Restaurant Rigs and Gigs

[PeteBass51]

I just finished a 52 week, every thursday nite, bar/pub gig. Bass, acoustic/electric guitar, and cocktail set drummer. Gig started quiet and got quite loud at the end of the nite. I used a TC BG250 for bass, two Mackie 15 Thumps w/small Mackie mixer. All this fits in the back of a Forester along with my bass and large gig bag. Guitar player used a small Line 6 amp. Drummer used what he called an "all around mike" that hung from his neck. this rig covered the gig very well. Five light trips in and out.

 

[MrLenny1]

Anyone played thru a Bose L1?

 

[Neon Blues]

I'm fortunately old enough to have officially outgrown bar gigs and the need for loud rigs. The thing that comes after that is functions, restaurants and wineries. Just as much fun, maybe even harder musically and one can be home to watch the late news. That's just the work I've firmly moved into.

But, that's a whole range of different problems than playing rock or country gigs at full volume.

Problems like goofy shaped rooms. Playing on the same floor the patrons are on. Windows everywhere. Suspended ceilings. Trying to sound intense at low volume. Sounding fat at low volume. Keeping the rig visually unobtrusive. Drummers with the restrictor plate on. Guitars at 1.5 Watts. Unamplified saxophones.

The list goes on.

Alright you fellow restaurant, winery and small function players - let's open up about our needs!

I skipped most of the thread. I am in the same boat. I play restaurants and wineries. I moved straight to a portable combo for the small restaurants and cruise ships. I used my main rig for outdoor wineries which is an Ashdown 200w Drophead and 115 Bass Cab.

Never had a problem with that. If I had a higher powered combo, I could probably cover both with a single amp.

 

[NightCat]

Subbed.
I am rehearsing as a guitar/bass duo. We haven't played out as a duo yet but our target is brewpubs and such. We are going to trade off singing, or at least I am going to sing a few of the songs. The Git player has a Invalid Link Removed which seems to be more than loud enough for his acoustic guitar and voice. I am considering getting one of these for bass and voice.
Carvin AG300 Acoustic Amplifier. Think it would work? I would probably use my VT Pedal to get a better electric bass tone.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Anyone played thru a Bose L1?

It's what we use, 1 for each player except drums do not need it in the place we're in now.
They work OK to pretty-good unless/until either or both of the following happen:
1) You have someone who does not listen to the entire band's mix but must hear themself louder
2) You have someone who has hearing impairment

I'd prefer using the rack rig(SansAmp>dbx166xL>ACME B2) but for "the BOSE concept" of "what you hear is what the audience hears" to work, all players must use them and use them correctly.

The "G" thing is real with this venue. Even their house musak system, at all volumes, you can only hear about 2 notes of bass in any song.

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

these days when I am backed into a corner I have been using a Roland KC amp.
has 4 inputs, so I plug a couple mic's in there and it has bass, mics, and even intermission music going through it.
Sounds fine.
I use the same setup a lot, it works for me.

A couple of restaurants we play at have those bose L1 systems.
At those places, I don't even bring an amp, just go straight in and it works fine.
These gigs are moneymakers for us, and so I used the money to buy a very small Sonar drum kit.
16" kick, 10" rack tom, 13" floor tom.

I bring the drums and charge the drummers to use my kit because their kits are way too loud.

 

[brianrost]

I use the same rigs everywhere. A 1-12 Berg cab and a WW head is a pretty tiny setup. For DB-only jobs, my AI Coda is even tinier. A second Berg comes along when high volume is called for. Before I got the WW and AI I used an SWR Baby Blue for many years.

I could perform in a walk-in closet if necessary

The same rigs get used for paint-peeler duty by adding a second cabinet.

 

[bassfran]

Subbed.
I am rehearsing as a guitar/bass duo. We haven't played out as a duo yet but our target is brewpubs and such. We are going to trade off singing, or at least I am going to sing a few of the songs. The Git player has a Invalid Link Removed which seems to be more than loud enough for his acoustic guitar and voice. I am considering getting one of these for bass and voice.
Carvin AG300 Acoustic Amplifier. Think it would work? I would probably use my VT Pedal to get a better electric bass tone.

No, but I've done some low-volume/sans drums gigs before through one of these- Link Removed

I was quite surprised with the results in a small (50-60 person) room. Had it up on a stick, no extension cab. Sounded good for a single 12" @100w.
But they only come in green. :-(

 

[1stnamebassist]

Subbed.
I am rehearsing as a guitar/bass duo. We haven't played out as a duo yet but our target is brewpubs and such. We are going to trade off singing, or at least I am going to sing a few of the songs. The Git player has a Invalid Link Removed which seems to be more than loud enough for his acoustic guitar and voice. I am considering getting one of these for bass and voice.
Carvin AG300 Acoustic Amplifier. Think it would work? I would probably use my VT Pedal to get a better electric bass tone.

Don't know how well the Carvin AG300 would work, but I know the Carvin Microbass combos are great. Right now they are blowing out the heads that are used in the combo for low money, and combined with a speaker of your choice would make a nice small rig. Or just get one of the combos they really are great little amps!

 

[NightCat]

Don't know how well the Carvin AG300 would work, but I know the Carvin Microbass combos are great. Right now they are blowing out the heads that are used in the combo for low money, and combined with a speaker of your choice would make a nice small rig. Or just get one of the combos they really are great little amps!

Well, I don't need another dedicated bass amp. I have the B-100R and a Rumble 40. What interested me about the AG300 was the two channels. I would be able to run the mic and bass into the same amp. It looks like the AG300 with a little help from the VT pedal (I like a little wool on my tone) could do a pretty good job of bass amplification AND voice.

 

[1stnamebassist]

Well, I don't need a dedicated bass amp. I have the B-100R and a Rumble 40. What interested me about the AG300 was the two channels. I would be able to run the mic and bass into the same amp. It looks like the AG300 with a little help from the VT pedal (I like a little wool on my tone) could do a pretty good job of bass amplification AND voice.

It says it works great for upright so it would probably work fine with EB or really great with a Ubass. Carvin seems to have marked down pretty much everything right now. I was just at their site and they have the MB2/10 plus the 2/10 extension sold separate for just under 500.00! Thats a great deal! The MB15/15 mini stack I believe is about 535.00. I paid about 600.00 three years ago and its been an incredible setup! Couldn't be happier! I have the Rumble 40 also. Nice little amp for practice and maybe some acoustic gigs. Got a nice baked in tone that works great with my Pbass.

 

[Woodstockz]

Hmm

Are you sure your B15R is a 100 watter?

Yep, it has 100 Watts. (That is unless I have the 100/60 Watt switch in the 60 Watt position. Then it cuts out two of the output tubes. )

Ampeg: Diamond Blue Series - B-15

It has a cool stage presence. At 117 lbs, it is a heavy sucker though. If I don't feel like wrestling with it, I leave the tube head at home and use a PF-500 head. Both sound great.
I have gotten some compliments on the tone after a gig while I am packing up - with the tube head or the PF-500.

 

[Gaolee]

Carvin AG300 Acoustic Amplifier. Think it would work? I would probably use my VT Pedal to get a better electric bass tone.

I thought about one of those for the upright. I ended up with a MB12 and fDeck to tame the Piezo honk. You wouldn't need an fDeck if you were using an AG300. I'm just cheap and a bit of a purist and didn't want the effects or other channels. I'm very happy with the MB12. I would expect an AG300 to be as good, if not better. I will say that the little Carvin can be overwhelmed a bit by a loud drummer and a couple loud guitarists. That's just the nature of life. I have also played electric through it, and it sounded very good. It is completely transparent, so any tone shaping you want to do will have to be done with pedals or the eq. The eq is very useful for dealing with awkward room acoustics.

 

[1stnamebassist]

I thought about one of those for the upright. I ended up with a MB12 and fDeck to tame the Piezo honk. You wouldn't need an fDeck if you were using an AG300. I'm just cheap and a bit of a purist and didn't want the effects or other channels. I'm very happy with the MB12. I would expect an AG300 to be as good, if not better. I will say that the little Carvin can be overwhelmed a bit by a loud drummer and a couple loud guitarists. That's just the nature of life. I have also played electric through it, and it sounded very good. It is completely transparent, so any tone shaping you want to do will have to be done with pedals or the eq. The eq is very useful for dealing with awkward room acoustics.

The Carvin MB'S are a different animal with an extension cab, they have significant volume. Your are so right about transparent! I like running my EB's through my zoom m60b and use the amp sims to add some color to the sound. I use the fdeck with my Kala U bass. It sounds incredible with that amp. So many people seem to love the Carvins for upright I guess because of the transparency. I wish I had learned to play upright! Even at my age I still contemplate giving it a try!

 

[Gaolee]

If you are still alive, you aren't too old!

 

[1stnamebassist]

If you are still alive, you aren't too old!

True. but then their is the cost thing! I would have to sell gear, and right now I would have a hard time parting with anything I have!

 

[Gaolee]

And, I my have to look into an extension cabinet. The big ol' folded horns won't ever be surplus, though.

Yeah, that's always the problem, isn't it? Upright can be an expensive instrument. Strings are crazy expensive compared to BG strings which are crazy expensive compared to guitar strings.

 

[JimmyM]

And, I my have to look into an extension cabinet. The big ol' folded horns won't ever be surplus, though.

Yeah, that's always the problem, isn't it? Upright can be an expensive instrument. Strings are crazy expensive compared to BG strings which are crazy expensive compared to guitar strings.

This is why I've had the same set of strings on my upright for about 7 years now

Anyway, my restaurant amp is an Ampeg BA108 V1. 25w, single 8"...totally handles this occasional sub gig I do playing old time New Orleans jazz.

EDIT: Oops...forgot the pic!

 

[rolandm]

Considering taking my Chadwick to a restaurant gig tomorrow and Thursday nights, and micing it through the PA as an experiment. The RCF speakers we use go down to 38hz, so even lifted, I should get decent low-mid representation. And we're not there to shake stuff off the walls, so …

 

[bucephylus]

This is my small rig. I don't think the footprint is too big for anything I could imagine.