Gig Tonight

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by Superman

I txt'd a very good friend yesterday morning to ask about guitar compression, thinking this might be a helpful tool. This guy was a contemporary of the Pearl Jam guys and the Alice In Chains guys, who admired his guitar skills for good reason. Jason had continued to play and is now in his 40's. He replied with a bunch of information I didn't understand, so I asked him about mix problems and guitars stepping on each other and everyone else. He laughed, and said he has come to the conclusion that his guitar is almost always too loud. He said that when he is having trouble hearing himself, it is probably still too loud. I need to find some guys who are more seasoned musicians. Guys who've BTDT, and don't have hungry egos. Why are there almost no guitarists who fit this description?

There are plenty. I am one. I like loud volume and power. However, mixing well starts with how you mix yourself with your playing. Picking dynamics are important, knowing when to fall back or forward in volume, essentially weaving correctly with the other guitar and drums etc....You can still play very loud, yet fit into the right pocket if you are careful about pickup selection, what the cymbals are doing, watching your tone adjustments on the amp, speaker selection on and on....

As for that theory about how to set the amp with no bass... i understand what he means if he is using a fender. Fenders have a ton of low end. I have had several twins and deluxe reverbs and they have alot more low end than any Vox AC or marshall I have played. If you are not careful with the fender, the kick drum and bass player drown you right out and you will find yourself reaching for the volume knob searching to hear yourself, ore worse, turning the treble knob up until your ears are bleeding. I dont use em anymore for this reason. Why get attached to a sound that you cant really use with other instruments in a bar type venue

None of this matters if you have a pro system like say, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Mike campbell seems to hear his little princeton reverb pretty well

[targa911S]

Sound guys at big out door venues that I have done with Rich Harper are shocked when they see just how little our footprint is. I use either my 410HLF/PF 500 or BA 115HP (like supes) Drummer uses a Gretch jazz set ( we call it the "kidz or Us" set) Rich uses a hot rodded pig nose. We take up about 100 square feet. Our stage gear is really just a monitor system for us to hear. Everything is miked or on a DI. I prefer just vocals, and a little kick and snare in my monitor. I can hear Rich's guitar in our stage volume. I usually walk around during the first few songs to find the sweet spot in the stage where I can hear everybody just right. I can usually feel me in my feet if it's a riser stage. The days of shootin' it from the stage are long gone. A mature band understands that and we all work to get a good "stage sound". We are also old and seasoned enough to listen when somebody else in the band says you are too loud. It's a group effort. Rich IS the boss and Sam & I are really just side men, but either of us could tell Rich to turn down and he would address it right away with no stink.
What they do with the front of the house is what they do with you. We usually make nice with the sound people and take good care of them, not being too demanding but in control of what you want to them to do for you. Unless you have your own sound guy that does you every time and KNOWS what you want to sound like, you are going to sound like what someone THINKS you should sound. Sound people can be as ego driven as most guitar players, so ya have to be cautious sometimes. Thanking house sound people from the stage early in your show usually will get you a better mix too. Kinda like telling them to tip the servers gets you better service in a club.

I wish I had a dollar for every time the event sound people were making more than I was in the band.

[ramonesfreak]

these good old days are gone

[TimT]

The first time I saw the Dead they had that wall of sound... the next time I saw them (Englishtown) the behemoth was gone... Though parts remained in use for years




[/hijack]

[Superman]

Thx for the tips, guys. And while I'm at it, thanks for the camaraderie over the years. I love you guys. In a macho, hetero, mano amano sort of way.

Hey......slightly OT but I was at a jam last Thursday night, saw some good musicians and.......one of the guitarists was playing through a fairly small (maybe 2x10?) "Matchless" amp. He said it was one of the first 100 built. 1992. Anyway......that friggin' thing made the most beautiful guitar tone I perhaps have ever heard. Ear candy.