Members curseoftruth Posted May 1, 2011 Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 I've done a few through the years, did another last night. Was fun, but I've yet do do one of these things where the sound was worth a damn on stage. I could hear 3 things - the bass (good), the singer (good), and myself. We decided to not use the back line either and bring our own gear - the rest of the bands were country rock or blues and we were the only hard rock band, so a blues junior really wasn't going to cut it in place of my Orange halfstack. I was next to the drummer and couldn't hear him and the other guitarist, forget it! As a 29 year gigging musician (yikes, played my first gig in 1982) I understand the difficulties of getting a good sound on any stage, but even more so at a large or small festival (the one last night was small but just an amazing and really fun time!). There was free food and booze for the bands and of course all the guys enjoyed. We only had one major flub lol, and that was because we started a song way to fast - we stopped after about 15 seconds and started slower and it turned out to be one of the better tunes we played and I don't think we've we've rehearsed that song in maybe a couple of months. I will say, one of the best compliments I've ever gotten was heard last night - someone said, I feel like I just witnessed Black Sabbath. Oh yeah, made my day! I guess the sign that a band has gotten good is when you can all play along without hearing each other and make it work. We got great a great response and apparently it sounding killer out front. Maybe I should just stop worrying about the stage sound and just play and enjoy the moment! But I've decided, I'm not a fan of playing outside! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jtr654 Posted May 1, 2011 Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 When playing on big stages its better to still setup tight. If you right next to the drummer and you can'thear him your playing to loud just because your outside dosn't mean you play louder. There should have been a monitor mix also to help you hear the others.Yes when you're a good Band you should be able to play together even though you can't hear all the members as long as you listen to the ones you can hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted May 1, 2011 Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 Playing outside can be tough. I find it best when you set up with at least a solid wall behind the band. Out in the open, with nothing around - good luck. It's also tricky if there is a building or wall a ways out in front of you as the reflections coming back can throw you off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members curseoftruth Posted May 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 Well, the PA wasn't a huge PA - the drummer had a monitor at his head and couldn't hear anything. I mean, we are seasoned pros and have been to this dance before but monitors did nothing for us. The only reason I heard the bassist is he had a 2x15 right behind me and the PA speakers for out front where right next to me so I could hear vocals really well. But out front, I heard some feed back that vocals were not loud which was interesting. And as much as all you old guys (like myself) say you are "playing to loud" nope, its never to loud. I had my Orange 100 watt amp dimed! People were dancing up front, was kind of cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members martyr40 Posted May 1, 2011 Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 I can agree that even though playing outdoor festivals can be a blast, sound is usually a hot mess. But, I'll take that trade off any day because there's nothing else that comes close to the feeling of walking out in front of 30-40 thousand people and banging out a thunderous open E chord and hearing the roar of the crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted May 1, 2011 Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 I've done a few through the years, did another last night. Was fun, but I've yet do do one of these things where the sound was worth a damn on stage. I could hear 3 things - the bass (good), the singer (good), and myself. We decided to not use the back line either and bring our own gear - the rest of the bands were country rock or blues and we were the only hard rock band, so a blues junior really wasn't going to cut it in place of my Orange halfstack. I was next to the drummer and couldn't hear him and the other guitarist, forget it! As a 29 year gigging musician (yikes, played my first gig in 1982) I understand the difficulties of getting a good sound on any stage, but even more so at a large or small festival (the one last night was small but just an amazing and really fun time!). There was free food and booze for the bands and of course all the guys enjoyed. We only had one major flub lol, and that was because we started a song way to fast - we stopped after about 15 seconds and started slower and it turned out to be one of the better tunes we played and I don't think we've we've rehearsed that song in maybe a couple of months. I will say, one of the best compliments I've ever gotten was heard last night - someone said, I feel like I just witnessed Black Sabbath. Oh yeah, made my day!I guess the sign that a band has gotten good is when you can all play along without hearing each other and make it work. We got great a great response and apparently it sounding killer out front. Maybe I should just stop worrying about the stage sound and just play and enjoy the moment! But I've decided, I'm not a fan of playing outside!I love playing outdoor gigs. You need lots of HP from the FOH but you have such a clean canvas to work with. Not sure why you are having issues with it. I find the sound to be deader onstage but hearing each other shouldn't be a problem. Are you setting up the same as an indoor gig? We try to keep our setup just as tight even when we have a larger stage. Would make sense to change everything around just because we "can". We all play about the same volume-wise onstage as well. If necessary, we bleed a little thru the sidefills and/or wedges if we have to be more spread out than we want to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted May 1, 2011 Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 Well, the PA wasn't a huge PA - the drummer had a monitor at his head and couldn't hear anything. I mean, we are seasoned pros and have been to this dance before but monitors did nothing for us. The only reason I heard the bassist is he had a 2x15 right behind me and the PA speakers for out front where right next to me so I could hear vocals really well. But out front, I heard some feed back that vocals were not loud which was interesting. And as much as all you old guys (like myself) say you are "playing to loud" nope, its never to loud. I had my Orange 100 watt amp dimed! People were dancing up front, was kind of cool.well, that's just plain silly. Sounds like you need a major upgrade in your PA if you want to adequately cover these types of shows. BTW, played my 1st outdoor gig in '75, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitslinger59 Posted May 1, 2011 Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 I played outdoors yesterday with my standard indoor set-up. SCXD w/ footswitch, tuner and clean boost (MXR Micro Amp) through a 2x12 cab. Sensible sound man gave a fat monitor mix and my friends said that the FOH mix was good. Pro sound company, really thankful. Only issue was when the singer stepped on the little Fender footswitch and a little solder will fix that. My first outdoor gig was in '75 too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted May 1, 2011 Members Share Posted May 1, 2011 I played outdoors yesterday with my standard indoor set-up. SCXD w/ footswitch, tuner and clean boost (MXR Micro Amp) through a 2x12 cab. Sensible sound man gave a fat monitor mix and my friends said that the FOH mix was good. Pro sound company, really thankful. Only issue was when the singer stepped on the little Fender footswitch and a little solder will fix that. My first outdoor gig was in '75 too.do you really need extra guitar volume in your personal monitor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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