TenderSurrender Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Ok ive done a fair few gigs before, but have a question about this one... The stage we are playing on is fairly large and we are playing in a fairly big spacious hall (approx 500 people?) Now ive played in a venue a bit like this and had real problems with delay become muddy quickly and also tone sounding weak? for want of a better word... So what do you guys think will be the best setup for my amp? e.g should my amp be on the floor (bout 1 inch away as i have castors on) or raised ontop of some staging? also is there any paticualler angle i should face it in regards to the walls, ? The amp in question is a Line 6 Spider 2- 212.. there open back which might not help matters? Thanks in advance for your help guys ~~ SA ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff Beer Man Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Hey man i got the same amp. The last gig i played was for a school guitar class. We had a smaller stage, and it fit about 200 people in it. Some kid in class had a dad who supposedly knew a whole bunch of crap about setting up amps at the right angle came in to "help us set up". They worked and moved our stuff around while we did warm ups. In all honestly i didnt think it was that good, it sounded better then where it was but i didnt feel it all that much, maybe cause he was messing with my settings on my amp too telling my i didnt have enough mid, i gave him the finger and said its the sound i wanted lol. Anyway, my spider 2x12 was proped up with a chair on each side. All the amps were angled so the sound came together in the middle and blended into one. If you are worried about the open back, then i hear people stick a couple pillows in there to stop the sound from escaping, i havent personally tried this but who know. What i would do is take ur band and one of your other friends who knows music a little bit. Go the the gig spot, set up have him move around to different spots and tell you where it sounds good and where it doesnt, then move your gear around accordingly, also try with and without the pillows to see if u like it of not. also u guys doing cover songs or original? Anyway, gl with it let us know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 That's why god invented soundchecks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 That's why god invented soundchecks. biggrin.gif And Shure SM-57 mics for your amps! Best thing you can do is turn down the amp and mic it. Or even take the amp off-stage, crank it, and mic it, which is easier if you have a wireless. This is why I've gone mostly amp-free for my larger gigs in the last few years. Plug into the processor, tweak the simulator, go direct into the house system that was probably specially designed for the venue anyway. Doesn't your Line 6 have an XLR or 1/4 line out for such a purpose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted November 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 (edited) My line 6 has a 1/4 line out/headphone out for such an application, it kills the internal speaker though "God invented sound checks" Unfortuntly he didnt think about how hard it is for 4 bands in 2 hours do to sound check!! I did toy with the idea of micing up for the gig, but after phoning the people running it, they told me there rig was only just loud enough for vocals, and guitaring through it as well will be awful Go the the gig spot, set up have him move around to different spots and tell you where it sounds good and where it doesnt, then move your gear around accordingly, also try with and without the pillows to see if u like it of not. also u guys doing cover songs or original? Anyway, gl with it let us know how it goes. Well on the sunday we have 2 hours to "rehearse and setup", unfortuntly theres 4 bands going this so it leaves little time to sort out the area... since during the day this place is a school, We are doing covers, as ive only just joined the band a few weeks back after they phoned me up asking if i wanted to, next year we wil begin writing our own material Thanks for all your help guys, i guess from here, the best thing to do is just "hope" that it isnt to bad in there and that the half hour we will have will give me long enough to sort my amp out! ~~ SA ~~ Edited November 15, 2005 by SlainAngel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 And Shure SM-57 mics for your amps! ← Amen! I've moved to progressively smaller (tube) amps for this reason. We like to play at a reasonable stage volume --we don't worry about the hall, that's the soundman's job, and the PA's. I like a balance between the volume of the amps and the volume of the monitors, so I feel like I'm surrounded by the music, if that makes sense. As for placement--I bought an amp stand that tilts the amp toward me. I place the amp as directly behind me as I can (I'm the singer, so I'm center stage--the amp is next to the drums and angled slightly toward me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted November 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 Just decided i might have a word with my Music Tech teacher as well, Currently we are only focusing on recording techniques at the moment, the placement of monitors and amps comes later on in the year. But im sure he wouldnt mind helping... Hey Idch, Do you like the way it sounds titled towards you?, Im lead/rhythm guitarist in this band and like to move around abit , but tend to stay over one side of the stage, A friend has a kick back stand for amps... might give it a go? Looking forward to this gig, I have one on the 18th for Children in need at my school and this one on the 21st which is raising money for their schools music dept. ~~ SA ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 Hey Idch, Do you like the way it sounds titled towards you?, Im lead/rhythm guitarist in this band and like to move around abit , but tend to stay over one side of the stage, A friend has a kick back stand for amps... might give it a go? ← Yeah, I'm pretty static on stage, just stand in front of the mike and look cool. I leave the jumping around to the other guys. But that's what monitors are for--if you have enough, between them and your amp, you should be able to cover most of your part of the stage. Of course, with in-ear monitors, that's not an issue, but I've never tried them. As for whether I like the sound...well, every show I've ever done sounds completely different --I mean, I've never been at any kind of pro level where I'm allowed to be fussy about these things. And I don't really have the patience for it either...besides, the room is going to be different, the number of people in the place affects the sound, the temperature and humidity and smoke levels, etc. etc. I try to control what I can, and the rest of it, well, I just try to relax and enjoy the ride and try to give a good performance...mostly I worry about staying in tune! Since I'm playing rhythm mostly (I'm working on the lead work, but I'll always be a singer first), I do like the sound of the amp tilted up like that --the sound seems airier to me. When it's flat on the floor, it emphasizes the bass more than I need/like. But that might be because my feet don't hear the high end as well as my ears do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 I use a stand also. OnStage and Carvin sell the same design as Musicians Friend. Not only can I hear myself better with the amp on a stand, but some rooms absorb the high frrequencies, like throwing a wet blanket over the thing (not recommended, by the way). Having my amp on the floor just makes it worse. And since I replaced the power tubes, it's not as top-endy (?) as it used to be anyway. So I say, stand and deliver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 That's why god invented soundchecks. ← And stage monitors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted November 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 I might invest in one of those amp stands, they look like they could be pretty useful! As for monitors, i beleive there is 2 maybe 3 along the front of the stage, this should be enough i guess for my sakes, as a temp fix i think ill use the back of the stage and just tilt my amp up against it? Cheers for the help people ~~ SA ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 I might invest in one of those amp stands, they look like they could be pretty useful! As for monitors, i beleive there is 2 maybe 3 along the front of the stage, this should be enough i guess for my sakes, as a temp fix i think ill use the back of the stage and just tilt my amp up against it? ← For simple purposes even a block of wood under the amp can get the sound up high enough so that it's not firing at your ankles. But be careful not to fire it directly at a vocal mic, it can cause some feedback cycling issues. It's better if you can depend on stage monitors for your playback instead of your amp. It will help keep people with distance between them more in sync and is less likely to feedback than a loud amp. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted November 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 Thanks for the advice gorecki, Currently my amp is about an inch above the floor thanks to the casters, i could put a block of wood ive got here (About 2 inches) which will raise it a fair amount Im hopin both performances go really well, as said before, these are both to raise money Ill let you all know how it went, and try and get some pictures! ~~ SA ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 i hope all goes well, i aslo have gig thing at school for charity, im playing an acoustic so i dont have to worry about ampage. Good luck and i hope you raise lots of money!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted November 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 Aah thanks Marzocchi, Hope all goes well for your gig as well man!! Usually money combined from events durin the week and our band playing at the end of the week.. the school tend t make well over £1000 for charity ~~ SA ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 We pull in about 750 on average. We charge 50p per head for the gig, and we have things like homebakes (theyr really good too). Post pics of you playing, that would be cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted November 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2005 Post pics of you playing, that would be cool! ← Ill see what i can do ~~ SA ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted November 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2005 Just an update, For those interested - Spoke to a mate of mine who is studying photography at AS/A level currently, and he is more then happy to take some pictures of the band whilst we are performing Ill get pictures up A.S.A.P after friday ~~ SA ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted November 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Well todays gig for children in need went "ok" Some severe technical problems with the setup we had for vocals, caused some real problems, but overall it went really well, estimated raised approx £300/£400 Got some funny pictures, ill get em online after the 21st november gig ~~ SA ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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