummer, I don’t like killing my own ears with the super loud Sonor drums and Zildjian A cymbals. I use to do it, but I like my ears better
You’re making the assumption that every band’s drumming has to have dynamics. There are certain types of hard rock bands where wailing on the drums 95% of the time is the sound. You don’t have to like those kinds of bands, but don’t act like a drummer “can’t” play with dynamics just because they’re in a band without much dynamics.
Is anyone else disappointed there was no demo of Joe actually showing us how the "hump" sounds like? The end screen says, "Click here to watch the whole episode," but there is nothing clickable where the arrow points...other than the usual video controls that overlay every TH-cam video.
And no it doesn't seem to be in the full episode, either (just now noticed the link in the video description and listened through at 2x speed; possible I missed it).
The secret to getting great guitar tone is just looking at any drummer to get the volume required....if he/she's dribbling out of both sides of their mouth at the same time mid flight, the volume rules have been set for the gig
If you don't know the sound you're aiming for adjuisting knobs is pointless. On my ENGL E-300 combo I set everything around the middle and then go from there. I keep the bass around 10/11 o' clock (conflicts with the bass player if too high), Mid and Treble around 2'o' clock.
He didn't show me anything. The video should be titled Joe bonamassa tries to describe how to hear the optimum point of an amp without actually playing anything.
Wrong ! So when I once turned my Mesa M-III through my double 12 Marshall at window shattering 10, to piss off a neighbor, it would have been the same at 3? I think my neighbor from back then ( including the neighborhood who confirmed hearing me blocks away ) , would disagree .
Sounds like you turn it up until the hissing does not get any louder. I think he is saying at that point the Amp won't get louder, it will just start getting more driven with less punch and attack.
have a look at what Matt Schofield says (he explains it well in a video with that pedal show) : move the pot back and forth on its track, and feel where the pot suddently changes something ("the hump in the hiss") there is generally one or two points at which the pot drastically changes the tone (or noise) that you're hearing. that's the thing. and it's not about the volume (in my humble opinion), rather in the dynamic : set like this on every knob, the amp is at its most dynamic state. yes it adds noise to the signal, but it generally sounds the best it can. hope it helps ! and thanks Matt Schofield :)
Sound guy and guitarist here; in a small club the guitar amps should be what the audience hears, not the PA. Putting a mic, mixer, power amp and PA speaker between the amp and the listener does not make the amp sound better, just louder. So why not simply turn up the amp? Amps are great at filling rooms with sound, that's what they are designed for.
People always disagree , but you want good live sound, dont start with drums. All sound men/women always trained thats how its done. Start with guitars and keys and vocals and get them to pleasing levels, remove competing frequencies. bring in the bass just slightly under. Then bring up just the drum overheads. Get that sounding good and bring kick and snare and toms to where it fills in nicely. Dont knock it till you try it. The traditional way is a volume war and by the time you get to vox everything is piercing and frequencies are all wrong.
On the advice of Mr. Bonamassa, I run my 5E3 Tweed Deluxe with both volumes @ nine and the tone on five. Anything between Nine and twelve becomes super saggy and compressed like Neil Young, which of course is really cool in it's self.
Totally agree with Joe just have the amp up and move away. I’m ears just are usless you can’t hear what is truly going on around you and remember when you play your in the gig why only want to hear in your ears only from earphones.
Are you a turn the guitar down guy or a step on another boost guy.. Series parallel switched humbucker a fuzz face and a near dimed amp is pretty much the business
I wish all the individual videos from this conversation were uploaded as one video so we can know we got the whole conversation instead of curated bits like this. I know this is intentional for social media, more total views etc but as a viewer, just watching an interview, a conversation flow from one thing to the next, it's really nice to not have that break in between "oh which other parts of this conversation have i gotten? okay ive seen this one, this one...is that all there is?" just my 2cents
I know a guy who sets a wah-wah pedal in the "sweet" spot and leaves it there. Just to give himself the poor man's Tom Schulz - Boston tone...and it works
Got any amplifier tricks for us? Let us know in the comments! In a previous video someone said that they have their guitar tone at zero FIRST, then dial in the amp. -Lee
I watched one video where the amp makers set their preferred sound to 5 for treble, bass and mids and that's where one should start.
Have the speaker facing the head of the guitarist when tuning the amp. We all know mic placement matters, the same goes with placement of the ears relative to the speaker.
Watts mean clean headroom and not loudness. Factors determine loudness. A cranked 100w amp is twice the loudness of a cranked 10w amp. However, a 10w amp with go into amp distortion quicker. If you want that amp distortion in the studio, one can use a 10w, with one speaker, at a lower volume and save some hearing.
lean your amp back and tilt it so the speaker points upward to the sky at a bit of an angle, use some sort of make shift kickstand or whatever to do it. it will fill the room with sound instead of just blasting it forward at ground/stage height.
Live performance. Treble on 2-3 for Single coils, 4-7 for Humbuckers. Start with Bass on Zero, Get your volume up to where it needs to be, then gradually add in Bass till it's warm, but not boomy. This prevents the muddy sound many guitar players have and allows you to pass the governing restrictions of a Bass heavy amp/cab. Volume = Bass, so avoid feedback and blowing speakers by restricting Bass from you diet. Hope this helps someone, cheers.
Yes that is very helpful; thanks!
Amp off the ground on a " Victorian" dining table chair made of Mahogany and pointing towards the Hubble space telescope, that never fails to get the Guitar sounding its best.
Finally someone says it, the drummer sets the stage volume.
The rest of the guys in Black Sabbath kept buying bigger amps because Bill Ward was SO loud.
Drummer is a big problem. They don’t want to acknowledge this unfortunately.
It's part of the difference between bands, that and how much interaction between players......embrace it.
Guitars don't need to be so loud, the drums need to be heard by everyone, that's much more important ☝️😅 @@ohreallycat
@@Andreas-yt9wv are you a drummer?
I’m a Deathcore drummer. Got to see Joe live in New Hampshire. Absolute BEST sounding rock artist I’ve ever heard live. What a wealth of info. Thanks guys.
Been nice to have demo what Joe was talking about so we could hear it.
I was thinking the same..
There are two ways - first is to listen for the hiss/hum. With guitar unplugged or volume at zero, start with volume and roll it up until you hear the floor noise jump up. Depending on the amp there may be two places it does it - those are the gain stages. Then do the same for the tone knobs listening for jump in hiss or hum. I also do it for presence and even reverb just to find the most sensitive level. Its really just finding the amps "idle" where its ready to jump at the press of the gas pedal. Adjust to taste from that point.
The other way is just a quick and dirty, where you strum a chord )open G is good) and do the same slow turn of knobs until you hear the hump.
Just turn some knobs on TH-cam, you’ll hear it then.
To get your amplifier to sound it's best, have Joe Bonamassa play through it.
Haha, you're not wrong!
Sounds legit
If you want to be bored ...
Bonammasa would scoff at the mere thought of playing my lowly consumer grade tube amp
@@CappyRevyep!
Joe Bonamassa is a class act. I've never heard of any musician being nicer to their entire crew than what I've heard about him. He has a true heart. Great guy and outstanding guitar player. I wish the world had more people like him.
He's yelled at me on IG multiple times, because he's that person.
Weeeell, Taylor Swift is pretty nice to her crew also.
When Joe talks, I always learn something new. Thanks Joe!
Amen brother. If we have to double the power just to get 3db in output (regarded as a minimum noticeable change in volume be amongst common folk), then the amp gets extremely inefficient past 25% (around 10 o clock). Double it twice to 100% and you’ve only added 6db. Take the edge off with a the volume knob and play a bit softer and save that extra available amp power for dynamics and solos. Use inefficient speakers for some extra fuzz and you can cover all the ‘feels’. Lanois shared this trick on Gearsl*to about 25 years ago and changed my world.
As a sound guy and Guitar player, understand that the amount of guitar effects that sounds good (studio like) on an amp solo in a room will make it sound like mud in a live mix. Start with the amount of reverb or delay level at about 1/2 of your normal live. The room will add to it naturally.
Actually I find the opposite of this to be true. Wet effects don’t really muddy a mix up, they just can’t be heard if you set them at the same volume you would in a studio. If you intend them to be an effect that’s audible then they usually need a hotter mix live.
You're always at the mercy of the room.........you have tone controls to help you negate its effect.
You both are right, bu you did forget the environment: yo need wey effects outdoor and dry effects indoor often. . So, that's what you need to have in mind when setting up your sound. u need wet effet@@ledrew2370
You both are right: wet settings outdoor and dry settings indoor insted.
*instead
I totally agree on setting the knobs to 2 o’clock. I do it all the time
Do you mean all the knobs or just volume, gain?
Yeah for Fenders, other amps are completely different
What is 2:00? Is that like 6 of 10?
@@ApeMan-j2v like....how 2 o clock is on an actual clock. The small hand at two....set your amp there 😂
@@jordancampbell9914Fender amps don't have a "hand" on the knobs they're just 1-10 numbers
The thing about that, is Sometimes giving one of the controls the lead. the treble or the bass and then work out the mid's and volume.
I agree, I run an old 55 year old Deluxe for blues off a strat or a telecaster. Works at its sweet spot with the amp cranked to 2 o'clock, full bass, treble on 2 o'clock.
At any gig ... regardless of size. Control your volume on the guitar because you know the amp is in it's sweet spot.
It gets no louder above that, it just starts breaking up way too much and destroying the sound. That works for no pedals ... just straight in. Beautiful.
55 is not old goddamnit!
😂
@@LeeGee 1970 is old for an amp. 50's and 60's would be older. But that's maths for you. ;-)
@@user-zx5gg8od6l " You’re not going to get ANY KIND of rock sound at volume and tone at 1 on your guitar in a small venue." ... but I do, although I am not now a ROCK guitarist. More blues/jazz mix. Maybe not on 1 but that's the obvious extreme, but anything from about 3-4 I can get notes hanging quite easily. ;-)
And modelers are getting pretty close now I agree. The worst are the Fender ToneMasters ... they absolutely cannot "hear" the light touch or feel of fingers on the strings. The closest I get is still going back to the old Kemper (which is meant to be outdated now) that listens to your playing technique for about 10 minutes as the last phase of the profiling process. I've not found another profiler that learns from you ... not just the sound of the amp.
My Fender DeVille was just as loud at 4 as it was at 10. There are two flavors of pots. Linear and taper. I don't know which is which, but I had the stock pot removed and the other installed so that you could use some of that upper volume and it wasn't full blast. No joke you could be at 2 and going from 2 to 3 was like flipping a switch. Like a "max volume bypass switch". Best mod ever. I wish I could remember what was in it and what he replaced it with.
You mean linear and log. Those are pot tapers. And there are more than just those 2.
Isn't it written on the pot? Some code...?
@@LeeGee It is. A 100K , B 100K, W 100K etc. Each letter tells you the taper and using the right taper pot does matter.
Log = audio taper.
@@Carol-ji1mh Thank you! I always get them mixed up
Glad joe agrees with me on in ears versus not. We all played our rock albums through the stereo as kids, on big old fashioned headphones - full treble, full bass, yay. Ok in your bedroom but on a big noisy stage thats going to need to be loud for a full set constant. No escape. Multiply that by night after night into older duller ears .. and your on the way to deafness despite it all being very hi tech and professional
WHAT!?
The higher gain channel of the Egnater Rebel 30 is great, but I want to ditch it because the lower gain channel was like wet paper. I finally just turned it up louder and got an attenuator. I love it now.
Good to hear a mention of Blue Cheer, I picked up an album in the 80's at a garage sale and it seems like nobody talks about them. Forget about Summertime blues and check out their other works like Magnolia Caboose Babyfinger, etc.
Blue Cheer recuds killed my hamster. True story.
Blue cheer before ac/dc as a loud band.. I agree . Epic interview
Guitar and bass level balances are always about the drummer's style and power. Absolutely! Thank you for saying it.
Out of 20 drummers I've known, just three were rockers with power. Rest were feathers.
I'm pretty close to Joe. I almost always start at 12 o-clock. I figure, the designer of this amp has those positions as "Here is the middle of what this amp can do and possibly this is where it might sound best." Then of course all the other random factors involved and they might get changed a bit from there. For example, back in the day people complained about fizz on the VS100R. Against popular judgement, I turned highs and presence to 1 (or less)...fizz gone and amp still alive. Another trick is keep the bass in check.
Having a template starting point is a great way to figure out amps best sounds.
I'm the same, mate. That's the way I've always done it.
Set everything to noon as a base then turn up/down what I feel it needs.
Yep, straight up North it is.
My local music shop stocks a range of guitars and amps ranging from entry level to high end. The manager told me they might sell one 100w head/ quad box combination a year. Their bread and butter is in the smaller combos. I worked with a guy years ago who owned a Fender Super Reverb. He ran a strat into tube screamer and could peel paint. Great sound but jfc he could be loud. The days of filling a pub venue with sound are over and aren’t coming back. Not down here anyway. We can’t all play stadiums. Gotta keep it real.✌️🇦🇺🎸
buy an attenuator. best piece of gear i have ever bought.
Which one do you use? Been looking at the Fryette Power Station. Had a Rivera Rock Crusher, worked really well but hated the stepped volume knob. Even at the least attenuated setting, it wasn't loud enough for band rehearsal, with my 100 watt Marshall dimed
Yes sir!
I saw Buddy Guy do that at Antones in Austin. He was playing with the house band on a borrowed es-335 into a borrowed tweed amp. He walked up adjusted the knobs for under 2 seconds then plugged in. The house guitar player walked over to assist with the tweed that I think was his and Buddy kinda rudely shooed him off. Sounded fantastic and he didnt touch the amp the whole show.
Huge respect for Joe! But, as a musician and audiologist I have to disagree with the statement that in-ear monitors do more damage than direct stage sound. Of course it all depends on how loud you crank up your in-ears but I for one and 100% sure I get less 'noise exposure' in a rehearsal with my in-ears than if I take them out, by a significant amount.
The best middle ground would be stage sound with those earplugs that don’t ruin the tone (assuming they work as well as I have read online, they seem to be made for concerts with variations in db reduction etc). Unless you have problems hearing yourself this way of course, loud sounds directly in your ear is scary, especially when it has to be heard over all the outside noises of a rock concert.
I agree. That was a very idiotic statement. IEM are the best solution for live playing and it’s almost undeniable at this point IMO. I love an amp behind me blowing my hair. But an amp offstage mic’d is a MUCH better solution for EVERYONE.
you are absolutely right!
@@surfingraichu7594 I hate in-ears, so I follow exactly the way you said: stage sound and earplugs. They works great.
Simple, don’t crank them up too loudly and you are keeping your ears from being damaged by a loud stage.
well you can't be changing your amp volume on the fly so its your guitar volume that really is the key to the sound esp if your needing different amts of gain...
Bonamassa mentioned Blue Cheer! They were one of the heaviest and loudest bands in the late 60s. Hell yeah.
$1000 says they all have tinnitus and hearing aids
I have read that at some point Grand Funk and The Who we’re the loudest band. …Guess back then people were measuring that kind of stuff.
Their guitarist Randy Holden later played 8 x 200W Sunn heads, each driving two JBL 15" speakers (D140s?) on his album Population II
"not everyone can be Angus Young with 9 full stacks"
"Hold my beer..." --- Yngwie J. Malmsteem
In reality, very few amps in Yngwie's wall of Marshall are running. Look at how few have cables running into them. Also, watch the video on his signature Marshall head and when they go around back, notice how few cabinets are actually connected as well. It's pretty funny for all but those who have to load in and load out all of that...
@@bb_lz9790 Yes, but luckily some of the cabs are not loaded as well.
Angus Young’s live sound has actually become quite complicated trying to capture his original tone for arena shows and stadium shows.
There’s a video from Premiere Guitar that shows everything involved including all the details from his live guitar tech that you can view here on TH-cam, which also includes Stevie Young’s setup which was used for Malcolm Young’s live setup.
"Hold my Cinnabun!"
Soooo true!! I have a 100watt tube Marshall Plexi and 2.5 or 3 is LOUD and turning it past yes it gets louder and breaks up more but you cannot perceive the difference audibly other than it sounds more "fluffy" due to breaking up the signal. I like it about 2 and run a preamp to break it up with distortion. So go to my other practice amps... yep same thing unless I am practicing with people then I crank up to hear myself more but the tone really doesn't change much nor does the perceived volume when played by itself. Also great point about the white noise!! One of the most impressive things about the Marshall Code amps is they emulate the white noise of a vintage tube amp VERY well!! Nothing in the room beats a 100 watt Marshall tube Plexi going through a few 4x12s but we all trick them out with different Celestians and preamps/pedals to get "our sound" you will never be able to record it exactly the tone yes but the same as being in the room nope. This is because you "hear" with your whole body not just your ears. When a big tube amp is on 2 or 3 everything in the room is vibrating and falling down off the shelves and walls. Your body converts this data into sound for your brain just like your ears do it is just more obvious you hear with your ears but ask a deaf person when they go to a room where a big assed Marshall is playing if they can feel a difference and does it feel cool/good. Likely they will have a lot to explain to you which you know is something you have overlooked for years being that you are distracted by your ears on what the rest of your body is "hearing". There is no mic that can record that.
It's all about feeling the music, right?
12 till 2 works very well on the vox valvetronix especially when coopertronik is mixing it up on the Ibanez iceman
Nice guitar playing.
Good video, however I would have liked the specs on the amp and would have liked to hear that Epiphone! I will try this trick.
Hi! You can see the guitar being played in the related video in the description :)
I've had this discussion with dozens of people over the years, and specially with other vocalists and band members with some difficulty understanding basic studs. It's ALWAYS the drummer who sets the volume. Doesn't matter if you're on a stage or a rehearsal room!
Guitars, bass and vocal speakers always have to go as loud as the drummer plays. Period!
What did Joe just teach me? That amps sound good loud? Thanks uncle joe
Rock on!
It has always been about not getting sound blasted from the drums. It’s the unamplified instruments that will determine how much amp you need to maintain a hold on reality.
Nice one! Except for volume, it's plus and minus with color knobs on amps / pedals, Start at twelve o'clock not zero. You can then add or subtract each color knob to get your sound in the ballpark. Tweak with a graphic E.Q.
Which is preferred, cranking the amp up to maximize tone and turning he guitar volume down or the reverse?
Run your guitar at 80 percent.
Open everything up and then dial it back from there because most tone controls are subtractive
I would loooove to totally agree with Joe. Unfortunately, if you're not a blues/jazz musician or superstar that is a creature of habit, in ear monitors and more quiet amplifiers are essential for the sound technicians. There is a minimum bleed, so the level of clarity and the options to do a better mix are unmatchable. I honestly envy every artist that can overcome these obstacles without giving hell to the FOH guy and in the meantime deliver great sound quality to the audience.
Its all too easy to stand by your cab and dial it in at sound check. I go off stage to front row and see how it sounds there invariably i will reduce treble a tiny bit. Esp with a very directional 4 x12 if you are in the line of it it can be very harsh. Recently i angle my cab across stage a bit so front row not getting that ear piercing sound and it gives me better monitoring across whole stage so i can hear what im playing
But, mine goes to 11…
That's interesting he says he thinks in ear monitors do more hearing damage than having the amp further away with you (I'm assuming he means while still wearing hearing protection).
What about starting the production back in stock for this Copper Iridescent Epiphone ? Out of stock for months !
For sure, i am not a world class guitar player but over the years I found "my amp" and a few pedals, for my fun sound in my living room. That’s it….,
Joe B is a Poet - an instinctive tone master and an ES-335 master (oh, by the way, he kicks ass on a Les Paul) - but his playing is pure poetry - thanks largely to his own soul. and also, Danny Gatton (RIP)
Eric Johnson is the source of his climax runs.
My God, someone finally said it! IEMs are terrible. Use an amp appropriate for the venue and tun it up to where it just breaks up. Back off the treble and keep the bass in balance (usually below noon).
Literally just realized this with my amp yesterday. There’s almost like 3 different levels. Like 7-10 is one then 10 to around 1 but after 1 the amp sn’t getting any louder.
The man knows his stuff! BonaTone!
This is why I'll always say to avoid only staying in your lane as a musician and learning the as much as you can about sound/audio itself.
I would love one of those Epiphones with P90s.
They should still be available! I have one and love it!
I have a (reissue) 56 gold top Epiphone with P90's. What a sweet instrument and killer tone!
@@billthepainter5106
Gotta make it a priority
@@keithhuckabee9859
I am sure it sounds beautiful
I turn my amp Volume up, and back off my guitar volume (5-6) just untill you hear the "hum". It cleans it up, and you still have the punch.
The problem is we don’t know if you’re talking three out of 10 or 3 o’clock
"3" is probably 9:00 or so
Mildly disagree with a couple of things for what it's worth.
1 - a snare is not masking anyones guitar tone, it is too short in its decay, the only way a snare could do this would be a sustained blast beat but then no one blasts as hard as they hit in the slow bits. The cymbals are what is masking everything. add a few vocal mics for bleed and suddenly all you have is cymbals. It is rare I will mic up cymbals in a venue smaller than a 1k cap. and if i do its for in ear sends and the quiet bits if there are any. A guitarist has the option to turn down their amp if they have the wrong amp for the room. A drummer is essentially a neanderthal with wildly oversized cymbals for most venues and they don't have volume controls. Cymbal sustain is nice on record, not so much live.
2 - micing up and re-inforcing an amp/cab through a PA, even if you are only adding 5% of the tone back in should feel like you are adding 50%. One main thing most guitarists don't get is how laser beam directional guitar speakers are. They will dial in their treble and presence knobs with the drivers shooting at their ankles where they don't have as many ears, and that shit can be like going to the dentist to anyone in the crowd.
3 - in ears are the way forwards if you have the right ones. Yes you are directing a lot of dbs directly into your ears but it doesn't need to be as loud; as you are blocking out all the stage volume, and stage volume is reduced by a fat level by not having floor monitors. Another thing not many people pay attention to is phase coherency between guitar amps and floor monitors, if your monitor is out of phase with your guitar amp, the guitarist will ask for it to be cranked beyond where it needs to be for them to hear it properly. before asking for more guitar in your floor monitor, ask whoever is doing sound try try reversing the polarity on your guitar mic.
Absolutely, right on the money JB!
Dearest Joe, yes, if you crank your IEMs, it will hurt your ears. But here’s a revelation: you don’t have to crank IEMs.
🎉i' ve spent my Life at 2 O'Clock or less. Thanks Mr Bonamssa for
Confirm. Us apartment dwellers do a lot of lo sound. Mostly unplugged - which gives the unaccompanied song Created Bass and background 🎸 effect. when playing out with my partscaster,, 4 loaded picgds. Inc. Fender American, srv,, and my
Epiphone Hummingbird, I play better, W/Flattering Result.
Not many people have more on-stage experience than Joe Bonamassa.
He still plays 80 watt twins on stage in stereo cranked and packs venues. The Blues ain't dead yet.
True. According to Google, he plays around 200 shows per year!
Joe owns all the good amps, hoarder, big time
I know. I was gonna buy a Dumble but he got it first so I bought a yacht instead.
Is this interviewer thick? The point is, the amp doesn't get louder after a certain point, it just gets more compressed/ distorted - the volume output isn't linear.
My approach is that it's the sound man's job to bring us through his P.A. It's not my job to change everything I do to suit them. I know how my band sounds it's best and we're experienced enough to know how to dial ourselves to the stage and the venue. The audience is there to hear us, not the sound man. It should be; "we sound like this, you get that out to them", somehow that got flipped around. I'm sick of how everyone has decided we have to select amps and dial them in to suit the sound people instead of the band and the music.
Joe, I hope nerdville is safe out there!
I have constant ringing from keeping up with heavy drumming
Every sound guy is watching this in disagreement and they’re gonna show up and take it out on some poor soul tonight 😂
Naah, Joe is a great artist but he is clearly showing his age lol
Its like getting angry with my grandpa cause he loves classic cars even though those are a bunch of scrap metal that is barely working these days
He can do whatever he wants, hey pays the bills, but I still encourage younger players to go ampless
@ and I’m a younger player that can 100 percent tell you, for me… you’re incorrect
@@mattreeves6145 No, I am not.
But since you are young I'll give you the benefit of the doubt since you probably don't know any better yet.
How am I wrong?
@ as a guy that his been on 2 national tours, playing stadiums to baseball fields… and has been in the music business for the last 26 years. I can with 100 percent certainty tell you that no, a Kemper can’t give you the clean tone that an old Music Man can give you. I’ve tried multiple times and it’s not the same. And it’s not even remotely close. It’s sterile and disgusting. Now it almost hits it dead on when it’s overdriven but clean it’s terrible, at best!
@ Well, working on a big national producer I can tell you that there is a reason why more than half the international acts are moving to ampless solutions for stage
And working on a studio for the last 8 years I can also tell you that it is physically impossible for you to discern the difference at a volume louder than 90db or through in ears, sound waves are sound waves, even harmonically rich ones.
But you can disagree of course, there are still players on 2025 that request amps as backline at work and we provide, in the end the product is the same, nobody in the audience notices.
You wont run out of power with a Mesa Boogie Strategy 500 Stereo :)
Joe it's great!
Love Joe but L take on IEM’s. You can control the volume in your IEM’s. It doesn’t have to be blaring. It’s only damaging to your ears if you have it blasting.
I'm kinda different. I like to set the EQ to 10 and then back off on whatever I need to. Too flubby and I'll lower bass, too harsh and ill lower treble, too AM radio sounding and i'll drop mids. But the signal is the most clear at 10. If you put all your EQ to 0 it will sound like trash.
Hey Joe
I never understood the whole hard hitting drummer thing. I play guitar these days, but have played drums since the mid 80s. I can bang a drum harder than Bonham and Nicko McBain combined. I can also traditional grip and jam in a basement with guitar players using 5-10 watts transistor amplifiers- and they can be heard just fine above my drumming. Who are these drummers that have zilcho command over their own playing dynamics?
your drummer ego is in check, sir. well done.
@ a guy who couldn’t learn how to hit a drum more lightly is something I never understood. Sure certain cymbals and drums are designed to not spread in sound unless hit hard. But manufacturers in the last 30 years have made cymbals and drums that are designed to have that sound spread with lighter impacts. All you have to do is buy that gear and tone down the playing. As a drummer, I don’t like killing my own ears with the super loud Sonor drums and Zildjian A cymbals. I use to do it, but I like my ears better
You’re making the assumption that every band’s drumming has to have dynamics. There are certain types of hard rock bands where wailing on the drums 95% of the time is the sound. You don’t have to like those kinds of bands, but don’t act like a drummer “can’t” play with dynamics just because they’re in a band without much dynamics.
Some drummers just want to hear themselves play, while other drummers want to listen to the band and play with the rest of the band.
@@Vintage_375and others just want to hear themselves talk.
Yes. You dial until you hear it open up.
I think his trick is to just buy all the amps. The rest of us are left with seconds. 😂
A couple more Gibson logos would really help this video
Is anyone else disappointed there was no demo of Joe actually showing us how the "hump" sounds like? The end screen says, "Click here to watch the whole episode," but there is nothing clickable where the arrow points...other than the usual video controls that overlay every TH-cam video.
And no it doesn't seem to be in the full episode, either (just now noticed the link in the video description and listened through at 2x speed; possible I missed it).
Up to 11 !
Gain 10, volume 10, master up until the windows shake
All up, all the time! haha -Lee
The secret to getting great guitar tone is just looking at any drummer to get the volume required....if he/she's dribbling out of both sides of their mouth at the same time mid flight, the volume rules have been set for the gig
Some truth being thrown down here...
If you don't know the sound you're aiming for adjuisting knobs is pointless. On my ENGL E-300 combo I set everything around the middle and then go from there. I keep the bass around 10/11 o' clock (conflicts with the bass player if too high), Mid and Treble around 2'o' clock.
Smart man!
As a new guitarist im being very careful not to damage my ears, i want them to get better. Thank you sir
Get some earplugs. I played for decades without them, and I'm pretty deaf now.
Big amps aren't necessary for playing live after you put a mic in front of the speaker cabinet it's up to the sound guy
He didn't show me anything. The video should be titled Joe bonamassa tries to describe how to hear the optimum point of an amp without actually playing anything.
Wrong !
So when I once turned my Mesa M-III through my double 12 Marshall at window shattering 10, to piss off a neighbor, it would have been the same at 3?
I think my neighbor from back then ( including the neighborhood who confirmed hearing me blocks away ) , would disagree .
What's he talking about? Listen for the hump in the hiss?
Sounds like you turn it up until the hissing does not get any louder. I think he is saying at that point the Amp won't get louder, it will just start getting more driven with less punch and attack.
have a look at what Matt Schofield says (he explains it well in a video with that pedal show) : move the pot back and forth on its track, and feel where the pot suddently changes something ("the hump in the hiss") there is generally one or two points at which the pot drastically changes the tone (or noise) that you're hearing. that's the thing. and it's not about the volume (in my humble opinion), rather in the dynamic : set like this on every knob, the amp is at its most dynamic state. yes it adds noise to the signal, but it generally sounds the best it can.
hope it helps ! and thanks Matt Schofield :)
@@fuzztony3940 *hum and hiss* lol
He's making a visual reference to a bell curve
In ear monitors are very harmful to the inner ear.
They can cause vertigo that can be incurable not to mention tinnitus and hearing loss.
BB King said, I dont know what midrange is. I turn up the bass and highs and Lucille can sing.
Sound guy and guitarist here; in a small club the guitar amps should be what the audience hears, not the PA. Putting a mic, mixer, power amp and PA speaker between the amp and the listener does not make the amp sound better, just louder. So why not simply turn up the amp? Amps are great at filling rooms with sound, that's what they are designed for.
People always disagree , but you want good live sound, dont start with drums. All sound men/women always trained thats how its done. Start with guitars and keys and vocals and get them to pleasing levels, remove competing frequencies. bring in the bass just slightly under. Then bring up just the drum overheads. Get that sounding good and bring kick and snare and toms to where it fills in nicely. Dont knock it till you try it. The traditional way is a volume war and by the time you get to vox everything is piercing and frequencies are all wrong.
On the advice of Mr. Bonamassa, I run my 5E3 Tweed Deluxe with both volumes @ nine and the tone on five.
Anything between Nine and twelve becomes super saggy and compressed like Neil Young, which of course is really cool in it's self.
He said volumes ar 12 and 2, not 9. Or I am wrong?
I wish my amp was 10,000 watts and always up around 8 or 9. Thanks Johnson bonermaster!
,,,,,,.....JOE-EPIPHONE--2 O-CLOCK,...............EPIC,,,😮
As a drummer, I tried to play with as much power as possible to drive the music.
If no one else has said it - watch how Matt Schofield sets up an amp.
Totally agree with Joe just have the amp up and move away. I’m ears just are usless you can’t hear what is truly going on around you and remember when you play your in the gig why only want to hear in your ears only from earphones.
90% of the viewers will be playing til they die, in his room with digital amps in low perfect happy volume.
The objective in any band is to blend together not play of intensity of volume wars .
Are you a turn the guitar down guy or a step on another boost guy..
Series parallel switched humbucker a fuzz face and a near dimed amp is pretty much the business
Is it tour with a million dollar rig?
I wish all the individual videos from this conversation were uploaded as one video so we can know we got the whole conversation instead of curated bits like this. I know this is intentional for social media, more total views etc but as a viewer, just watching an interview, a conversation flow from one thing to the next, it's really nice to not have that break in between "oh which other parts of this conversation have i gotten? okay ive seen this one, this one...is that all there is?"
just my 2cents
Good advice.
2:00 o'clock
With a dummy load if too loud.
❤😊
"The amp you bring has to be relative to the power of your drummer".
That should be embroided on a wallhanging.
I know a guy who sets a wah-wah pedal in the "sweet" spot and leaves it there. Just to give himself the poor man's Tom Schulz - Boston tone...and it works
Schenker used to do that
I used to do that in the late 70’s … got some cool sounds !
"...these go to eleven."
:D
Classic
Don't even LOOK at it!