Something I've been wondering.

[tuba_dude07]

When bands play HUGE shows (like Download Festival or Warped Tour) I see Tons of Speakers for the Band and I was wondering, do they really use all the speakers or are they just there for show? I think that using all those speakers would make the sound muddy.

Of course I could be totally wrong

 

[KJung]

Mostly show. Sometimes, rigs are also doubled up in case there is a problem. Many times you see dual rigs for a bass player on stage, but only one is being used.

Also, you rarely hear any backline out front (unless there is a mic on a bass amp, which is typically only done if you are getting a lot of 'tone' from your speaker... like an overdriven tube amp or something like that). Many bass players use a high quality DI direct to the board, and use backline for 'looks' and personal stage monitoring.

 

[the yeti]

even if their just for show they're still "using" them kinda like "if you choose not too decide..."

back in the olden days van halen had a backdrop that was a "wall of speakers". it looked pretty real if you were far enough away. or wasted. (hey- it was the 80's)

my guess is mostly for show.

 

[NKBassman]

I'd say there is a good chance that most of the cabs are for show, and some of them probably don't even have any speakers in them so that they are easier to move and stack. They're called "dummy cabs".

 

[NoTalentHack]

I'm crushed . . .

 

[billfitzmaurice]

When bands play HUGE shows (like Download Festival or Warped Tour) I see Tons of Speakers for the Band and I was wondering, do they really use all the speakers or are they just there for show? I think that using all those speakers would make the sound muddy.

Of course I could be totally wrong

Show. Aside from interfering with the PA, which is where the sound you hear at a concert comes from, large arrays of speakers just don't work very well. They do look cool, though.

 

[Captain Marvel]

Marshall used to sell empty cabs (for show on stage) that you could fold up for transportation.
I believe inspired by Kerry and Jeff from Slayers desire for a wall of cabs on stage ( I'm sure others did it long before them but they inspired the marshall fold-a-fake-cab).

A stage packed with cabs does look cool but its rather pointless.

 

[PBass101]

I saw AC/DC at the United Center, really close to the stage, and I've read interviews with the gutiar technician that all Marshall cabinets on the stage are live. During the soundcheck, the guys with both Malcolm and Angus's guitars played while listening to each individual cabinet.

Also, it was visibily apparent (I was about fifteen feet away from them) that neither Brian Johnson nor Angus Young were wearing ear-in monitors or earplugs when they went out onto the catwalk that extended into the audience, sometimes as far as a hundred feet out from the stage and PA system. What that means I don't know, but it was a kickass show.

 

[the yeti]

Also, it was visibily apparent (I was about fifteen feet away from them) that neither Brian Johnson nor Angus Young were wearing ear-in monitors or earplugs when they went out onto the catwalk that extended into the audience, sometimes as far as a hundred feet out from the stage and PA system. What that means I don't know, but it was a kickass show.

it probably means they're mostly deaf by now...

now that you mention it seems i've heard(?) that before.

 

[Kenny Allyn]

... From a recent Craigslist ad

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Also, it was visibily apparent (I was about fifteen feet away from them) that neither Brian Johnson nor Angus Young were wearing ear-in monitors or earplugs when they went out onto the catwalk that extended into the audience, sometimes as far as a hundred feet out from the stage and PA system. What that means I don't know...

It means your eyes aren't as sharp as you think. Without in-ears they wouldn't be able to play 100+ feet out from their amps, as what they played wouldn't arrive at their ears until about 1/10 of a second after they played it. In situations like that not only would they need in-ears, they'd have to be the only source that they could hear.

 

[JimmyM]

Last I saw, Brian wears IEM's and uses monitors. Phil Rudd the drummer also uses IEM's. Everyone else in AC/DC uses monitors.

I go back and forth on the loud stage volume thing. I personally try to keep mine down, but sometimes it can get pretty loud and bleed into the crowd, but I usually don't have a problem with it in the mix. And I've heard lots of bands with excruciating stage volume that sounded good in the house. But that was only in arenas, not a 100-seat bar You have to be venue appropriate with the volume.