Auralex GRAMMA?

[dsqu4r3d]

Hello, I heard about this the other day and im going to check it out tomorrow and I was wondering if any of you guys have heard of it/seen it? Its supposed to make your amp sound outrageously better by just putting your amp on it.

Only video I could find about it- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avSv4IN4y1o&feature=related

Let me know what you guys think.

[clc12rock]

I have one. I use it mostly just so it doesn't make the ground rumble because I have people living below me. I don't even know if it does that though, but I haven't gotten any complaints :) And I also don't know if it makes it sound any better. This post was pretty much worthless, sorry...

[fusionbear]

They work well at home and live. It makes it easier for the soundman to get a clean sound from the amp, without the boominess that many stages impart

[burnbritney]

I use it, too. It helped me eliminate the boominess in my rehearsal room. Great investment imho. I wouldn't go as far as saying they'll improve the overall sound but they certainly help with cleaning it up.

[NewarkWilder]

yeah i have one for my super reverb since i'm on the 2nd floor and that thing will shake the foundation without some cushioning... evidently i was shaking the building so hard something fell off the wall downstairs and broke one time--but, no complaints or problems at all since I put it on the Gramma :aok

[Macaroni]

The GRAMMA lets the amp's tones come through without the unwanted coupling effects from sitting directly on the floor.

Sitting on various carpets/rugs or different wood floors or stage floors will affect the amp's tones - possibly/probably in a negative way. By removing that particular factor/problem in the tonal equation, your amp will perform closer to its original potential.

They work very well, IMO, and are well worth the small investment.

[slopeshoulder]

I have 4.
They rule.

[Jon C]

I have 2, they do what they say they do, def. worth it IMO.

[dsqu4r3d]

awesome, thanks for the replys guys

[stephen thomas]

would the standard gramma be big enough for a 2x12 cab? it's dimensions are smaller so the cab would slightly overlap?

[Standard 64]

would the standard gramma be big enough for a 2x12 cab? it's dimensions are smaller so the cab would slightly overlap?
Good question.If not they sell a larger one.

[SuperReverb2]

I have 4. Wouldn't be without them. Started with one small one, now all four are the bigger ones.

:)

[Ben C.]

I've always wondered... if your amp or cab is on casters... is the GRAMMA at all beneficial? I find rubber casters help to isolate / decouple the amp from the floor quite nicely, not to mention they're also useful beyond that application ;)

[CitizenCain]

If what the GRAMMA does is decouple the amp from the floor, that any different than using an amp stand? When you bring up the subject of amp stands, a lot of guys say you should get that amp down on the floor for the best sound!

Confusing!

[prsnstrat]

I think the Gramma just prevents the sound from getting too boomy and muddy when the amp is on the floor. I'd like to try it with vocal monitors! Kind of like having your cake and eating it too.

[calenk]

ahh its nice to see basic physics add to your tone....ya these things are the bees knees not only do they make your amp more efficient by not coupling with the floor they make the lowend way tighter and punchier cause all the energy isnt getting absorbed by the floor ya these are definetly step one to better tone, but trust me it doesnt end here. you wouldnt beleive how much the room your in effects the sound of your amp esspecially how it muddies up the lowend. i was jamming with my gear at a friends loghouse a few months back and couldnt beleive how my amp came to life....in part because it was a way bigger room than im usally in. and a loghouse has pretty ideal diffusion and absorbtion factors allready. but anyway ya get the gramma and be amazed.....be ready to turn the bass knob on your amp down from what your used to as well....then once your done that acoustically treat your jam space with basstraps and your laughing :)

[TDJMB]

I find the Gramma to be great at tightening up the bass. But I have a situation where the speaker cab is making things rattle & buzz but a Gramma won't fit. So I've gotten some Fat Dots from Herbie's Audio Lab and will report back once I try them. An advantage to the dots is they're smaller, more portable, and less visible.

....
Ok, I put the speaker cab on the Big Fat Dots. Note: They have to be under a nice, flat space so I had to take the footers off the cab. Since it rarely leaves the house, it's not an issue. The Dots tightened the sound like the Gramma - but the sound was clearer and the low notes had a piano-like attack. In comparison, the Gramma sounded slightly hollow, harsh, and less full. This is clean at modest volume. Both helped with the rattle & buzz in the room but didn't eliminate it completely. The Dots would be easier to haul to a gig but I think they'd be left behind more easily than the Gramma.

I also put components like a stereo amp and a CD player on Herbie's Tender Feet. I didn't particularly notice better bass or treble but noticed small details that I'd never heard before.

[deathbyska76]

Unless im on a hollow floor, or something that rumbles a TON from amp noise, I personally feel as though the low frequency response (be it bass or guitar) is much more full if you're not using casters/GRAMMA. But this is only in certain situations, such as a concrete floor or something just as solid. for instance, if youve got a solid floor like that, take your little bass combo, play it on the floor, and then play it on a chair, see how the sound changes?

the GRAMMA is different though.... i mean it DOES decouple it, but it doesnt ruin your bass response. I like. :D

[S. S. Bender]

I love the Gramma and use it almost everywhere. In addition to the audio benefits, it provides my tube amps with some vibration isolation from stage and dance floor bounce. I permanently mounted a mic gooseneck and clip to the Gramma, eliminating the need to carry an extra mic stand to the gig.

[vicenzajay]

Big Gramma fan here - I have three....

[telelion]

I think it is a valuable addition. If I was playing out as someone said I would definitely also be using them for monitors.

[GuitarBrent]

I use my regular Gramma with a 2x12 and it's plenty big enough. I don't think a 4x12 would fit though.

[Rick Towne]

3 here, and they are essential for bass combos.

[clc12rock]

would the standard gramma be big enough for a 2x12 cab? it's dimensions are smaller so the cab would slightly overlap?

I had to get the larger one to fit my Vox 212 on it. But yea I have 3 of them and will probably buy more. They even have one for sub woofers that I'm planning on buying for my home theater. Like I said before, I live above people in a condo.

But something that I thought was interesting was that when I got my Mark V the manual explicitly said to play the amp with a cab that was directly on the ground to get the best sound results. I've been playing it through a Marshall 412 on casters, but I'm planning on getting a Mesa cab to play it through. We'll see if it really makes a difference...

[Casey]

I actually do a twist on the GRAMMA thing. I use a 2x12 cabinet that I sit on top of the case (minus the case tray). I was planning on buying a GRAMMA to put under my cab but for the heck of it I decided to try the Auralex Mopads I had sitting around. I just put one on each end under my cabinet. Here is a link to check em out. (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MoPAD/) Worked out perfect...no rumble....tight, tight, clean low end. Sounds consistent from night to night, and room to room. Very strudy...as they extend the full depth of the cab. And best of all I can just stick em in the back of my cabinet for storage instead of dealing with the big GRAMMA thing. Oh and they are only $39 for 4 pads. Here is a pic you can kinda see what is going on....

http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u341/meyer335/casey_mopads.jpg

[TDJMB]

I just finished comparing the Gramma to the Herbie's Audio Lab Fat Dots and I prefer the Fat Dots. I play mostly clean at low volume. It tightened the sound & made it clearer and made it less harsh. I prefer the Gramma to having nothing but, compared to the Fat Dots, it's a bit hollow and harsh. The Gramma is bulky to carry around - the Fat Dots are nothing to carry around but I bet you'd lose them - also, you'd probably have to take the feet off your amp cab. I doubt you'd hear the difference in a band / performance setting. The Gramma & Fat Dots both reduced the rattle & buzz in the room but didn't eliminate them entirely. And the biggest improvement in sound comes from getting the cab off the floor. I have mine on a wood cabinet 20" high and it makes a huge difference.

[Macaroni]

I checked out Herbie's site re the Fat Dots. It says they only work on flat solid surfaces, ie: not carpet.

"Use only as an interface between broad, flat surfaces (for use between spike and flat surface, use Herbie's Decoupling Glider (http://herbiesaudiolab.home.att.net/spkrfeet.htm#cone) or Cone/Spike Grounding Base (http://herbiesaudiolab.home.att.net/spkrfeet.htm#tweaks). For use on carpet, use Herbie's Fat Gliders (http://herbiesaudiolab.home.att.net/spkrfeet.htm#mobile).)"

How many Fat Dots did you use and what size?

[Ransome]

I love mine, Joe B had them under his cabs as well as the bass cabs when he played the Malibu Inn a few years back. I asked about them at soundcheck. The roadie pulled them out from under the bass cabs just to show me the difference. Needless to say I went and bought one the next day for my AC15.

Having an upright bass and a rather acoustic sound, the low end and punchiness of my amp jumped.

Ran$ome

[bettset]

once again thanks to bonamassa. i have mine for the same reason. i don't think it's smoke & mirrors either :munch

[jmoose]

The gramma's do work as they say it does... decouples the amp/speaker cab from the stage which cleans up the low end.

However, you can do the exact same thing with a couple of hockey pucks... about $2 each.

Hockey pucks are made from neoprene rubber which is the same material studios use to float a floor.

If you really wanted to duplicate the gramma form factor, get four pucks and a piece of plywood!

[Trandy]

Got one....works as advertised.

I like it.

[VictorNoel]

Just got one of these & I am more than happy with it. My amp has never sounded so clear. It's nice to not being playing through the house floor & walls anymore.

[forestryguy]

I use one at home. We have ceramic tile floors glued to concrete slab. Sound travels all the way through the house through the resonant coupling of the floor. The Gramma helps decouple my amp(s) from the floor.

[southpaw pete]

I've been interested in getting a GRAMMA after reading numerous reviews. Sounds like a great sonic solution. I finally found one at a music store here in Calgary - so I talked to one of the sales guys about it. He said he didn't know what the heck it was. So I explained how it decouples the amp from the floor/stage. He said, get that thing away from me, I like my amp interacting with the floor. There's a great salesman. :jo

The stage at my church is pretty much hollow and quite big. I can't imagine how much our sound would benefit from the isolation.

[BBender]

I use one...worth every penny.

[Pa'ani]

Highly recommended! I use it all the time when playing live...

[It's Time!]

I have a couple and they work great.

[VinceM]

Thanks everyone for bringing this thread back to life!! After reading all this I think I need one. It's good to hear all the positive reports. I've been struggling with boomy bass with my archtop/JazzAmp/EVM12L/Theile cab. I'm currently using an amp stand to eliminate some of the bass. It seems to work, but the Gramma looks like a way to actually fix the bass without losing it.

[roquero]

I have 3 of them- 2 of the smaller ones and one of the bigger ones

Benefits:

1] amps sound better!

2] I can keep my onstage volume high and soundmen don't complain about the level anymore

3] I can practice with my amps in my apartment- I hate headphones! And the neighbors never complain

4] When I am not gigging they sit under my Home Theater speakers so I can turn them up at night without any neighbors complaining!

[roadhog96]

They realy do work, I have two. I was not convinced so the store manager said take it home and try it with your gear. If it dosn't work bring it back, no problem. The amp sounded so much better on the platform. Everyone who has heard it doing an A/B test (on and off) swears hands down it's sounds so much better on the platform without question.

[Gary Brennan]

Question for all you Gramma users- if doing a wet/dry rig with two vertically stacked 1x12 cabs, wet only (verb and delay) on the bottom, would the gramma be effective, or is the top dry cab already isolated by sitting on the wet cab?

gb

[B_of_H]

they are worth every penny imo. not as thin sounding as an amp stand or on casters but not as boomy as on the floor. For reverbery stages they really make a difference.

[chinstrap]

I've used them for drums, amps when recording. The decoupling effect is noticeably improved overtones, cleans up lower note reflections. Worth the cheap investment.

[Macaroni]

Question for all you Gramma users- if doing a wet/dry rig with two vertically stacked 1x12 cabs, wet only (verb and delay) on the bottom, would the gramma be effective, or is the top dry cab already isolated by sitting on the wet cab?

The GRAMMA would still be effective and useful - it would give you more consistency from venue to venue.

[harryjmic]

If what the GRAMMA does is decouple the amp from the floor, that any different than using an amp stand? When you bring up the subject of amp stands, a lot of guys say you should get that amp down on the floor for the best sound!

Confusing!


When you lift the amp totally off the ground it tends to kill the bass. On some amps this might be a bonus but on others it may take away all the guts. I bought an amp stand and have never used it, it just changes the tone too much. I like that I get a clear shot of the amp (no muffle) but the bass drop leads me to leave it at home.

The Gramma is very nice, it reminds of what a pedal called by Ayan, "Smooth and Slim" does.

[sanders4617]

I have a Dr Z Maz Jr NR with the Z Best 2x12 cab. I noticed that I can't turn the bass up much at all without my low strings being wayy too boomy. So I end up having to turn it down to compensate, but I LOOOVEE the way my higher strings sound with the bass turned up a little. More full sounding.

Will this help with that? Will it allow me to play the low E and A strings and not have to worry about rattling the stage? I noticed it even interferes with the bass players amp. hah

[Macaroni]

Will this help with that? Will it allow me to play the low E and A strings and not have to worry about rattling the stage?

Yes, most definitely.