[Dixielandjazz] Why do guitar players play loudly?

[Steve Barbone]

Hmmmm. They are just trying to hear themselves. <grin> Below from guitarist
Lou Lombardi.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

Review: Genz-Benz G-Flex 2x12 (guitar cabinet)

For many years I have been wrestling with the problem of being able to hear
myself the way that I wanted to and still get a good (full) guitar tone. I
have always preferred the sound of my cabinets on the floor, without the
speaker pointing directly at me. The problem with this set up is that I
don't hear myself very well unless I really crank the amp. Cranking up is
cool if you are in a big enough room to get away with it, but for most clubs
you end up pissing off the sound man, and/or the rest of the band. The
answer has always been to angle the cabinet toward your head, by either
tilting it or putting it on some kind of stand. The problem with this is
that high frequencies always project farther and faster than the middle and
lower frequencies. You perceive this as a lot of piercing treble, no bass
and few mids. When the speaker is on the floor or angled away from your ear
the highs are deflected and you will hear more lows and mids. I have tried
many things to correct this problem. For years I put cardboard over the
speaker usually attaching it to the grille cloth. It did get me a lot closer
to what I wanted hear until the cardboard started rattling against speaker
or grille. 

About a year ago I started hearing about the Genz-Benz G-Flex 2x12, and my
hopes were raised. . . . . . snipped for brevity.