Plug and Play issues

Geddyfleaharris · #1 06-06-2008, 08:13 AM

I am sure most of you guys have played a plug and play show, usually with multiple bands on the bill, at some point in your careers. Meaning that all backline, drums etc are supplied. I am just wondering if you have run into the issue of band members refusing to play on the supplied equipment, wanting to take their own and thereby completely derailing the logistics of the overall show. If you have had this issue how did you handle it?

Phalex · #2 06-06-2008, 08:18 AM

I've had a guitar player that insisted on using his own amp. Not a big problem he plugged it in and put the mic in front of it. It's a good thing to know exactly what the pedal board is going to do when you step on it, so I don't think it was a crazy requirement.

I'm happy to just plug in and go. There's always a DI involved with the bass rig, so I try not to tweak the settings on the bass amp unless I absolutely have to. (I'm not a big fan of people twiddling my knobs so I try not to twiddle with others.)

Geddyfleaharris · #3 06-06-2008, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phalex

I'm happy to just plug in and go. There's always a DI involved with the bass rig, so I try not to tweak the settings on the bass amp unless I absolutely have to. (I'm not a big fan of people twiddling my knobs so I try not to twiddle with others.)

That's exactly what I am going to do.....plug and play!

Inflin · #4 06-08-2008, 11:16 AM

Bands around here LOVE this set up. All venues are inner city and it's hard to drive up to a lot of them, so bringing gear is often less than pleasurable. When it's plug and play, noone ever ever complains. A drummer will bring "breakables" (snare kick pedal...maybe cymbals) but nothing else.

ClassicRock55 · #5 06-08-2008, 12:40 PM

My bass amp is heavy and not loud enough for most gigs, so I have no problem DI'ing into the PA. Guitarists usually use their own amps, because thats the way they are. Its pretty easy to move an amp to the side and mic another. Drummers usually are cool using the kit on stage.

One time the drummer in my old band insisted on using his kit for a setup like this. The kit on stage was mic'd and everything. He through a hissy fit and the sound guy angrily obliged him. Me and the lead guitarist were real pissed at him for this, since the sound guys do most of the festivals we play at. Really ****ed our reps with them. Part of the reason we got rid of him.

seangoespostal · #6 06-08-2008, 12:48 PM

I never mind playing into whatever is provided for the backline. I use a SansAmp BDI so it's easy enough to get a good sound.
Sometimes guitarists prefer their own gear.
I've actually played with drummers who insisted on using their own kits. These guys are usually morons who haven't played a lot of gigs. It irritates the hell out of the people that have to move drums and re-mic them.

ErebusBass · #7 06-08-2008, 07:55 PM

I had a drummer once that flatly refused to play the supplied drum kit at a plug and play show. Originally I had talked to the guy who set the show up and he said it was cool, we could use our own drum kit. He called me the day before the show and said no dice, can't use your own drum kit. Drummer was furious, and brought his kit anyway.
Here's the good part: This drummer had the worst kit i've ever seen. It looked big and scary, but it was a POS, two separate kits (different colors) both horrible (one was an enforcer, the other a yamaha) melded into a huge kit (two bass drums, although he only used one, four rack toms and two floor toms, snare).
Here's the better part: the backline kit was a 6-piece pearl, one of the most beautiful kits i've been less than five feet away from. It made absolutely no sense that he wouldn't play on it.
Well anyway, I talked to dude who set up the show, and after an hour or so he said that we could play last, and use our own kit, but we only had about five minutes to mic it up, and if we took to long we couldn't play. We did this because otherwise drummer would not have played the show.
We didn't have that drummer for very long.

LiquidMidnight · #8 06-08-2008, 09:01 PM

My guitarist's rig is entirely MIDI-controlled (i.e., SansAmp PSA-1 preamp and a TC Electronics G-Force for FX) complete with perfectly-tweaked patches for everything such as leads, rythmns, clean, mild-distortion, flange, reverbs, ect., so plugging into the Peavy XXX amp with the wah pedal just isn't going to be the same. Granted, my guitarist doesn't need all of that stuff, but it's the details that make you stand out. Besides, I often look at multi-band bills as "showcases" since there will often be people in the audience who aren't the core of your following seeing you for the first time, and there's no point in making things more difficult for you. You want to be on your A-game at these times.

As far as a being a bass player - I find that this is why it's very important to have a quality instrument. If worst comes to worst and I'm handed a cheap 50 watt combo for backline, I can always just DI before the EQ and get a good FOH sound. This is when having an active bass has really worked out for me. I normally just do very minimalist tweaking of my bass through my own rig, but I've found myself plugged into backline that just didn't sound that good with my bass at whatever current settings were on the amp. Always being one who never liked to touch others' settings, I just EQed from my bass until I found something at least suitable for the gig.

kalle74 · #9 06-09-2008, 08:02 AM

if the supplied equipment is decent, I have no issues using it. if I feel like I need to bring my own stuff, I offer to hook it up myself and do it FAST and try to go unnoticed and without causing any delay whatsoever. I´m pretty particular about sound (after all, I´m a musician, and my job is to sell sound...), and if supplied equipment is unplayable (rare) or underpowered (not-so-rare), I´ll bring my own gear, no matter who says what.

with that said, most of the equipment supplied is usually top-notch, or at least close, so bringing my basses and effects is all that´s needed.