30
votes
My guitar has no sound when the gain knob is turned off. Do all amps need need a little gain to be able to output sound?
Gain is the input level control, it decides how hard the input signal hits the preamp. Guitar amps often exploit the effect of hitting it HARD, overdriving it into distortion.
Volume controls how ...
- 87.3k
14
votes
Accepted
Can phantom power damage an unpowered microphone?
The existing answers are correct, but just to simplify a bit into a 'common rule'.
If your mic was made any time in the past 50 years or so & you use standard XLR>XLR cables, there is no ...
- 25.9k
11
votes
Accepted
Do I risk damaging bass amp with electronic drums
As long as you use it at a reasonable level you should be fine (no guarantee is offered by me though!) Remember bass amps can not only handle lows but can also handle the high frequency and percussive ...
- 22.8k
9
votes
Accepted
My guitar has no sound when the gain knob is turned off. Do all amps need need a little gain to be able to output sound?
Yes it is normal.
The gain is the volume control of the input of the amplifier.
The signal flow of the tube amplifier goes:
Gain (preamp input) to tone stack (eq) to phase inverter stage (input to ...
- 124
8
votes
Accepted
How to reduce noise in a mixing console
Mixing consoles don't have space to house top-notch (and expensive) discrete preamps. The Soundcraft preamps may be, well decent – that is, sufficient for any typical source: condenser mics and active ...
- 35k
8
votes
What's the difference between bass and guitar heads?
The demands on an amplifier/speaker combo designed to reproduce the sounds desired for bass guitar are different than for a regular guitar.
To accurately and faithfully reproduce the low ...
- 27k
8
votes
Do I risk damaging bass amp with electronic drums
It'll be fine. It's actually a better bet than a guitar amp - the sound spectrum is far wider. It's the choce of several electronic drummers I know. The obvious is that you'll wreck any amp (...
- 186k
7
votes
Accepted
Why would I use the "high pass" option of a subwoofer?
Without precise time alignment, trying to provide bass from multiple sources could lead to interference patterns which would cause the low end sound to be way too loud in some parts of the room and ...
- 55k
7
votes
Can phantom power damage an unpowered microphone?
As long as you don’t have a ribbon microphone then it will not damage your other microphones.
- 969
7
votes
Can phantom power damage an unpowered microphone?
It depends on how your microphone is wired. If your microphone is wired symmetrically the two +48V contacts will just sit on opposite sides and create a 0-potential. This is why it is called phantom ...
- 14.9k
6
votes
What makes different tube amp heads different?
We can divide any complete all-tube guitar amp system into three major sections, each of which has important effects on the final sound: The preamp, the power amp, and the speaker cabinet.
All tube ...
- 55k
5
votes
What's the difference between bass and guitar heads?
Back in the day, there was more overlap between guitar and bass heads than there is now. Guitar amplification imparts a lot of the final tone that we love of electric guitars and most guitar amp ...
- 55k
5
votes
What makes different tube amp heads different?
Of course there are many categories of both solid state and circuits that can affect tone and response, not to mention the many variations in speakers and cabinets. But the main difference between ...
- 434
5
votes
Accepted
How can I send an output to a PA from my combo practice amp?
Your need is an amp with a line out socket. Plug guitar (presumably) into amp, line out goes to p.a. input channel. With your practice amp, the purpose of the headphone socket is to disconnect the ...
- 186k
5
votes
My guitar has no sound when the gain knob is turned off. Do all amps need need a little gain to be able to output sound?
Effectively, there are three controls to your equipment. Volume on the guitar, volume on the pre-amp stage of your amp., and volume on the post, or amplifying stage of your amp.
With any one of those ...
- 186k
4
votes
Accepted
Chaining amplifiers together
Important note: You can't connect both amps to that cab without blowing something up. You need two cabinets.
There are some cabinets that support bi-amping, which is using two amps with one cabinet. ...
- 55k
4
votes
My guitar has no sound when the gain knob is turned off. Do all amps need need a little gain to be able to output sound?
Yes, at least some gain is needed. When it's turned off, no signal is being sent from your guitar to the amp.
Gain defines the signal input level to your amp. Thus, if set to 0, there will be no ...
- 75.6k
4
votes
Accepted
How should I wire multiple speakers for a live performance?
Building a PA with mystery speakers is fraught with peril. The biggest question that faces you is: If you blow one or more of those speakers, who will care and how much will they care?
Speakers that ...
- 55k
4
votes
How to Connect Fender Champion 20 Amp to the Bluetooth Beats Studio 3 Headset
I'd suggest a wired set of headphones.
Bluetooth has a delay/latency that you just wouldn't care about when listening to iTunes etc, but it will drive you mad playing guitar.
- 25.9k
3
votes
How can I send an output to a PA from my combo practice amp?
If the sound from your amp is really what you want going through the PA, then the best way to get that exact sound is to mic the amp. Part of the whole amp package is the speaker itself. The only ...
- 206
3
votes
Accepted
I have a 6W valve guitar amp combo. It has a 8 ohm speaker out. What exactly happens if I connect to a 8 ohm cabinet?
If you plug in a more sensitive speaker cabinet to the 8 ohm output, then the resulting volume would go up, but because speaker sensitivity is difficult to increase by very much, even the most ...
- 55k
3
votes
Amplification of guitars
The number attached to watts is not actually a very good guide to how loud it is. Other factors come into play, such as speaker efficiecy, sort of cabinet. Others may explain that better. However, ...
- 186k
3
votes
What's the difference between bass and guitar heads?
The main difference will be the frequency range the head is capable of controlling. The lowest note on a guitar is not far off the top string of a four string bass guitar, so an octave of lower notes ...
- 186k
3
votes
Why do PA speakers driven with more power deliver clearer and better sound?
Leaving aside questions of build quality, component quality, etc.:
The answer is actually very simple. All audio reproduction systems have what we call an "operational range." This is the softest ...
- 1,880
2
votes
Why do PA speakers driven with more power deliver clearer and better sound?
It is all about headroom. I will use arbitrary numbers. If I was playing in a club at a volume that is not very impactful with three part harmonies and maybe an acoustic guitar in the system depending ...
- 31
2
votes
Why do PA speakers driven with more power deliver clearer and better sound?
Several reasons:
Size Matters Not: You write, "But I have observed that a 1000 watt speaker compared to a 500 watt speaker of the same size" (emphasis mine). It doesn't matter that the sizes are the ...
- 55k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible