#1626997 - 06/26/03 12:02 PM
How much is too much?
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Tedster
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 5933
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One of my friend's bands should have been called "Overkill". In even the smallest of clubs, they'd have all these bass bins, lenses, Perkins cabinets, light trusses, etc. etc. They'd have to go in the day before to set up.
So, a couple questions...
Do you ever rent a vehicle to get your gear to the gig?
How long does it take you to set up?
Does your band have a soundman, or run sound from the stage? If yes, how big a cut does he get?
Same question, but for lights.
Do you own your own PA, rent, or just play places where it's provided?
If you own your own PA (and take it with you) describe it...two or three way cabs with passive crossovers, or something bigger?
Guitarists...stacks or combos?
Drummers...simple kit or Neil Peart wannabe?
Mic all the drums, or just kick and overhead (or any combination thereof)?
And, the meat and potatoes question, based on what you make with your band, do you feel that your rig is justified for the price? What I mean is that if you're taking a whole afternoon to set up, and coming home at the end of the gig with $40 bucks in your pocket, (BEFORE breakfast at Denny's) is your rig cost effective?
_________________________
"Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine...(WAH WAH WAH WAHHH!)"
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#1626998 - 06/26/03 12:34 PM
Re: How much is too much?
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CMDN
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Registered: 11/13/01
Posts: 6052
Loc: Philadelphia,PA,UNITED STATES
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OK...
Here goes.
What we don't bring:
We don't bring a PA unless we're on tour and there's the possibility that some new place or squat where we're playing doesn't have one. When we DO bring our PA, it's just two 12" speakers with horns and a powered 4-channel head. Nothing fancy. It's just what we use for rehearsal. Works well enough, but we don't like to bring it. It just takes up space in the van.
We don't bring a sound engineer. Most places either have one already (to go with the house PA) or are so small that we can easily run the PA ourselves. All we put into the sampler is the vocals and our sampler (which is only used to run our intro and some effects during our set. Once the level is set for that, we leave it alone.)
We never rent a vehicle to bring gear. We have our own van. If we can't lug it in the van, we don't need it.
What We DO Bring:
We always bring our own mics, cables and stands. Depending on the type of place we're playing, they might or might not have decent stands, mics or cables. Sometimes we just use our own simply because it's nice to see something familiar in front of your face on the road. Plus... some of the mics in these joints are FOUL. Our singer always uses his own mic. He just likes it.
Our own amps... I use a Marshall half-stack. No effects -- just cords, an a/b box and a tuner. Our bassist uses a Mesa stack. No effects. They fit in the van and are more than adequate for any room we play -- nice, big rooms with excellent PAs and shitty dives with crappy PAs. We just adjust our volumes accordingly, depending on the situation. Our drummer plays a four-piece set, and he only uses three stands.
We bring our own lights. Nothing special, really -- two moonflower lights that sit on top of our stacks and three colored work lights two red and a blue) that clip onto our mic stands and onto the drum throne. We don't use the work lights in clubs that have good lighting. We only use them in the places with shitty lights or no lights. We always use the moonflowers. All of these lights plug into a single footswitch that will completely blacken/illuminate the performace area when we play. That way we can have total darkness before and after our set. All of these lights are set up as we set up our amps.
We also bring a smoke machine to make the lights look cooler.
This gear can be up and ready to go in five minutes total. We all have jobs when we're setting up, and when we're done with our main job, we help someone else.
We also always bring our Amazon Roadette, Avy, everywhere we go. She helps load in, set up the stage gear and sell our merchandise. She runs the smoke machine and troubleshoots while we're onstage. When we're done, she helps clear the stage and re-load the van. She also braids my beard on occasion, takes digital pics and causes fights among the locals in small towns (she's cute and dresses kinda provactively. They have no idea she's gay.)
Does all this stuff justify what we make in cash? Who knows? It's what we do. I don't want to compromise our stage show just to save money. It doesn't cost us any extra money to run a few lights or a smoke machine. Avy gets paid what we get paid -- little or nothing. But, we always feed her (and ourselves), and we always get a decent place to sleep. We also get her ice cream when she looks tired or sad....
_________________________
\m/
Erik
Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?
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#1626999 - 06/26/03 04:23 PM
Re: How much is too much?
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Rick K.
Platinum Member
Registered: 07/05/01
Posts: 1659
Loc: phoenix,AZ,UNITED STATES
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I guess we're one of those "Overkill" bands. We always bring our own sound system. We always hang our own lighting trusses. We have alot of kick butt gear. It takes us about 3 hours to do a full set up. Smaller clubs still takes us 2 hrs.
I have the best PA I can afford. I figure what's the purpose of spending money on great instruments if they still sound like dung if played thru a crappy PA.
We get the 'you have alot of equipment' comment everywhere we go. That's ok as long as it's coupled with 'you're the best band that's been in here'.
I'll spend the time and money. Worth every penny of the investment. We play more and make more.
Rick
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#1627000 - 06/26/03 04:29 PM
Re: How much is too much?
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ITGITC?
Grand Poobah of Posting
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Registered: 12/18/02
Posts: 11308
Loc: Raleigh, NC
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Rick, what PA equipment are you using?
Ummm, I'm just curious. 
Signed,
Curious Gas 
_________________________
"NEVER take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night." ................................ Is There Gas in the Car? 
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#1627001 - 06/26/03 06:08 PM
Re: How much is too much?
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Rick K.
Platinum Member
Registered: 07/05/01
Posts: 1659
Loc: phoenix,AZ,UNITED STATES
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Our equipment list...
Front of House
Mains: JBL SR-X
Subs: JBL SR-X
Power Amps: QSC PLX3402
Mixer: Mackie SR32-4 VLZ Pro
Effects: Lexicon & BBE & Digitech & DBX
Compression: Presonus & TC Electronic
Equalizer: Behringer
Crossover: DBX & Behringer
Microphones: Crown, Shure & Sennheiser
Wireless Units: Shure, Sennheiser
Instruments
Drums: Yamaha & Roland
Electric Guitar: Fender & Gibson
Acoustic Guitar: Washburn, Martin & Sigma
Steel Guitar: Zum, Emmons
Bass: Peavey
Keyboards: Roland, Korg, Alesis
Guitar Amp: Line 6
Bass Amp: Ampeg, Korg
Bass Cabinet: Mesa Boogie
Steel Amp: Peavey, Korg, Fender, JBL
Keyboard Amp: Peavey
Monitors
Monitor Speaker: Fender, SWR
Wireless In Ear Monitors: Sennheiser, Future Sonics
Monitor Amps: Peavey
Monitor Mixer: Mackie 16 VLZ Pro
Equalizer: Behringer
Effects: DBX Lexicon
Lighting System
Controllers: NSI MPX
Dimmer Packs: NSI 4600
Cans: Par 56 (300, 500 & 600 Watt)
Intelligent lighting: American DJ, Chauvet
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#1627002 - 06/26/03 06:26 PM
Re: How much is too much?
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Jeff Klopmeyer
10k Club
Registered: 10/13/00
Posts: 16810
Loc: Redondo Beach,CA,UNITED STATES
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Originally posted by Tedster:
Do you ever rent a vehicle to get your gear to the gig?
How long does it take you to set up?
Does your band have a soundman, or run sound from the stage? If yes, how big a cut does he get?
Same question, but for lights.
Do you own your own PA, rent, or just play places where it's provided?
If you own your own PA (and take it with you) describe it...two or three way cabs with passive crossovers, or something bigger?
Guitarists...stacks or combos?
Drummers...simple kit or Neil Peart wannabe?
Mic all the drums, or just kick and overhead (or any combination thereof)?
And, the meat and potatoes question, based on what you make with your band, do you feel that your rig is justified for the price?
- Jeff
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#1627003 - 06/26/03 06:27 PM
Re: How much is too much?
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reachjkh
Senior Member
Registered: 04/11/03
Posts: 440
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CMDN, I think you guys have a great setup. I like the fact that your drummer plays a 4 piece set. Sounds from some other posts I've read that your crowd couldn't care less how much gear you bring. They just love the music. That's how it should be I think.
_________________________
Hey you white boy there
Go play that funky music
"ok...what's it pay?"
first smoke, then silence
your very expensive rig
dies so gracefully
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#1627004 - 06/26/03 06:42 PM
Re: How much is too much?
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CMDN
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 11/13/01
Posts: 6052
Loc: Philadelphia,PA,UNITED STATES
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CMDN, I think you guys have a great setup. I like the fact that your drummer plays a 4 piece set. Sounds from some other posts I've read that your crowd couldn't care less how much gear you bring. They just love the music. That's how it should be I think.
We like the fact that our drummer plays a 4-piece set, too. It means less heavy shit to carry. And boy, gear gets heavy as hell at the end of the night, doesn't it?
I think you're right... I doubt our peeps care how much stuff we bring to shows, but I DO think they'd notice if we didn't bring lights, our sampler or the smoke machine. They're relatively small touches, but they make a big difference in our overall appearance and the way they perceive us onstage. I think they deserve the best show we can bring them, because they are always there for us. Yeah, they love the music... but I think they also love the whole "big dumb rock show" aspect, too.
So we always bring it... and improve on it whenever we can.
_________________________
\m/
Erik
Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?
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#1627006 - 06/26/03 06:59 PM
Re: How much is too much?
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Lee Flier
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Registered: 09/13/00
Posts: 15398
Loc: Atlanta,GA,UNITED STATES
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Our setup is pretty similar to Erik's - very simple but effective for what we do. We have a PA which is just a Crate powered head, couple of cabs with 15" woofers, and two wedges. We don't bring it unless the club doesn't have one.
Our drummer also plays a small 4 piece kit - an old Slingerland - and 3 cymbals. Bassist - Ampeg B2 combo and a black Fender Jazz. Me: '52 Les Paul, '64 Rickenbacker 12-string and '65 Fender Pro Reverb (40 watt combo). If it's a very small place like a coffeehouse, I might use my little Ampeg Jet instead (only 15 watts), or my 60 watt Ampeg VT-40 combo if it's a big place. Only effects are a volume pedal, an Echoplex and a Vox fuzz box. And a Danelectro compressor for the 12 string. I'll usually also bring my SG Jr. as a backup in case I break a string or anything.
We have yet to run into a gig where this didn't more than suffice, and everything fits handily into a regular van and we can be set up/broken down in 20 minutes if we don't have to set up the PA, under an hour if we do. We've even crammed everything but the PA in a minivan. It helps being a 3 piece - one less person + gear - but we're glad we don't need a whole bunch of stuff.
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#1627007 - 06/26/03 07:39 PM
Re: How much is too much?
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Tom Capasso
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 04/30/01
Posts: 7593
Loc: east meadow,NY,UNITED STATES
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We've played very small bars (no sound, some lights) and backyards. We each bring our own stuff independently (no common van or truck). Everybody's stuff is basic enough -
Large keyboard + amp + music stand + stool + mic/stand
Fender 65w, one pedal, Strat and Epiphone guitars, mic/stand
Fender 65w, two pedals, Squier Strat, harmonicas, harmonica mic/stand, music stand
2 Bass cabs (one points front, one at the drummer at his request), head, bass, one pedal, mic/stand
drumset is pretty standard (2 toms, 1 floor, etc.)
Percussionist - 2 congas, 2 bongos, 2 timbales (all with stands), cymbal, rack to hold the assortment of other toys
The PA we own is a horrible Stageworks (Sam Ash) 4 channel 120W thing with 4 speakers. 2 go on stands as "mains", 2 go as monitors.
We need to upgrade the PA, but the individual equipment is fine.
Our setup time has been confounded by playing in incredibly cramped spaces. I end up being a traffic cop trying to get the drummer and percussionist in place first and build out from there. There is much amp stacking to be space-efficient. Keys and drummers have had to be contortionists to get in and out...
We usually arrive early enough that we have the time (though I start getting panicky at times).
Tom
_________________________
www.stoneflyrocks.com Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt
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#1627008 - 06/27/03 03:06 AM
Re: How much is too much?
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PBBPaul
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 07/31/02
Posts: 2946
Loc: Wonderful World of Cheese - Wi...
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Our rig is wonderfully simple. We use either 4 or 8 cans for lights and an old Peavey XR600 PA with two 15" cabs. Most of the time we don't even use monitors. Each of us is responsible for his own instrumental gear and our total setup time is down to about a half hour. For larger venues, we do have a pretty nice Mackie/Crown/Alesis system with multiple cabs, several light trees and a bunch of par-64s when we need it. But we've learned to tweak our little Peavey system to sound pretty good.
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