Racks!

I suspect you're in the throes of a bad attack of [u]Gear Acquisition Syndrome[/u]! :eek:

You have a great new tube amp that delivers 22 Watts into a 12" Jensen speaker. That's a veritable tone fountain, man! You do [u]not[/u] need more/bigger amplifiers! If you get a gig playing a stadium, just put a mic in front of your amp, and let the soundcrew deal with it.

Getting new gear is more exciting than doing the hard work of finding the right settings to nail the tone you're looking for, but that's part of the discipline that making music demands. Do some serious woodshedding with the rig you have now. Get as close as you can to the sound you're trying to achieve. Remember, most of your sound comes from your [u]hands[/u]. If sounding like Jerry Garcia was as simple as buying the same gear, then [u]anybody[/u] could do it. Every Dimebag Darryl wannabe could buy the equipment he endorses, and we'd be deluged with dime-a-dozen-Dimebags!

I think you may be looking for a 'magic solution', and the ironic thing is, [u]you[/u] hold the magic! Your musical future is in your hands.... literally [u]in your hands[/u]!

I was more concerned with the "If i get a gig, is there any other piece of amps or anything else that i should have, you know?"

My tone is already really phat, but i mean lets say i get a small gig at some party with a band,i had the assumption that i would need more than just an amp and a guitar and a few effects, you know what i mean?

I dont have Gas (haha), especially since i've made only a few and wise decisions as far as equipment goes.

But lets say i get a gig (of course, im only 14, but lets forget about that for now), and i dont want the band to sound like the average garage band, since what my level at right now is pretty far beyond that (if i could record some of my stuff on the comp and send it here i would, but my comp isnt that great).

Do you know where im getting at? I just want to know what i'll need for a "first gig", i.e. mics, mixers, etc.

Well, for a gig, you will need (not you, the band)
A decent mixer, at least 8 tracks.
A decent PA system, you should count a watt for each people attending your shows, 2 if it's outdoors. That includes speakers, stands for the speakers etc...

As for your actual equipment, you can use a SM57 (shure microphone) to mike your amp, enter in the mixer, and go through the PA.

For the singer, something like a SM58 (shure)

The Bass player can go directly to the mixer (you'll need a direct box for that) or you can mike his amp like yours

The drums don't need to be amplified on a small gig. If you need to, you can use 2/3 mics at the very least, 8 being a reasonnable one (but now, if you play somewhere where you need to mike the drums, you won't have to worry about any kind of mixing problems anymore :) )

And also, it seems stupid, but Lights!!! I know that you can find real cheap halogen ones, that come with a stand and all.

Originally posted by lalimacefolle
Well, for a gig, you will need (not you, the band)
A decent mixer, at least 8 tracks.
A decent PA system, you should count a watt for each people attending your shows, 2 if it's outdoors. That includes speakers, stands for the speakers etc...

---
The drums dont need to be miked, but hey if i mike them, it solves a potential problem, right?

Considering the music i'll be playing (some blues, alot of grateful dead style music, jamming a ton, etc) dont you think i'd need at least 12 tracks?

Here's my ideal band-
Me- (lead guitar, possibly vocals)
Rhythm Guitar (possibly vocals)
Bassist (possibly vocals)
Keyboard Player (possibly vocals)
Drummer

and maybe a 2nd drummer, or a conga player or something, if theres anything the 1st drummr cant fill.

So what Mixer would you recommend? I cant spend over a grand on it (yet, but by the time i will be getting it; a year or maybe a little more from now; i will be able to). It would have to be more than an 8 tracker.

So if i want quality live sound, what brand and models should i look into? What do you guys use?

**the reason i thought i would need more than 8 tracks is because if i ever wanted somebody to sit in with the band or something, or to jam with another band , you know?

[Edited by Incidents Happen on 07-30-2002 at 11:23 AM]

well, if you mike your drummer, you'll have to play loud enough so that you can get heard over his actual AND his amplified sound. In the clubs I play, the drummer is never miked, and there's up to 80/100 people there (it's relatively small too, it helps) I'm not good enough in mixer/PA systems to help you there anyone?

good point.

But would i want to get a digital mixer or an analog?

At Musiciansfriend, the top of the line Analog mixer is a bit over $1000, i could afford that, or i could get a low end Digital one.

whats the dif?

I think that it depends on your ears. If you can have a top of the line analog, with effects, a great EQ and 12 tracks, or the first price digital one with 8 of them, without effects, well, I'd go with the analog... DUh...

Actually, you have to know that you need to KNOW your equipment. Some pros only own a strat and a fender amp, and they can sueeze every tone you can think of out of this setup. One example is Dany GATTON. The guy had a telecaster, an amp, and If I'm right, he shared the slapback echo effect with his singer... And dude, everything came out of this setup... Wah wah sounds, dive bombs, pedal steel licks, rockabilly tone, Jazz licks, Rock and Roll, Country etc...
So don't worry if your setup isn't quite the thing you want, because you can't afford it. Try to squeeze everything out of your setup, and then some.

no, see, i love my tone right now, i just want to make sure that when i play in the jams that my school has, in front of over 600 people (at the least) that everything will be mixed good, because im not sure if my school has a mixer (im actually pretty sure it does, but im not sure that they would let us use it), and in front of 600+ people, it has to be mixed.

There is no problem with my tone, i just want to make sure that if and when i play live it should go smoothly.

well, actually, that's the school's side... Most pros aren't satisfied with their tone while on tour, so maybe you should hire a guitar tech :) ?

haha.

well just because i love it doesnt mean im satisfied with my tone, you know? There are so many things that could be better, even though its already [u]pretty good[/u] especially since im 14.

You were originally asking about rack mounted kit. This is where I have gone recently and I’m here on account of getting serious about recording.

I spent a lot of years carrying bits of PA systems up and down stairways into strange and smelly back rooms of bars, loosing skin, sobriety and sanity in the process. Stay as simple (and as light) as possible you wont regret it !
Id look at the fender passport PAs seriously as in my experience you only want to mike the vocals.
I really wouldn’t worry about miking drums / bass or guitars as a 100 w guitar & 100 w Bass amp is more than enough in a small bar. By the time you are playing venues where miking guitars and drums becomes necessary, the venue will have its own PA and sound person who will do all that for you.

If you are gigging a lot (every other weekend) durability is an issue. It can be done with rack mounted kit but a compact effect floor board is much more convenient and doesn’t hurt your arms as much as a bloody big armor plated rack.

So ….yes ….sorry about that just got carried away into yesteryear ! Rack gear !
I use a pod pro (!) which forms the corner stone of my sound. I also have an ART mic pre amp. Mics like the SM57 and SM58 have a low impedance output which means that they will sound horrible / not work if you try to stick them into a hi impedance in put (like a guitar amp) hence the preamp. The preamp also delivered a wicked tone for my California strat, (very twangy …if you like that sort of thing). Both of these beasts go up to a patch bay as the next 4 rack spaces contain a Midiverb 4, (effects unit great for vocals limited for guitar however between it and the pod I can get more or less what I want)a flippin huge EQ (also ART) a noise gate (Behringer) and a compressor (Behringer). The last two are really for cleaning up sound. The noise gate will get rid of any unwanted hum whilst an instrument is not actually playing and the compressor is for vocals (hides my doggy mic technique) and bass guitar as it boosts lows and cuts highs....wow that was quite anatomical.
With this little ensemble I an set to go with quite a home studio !
Hope this is useful

my amp is a Fender Deluxe Reverb, which is 22 Watts...

It is much cheeper getting a bigger guitar amp than a PA

yeah im gonna still keep my Deluxe Reverb, as a "Practice Amp" then get like a Twin Reverb for shows...but wont get the Twin for a while yet, i got to keep saving for my americna strat ( i got $550 so far)