made a minor dick of myself acoustically

[Not_the_DJ]

I used to use a Marshall AS-50r. Plenty about on the used market these days.

The acoustic/open mic stuff I used to do was based around a looper, so it was pretty essential that me (and the singer) could here what I played.

Just caused a bit of fuss playing new places as they were used to you just turning up and plugging in.

[Wonks]

May I suggest a Behringer B205D? It's not full range but it's cheap, loud, compact and seems to be reliable. I've got two as stage monitors and another chap I know uses them all the time with no problems. It's got a basic t+b EQ and you can plug 3 things in and mix the volumes. You can also mount it within a gooseneck mic stand. You wouldn't use it for FOH sound, but it's fine for monitoring.

[knuckleberryfinn]

A Roland AC-33 would be my recommendation. You can use it as a mixer/monitor for vocals and guitar, and adjust master volume without affecting the line out level. And you can put 8 AA batteries in it and go busking, which is the perfect preparation for gigging.

[JAYJO]

[QUOTE=frankus;1380562]Any time playing in front of people you'll lose 10-90% of your playing ability compared to playing in a bedroom
+1 IME. Closer to the 90%. I went to a friends house the other night to help him out with his guitar,and although he thought i was aces, i knew i was shit. Sloppy and confusing to me and him. Too much time in isolation,. He thinks im doing him a favour but i think hes doing me a bigger favour.

[ROOG]

Like many of us I’m sure, I feel for you and your experience. My first live performance in a “popular music”, (don’t ask), band went horribly wrong when it came to my solo. I’d played it dozens of times before and I could hear myself through the PA, so all I have to blame is myself.

I recall that I got it together just in time for the band to re-join!

I have a wonderful photo of me looking down at my instrument presumably looking for the “get me out of here” button, whilst the rest of the band are looking on, presumably in disbelief, (or was it laughter), at the stumbling noises I was suddenly emitting. I beg your pardon for my outburst, but your post just brought that excruciating experience back to me, decades on, happy days!

[aknow11]

Congratulations! What seemed like a horrible experience is actually a great one. That has happened to me several times.
Live/learn and next time make sure you can hear clearly. Angie is a tough song.

[RolandG]

First off, if you are playing an acoustic, and can't hear yourself, then it's not your fault. If the room is that noisy then the venue/organiser should provide better monitoring.

Secondly, this happens to all of us. It's partly nerves. It's partly that the guitar sounds different because your are not getting the reflections off the walls that you would get at home. One way of settling yourself down, and accustoming your ear to the room, is to start by knocking out the basic rhythm of the first song. Anji is ideal for this, because you can thumb the bass line a few times. This often settles the audience down too. If the sound is really bad it allows you to stop and ask the "soundman" for a bit more in the monitor before you start playing for real.

[Midnightminstrel]

Woe Woe Woe....don't be so hard on yourself, 1/ you had the guts to get up there and play to a crowd so you got my respect straight away, I've only ever played in front of family tbh, and 2nd, sounds like you were let down by bad equipment, not your playing, so ease up fella, get the hard ware sorted and give it another crack, you know your good. I once read how Paul McCartney once made such a dick of himself in the early Beatles days that he actually packed it in, he forgot how to play a solo or something and hashed it up, it took John several days of hard persuasion to get him to re join the band.

[tonyteech02]

Sorry but I don't see what you did was wrong. BTW did you get any applause at the end. My friend who works as Monkton Wyld had a similar experience. His first open mic his picking hand simply locked and refused to move. Took him three goes to get started but the audience applauded anyway. His experience was its best to ask the audience or a friendly face in the audience if they can hear the guitar - also if there is a sound person make friends with him and get a good level from him. Re amps he uses a Lunchbox thing which is semi portable and very loud apparently. The best solution is to get back on the horse and do it again and the best of luck

[noisepolluter]

Any time playing in front of people you'll lose 10-90% of your playing ability compared to playing in a bedroom.

This is absolutely, painfully true.

Still not gotten round to playing at the local blues night