massive pedal board failure -- too terrible to watch!

bolophonic · #1 05-20-2011, 11:30 PM

Some friends of mine just put on an awesome CD release party tonight and one of the opening bands ran into some problems tonight that illustrated to me the importance of flexibility in this business... The second band of the night got off to a great start with a wall-of-sound approach that was impressive for a two-piece band. I don't normally ever stick around for bands with no bass player, but the drummer of this band was truly amazing, playing complex rhythms with one hand and a keyboard with the other! The guitarist was working with a pedal board that was the size of a table top. Halfway into song three, the guitar sound suddenly fried out and it was seriously exactly like this video:

What Would U2 Sound Like Without The Echo Effects

The poor guitarist started glumly poking around the board and after a couple of false starts, they got it back together. For the 15-20 minutes where they were stuck fiddling around with the 45 little cords, I had to look away. My buddy was there who I have been in bands with before and neither of us could bear to watch it. We went outside and we were dumbfounded that the dude had been hamstrung by his own gear so badly. There was no possibility of that guy being able to carry on by plugging directly into his amp. I wondered if he even knew any power chords.

In the end it was a great show and the band turned out to be awesome, but man... I would never trust my entire sound to a huge pile of knobs and switches and power strips like that.

The main act were friends of mine and they are one of the best live acts I've seen in a while. They are fully brutal to see up close. The bass player is a force to be reckoned with:

Hog - Live at the Pinhook

bolophonic · #2 05-21-2011, 11:42 AM

I'm kind of surprised that not one single person had an opinion on this story. Usually at least one person chimes in to tell you that your story was stupid, at the very least. Rock on, guys!

TN WOODMAN · #3 05-21-2011, 11:51 AM

I'm surprised too. Nobody chimed in to tell you to use the search function. To use flats. Or how terrible Fenders are. Or how it sits in the mix. what's TB coming to?

bolophonic · #4 05-21-2011, 11:56 AM

There is even a link to a video of a band with a bassist who doesn't sound like Victor Wooten. I am going to go play my bass until something happens!

Downunderwonder · #5 05-21-2011, 12:12 PM

No smoke, nobody got electocuted, no crowd throwing bottles, no humour....oh well...next...

Plays_For_Dog · #6 05-21-2011, 12:15 PM

I'm surprised at how impatient you are. You give your post 12 minutes before you claim no love. Yes, I read your whole post and agree with you completely. If you're totally reliant on your effects to create your music, seems like a good idea to make sure they're in top shape before heading out on the stage. I like the idea of having a smaller "back up" board. Like a PT mini with just the necessity of effects in case mother board dies out.

Oh, and you should use the search function, if he would have been playing a fender with flats, this would never have happened to him. Doesn't really matter anyway, the keyboarding drummer drowned him out in the mix.

bolophonic · #7 05-21-2011, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plays_For_Dog

I'm surprised at how impatient you are. You give your post 12 minutes before you claim no love. Yes, I read your whole post and agree with you completely. If you're totally reliant on your effects to create your music, seems like a good idea to make sure they're in top shape before heading out on the stage. I like the idea of having a smaller "back up" board. Like a PT mini with just the necessity of effects in case mother board dies out.

Oh, and you should use the search function, if he would have been playing a fender with flats, this would never have happened to him. Doesn't really matter anyway, the keyboarding drummer drowned him out in the mix.

Actually, I waited 12 hours before checking back on my post from last night. I am anything but impatient.

JAUQO III-X · #8 05-21-2011, 12:35 PM

I remember once in the middle of my bands performance my pedal board goes out(it really wasn't the board but one of the effects cables). It was during a bass solo. I just asked the drummer to keep playing while I spent a couple of minutes trying to get things working again I ended up unplugging from the pedal board and going directly into the amp. And I was right on rhythm and in the pocket. It was like nothing ever went wrong during that portion of my performance that night. Afterward a # of bass players said that they had no idea that I was having a problem with my pedal board.

I was proud of the way I handled the mishap. And I felt good to be a professional throughout it all.

But my biggest revelation, was that I was reminded that I do not depend on effects any way.

bolophonic · #9 05-21-2011, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAUQO III-X

I remember once in the middle of my bands performance my pedal board goes out(it really wasn't the board but one of the effects cables). It was during a bass solo. I just asked the drummer to keep playing while I spent a couple of minutes trying get things working again I ended up unplugging from the pedal board and going directly into the amp. And I was right on rhythm and in the pocket. It was like nothing ever went wrong during that portion of my performance that night. Afterward a # of bass players said that they had no idea that I was having a problem with my pedal board.

I was proud of the way I handled the mishap. And I felt good to be a professional throughout it all.

But my biggest revelation, was that I was reminded that I do not depend on effects any way.

Awesome way to handle it.

JAUQO III-X · #10 05-21-2011, 01:12 PM

Thanks.

But we all know that the show must go on

**VincentSalizeri** · #11 05-22-2011, 08:55 AM

I find that video amusing, just because I'm really not too fond of U2.

On a slightly more serious note, some people write music with emphasis on the notes themselves, some people with emphasis on the textures. Some kinds of electronica are good examples of the latter.

oniman7 · #12 05-22-2011, 08:04 PM

My last guitarist wanted to be Tool, Nine Inch Nails, King Crimson, and Isis all at once. As such, he had a Digitech multi-fx pedal. All 100 settings were painstakingly adjusted by him... and half of them ended up backfiring somehow. I feel bad for the guy because he's really a perfectionist (thought just a hobbyist) and he's really good. He had so many well made effects that he could actually replicate almost any Tool song and it sounded spot on. Truth is, I never saw the limit to his ability, because he never tried to play anything above it, and always played it great. But we stopped once every couple of songs for him to adjust one of his effects.