• From: Ohio
  • Registered: 2007-09-10
  • Posts: 957

Topic: Auralex Gramma

I just got my Auralex Gramma tonight... i bought it on a whim just to see how it work... wondering if anyone else besides joe uses them, and if they really work... it was only $50 so i decided what the heck... ill let you know if i notice any difference when i get a chance to plug in tomorrow... it was to late by the time i got home tonight.


Logan

Block inlay Gibson ES-335, 50th anniversary American Strat, '61 RI White SG, '62 RI Relic Strat, Replica Korina Flying V, Gold Tone Paul Beard Resonator,  '58 Les Paul RI, American Highway 1 Fender Strat, Breedlove Acoustic, Stonetree Joe Bonamassa Custom, HIWATT Lead 100R, Reeves Custom 30.
  • From: Florida, USA
  • Registered: 2008-06-04
  • Posts: 1,420

Re: Auralex Gramma

I have the Great Gramma sitting under my 4x12 cab and it's a must have for anyone living in apartments, on wood flooring, or gigging on a thin wobbley stage.  The sound is just a little tighter, and I feel you really get the most out of each cabinet with one.  There is no tone loss or transfer of sound to the flooring.  Between the Auralex and my homemade baffle those were two of the cheapest and easiest ways to control my very powerful rig and make it sound great everytime I plug in.

'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.

3 Reply by NPB_EST.1979 (edited by NPB_EST.1979 2009-04-08 16:29:34)

  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: Auralex Gramma

would something like this do the same thing? of course, it is for my combo 1x12 amp.

I was thinking about getting one.
Musicians Gear Deluxe Amp Stand:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Musicians-G … 1322960.gc

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool

4 Reply by Slidewinder (edited by Slidewinder 2009-04-08 18:51:14)

  • Registered: 2008-11-01
  • Posts: 103

Re: Auralex Gramma

I didn't know what a Great Gramma was till I read Joe's interview but over the years when I was mainly using 4x12 cabs, noticed that different stages, even low hollow ones would seem to lend either too much of a boomy kind of bottom or these muddy overtones to the sound. I first tried carpeting but that did absolutely nothing so I went to a building supply where they sell sheets of styrofoam insulation and bought a 4x8 foot sheet of 4 inch styrofoam.
I just cut a piece to the size of my cab and it worked very well. Because of the weight of the amp a sheet will compress over time and have to be replaced but a 4x8 sheet lasts a very long time.
I don't know if the principal is the same but it did work. You could always spray paint the piece black although I didn't bother.
Now I'm using combos and just use wheels to keep the amp off the ground.
The idea of amp to stage separation is a very good idea though.

  • Registered: 2007-09-30
  • Posts: 556

Re: Auralex Gramma

Slidewinder wrote:

I didn't know what a Great Gramma was till I read Joe's interview but over the years when I was mainly using 4x12 cabs, noticed that different stages, even low hollow ones would seem to lend either too much of a boomy kind of bottom or these muddy overtones to the sound. I first tried carpeting but that did absolutely nothing so I went to a building supply where they sell sheets of styrofoam insulation and bought a 4x8 foot sheet of 4 inch styrofoam.
I just cut a piece to the size of my cab and it worked very well. Because of the weight of the amp a sheet will compress over time and have to be replaced but a 4x8 sheet lasts a very long time.
I don't know if the principal is the same but it did work. You could always spray paint the piece black although I didn't bother.
Now I'm using combos and just use wheels to keep the amp off the ground.
The idea of amp to stage separation is a very good idea though.

LOL My dad is a carpenter forman and he had styro all over his job.  We did the same thing.  We stripped the styro into 3" strips and we hot glued them to a piece of 3/4 ply.  The we trimmed the edges of the ply with J trim to protect it.  Then on top of the ply we put carpet tiles and for a finishing touch we painted the bottoms of the finished product.  Works well and looks cool.  I like it better b/c I was able to make them the size I wanted.  I made a total of 4, 2 for the cabs, and 2 for in from and I rest my shields (homemade as well) on.  I think its def. the same prinicpal.  You just need an air barrier to seperate the transfer of the sound from not going striaght down and getting lost in the hollows of a stage, or bouncing off of hard surfaces like concrete.  I found it makes for a true low end and better clarity/articulation of te overall sound.

Ben

6 Reply by Slidewinder (edited by Slidewinder 2009-04-08 20:23:34)

  • Registered: 2008-11-01
  • Posts: 103

Re: Auralex Gramma

Yea, I actually thought of that when I was doing it. I was going to make four 4 inch strips about 6 inches wide all around the edge and glue them to 1/2" plywood top and bottom but I went with a solid sheet of styro because, 1- didn't have plywood, 2- I was lazy, and 3- I thought that leaving an airspace might defeat the purpose and allow sound to travel through the airspace into the floor. Since the styrofoam is fairly dense I thought it would just reflect the sound down through the empty space but with the amp on a solid piece sound wouldn't be able to travel through and would deflect back up through the wood of the cab.
I don't know if that's right, it just made sense to me at the time. I know that when they use egg crate shaped soft foam for sound proofing on walls the shape causes the audio waves to deflect in different directions and then be absorbed into the foam because it's full of tiny air spaces.
Styrofoam is a lot more dense though so I figure it's better at deflecting sound than absorbing it.
Once I built a small isolation cab out of styrofoam to record a combo and it worked great. You could still hear sound but even with a 30 watt amp at full volume you could easily talk over it and have a normal conversation while playing.

Whoa, I just checked out the Great Gramma online. It looks like a carpeted board resting on two solid blocks of high density foam. Great idea and probably much better than styrofoam.
Wish I'd thought of it.