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Is there realy any need for huge rigs?

#201
Not trying to name drop but...i played in a band that opened for 3d Eye Blind in Orlando..Out door gig on a pretty good size stage with massive PA, facing a Glass front 10 story building..not fun.
We show up to a stage with 4 Marshall full stacks for guitar and 4 Ampeg 810's for bass. We later learned that the guitar was really playing through 2 Mesa 212's off stage and only 1 810 was live. Pretty much everything went through the monitors except for the 810.
Since I was in the opener all i used was a SansAmp DI and the monitors. My bass was just as loud as the the other guys with no amp at all, plus it all fit in a gig bag.:hyper:
 
#203
tfmbass said:
We show up to a stage with 4 Marshall full stacks for guitar and 4 Ampeg 810's for bass. We later learned that the guitar was really playing through 2 Mesa 212's off stage and only 1 810 was live. Pretty much everything went through the monitors except for the 810.
Since I was in the opener all i used was a SansAmp DI and the monitors. My bass was just as loud as the the other guys with no amp at all, plus it all fit in a gig bag.:hyper:
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I bet we'd all be surprised - on maybe not - at how often this is the case. The "did you see what so-and-so was using at their last show" are often pointless questions as the bass you heard was most likely through a DI to the FOH.

That said, if you guys who use big rigs feel you need them, that's great. Someone must be buying/using that stuff or no one would be making/selling it.
 
#206
I need every little bit of my 2000 watt Rig. I think most folks try to antiquate a bigger rig with more than it actually is. My 2000 watt rig is not all that much louder than an 800 watt Rig. The amount of Power I use is certainly not extreme at all, by any strech of the imagination.

If you use a small Rig that is great, if you use a much larger rig that is great as well. :)
 
#207
Red Planet said:
I need every little bit of my 2000 watt Rig. I think most folks try to antiquate a bigger rig with more than it actually is. My 2000 watt rig is not all that much louder than an 800 watt Rig.
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So why use the 2000w rig then? :D

I'm just busting chops a little here, don't mind me. Power is cheap, so why not? I just like hearing the reasons people use such high power when they aren't playing stadiums. It's all very funny the reasons some bassists have for using 2000w to play a 500 seat venue. But hey, far be it from me to criticize...I'm not criticizing...I'm just laughing...laughing WITH you all, I hope ;)
 
#208
I guess it all depends on your Perspective.


Here is how I like sound for a Band to be.

To me Electric Guitar just doesnt sound as good through the PA as it does from a Cranked Rig and the same for Electric Bass Guitar.

I set up sound like this.... First thing I do is get the Drum Sound, I go for good sound and an even mix for the Drums then I run them through a Subgroup so as to be able to raise/lower the entire Kit with one knob. I try to get as much Thunder as I can get for the Drums right off the bat. Second I add the Bass Guitar in, first on Bass is bringing my Rig's level to where I want it (right even with the hard hitting Drummer) then have the Drummer play and bring it up in the PA as needed.

Next up I get the Guitar Player to Crank his rig to where he wants it (100 watts, two 50 watt amps and two 2x12 Cabs) then add the Guitar in the PA for some despersion. Next up is the Keyboardist, he uses two JBL Powered 15 Eons for his onstage monitoring. He sets his level where he likes it and then I bring him up in the PA. Last up is the Vocals. The Idea is to bring the Vocals up enuff to be heard over all the rest easily and keep the Vocal Tones smooth and sweet. Also usually in the Monitors we run Vocals only, with the exception of a seperate Monitor Mix for the Drummer/Bassist that has lots of Kickdrum in it and a little Bass Guitar.

As far as the actual gigs are concerned we usually Play outside stuff in the Summer and Medium Rooms in the Winter. Definately for the smaller stuff we allways downsize PA as well as Amp Rigs. There is certainly no need for a 2000 watt Bass Rig in a 100 seater Beer Joint but it comes in quite handy for an outside gig with 5,000 Bikers there that want to Rock. You had damn well better give em some sound.

Now all this being said if one has some really high dollar PA one could easily go straight to the Board. IMO the biggest need is High Quality Mains Cabs. We pride ourselfs with having a good mix and good tones. Though our PA is not Junk it isnt quite as nice as I'd like to have either.

For Mains we use two Community Cabs (1x15", 1x6" Paper Mids, and 1x3" Paper Tweeter) and two JBL Cabs (2x15". and a Horn). I run one Community and one JBL together on a side. Both sides are running 2 ohms into a QSC RMX2450. Also in the Mains is a 2x18" Sub Cab running from another RMX2450. The 4 Monitors are fed from a QSC RMX850 and the Cabs are 12" Yamahas. The Board is a 32x8x2 Bheringer which has given non stop service since 2005 with Zero issues. I use a an Active Crossover for the Sub, a Quadraverb for FX, and a DBX Stereo EQ as well as all Sure Beta 57, 58, or 87 Mics.

And thats about it.

Long story short the 2000 watt Bass Rig works perfectly in our setting for what we do and definatly is not overkill by and sense of the word.
 
#209
I don't know, dude...maybe those cabs aren't the world's finest, but that PA sounds like it would take bass pretty easily. OTOH, if you have a way of working that works for you, that's what counts.
 
#210
just snagged a 1x18 combo from craigslist...mostly for the fun of it...and it's so 70's thinking the bigger the better.
ROAD.gif
 
#211
JimmyM said:
I don't know, dude...maybe those cabs aren't the world's finest, but that PA sounds like it would take bass pretty easily. OTOH, if you have a way of working that works for you, that's what counts.
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The PA will definately do it but compared to my Rig it sounds like arse. Oh BTW the Community Mains cabs are as good as it gets. :bassist:
 
#212
Red Planet said:
The PA will definately do it but compared to my Rig it sounds like arse. Oh BTW the Community Mains cabs are as good as it gets. :bassist:
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Not familiar, sorry. But you made them sound like you weren't satisfied with them.

I feel you. I've done a few stage volume gigs lately and really enjoyed my sound compared to what I usually hear in a PA. Some gigs it's impractical for us since we use a lot of different PA's (we rent or it's provided), but on gigs where it's not, I'm cranking the amp more often and letting stage volume do it.
 
#213
I think the Biggest problem is the Horns on the JBL mains we have. They are the SF25's which are no longer produced. Perhaps I could find a better driver for them and would like the Tone better then. The Communitys sound like Studio Monitors they are so smooth.
 
#214
I play large facilities in a Worship band using sound, set up and lighting crews. Ear monitors, no amps on stage, huge monster PA with an excellent sound tech. Band leans toward heavy crunch with some tasty funky stuff. Lots of fun, interesting and works well.

However, it's much different from the "power trio" I run with hitting the local rock clubs. No sound guys, an aggressive active audience, the room and atmosphere constantly changing, we are on our own and have to react constantly to changing conditions. Only things in the PA are vocals, snare and bass drum. Using stage rigs big enough to power a room, (read big), also allows for the endless and quick adjustments required to get through a night of drinking, dancing, and madness, (read big fun).

Seems there is a need for both styles of amplification depending of what you are doing. I enjoy both experiences but must admit having the bass power under my control allows me to be bad, which is good.

I'm an old man working on my fifth decade. I have never given a second thought to moving big bass rigs. The rest of the boys may whine & moan, but not me. I pay good money to work out at a gym, I look at equipment moving as an extension of my work out program. Setting up a PA & lights triggers my bitch mode, cords, plugs, inputs, outputs eq's, blah-blah-blah.
 
#215
Metal Matt said:
we're not doing this to please anyone but ourselves.
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See those people? The ones who aren't on the stage? The ones with no instruments? Actually, you probably don't.

We'll call them 'the audience' and they'll fast disappear if that's your attitude. That has nothing to do with being (seemingly) ridiculously loud, or too quiet, or brilliant, or lousy, or having good gear, or genre.
 
#219
JimmyM said:
That's not my point. My point is how much headroom do you need? The vast majority of people who run 1000+ watt rigs do so for bragging rights. There is no headroom benefit over a 500w amp when you're not turning up past 2 or 3 with either amp. Cliff Williams plays bass for AC/DC and he's never needed more than 600w.

Don't get me wrong...I think it's fine if you like saying you use a 1000w amp. But be honest about it...unless you're playing stadiums and arenas, it's all about saying, "I have 1000 watts!" ;)
Click to expand...

Eh, not for me Jimmy. I don't really care that my amp has x amount of watts that I don't use,
I just know they're there in case I need them.

Then again, I always have left over power... ;)
 

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