I don't think I could stand it. At the very least I hope all of you are using earplugs.
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Is there realy any need for huge rigs?
- Thread starter ed99999
- Start date
I don't think I could stand it. At the very least I hope all of you are using earplugs.
I play loud instrumental rock, so we typically find ourselves playing large rooms with little PA support.
Hence, I have a big amp! You can always turn down a big rig, but you can't magically get more juice out of a little one when you need it.
Hence, I have a big amp! You can always turn down a big rig, but you can't magically get more juice out of a little one when you need it.
I'm with JimmyM - a wall of Marshalls or a wall of SVT 8x10's is part of 'rock'n'roll presentation'... now, you don't have to be into that, but if your band considers itself to be a rock'n'roll juggernaut, then pointless or not, you have to have a rig like the Manhattan skyline
I use two Marshall 4x12 guitar cabs stacked, each reconed with 4x 150w Eminence speakers... the type used for PA's etc... so I think you can see what side of the fence I'm on... I don't need all that power, but it's nice to have something in reserve, and the sound of 8 speakers all with very slightly different voicings makes for a thick, wide sound you don't get with a single speaker
not for everyone, but once I've helped haul in the PA speakers, the drums, the desk, the PA amps etc, a few fairly light Marshall cabs aren't such a big deal... might as well come prepared... i'm considering another 2 412's, but it might be getting silly
I use two Marshall 4x12 guitar cabs stacked, each reconed with 4x 150w Eminence speakers... the type used for PA's etc... so I think you can see what side of the fence I'm on... I don't need all that power, but it's nice to have something in reserve, and the sound of 8 speakers all with very slightly different voicings makes for a thick, wide sound you don't get with a single speaker
not for everyone, but once I've helped haul in the PA speakers, the drums, the desk, the PA amps etc, a few fairly light Marshall cabs aren't such a big deal... might as well come prepared... i'm considering another 2 412's, but it might be getting silly
heres my two sense. The tone I need can only come from an 8x10 thats why I use it.
Plus I know a few guys will agree that the 8x10 is easier to get into your trunk than a 4x10 is. because there is leverage rather than lifting.
and yes i use 33 db ear plugs btw.
Plus I know a few guys will agree that the 8x10 is easier to get into your trunk than a 4x10 is. because there is leverage rather than lifting.
and yes i use 33 db ear plugs btw.
I'm with JimmyM - a wall of Marshalls or a wall of SVT 8x10's is part of 'rock'n'roll presentation'... now, you don't have to be into that, but if your band considers itself to be a rock'n'roll juggernaut, then pointless or not, you have to have a rig like the Manhattan skyline
I use two Marshall 4x12 guitar cabs stacked, each reconed with 4x 150w Eminence speakers... the type used for PA's etc... so I think you can see what side of the fence I'm on... I don't need all that power, but it's nice to have something in reserve, and the sound of 8 speakers all with very slightly different voicings makes for a thick, wide sound you don't get with a single speaker
not for everyone, but once I've helped haul in the PA speakers, the drums, the desk, the PA amps etc, a few fairly light Marshall cabs aren't such a big deal... might as well come prepared... i'm considering another 2 412's, but it might be getting silly
OTOH JimmyM also gigs with a B15N so...
I run stereo.....to achieve my signature sound...so...two heads and two cabs is a must for me....FOH guys always give me crap when i tell them i need two inputs...
so i carry two heads and two cabs to EVERY gig...
but I play Stoner/Doom music so......take it for what it is worth.
so i carry two heads and two cabs to EVERY gig...
but I play Stoner/Doom music so......take it for what it is worth.
I've updated, though, Pedro...the B-15N's are now my small gig rigs. I'm now going to be gigging a lot more often with my SVT. I just like their bigger sound and didn't realize how much I missed it until I started using it again.
I'll be the first to tell you the necessity of a big rig is questionable. Lots of people get the job done perfectly well with a small rig, so it's been well proven that you can gig out on a small rig. But you can't defeat the laws of physics. A small cab won't sound like a big one. That's the whole reason I went back to the SVT, and it's also why I sold my Markbass combo and usually used two cabs with my B-15N's. So while it's entirely possible to use a small rig and have it kick much ass, I guess I still prefer the bigger rigs.
The real question is do you have enough for what you do? Is your big rig too big for the small stuff you do? Do you have a small rig that will sound like a big rig cranked for those small gigs?
So I wonder if this is one of those "can I get by with one rig" questions. I can't. I play small inside to large outside gigs. Often the outside are with minimal PA so our rigs carry the day. Two of my guitarists use 15 watt amps that would take your head off. One 4x10 would be insufficient for clean big full bass. Often I'm the only person in the tonal range below the drums so I need big clarity. I also play with unmiked Sax, Drums, Keybd. regularly in an upscale Wine Bar/Restaurant and take 1000 watt mini stack. What does it do? It gives me every possibility from whisper to loud.
It's about showing up.
So I wonder if this is one of those "can I get by with one rig" questions. I can't. I play small inside to large outside gigs. Often the outside are with minimal PA so our rigs carry the day. Two of my guitarists use 15 watt amps that would take your head off. One 4x10 would be insufficient for clean big full bass. Often I'm the only person in the tonal range below the drums so I need big clarity. I also play with unmiked Sax, Drums, Keybd. regularly in an upscale Wine Bar/Restaurant and take 1000 watt mini stack. What does it do? It gives me every possibility from whisper to loud.
It's about showing up.
I haven't read the entire thread, but I would like to make a sort of analogy in that a guy playing solo pan flute would argue that you don't NEED anything other than a pan flute.
Since it's obvious to most everyone here that you could theoretically play straight through a DI and bring NO rig, it just shows that this thread is really just a pissing match between guys who think they're cool for not playing a big rig and guys who are defending their choice to play a big rig.
Since it's obvious to most everyone here that you could theoretically play straight through a DI and bring NO rig, it just shows that this thread is really just a pissing match between guys who think they're cool for not playing a big rig and guys who are defending their choice to play a big rig.
It's about showing up.
+1 Its also about being able to crush your guitardist's ego with brute force.
Is there really a need for a huge rig?
For me: Big enough for a small bar - after that, the house takes the bass so your amp becomes a glorified stage monitor. So no huge rig for me.
For me: Big enough for a small bar - after that, the house takes the bass so your amp becomes a glorified stage monitor. So no huge rig for me.
No,
but it doesn't hurt.
I got made fun of for playing a metal show with my little markbass combo, I was plenty loud and very clean. But they made fun of me
they must not appreciate good tone. I guess need to mud it up and get a big useless speaker to fit in with the metal crowd 
but it doesn't hurt.
I got made fun of for playing a metal show with my little markbass combo, I was plenty loud and very clean. But they made fun of me
they must not appreciate good tone. I guess need to mud it up and get a big useless speaker to fit in with the metal crowd 
+ as many numbers as you think of. As usual, Jimmy is dead on right. What I need/want in terms of my rig/tone/volume will rarely, if ever, be what you or anyone else needs/wants. Personally, I use a 2x10 tiltback combo because that's all I need AND want to haul to gigs. You take what you need/want to make you happy, because happy bass players make for groovin' bass players. Groovin' bass players make for groovin' dance floors. Groovin' dance floors make for thirsty patrons. Thirsty patrons buy drinks. High cash register rings make for happy club owners. Happy club owners make for return engagements at higher pay. It's really that simple, isn't it!?!
Just out of curiousity, how exactly do you get that "signature sound" to translate through the FOH???
Don't get me wrong - my gigging cab is a Mesa 610, so I'm firmly in the big rig camp - but I don't see how what you're describing could function in the real world...
- georgestrings
I play in a country band, and I'll be the first to admit that my 8x10 and VB2 doesn't make it out to most gigs. However, I do bring it to large stages, and it's nice to be able to have absolutely no worries about hearing yourself. Also, even at the medium volumes that I play at, it's nice to have plenty of headroom so you don't have to push your gear that hard.
I must be on a different planet than most players. I play a 175 watt, 1x10 combo and I'm debating if I need to go to a 2x10 375 watt combo as it's overkill for most of my gigs. I'd do it mostly for the tube pre/DI and less for volume/power.
I posted in this thread before I was even in a band, and only had a relatively small part of what I use now. This is my rig now...
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3 200W amps, 2x15, 2x15, 4x12, 1x18, 4x10.
I'm in a drum and bass, stoner rock/doom band. It's music that is supposed to be loud. I use that setup at every show we play, and most of those have been shows in peoples basements, or at VFW halls, small places, where the crowd is usually right on top of you.
Why do I need all that? I want our band to be oppressively loud. When we play, I can't hear myself talk unless I yell, so I've got the volume covered... And I want our band to have a physical presence, I want every note to be felt, and it is. When we play, people can't talk to each other unless they're yelling. Being immersed in sound like that, it forces everyone in the crowd to either listen, or leave, and from the positive responses we've gotten, people are listening. If people leave, then great, we're not doing this to please anyone but ourselves.
The music scenes I'm a part of allow for this thinking, and this attitude. Others wouldn't. Some people want to go... "I could never play that loud at one of my bands shows" and will proceed to tell someone else that what they use is unnecessary, not taking into account that the person might be playing for crowds and at venues that are fine with what they are doing.
My point is, live and let live, although I hate the tone of modern, lightweight gear, I'd never try to tell someone that they where wrong for using it. What you "need" is up to you and your band.
Invalid Link Removed
3 200W amps, 2x15, 2x15, 4x12, 1x18, 4x10.
I'm in a drum and bass, stoner rock/doom band. It's music that is supposed to be loud. I use that setup at every show we play, and most of those have been shows in peoples basements, or at VFW halls, small places, where the crowd is usually right on top of you.
Why do I need all that? I want our band to be oppressively loud. When we play, I can't hear myself talk unless I yell, so I've got the volume covered... And I want our band to have a physical presence, I want every note to be felt, and it is. When we play, people can't talk to each other unless they're yelling. Being immersed in sound like that, it forces everyone in the crowd to either listen, or leave, and from the positive responses we've gotten, people are listening. If people leave, then great, we're not doing this to please anyone but ourselves.
The music scenes I'm a part of allow for this thinking, and this attitude. Others wouldn't. Some people want to go... "I could never play that loud at one of my bands shows" and will proceed to tell someone else that what they use is unnecessary, not taking into account that the person might be playing for crowds and at venues that are fine with what they are doing.
My point is, live and let live, although I hate the tone of modern, lightweight gear, I'd never try to tell someone that they where wrong for using it. What you "need" is up to you and your band.
i like having a full stack. i could get the same volume that i need from half of it, but i like having one cab on the floor, getting that rumble going, while i have the other cab up by my head, projecting the sound better.
All this fits easily in the back of my jeep cherokee:
Mesa Boogie Powerhouse 1000
Titan V-12 in a roadcase
Musicman Stingray.
No matter what size venue (PA support or not). Plug in, power up, and play. Simple.
Mesa Boogie Powerhouse 1000
Titan V-12 in a roadcase
Musicman Stingray.
No matter what size venue (PA support or not). Plug in, power up, and play. Simple.
