The question may sound silly, but it should be a legit concern. You’ve spent time picking out your axe, your amp, and choice stompboxes — but one common problem may be keeping your tone from truly shining.
So here’s the big question: Is your amp sitting directly on the floor?
True, the floor seems like the right place for an amp — but the floor can be the very culprit sucking the clarity out of your sound. That’s because every time you strike a note, the floor vibrates with your cabinet to a degree. And depending on the floor surface (and the other things on the floor nearby), this could be adding a significant amount of mud to your sound.
Luckily, it’s a simple fix. The solution is acoustic decoupling. To prevent these unwanted vibrations, you need to get something between your amp and the floor (much like you’d put a MoPAD between your studio monitors and your desktop). You may be able to wipe out these sonic problems by putting your amp on a chair. Try it out. The most reliable solutions, though, are the GRAMMA and Great GRAMMA isolation risers from the Auralex acoustics gurus. These risers offer almost total isolation and they’re sized to fit nearly all amps, speaker cabinets, subs, and stage monitors. Be sure to bring one with you to your next gig or jam session, so you know you’ll sound the same no matter where you’re asked to put your amp. Easy enough!
