Plexiglass Amp Shield: A compromise

[Nolatone Ampworks]

Hi all,

I've just started experimenting with Plexi amp shields in my pub.

We have a permanent back line and with the sheets of plexiglass we can really hear the monitors MUCH better which makes for an easier vocal performance, but we've lost a little bit of that "live amp hitting you from the stage" excitement that's SO important to me.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried to drill holes in the plexiglass to give a compromise between killing the "death beam" but still letting the amp breathe through the shield so it gets a little "real" to the sound.

Any experience with this?

Thanks,

Paul

[4styx]

Why don't you experiment with thinish sheets or 1/2 sheets (4x4) of mdf or plywood. Something tells me that 2 vertical slots in front of each amp might work,only a hunch(no exp!).

[teleamp]

Smaller amps. Sorry Paul, I couldn't resist that one.

But seriously, just mic your amp into the PA and send some to your floor monitor.

MikeY

[Nolatone Ampworks]

Originally Posted by teleamp

Smaller amps. Sorry Paul, I couldn't resist that one.

But seriously, just mic your amp into the PA and send some to your floor monitor.

MikeY

Nosir. Uh-uhg. Not gonna happen!

Smaller amps don't give me the girth and depth of clean tone I want.

[Benlevy]

Originally Posted by leftys-bbq

. . .but we've lost a little bit of that "live amp hitting you from the stage" excitement. . .

I agree with you. Something is missing with the shield. The guitars don't seem to cut through in the mix. Excitement, or liveliness, or something is gone...

[cochese]

I use a plexi shield quite a bit. My question is how close to the amps are you putting them?

[teleamp]

Have you tried running some of your amp back to you through the monitors?

MikeY

[Badger71]

I've seen Joe Bonamassa run his 100w heads with plexi shields in front of the cabs. His tone was just fine, IMO.

[JackButler]

I have yet to try my shield in a club. It works Iknow, but even with moving it at different angles and placements it still boxes up some of the magic I think. Don't get me wrong, it is very cool to have and certainly will get used!

[cochese]

If you are finding the sound "boxy" it's because the sheild is too close to your speaker. I put my shield behind my vocal monitor where my speaker is also aimed. The idea is to prevent the speaker from beaming anyone in a direct line of it. You can put it really close to your cab if you want to really isolate it but then you need the amp sound coming back through a monitor which is a bit much for a small situation.

A small amp will not solve this problem except in certain cicumstances. If you don't believe me set up a Deluxe Reverb on a small club stage that is only 1-2 feet high. Now take a long cable and start playing at the volume you would with a band and sit in one of the seats an audience member will be in during the show. It will sound like crap and be too high endy. I used to play at the some of the small clubs on Bleeker St in NYC and this was always the case. A baffle and sometimes a little mic'ing solves this problem.

[BBQLS1]

Originally Posted by leftys-bbq

Nosir. Uh-uhg. Not gonna happen!

Smaller amps don't give me the girth and depth of clean tone I want.

Clean? Who needs clean? I thought it was a BBQ joint, not a tea party!

[Red_Label]

I too have been thinking about drilling some holes in my plexiglass shield. It's roughly the same size as my Marshall 1960 cab, just a bit taller. I usually place it out about 18" and the sound's not too boxy. But I was thinking if I was to drill some holes in circles about the same size as each speaker maybe it'd allow some sound to come at the audience directly without going to the "icepick" level.

[Benlevy]

Originally Posted by BBQLS1

Clean? Who needs clean? I thought it was a BBQ joint, not a tea party!

[fuzzyguitars]

i think a shorter shield may do the trick and let some more of the sound squeek out over the top?

[willhutch]

Be careful running guitars thru monitors. In my experience, they make guitar signals sound awful.

How close are you to the amps? If you are standing close, a piece of plexiglass or other reflective material placed at the bottom of amp, propped at a 45 degree angle will reflect some of the highs up to your ears. This returns some of the range.