amps/pedals live

[rockeroo]

When playing live, how loud are you able to run your amp(s) (also, what is your gigging amp of choice)?

Additionally, when running an amp at lower volume, is your pedal configuration any different?

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Cheers.

[jdandry]

I use a 59' Gibson GA18..like 14watts with either a Celestion Alnico gold 10" or for bigger gigs into a Celestion Alnico 12".
I run the amp with volume and tone on 7 or 8. With the rock band, i play the Gibson with humbuckers, and it distorts for my dirty rhythm sound and turn the guitar down or use a EQ to clean it up..then use a pedal to boost for solos..either a DRD, EGDM or a Jetter GSB. With the country band I use the exact same rig but with a Tele and since the single coils are much lower output, i get a instant hot country clean.but edgy tone.
If I cant for some reason crank the amp..i use the Jetter with the Tele for a little grit for solos..and for the rock
band..its really hard to get a great dynamic OD sound..for me...the DRD is good and the EGDM works sometimes but always a battle..thats why I really tried to get my little Gibson amp to sound like a Plexi but through a 10" speaker at about 12 watts!
It just is the perfect volume live with the band when its cranked. I did some mods to the Gibson...removed feedback loop, put switches for cathode caps in the pre...so it really opened it up..and I must mention that the speaker made the difference..the low watt amp with the efficient speaker allows u to get the amp cooking and keep up with the band. BROWN! The Celestion 10" Alnico gold is a amazing speaker!!

[Hulakatt]

I have a light rig and a full rig, depending on what I feel like carrying that night. Light is my 5e3, a bf hbod, AM ardx20, tuner and my tele. Full rig is a Soultone/Marshall 2061x / Avatar 1x12(greenback), a drd instead of the hbod and either my tele or lp.

[hawaii121]

Though I don't get to very often I did get to play two outdoor shows this summer, one that was at a club poolside and one that was in a valley in Hawaii during an Xterra event (that was great fun). At both events I used my Two Rock Jet Signature and here's the thing... Volume and gain at both events were around noon on the dial, but poolside I wasn't melting people's ears, yet, in the valley, a friend who was racing said they could hear the band 2 miles back into the valley! At home I keep the gain around noon and the volume set low around 9 to 10 oclock and I can't dig in without blowing out the windows, but soft touch playing sounds cool. I tend to use more pedals when playing at home, particularly delay. When playing a show or just jamming with other musicians (95% of the time I'm playing out of the house this is it) I tend to only use one or two drives and some kind of master volume/boost pedal.

[musicsoma]

IWith the country band I use the exact same rig but with a Tele and since the single coils are much lower output, i get a instant hot country clean.but edgy tone.
If I cant for some reason crank the amp..i use the Jetter with the Tele for a little grit for solos..and for the rock
band..its really hard to get a great dynamic OD sound..

Man, I have a few guitars you would LOVE! I own a 40th Anniversary Tele in suburst (like Keith Urban's). There are less than 100 ever made in this color, and it is the first official run of guitars from the Fender Custom Shop. It screams country!

I also own a GVCG Tele which has become my main guitar. The pickups are modified Lollar Alnicos, and they are simply incredible... so much so I bought a spare set. If you would ever like to try the pickups (or anyone else for that matter), I would be happy to ship them out.

Ok, back to the topic. My main gigging amp is a 1966 Fender Princeton (blackface, not reverb). It is a killer low volume clean amp. I personally think it is one of the best amps ever made. Edge from U2 is one of my favorite guitarists because of his approach to gear. He is constantly trying new pedals (like many of us), I read an article about his philosophy on gear/amps. Basically he view his amp like a painter views a palette. He likes a blank canvass on which to layer colors. The Princeton does a great clean sound and really takes to pedals (it loves my BJFE gear) in a positive way. Because Bjorn goes after specific amp sounds - almost like a modeler - having an amp that doesn't overly impose its sound is key to nailing some of the other amps tones we all love so much.

Along with the Princeton I use a 1952 Fender Tweed Deluxe and a 1966 Fender Vibro Champ. Both sound amazing at low volumes. To me, using a great mic on a cranked low watt amp is much more ideal than using my AC30 and having to turn down the volume to avoid overpowering the stage. Warm tubes at low levels sound better in my opinion.