Trey Anastasio reveals why it’s impossible to play with onstage amps at The Sphere

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Trey Anastasio has reflected on his time playing at Las Vegas’ state-of-the-art Sphere venue, and in the process has seemingly confirmed why so many electric guitar players are having to shake up their guitar amp setups when playing the hi-tech arena.

Anastasio teamed up with his Phish bandmates to play a four-date residency at the Sphere in April this year, but did so without the help of any on-stage tube amps.

Instead, Anastasio – a lover of vintage Mesa/Boogies and Princetons – was forced to bury his amps well out of view, resulting in a rig that, at first glance, seemed to have foregone amps altogether.

The prog maestro isn’t the only guitar player to have gotten creative with their guitar setup specifically for the Sphere stage, though.

For U2’s own residency, The Edge ended his lifelong love affair with tube amps and famously turned to Universal Audio’s amp sim pedals as part of a particularly high-profile setup switch.

John Mayer, who is nearing the end of his own Sphere residency with Dead & Company, recently revealed he also had to get creative with his amp placement, literally boxing his amp rig away in wooden shipping crates in the Sphere’s loading dock.

At the time, many theorized that the Sphere’s unique PA and amalgamation of speakers meant that stage volume had to be kept to a minimum, and it seems such observations were correct.

In the new issue of Guitar World, Anastasio confirms why no-one has used genuine amps on stage at the Sphere – and why no-one ever will – as a result of its unique sound system.

“No-one will ever have an amp on stage at the Sphere,” Anastasio says. “They might have dummies, but they’re not on. The 52,000-speaker sound system comes down right behind your back. So there’s a slapback [echo].

“That’s why anyone who will ever play there will have to have the drums wrapped in plexiglass.”

While Anastasio insists the onstage amps we see at the Sphere are only “dummies”, it’s worth clarifying that, in the case of John Mayer and Bobby Weir, real amp heads are seen on stage, and are very much in use, but we aren’t hearing any output from them on stage.

Instead, Mayer has them disconnected from their cabs, which are stored in iso boxes in the bowels of the Sphere. So, they aren’t dummies per se, but they aren’t providing any stage volume.

It makes sense. The Sphere is, after all, a highly enclosed space with one of the most advanced and expansive sound systems in the world. The interference that loud amps pose to this finely crafted setup is clearly an issue.

It’s the first time a guitarist has explicitly discussed the shortcomings of the Sphere stage. The Edge, for example, merely cited “various reasons” for switching to amp sims, while Mayer filed his own move under “whatever it takes”.

According to the Sphere’s schedule, the Eagles are the next guitar act to take up residency at the venue, and so it will be interesting to see how Joe Walsh decides to approach the no-amps-on-stage issue in September.

Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitar World, which features the full interview with Trey Anastasio.