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There are a lot of factors that distinguish pro bands from amateurs. Musicianship, organizational and communication skills, "performing a show" vs. "having a gig" to name a few. After several years of hard work, our cover band has reached a bit of a plateau. I think we have the ingredients to be...

I've been playing around a bit with ChatGPT. I wrote a simple prompt, asking it to sort and categorize our master song list (classic rock cover band). Next, I asked it to organize the list into an 180-minute + encore set list, also taking into account male and female lead vocals. The results...

I'm curious if any of you have partnered with other local businesses or venues to co-promote live music events? I'm trying to think outside the box. The scene for live music where I live is pretty limited and stale. There are a couple of fun music venues in town for local bands, but the bands...

My cover band is just a weekend warrior group that plays for fun. We’re a solid band (IMO), and we put the music and the hang above money. Our drummer just had hip replacement surgery, so we needed a sub on short notice to make a gig happen. I reached out to an acquaintance—a really talented...

About 15 years ago, my then 10-year-old daughter had just discovered the Beatles and developed a serious interest in music. It inspired me to pick up the bass again after many years away. From there, she dove headfirst into music—school band, drum lessons, rock band school, and four years on a...

Apologies in advance — I’m a little worked up. On top of playing bass and running sound for my cover band, I also run sound for a 12-piece Motown/Pop wedding band. It’s a fun gig with killer musicians, but the constant battle over space is breaking me. We ask for 24x16 (we can make 20x12 work...

I’ve been thinking more and more about digital modelers/cab sims. Not sure where to start. Primary considerations: - stomp box format - experiment with many amb/cab profiles - mainstream classic rock tones, not so concerned with extreme effects - simple controls and programming - primarily for...

Specifically, cover bands playing upbeat party music. For those of you trying to fill the dance floor, what's working for you? This could just as easily go in Band Management, but since I'm wondering about was HAS worked for you I thought it could go here. I'll save BM for complaining about...

My cover band has been together for three years. While the group is democracy, the drummer and I are the driving force. We are all friends and get along well, but one band member has always been a bit of a "Debbie Downer," opposing decisions like song choices and the band's direction. Recently...

Last night I got together in my office parking lot with my drummer and our sound tech (the drummer's son-in-law) to rebuild our FOH mix from the ground up. Our tech is a full time pro music engineer and producer with a couple decades of experience in studio and live sound. He has a great ear and...

I recently booked a gig at a campground near my house. It's a huge annual trail running event that attracts many hundreds of people. It's apparently a bid deal with the running community. Judging from pics on their website, it looked like they have a proper stage. One pic showed a band with a...

I happen to be in Chicago for the holiday weekend, staying just a few blocks from Chicago Music Exchange. I stopped in today to check out the bass room and maybe pick up a t-shirt. Then I stumbled on this Sandberg TT4 passive bass; cobalt blue metallic with heavy relic. Under 8 lbs. Sometimes a...

Our lead singer came down with pneumonia about six weeks ago, right when we should have been rehearsing for the busy summer season. We did what we could to prepare without him and hit the first outdoor summer gig (big crowd, high visibility) hoping his voice would hold up and the rhythm section...

My band has been offered a slot at a local art fair. We can either take the Friday night headliner slot, but we would need a sub for our guitarist — or — we can take the Sunday afternoon slot with our normal lineup. Everybody agrees the Friday slot is more desirable (high-profile, late nite...

After listening to the recording of our list gig, it was really obvious to me where we can improve: playing songs at the correct tempo and giving each other better cues. A lot of this is common sense for experienced musicians, but it's also an "a-ha" moment for a weekend warrior band like us...

My band doesn't play many bar gigs. The venues in town just seem to be biased against rock cover bands, so instead we play concerts in the park, charity events, food truck rallies, etc. – we manage to stay pretty busy. A friend of the band manages a small basement bar in town that usually has a...

I love my band. I really do. We have a good thing going and we are all good friends. For some reason, this seems to be the week everybody decided to get on my nerves all at once. Our band is a democracy, but the drummer and I are the prime movers. I spend a lot of time on band business and...

I worked a gig last weekend as soundman for my friends' 4-piece classic rock band. Typical bar gig, with an actual stage for a change. Large room, small crowd. I have a good rig...Soundcraft digital mixer and RCF mains & sub. This wasn't my first rodeo. The band brought up a guest bass player...

I have a 12" GenzBenz/Faital Pro 16ohm speaker from that I can potentially put in a GK112 Neo ii – the original speaker is shot. I'm wondering if that's a bad idea? I know it's not ideal. I'm powering the cab with a GK Fusion 500 amp (350W @ 8ohms / 500W @ 4 ohms). I mainly want to use this rig...

As the thread title says. The closer to UMinn St. Paul campus, the better. Five piece rock band looking for space to rent for weekly rehearsal. Any suggestions?

I'm trying to get a sense of what is top-of-the-heap in Chi-Fi (KZ, CCA, Linsoul, FiiO, etc) IEMs as of fall 2023. In 2021, I recommended KZ AS10 to my bandmates. In 2022, I recommended CCA C12 for my other band. A friend just asked me for a recommendation, so I'm wondering about the current...

Anybody have a current source for flexible IEC power cables that lay flay and coil like a guitar cable? I had an IEC cable go bad on me at a gig last weekend. I'm thinking I want to swap out all of my mis-matched cables that I've acquired through the years. I can't stand how those cables never...

Friday night at Comerica Park in Detroit, running sound for my friends' band at the Detroit Tiger's pregame. Slight hassle getting through security, but load-in was easy. It was drizzling when we arrived, so we pre-staged in a dry area of the concourse. Staff found a couple of nice pop-up tents...

We just got an email from a local brewery we played at last weekend. It was our second time there, and both times went well in our opinion…in that we brought a sizable crowd and a bunch of new business to a venue that normally does not host live music. Apparently, we did too good of a job last...

I worked a soundman gig for my friends’ band at a popular bar and grill last night. Not a huge room, but it was pretty full/busy and people stuck around til the end. The band did their job and everybody had a good time…until the owner cornered our lead singer after the show and gave her the 3rd...

I was watching a YouTube video the other day where the speaker was talking about how guitar and bass players spend a lot of time and money fine-tuning their gear to get a specific tone – then they stick a mic or DI in front of it, run it through a cheap mixer with a crude EQ, and then through a...

It looks like Put-In Bay has a ton of bars and a vibrant music scene, but I'd like to hear what things are like from someone who's played there. I'd be interested to know: – what level of bands play there; pro outfits vs. weekend warrior bands? – what genres play well there? – how's load in and...

Link Removed It's taken me a long time to realize that nobody booking bands wants to watch an 8-minute video of yet another cover band. I've been trying to boil things down to a 1-minute elevator pitch. Basically, "this is what we sound and look like, and these are the types of places we've...

I have a new gig running sound for a 9-piece R&B/dance band...mostly weddings and corporate events. Recently, the three lead vocalists have expressed a strong interest in using wireless mics. One of their reasons is to have the ability to walk onto the dance floor and interact with the crowd...

My band is trying to refresh and grow our song list. As usual, nobody can agree on anything. I'm wondering what songs are hitting for your band – more specifically, in the 80s/90s classic & alternative rock vein? I'm interested in playing fun, upbeat songs that get the crowd jumping. We recently...

In my never ending quest to simplify my live rig, i am going to try running my bass straight into my Soundcraft ui24r mixer input and using the built-in Digitech amp modeling feature. I’m wondering if anyone else has tried this and could give some real world feedback? I run sound from stage...

A different kind of gig report for me. I recently picked up a new gig running sound for my friend's 9-piece R&B/Motown/Dance band. Wednesday night was a corporate gig at the iconic Renaissance Center (GM headquarters) in downtown Detroit, MI. I'll try to keep it brief... 50-minute drive to...

Phenyx Pro PTM-22 UHF Mono Dual Wireless in Ear Monitor System with Rackmount Kit (900MHz band) I simply cannot afford Shure/Sennheiser for 8 people, so I was willing to take a chance on the Phenyx Pro PTM-22 and purchased 3 units. The reviews are good and the price was right. Customer...

I am in the middle of setting up an 8-channel wireless IEM rig using the Phenyx PTM-21 units. Tonight, I compared 4 sets of IEMS by playing a multitrack recording back through my Soundcraft mixer in sound check mode. Phexyx earbuds. Medium silicon tips. These came with the wireless units. They...

My band has been looking for a new front man. We put out a lot of feelers through personal and social channels, and ended up with three people worth auditioning. First guy wasn’t a good fit. Second guy had potential. Not exactly what we were looking for, but a good musician and somebody who we...

Question: Have you worked with a singer with pitch issues, and did giving him/her time to sort it out through lessons or coaching actually help? How long did the process take, or was it just a waste of time? Back story: I've been with a new cover band for the past few months. I like just about...

My band just played a Halloween block party today …or “attempted to play,” I should say. We even had a permit and notified the neighbors (they all showed up and we’re having a great time). I ran sound and erred way on the side of “just loud enough to get the job done.” Standing 30 feet in front...

For those of you running a full-band wireless IEM rig, do you have a fallback/failsafe plan if something goes catastrophically wrong during a gig, such as... - interference is playing havoc with your wireless signals, and you just can’t find a clean channel…and your band mates are going...

I played the first gig with my new classic rock band this past Friday. I met these cats a couple of months ago thru Bandmix, and we've only had a half dozen rehearsals to put together two sets from scratch. The drummer's son-in-law sat in on 2nd guitar on very short notice. I met him Thursday at...

In a small/lively practice room, is it advisable to roll back the input gain on the vocal mics a little bit (to make them less sensitive) and increase channel volume in order to minimize potential feedback? Or will increasing the channel volume to the desired level result in the same potential...