Asking too much????

[mr3lions]

Would it be possible to put a sheet of 1/2 particle board or something that would support your weight down? That way you could rest it on the stage and the catwalk and create a bigger area. Not sure of the logistics- just a suggestion

 

Edit- i see someone just suggested a carpeted riser

[wesg]

You can't just put a sheet of particle board across what looks to be a 4' gap. Way too dangerous. I would go with 2x4 joists on 16" centers. You could make a hinged riser 12 feet wide and 8 feet across that folds up into a box that is 4'x8'x14" and weighs under 100 lbs.

 

Or, maybe 1/2"-3/4" steel plate, like street crews use to cover dug holes. But it would be heavy and expensive.

[dan88z]

Is that your speaker on the right side of the pic? There is plenty of room to move that somewhere. The other thing you could do is move that floor monitor off the stage- stack up some crates down in that pit and put it there. And that giant guitar stand, if really needed, could be put off to the right side on the wing, near the back.

My band plays a place where the "stage" is an area about 12' wide. There is a wall that runs about 8' on my side of the stage, and the other wall is about 10'. Tight for 5 people with a keyboard rig and soundboard on the stage. Then they moved the subwoofers for their house sound system to the back corner of the stage, right where my gear normally went. Strict instructions posted above "do not move, do not put food and drink on here".

We have another gig where my keys are just about touching the drummers cymbals, the singers monitor is underneath my keyboard stand and the bass and guitar are crammed against a wall. The gig is a blast so we keep doing it. That "stage" might be 10' wide.

I guess the moral of the story is you have to be adaptable. A 4 piece band should easily fit on that stage.

[GmanJeff]

We played a new venue last Saturday which has a very small "stage" area (just some cleared space against a wall, surrounded by tables), and after the show were commended for our performance by the manager, but were also asked if we could pare down the size of the band (we're a 5-piece) to take up less real estate - we had moved a few tables to give ourselves some breathing room. We're going to return with a compact e-drum rig instead of the acoustic kit, which will reduce the drummer's footprint by at least 50%. That alone should give us just enough space to be comfortable. In the OP's situation, in addition to the guitar rack, maybe the other guitarist doesn't really need to bring a second guitar? I often use a Variax, and avoid the need for separate acoustic, 12-string, other electrics, etc, and all the space needed for their stands on stage. Your floor monitors are also pretty big - something like the EV ZXa1s we use would take up a lot less space (approx 18" X 11" X 10").

If you got rid of the spare guitars on stage, used smaller floor monitors, and e-drums, I think you'd be fine in the space you have.

[wesg]

I agree with Dan w.r.t. altering layout, particularly if that's a band speaker, it should be on a tripod on the ground raised to the correct height for the audience.

 

I also did some digging and wanted to point out that the maximum allowable span for Grade 2 SPF 2x4 floor joists on 16" centers is 5'11" with a 40 PSF live load and 10 PSF dead load (typical for floors in new construction). Only 5'1" if you use stud-grade SPF. Something you should know if you are building a riser. It would be fine there, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't encouraging you to build something dangerous. Collapsing stages are no joke.