I used to think it was the ceramic pickups on the morse but I really have come to enjoy those pickups.
Ceramic pickups can sound gorgeous, alnico pickups can sound like cold poop. The magnets are just one part of the total design. Don't judge a book by its cover, or a pickup by its magnets.
Ive noticed that larger rooms need much less reverb and delay
Absolutely!
The other thing we forget is the interplay between mic placement and where we are standing relative to the amp. We EQ the amp for what we hear at our playing position. Mic placement can change everything. Quite literally, one inch difference can make it sound like a different amp. The mic may send something to the FOH and the stage monitors that is very different to what we want to hear. These are often two conflicting requirements! So, this is how I approach the problem...
If the amp is flat on the floor, the highs from the speaker will mostly beam into our butt cheeks. Our ears don't hear that so we add treble to compensate (you don't know it but we all do). Now imagine an mic placed at the centre of the speaker cone. All of the harsh highs the speaker can produce, which we have boosted, go to the desk and will make ears bleed. To avoid this kind of problem there is a simple rule of thumb - Mic position should follow our listening position. If we listen off-axis, the mic should be too. Conversely, if the amp is tilted back and pointing right at our heads, the mic should be more centred on the speaker cone so as not to be too dark or boomy.
You should spend time with your live rig, setting the amp position relative to you as you would for a gig. EQ to give you a sound that you like. Then audition mic positions to capture the sound appropriately. Imagine the only EQ you can use is changing the mic position. When you're happy mark that point on your speaker grille. If your mic is very close to the speaker or grille, proximity effect will kick in and the bottom end will be will screw up the FOH and monitor mix, so be aware of that. Also be very careful that if you re-EQ your amp or change the volume during the gig, what you send to the desk is now different too. You could be messing up a great mix out front or for the other musicians!
And yes, every room is different but at least you know what signal you are sending to the engineer. Once the signal leaves the amp mic, it's their job to worry about, not yours.
Personally, I can play through a tin can and not worry as long as it sounds good out front and I'm not too quiet in the mix onstage. If you get it right, the sound engineer will thank you for making life easy for him and giving him a great sound to work with. I'm proud to say that it does happen!
