Members roamingbard13 Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 The band I play with has come a long way in the 2 years since we started. We were all rookies, and in the last 12 months have played in 7 new venues and have been offered rebooks in all of them. I think we are at a turning point -- from a music and crowd standpoint, we think we are ready to increase our asking rate. However, I feel like we also probably need to invest in our band set-up at this point. What are the most "value-added" things we can do? Adding subs? Lights? A banner? OR -- do we raise our asking price and hire out sound and lights? Say we had $1000 start with -- what should we do first? (I know it's chicken feed for most of y'all, but I work two other jobs and my wife is in grad school, our lead singer is a student, our drummer is a parent of 2...you get the picture). We'll likely be able to add this kind of money every 6 months or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jw10 Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Subs are a must IMO. Lights are also a good idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jw10 Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Subs are a must IMO. Lights are also a good idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by jw10 Subs are a must IMO. Lights are also a good idea depends on what they play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by jw10 Subs are a must IMO. Lights are also a good idea depends on what they play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members roamingbard13 Posted December 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 ^ Mostly 90s and 00s Rock with some modern pop covers. Subs are probably definitely needed...is it okay to start with 1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members roamingbard13 Posted December 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 ^ Mostly 90s and 00s Rock with some modern pop covers. Subs are probably definitely needed...is it okay to start with 1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by roamingbard13 The band I play with has come a long way in the 2 years since we started. We were all rookies, and in the last 12 months have played in 7 new venues and have been offered rebooks in all of them.I think we are at a turning point -- from a music and crowd standpoint, we think we are ready to increase our asking rate. However, I feel like we also probably need to invest in our band set-up at this point. What are the most "value-added" things we can do? Adding subs? Lights? A banner? OR -- do we raise our asking price and hire out sound and lights?Say we had $1000 start with -- what should we do first? (I know it's chicken feed for most of y'all, but I work two other jobs and my wife is in grad school, our lead singer is a student, our drummer is a parent of 2...you get the picture). We'll likely be able to add this kind of money every 6 months or so. What kind of music, what types of events and venues, what do you currently have for equipment, how much do you get for gigs and how much are you hoping to raise it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by roamingbard13 The band I play with has come a long way in the 2 years since we started. We were all rookies, and in the last 12 months have played in 7 new venues and have been offered rebooks in all of them.I think we are at a turning point -- from a music and crowd standpoint, we think we are ready to increase our asking rate. However, I feel like we also probably need to invest in our band set-up at this point. What are the most "value-added" things we can do? Adding subs? Lights? A banner? OR -- do we raise our asking price and hire out sound and lights?Say we had $1000 start with -- what should we do first? (I know it's chicken feed for most of y'all, but I work two other jobs and my wife is in grad school, our lead singer is a student, our drummer is a parent of 2...you get the picture). We'll likely be able to add this kind of money every 6 months or so. What kind of music, what types of events and venues, what do you currently have for equipment, how much do you get for gigs and how much are you hoping to raise it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 the best way to increase the value of a band is by really working on multiple part harmony vocals. It will do more for the bottom line than any gear purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 the best way to increase the value of a band is by really working on multiple part harmony vocals. It will do more for the bottom line than any gear purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GtrGeorge! Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 I would go slowly with gear...its more to move,buy,repair,store replace etc same goes for lights. first work on the things that matter more..and have fewer costs involved Learn those requests, get that mailing list going, get a banner, but pay no more than 200 for it, get biz cards, be nice to the people sounds like you are already doing just fine. GtrGeorge video of my band at reverbernation.com/HolidayRoad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GtrGeorge! Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 I would go slowly with gear...its more to move,buy,repair,store replace etc same goes for lights. first work on the things that matter more..and have fewer costs involved Learn those requests, get that mailing list going, get a banner, but pay no more than 200 for it, get biz cards, be nice to the people sounds like you are already doing just fine. GtrGeorge video of my band at reverbernation.com/HolidayRoad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by roamingbard13 ^ Mostly 90s and 00s Rock with some modern pop covers. Subs are probably definitely needed...is it okay to start with 1? yes, definitely subs. And don't cheap out on the kick mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by roamingbard13 ^ Mostly 90s and 00s Rock with some modern pop covers. Subs are probably definitely needed...is it okay to start with 1? yes, definitely subs. And don't cheap out on the kick mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by TIMKEYS the best way to increase the value of a band is by really working on multiple part harmony vocals. It will do more for the bottom line than any gear purchase. true in many cases, but much of the listed genre had little for extravagant harmonies. But proper singing for the genre is definitely up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by TIMKEYS the best way to increase the value of a band is by really working on multiple part harmony vocals. It will do more for the bottom line than any gear purchase. true in many cases, but much of the listed genre had little for extravagant harmonies. But proper singing for the genre is definitely up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Originally Posted by roamingbard13 ^ Mostly 90s and 00s Rock with some modern pop covers. Subs are probably definitely needed...is it okay to start with 1? Absolutely. When I started my own band again in 2009, I just had a powered mixer and a couple of tops. I rented monitors. No subs. In 2010, I started a different band and the bass player had the equipment, so we just used his stuff. No subs there either, just huge 3-way speakers.I finally bought my own floor monitors, some LED lights and upgraded to one sub and a power amp in 2011. Made a HUGE difference. More hotties dancing and our sound was much better. I still only have one sub, but I will occasionally rent another one for larger places as well as another set of LED lights. I plan on buying both items in the near future (after NYE). At this point, we're just doubling what we have when we need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Originally Posted by roamingbard13 ^ Mostly 90s and 00s Rock with some modern pop covers. Subs are probably definitely needed...is it okay to start with 1? Absolutely. When I started my own band again in 2009, I just had a powered mixer and a couple of tops. I rented monitors. No subs. In 2010, I started a different band and the bass player had the equipment, so we just used his stuff. No subs there either, just huge 3-way speakers.I finally bought my own floor monitors, some LED lights and upgraded to one sub and a power amp in 2011. Made a HUGE difference. More hotties dancing and our sound was much better. I still only have one sub, but I will occasionally rent another one for larger places as well as another set of LED lights. I plan on buying both items in the near future (after NYE). At this point, we're just doubling what we have when we need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimiv Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 I would go with the subs first. Ditto on the vocals. Yes you can start with one, the get the other. Don't go cheapo on the subs though. Lighting is also a must, but I would go with the subs first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimiv Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 I would go with the subs first. Ditto on the vocals. Yes you can start with one, the get the other. Don't go cheapo on the subs though. Lighting is also a must, but I would go with the subs first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Originally Posted by jimiv I would go with the subs first. Ditto on the vocals. Yes you can start with one, the get the other. Don't go cheapo on the subs though. Lighting is also a must, but I would go with the subs first. you can certainly go cheap. Just don't go crappy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Originally Posted by jimiv I would go with the subs first. Ditto on the vocals. Yes you can start with one, the get the other. Don't go cheapo on the subs though. Lighting is also a must, but I would go with the subs first. you can certainly go cheap. Just don't go crappy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Originally Posted by tlbonehead you can certainly go cheap. Just don't go crappy! We have done very well going cheap without going crappy. Got two powered Yorkville subs for $1200 and two powered EV tops for $800 - easily $4k of PA for $2k. Throw in a driverack for $250 and a mixwiz for $800 and we have a great sounding PA. A lot of it is being in the right place at the right time and constantly looking for deals, but it can be done.I'd like to add that a good light show can make you look like a different band - and a lot of people listen with their eyes. That is our next step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Originally Posted by tlbonehead you can certainly go cheap. Just don't go crappy! We have done very well going cheap without going crappy. Got two powered Yorkville subs for $1200 and two powered EV tops for $800 - easily $4k of PA for $2k. Throw in a driverack for $250 and a mixwiz for $800 and we have a great sounding PA. A lot of it is being in the right place at the right time and constantly looking for deals, but it can be done.I'd like to add that a good light show can make you look like a different band - and a lot of people listen with their eyes. That is our next step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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