I've been using the same milk crate for over 35 years. I painted it charcoal black I had a sign made to fit with our bands logo and website info for bookings on the front using wire ties. No one ever called me out on it.
I’ve got one that lifts off the ground and tilts back. And when I first started using it I was like ‘this makes my amp sound weird”. Quickly realized no, that’s just how I had been dialing in my amp when it was pointed at my knees...and that “weird” sound was what my audiences were hearing every night. With the stand I can hear myself better on stage and I’m dialing in better sounds every night. I’m all about carrying as little extra stuff out to gig as humanly possible....amp stand totally worth lugging around.
Think of it as an amp tone enhancer that you can keep in your living room. FWIW, Atlas has a sale on these right now.
A couple 10 in long pieces of 2x4 spray painted black work fine.Keeps your amp coupled to the floor for those of you who must play bassy guitar and invade the bass players area.Cheap reliable cost effective etc...stick one under the front edge and Get It On!
That's because you are standing on the floor and the amp is on a stand. Buy a 2nd stand for you and raise yourself off the stage and your tone will return. Plus you'll be the tallest person on stage and stand out like a guitarist should. Just make sure the soles of the shoes you are wearing have the same type of rubber as the stand that the amp is on. If you do a lot of aggressive strumming the cushion and bounce effect of your shoes has to match the amp/stand otherwise you will lose your timing.
I once saw a guy with the milk crate cut in such a way that it angled the cab back at him. He actually had two and he played in stereo. He set them up in front of him pointed back like monitors. I’ve tried it before and it works great. You have to get use to it because most gigs the amp is blasting at your leg and you don’t hear what the amp actually sounds like. When it’s facing right at you you hear what the mic hears. Also what the first ten rows hear and it usually is WAY to bright.
Buy two wedge rubber doorstops and you can tilt yr amp perfectly and in a very stable manner while decoupling it from the floor in a rattle-free way. I don't get credit for this idea, which someone posted somewhere, but it is brilliant. This arrangement is not great because it's cheap; it's great because it works better than those idiotic stands.
I have the bottom one and like it a lot. I stick it in a duffel bag with my cables (it sticks out) so it’s more portable than my other stand On-Stage 7500 that I also like.
Virtually every venue I perform in has some extra chairs. So I don’t bring milk crates or an amp stand. If there are no extra chairs or the venue won’t let me borrow one, then my feet hear it better than my ears, and I will probably play a little too loud. It’s rare that there’s no chair......
I have used this one (On Stage #RS7705) for years and it has always worked well for me. https://on-stage.com/products/view/12954
I used an AmpWedge. And yes as someone mentioned, you have to be carefully not to tip the amp backward (which I have had happen). https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/ampwedge-polyurethane-amplifier-isolation-floor-wedge
