Damned good advice...I bet we can add some though...

[Andrew Blakk]

Some  great advice there!  A bit over the top perhaps but still good!

#6 is crucial!

#7 though is plain stupid. I've never understood that comment. My band has always played at least
40 - 50 min shows if possible. How else are you going to learn? But this is another genre though...

[Mr. Foxen]

And lastly if your amp is so loud why the hell do you need it in monitors?  An amp is a monitor - for your guitar.

Usually because people use 4x12s that are directional in the mids and then stand off axis to not feed back, or so close the sound is under their ears, so they can't hear anything they can pitch from.

[Metal and Beer]

Yes. Having even stage volume from the get-go will help immensely and keep from pissing off the soundman.

And by "even stage volume" I mean the amps are *only* as loud as the drums.

This ^

The best piece of advice I have seen regarding stage volume is to balance it against the drum kit(on smaller stages).

...and this ^

[spookstrickland]

^^^

Then disregard what I said about too much low frequencies in the guitar EQ-ing, heh \m/,


Have you experimented with running a guitar and bass rig with an ABY box? I've seen some 2-piece bands do some cool shit with such a setup.

I used to use a Bass Rig and a guitar rig in Hydrozeen when we were a  two piece band and it was pretty awesome.  I just can't pack those big cabinets and bass heads around anymore with my back.  I'm thinking of maybe finding a small "Bass Combo" that I could mic up on stage to run in unison with my guitar rig which is also shrinking do to my back problems

And lastly if your amp is so loud why the hell do you need it in monitors?  An amp is a monitor - for your guitar.

Usually because people use 4x12s that are directional in the mids and then stand off axis to not feed back, or so close the sound is under their ears, so they can't hear anything they can pitch from.

You know that might be and Issue.  I have never liked a single 4x12 cab unless I could get it up high.  I've always liked 15's or my Sunn 6x10 but but they are both too big for traveling with me now.  I need to find a really small 10" cab maybe even cut down a 6x10 because I really like that design an then run the little bass combo set up in tandem and it could be a good portable solution.

thanks

[Ryno]

Oh man, that drives me nuts...Also, if it takes you 20 minutes extra to set up, because your drummer has some crazy rack tom system and 5000 drums, you should subtract that 20 minutes from your set.

A few years ago I saw Anthrax at a hip med/large club on the beach. It attracted an interesting mix. One of the bands that opened was a local "power metal" band called CAGE!!!  So called because of the giant aluminum cage surrounding the drummer and taking up half the stage. The drummer, Mikey, was a known boozer and it was always a gamble whether or not he would make it through the set without blacking out or falling off his stool.

Anyway... After their set I was standing nearby, drinking a pint, when I see the Anthrax manager walk up to the stage and tell Mikey to hurry and get his drums off the stage. Mikey tells him to fuck off which then leads to some of the most classic back and forth insults I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.  So the Anthrax manager is shouting from the floor while Mikey, who is absolutely inebriated, is stumbling around on stage, trying to break down his shitty thunderdome drum kit, all the while yelling obscenities to the manager. At some point they tire off telling each other to fuck off. The manager walks away and I just stood there laughing at what just went down knowing I was the only person who probably saw the whole thing. Next thing i see, Mikey turns around, walks straight into his cage/kit/thunderdome, falls down bringing drums and symbols with him, then jumps up and starts swinging while screaming "WHO THE FUCK DID THAT?!?!?!?  WHO DID IT!!?!?"

No one was even near him.  It was one of the most classic moments I've seen during a breakdown. He was a class guy.

[Mr. Foxen]

I used to use a Bass Rig and a guitar rig in Hydrozeen when we were a  two piece band and it was pretty awesome.  I just can't pack those big cabinets and bass heads around anymore with my back.  I'm thinking of maybe finding a small "Bass Combo" that I could mic up on stage to run in unison with my guitar rig which is also shrinking do to my back problems

Get a DI for actual lows and stuff, don't need to monitor is so much if you have guitar rig covering the mids. If you are running the bass rig just for lows, and have the money to invest in saving your back, you can get a neo loaded lighweight sub, one of the jobs with a Kappalite 3015LF and a light PA power amp (Peavey IPR) into it, get the low end volume from brute force rather than loads of speakers and weigh very little.

[Submarine]

Usually because people use 4x12s that are directional in the mids and then stand off axis to not feed back, or so close the sound is under their ears, so they can't hear anything they can pitch from.

You are correct but isn't it time to bring the right tools to the gig?  A milk crate to raise the amp, or a 2x4 to tilt the cab?  Often times the difference between a pro and amateur is who brings the right tools and is prepared.  I bring a tool/trick bag to every gig, because there are always problems.  Handling a problem so that no one else knows there is one is what makes you a pro.

[Mr. Foxen]

Usually because people use 4x12s that are directional in the mids and then stand off axis to not feed back, or so close the sound is under their ears, so they can't hear anything they can pitch from.

You are correct but isn't it time to bring the right tools to the gig?  A milk crate to raise the amp, or a 2x4 to tilt the cab?  Often times the difference between a pro and amateur is who brings the right tools and is prepared.  I bring a tool/trick bag to every gig, because there are always problems.  Handling a problem so that no one else knows there is one is what makes you a pro.

A 4x12 is basically the wrong tool. But cabs with decent dispersion that sound right for guitar aren't very available. Raisin and tilting might make it a better monitor for the player, but the beam is just pointing in another direction and missing someone else who probably should hear it. I use a 4x12 because I manipulate feedback by moving about, but it stacks on my 2x15 so I can hear it when I'm in front. I'm going to make some BFM XF cabs with decent dispersion to use eventually.

[Submarine]

Raisin and tilting might make it a better monitor for the player, but the beam is just pointing in another direction and missing someone else who probably should hear it.

That's what the PA is for

(Granted there are lots more variables)

[Mr. Foxen]

Raisin and tilting might make it a better monitor for the player, but the beam is just pointing in another direction and missing someone else who probably should hear it.

That's what the PA is for

(Granted there are lots more variables)

The low end that is omnidirectional from the 4x12 will still mess with the PA/monitor mix, if stuff is all going to the PA, then a 1x2 is enough, since that's what will be miced, and won't need any lows for monitoring. 4x12 sort of SPL is when you are supposedly carrying the room, but they have such bad dispersion they carry a stripe of the room, or more usually make a strip of the room uncomfortable and only the people as far off axis as the guitarist's ears hear what they intend.