IsoAcoustics Stage 1 Board

For decades, we guitarists have walked into the studio or a gig, placed our amp on the floor, and not thought much more about it. If we wanted to hear our guitar better, we might put our amp on an amp road case, chair, wooden box, or anything lying around. 

We gave little thought to how the guitar amp reacts with the floor or the road case. Sure, we might have noticed issues with the sound of our amp from gig to gig, but we often chalked that up to the venue or other circumstances. 

A total instrument, not separate components

We need to remember that the guitar amp is part of the instrument. It resonates, just like the body of an acoustic guitar. We pay a lot of attention to the resonance of the electric guitar. But when it comes to the resonance of the amp cabinet, we give far less consideration. 

It's like looking at one hand and not realizing the other hand exists. 

The guitar amp’s placement will affect its tone. Consider the road case used as an amp stand. When there is no amp in a road case, it's hollow. When a vibrating amp is sitting on top of an empty road case, the case resonates. 

Any surface you put your guitar amp on will react to the amp unless it's decoupled (more on that in a minute). 

The extent of the effect on the amp varies. Sometimes it's super apparent and problematic. Other times there is just something off with your tone, and you can't quite pinpoint it.

Problem solved

IsoAcoustics has designed a great solution that decouples the guitar amp from the floor. It's called the Stage 1 Board.

It isolates the amp from the floor surface, eliminating unwanted resonance. 

The world is a stage

Every stage is different. You may find yourself on an old wood theater stage, or a more modern modular festival stage. Or plywood. Even concrete. 

The effect on your sound can vary widely. Sometimes you're getting a mushy low end. Other times there’s a weird, annoying frequency that you can't eliminate. 

As a guitarist, it's very frustrating having to deal with these variations day to day. 

From stage to studio

There was always something in the midrange of my sound that irked me when recording. I wrote it off—it was simply how my amp sounded with my setup, I figured. It wasn't a deal-breaker. But I heard it and wished it wasn't there. 

I trouble-shot every possibility I could think of and gave up. Then the IsoAcoustics Stage 1 Board came along. The first thing I noticed: that cheap-sounding midrange frequency in my amp disappeared. It had always bothered me, because I use great amps like the Headstrong Lil King Reverb, the Victoria 35115, the Vox AC15, and others. 

I was careful about mics. From session to session, I miked these amps with various mics—the Sennheiser 906, the SM57, the Soyuz Bomblet, the AEA 840. 

I used an API 312 mic pres into a UA Apollo. Everything before the amp was also carefully chosen, right down to the guitar cable. 

I even used the Brown Box to keep my amp voltage at a consistent 117V. 

So what was the origin of that midrange resonance?!?! Well, it was the floor. After all that carefully curated gear, it came down to the floor adding that unwanted resonance. 

It may seem like a small thing, but I must say that even mixing the guitar is more natural with the IsoAcoustics Stage 1 Board. In the past, I’d always felt compelled to open Fab Filter to find and carve out that annoying resonance. But I still wasn’t happy. 

Now, I don't feel compelled to dig anything out of my tone. I simply do the standard filtering. 

Dog ears

Engineers who can hear the difference between tape formulas on tape machines will get what I'm saying. If you've ever watched someone mix, you’ll see them make all these slight changes and adjustments with very subtle effect. Then, all of a sudden, it sounds fantastic. 

Bass-tastic

OK, you say—but what about losing low end with the Stage 1 Board? Actually, the low end becomes clearer. I don’t lose any warmth from the amp. Instead, the low end is more clearly defined—a significant plus when recording guitar amps. 

Substitute teacher

So why pay for the Stage 1 Board when you can put your amp on a piece of wood?

Because wood transfers sound waves, which is why we use wood for building guitars. The IsoAcoustics Stage 1 Board uses a precise combination of materials to stop sound waves from traveling. 

The Stage 1 Board is essentially a floating floor for your guitar amp. 

Studio monitors

Long before the Stage 1 Board came out, I’d used IsoAcoustics sound isolators for my studio monitors and sub. I was blown away when I used those for the first time. So when I saw the release of the new Rock Board, I was excited to hear if it would do for my amp what it did for my studio monitors. And it did! 

Seriously series

Remember that guitar tone is built on a series of small steps. When I play live, I regularly deal with three main steps: 

1. Voltage

The power coming out of the wall is so inconsistent, even in the same location. You may experience higher voltage at night than during the day. Some cities run higher voltage than other cities. It can make your guitar amp sound inconsistent. 

Your amp may feel tighter and sound brighter on some nights (this happens at higher voltages). Or your amp may feel more buttery and sound warmer on other nights (this happens at lower voltages).

My setup pre isoAcoustics Stage 1 Board for a performance on Mountain Stage using the Brown Box and plexigalass with a Henry amp.

2. Volume

Venue acoustics are ever-changing. Some rooms can handle volume while other venues have volume problems. I tour with a plexiglass shield to deal with volume-sensitive rooms. Plexi keeps everyone happy, from the sound engineer to my fellow performers on stage. 

3. Stage resonance

If I play five stages in one week, I can tell you what was different about each stage’s sound. They're never uniform. 

Some stages transfer sound vibration so much, you'll get complaints from the drummer and the bassist about your low end, even if they're a bit away from you. 

The Stage 1 Board not only allows me to isolate my guitar and keep the stage from messing with its tone, but it also keeps me from disturbing the peace within the band. A more balanced stage sound leaves more time for arguing about who took the last KIND bar in the green room. (They know the dark chocolate chili almond is your favorite flavor!)

Trifecta

I find the amp trifecta above gives me a consistent tone from night to night. But consistency isn't important just onstage. 

I use all of these techniques (except for the plexiglass) in the recording studio. 

In general, my amps sound the same from day to day because of the Brown Box and the Stage 1 Board. Each eliminates variables that can swing my tone in various directions. 

Achieving a great guitar tone is a cumulative process. Guitarists will spend months researching and pondering the different influences pickups can have on their sound. 

But pickups are only one part of the equation. To fulfill the "tone legacy" (I'm going to get made fun of), you must follow the path to the amp. Not just to the input of the amp, but to the amp as a resonating instrument. So decouple that amp and bask in the more defined guitar tone you’ll experience.  

Let’s listen to an example: