Gig Equipment Question

[a-near-jaded-heart]

OK, a few people that I know, rather than playing in bands(aka trying to find a decent drummer, bassist etc) play in pubs with a PA and backing tracks. I'm considering doing the same, since it'd get me out there playing, which is what I really wanna do.

Now, the guys I've seen doing this are using a multi FX straight into the mixer so all their guitar just comes straight through the PA. My pre-amp has a speaker sim on it, and with some tweaking would probably sound nearly as good as through a power amp and cab.

So, do I go with putting my pre-amp into a PA, or would the sound projection be just as good with say an amp and un-mic'd 4x12"?? I doubt I'd be doing clubs, it'd just be pubs if that's a factor.

[Gojirosan]

IMO, if going the solo or duo with backing tracks route, then you get a much more easily balanced and controllable sound with a POD type thing straight into the PA. Much easier to balance sliders on one mixer then it is to balance one amplification system with another.

And punters don't care. Unless they are guitairsts they won't even notice that you're being all 21st century. And the guitairsts won't care if you play well!

:lol:

[a-near-jaded-heart]

IMO, if going the solo or duo with backing tracks route, then you get a much more easily balanced and controllable sound with a POD type thing straight into the PA. Much easier to balance sliders on one mixer then it is to balance one amplification system with another.

And punters don't care. Unless they are guitairsts they won't even notice that you're being all 21st century. And the guitairsts won't care if you play well!

:lol:

So you'd go with my pre-amp direct into the PA then, my pre-amps along the lines of a POD. Fair enough then, I shall look into doing it that way, thanks for the input

[fretmeister]

IMO, if going the solo or duo with backing tracks route, then you get a much more easily balanced and controllable sound with a POD type thing straight into the PA. Much easier to balance sliders on one mixer then it is to balance one amplification system with another.

And punters don't care. Unless they are guitairsts they won't even notice that you're being all 21st century. And the guitairsts won't care if you play well!

:lol:

+1

Why take a 4x12 around when you don't have to?


I would gladly bin the amplifier bit of the Rig of Doom and just use my Preamps if there was a suitable PA system to use.

[a-near-jaded-heart]

Why take a 4x12 around when you don't have to?

I just prefer the sound of my pre-amp through a power amp and V30s rather than with the speaker sim, I guess I just need to fiddle a bit

[andrewrg]

Assuming you'll be singing too the audience are going hear your voice better through PA cabs mounted on poles than a 4x12 on the floor. Also cabs designed for guitar aren't really best suited for PA use.
Plus with a PA you can mix your vocals in the middle and do interesting stuff with your stereo source too spread the sound around.

[a-near-jaded-heart]

Assuming you'll be singing too the audience are going hear your voice better through PA cabs mounted on poles than a 4x12 on the floor. Also cabs designed for guitar aren't really best suited for PA use.
Plus with a PA you can mix your vocals in the middle and do interesting stuff with your stereo source too spread the sound around.

Well there will be a singer yes, not myself though, my range is too low for alot of things and I also struggle with singing and playing together.

I think you misunderstood my intention however, I wasn't going to be running the backing tracks and vocals through the guitar rig, I would have been mic'ing the amp up and running it through the PA. But as Goji and Fret both said, it'd be much easier to just run a pre-amp into the PA.

[LordOfTheStance]

Either way dude, best to put it through the PA - be it a mic'd up cab or a DI preamp.

If there are going to be vocals, you'd need to keep the level on your amp well below what it'd need to be for it to carry over a a PA. Us guitarists don't really need to hear ourselves that well if we're honest, but singers do. Too much racket on stage = poor vocals.

The other factor is spread - the PA tops will be raised above the heads of the audience, so the sound will carry further before it's absorbed by all those bodies. Your cab will either be on the floor or on beer crates behind you. The front row will get blasted by it, and the people at the back will only hear the backing track.

[a-near-jaded-heart]

The other factor is spread - the PA tops will be raised above the heads of the audience, so the sound will carry further before it's absorbed by all those bodies. Your cab will either be on the floor or on beer crates behind you. The front row will get blasted by it, and the people at the back will only hear the backing track.

Oh that's easy, I just have a couple of extra cabs at the back of the room as well :twisted:

[Reed]

For the backing tracks I've seen them using a Walkman type CD player (AC) after mixing the backing track to a .wav file. The coolest I like was two guys using a laptop running the Windows Media Player for backing tracks. Less hassle, no CD's to burn. They said they mixed all the backing tracks down to WMP format using Sonar, Cubase of something. They claimed is was the easiest and most versitle.
As for the guitar. I agree POD type thing.