After 28 Years I Discovered the Secrets of Live Tone

FYI, this is not me (I’m nowhere near this cool). Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

It turns out I’m a moron.

Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh. (I do have a master’s degree, after all.)

But it is true that I’ve been playing guitar for almost 30 years, and it wasn’t until the last few weeks that I figured out I was missing a rather important piece of the puzzle.

It all started at our last show.

Why can’t I hear myself?

About six months ago I joined a band.

After the first few shows, I realized my little 15W tube amp just couldn’t cut it in a rock band. (It still works great at church, though.) So I levelled up and bought a Marshall DSL40C with 40 watts of rip-your-face-off power.

My Marshall DSL40C. Fun fact: it weighs 50 lbs and is VERY loud. (Crappy photo by the author)

I should have no problem being heard now, right?

I’ve been playing guitar for almost 30 years, and it wasn’t until the last few weeks that I figured out I was missing a rather important piece of the puzzle.

Wrong.