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Being right-handed I prefer stage left for a good view of the drummer and room to swing a neck. I rarely sing so I don’t need a center location. I’m not rigid about it. I’ll work wherever.
Large venue with backline?
Wherever they put me.
Small club?
Stage right with the rhythm guitar player.
No rhythm player that night?
Stage right by myself. I try not to look at the drummer as he is probably one of the ugliest people I have ever seen.
Wherever they put me.
Small club?
Stage right with the rhythm guitar player.
No rhythm player that night?
Stage right by myself. I try not to look at the drummer as he is probably one of the ugliest people I have ever seen.
I play in a guitar-bass-drums three-piece. The guitar player is deaf from birth in his right ear so that dictates he stand on stage right so he can hear the rest of the stage. The drummer is lead singer so the drums are at stage front which makes many venues very cramped.
Standing stage left as I must can be a pest if you have a lollipop PA setup next to you. But I've said it before and I'll say it again, they can put me in the car park if the invoices get paid on time.
Standing stage left as I must can be a pest if you have a lollipop PA setup next to you. But I've said it before and I'll say it again, they can put me in the car park if the invoices get paid on time.
I’ve always played on the same side for my long running main band. I have been in other projects though where I set up on the opposite side. But it’s only different from band to band. Never had to flip sides for different shows with the same band.
I have played stage left and stage right, and really have no preference, other than I want to be next to the drummer rather than on the outside. Sometimes I used to sing some hillbilly harmony and stand up front/center with the lead vocalist. My preferred location is driven more by the players. If someone is a joy to play with I want to be next to them, and if they get on my nerves I don't. Duh I guess, but there is a distinction between an awesome player and someone who is a joy to play with. There are some players I enjoy listening to that I can't stand sharing a stage with. In my experience keyboard and guitar players can be either a joy to play with or dreadful, so my preference is instrument neutral. After I find the position I prefer, I do like the setup to be relatively consistent, as I think changing the setup changes the way we hear and relate to one another. But sometimes space constraints make you do crazy stuff. The show must go on, right.
FWIW, it's customary when verbally communicating positions on stage to use the terms "stage left" and "stage right". It means: From the perspective of standing on the stage, in the middle, and facing the audience. Then, everyone will know what your talking about.
My regular band is made up of one full time guitarist (rhythm and lead), one keyboard player (does a few songs on second rhythm guitar), one drummer, me on bass and a brass guy (mostly sax, some trumpet). Guitarist and keyboard player are the main vocalists and I do a little backing vocals.
Set up hasn't changed in 25 years, since the lead vocalist moved overseas. From the on-stage perspective:
Brass - front right
Keys - front centre-right
Guitar - front centre-left
Bass - front left
Drums - rear centre
In reality though, because I don't do a lot of singing, about 80% of the time I drop back a couple of paces so I'm about half way between the front line and the drummer. I like to be able to make eye contact with the drummer.
Set up hasn't changed in 25 years, since the lead vocalist moved overseas. From the on-stage perspective:
Brass - front right
Keys - front centre-right
Guitar - front centre-left
Bass - front left
Drums - rear centre
In reality though, because I don't do a lot of singing, about 80% of the time I drop back a couple of paces so I'm about half way between the front line and the drummer. I like to be able to make eye contact with the drummer.
In the last band I was in it was tied to essentially theatrical sets, so we used to build little paper layouts of the stage, sets, people, and map out where everyone needed to be throughout the sets. I would then translate those into 3D layouts, including cable runs, partly as part of planning the lighting arrangements (ShowExpress for mocking up as I use QLC+ to do the actual shows, although I've tried to work out how to link the two) to allow mock-ups to be done of that, and finally they would get translated into a set list with a neat 2D representation for each piece. This still happens, although they now hand draw everything as they are not such IT nerds as me.
The 3D element I did with SweetHome3D at the time, then converted that into other formats. It's free, and provided you don't mind using a set of cylinders being used to represent the drum kit and import a few extra furniture models, it might be good for you to visualise things. There are models for guitars on stands and there are models for keyboards, and models for humans. Other models can, in theory, be converted and imported. Maybe we need a TBL library of bassists in various action poses for this. HomeStyler.com could also be an option, but there wouldn't be much scope for using or importing 3D models.
Edit: one of the nice things about using the 3D representations is you can resize the stage, shuffle around the elements, and then easily see if there is even room for the keyboardist to get past other gear to get to the keyboard. And for general ideas of lighting you can reuse five dozen desk lamps and do a nice render and check that the drummer won't be in some huge shadow.
I'm a good boy and just go where I'm told..... LOL
in my last band 4 piece covers it was Guitarist / Singer / bass player (me) in the front row and drummer behind singer
this band I'm in is a 6 piece band and all 6 sing, so front we have male lead singer / acoustic gat / female lead singer / lead gat / keyboards and I'm behind male lead singer with drummer next to me
in my last band 4 piece covers it was Guitarist / Singer / bass player (me) in the front row and drummer behind singer
this band I'm in is a 6 piece band and all 6 sing, so front we have male lead singer / acoustic gat / female lead singer / lead gat / keyboards and I'm behind male lead singer with drummer next to me
Anyplace I have a clear line of sight to the hi-hat and the drummer is good for me. Prefer to be standing back stage left but I don’t insist on it.
Usually on the same side as the soundboard. The guitarist likes to be opposite the soundboard because there is some gizmo on it that sometimes interferes with his wireless rig. Why he has the problem and I don't is a mystery to me; we both use G-50s.
No matter where the gig, the drummer is always in the middle, with guitar and bass on either side, singer out front. Keys is the guy who varies, depending on space.
I thought this thread would be about where you should sit when having talks with band members 
I prefer to be on the hi-hat side of the drummer. That gets me away from the ride cymbal, I can watch his/her feet and I can lean in to talk if necessary.
I prefer to be on the hi-hat side of the drummer. That gets me away from the ride cymbal, I can watch his/her feet and I can lean in to talk if necessary.
I can make anything work. If it's a tight stage, I prefer to have my neck facing away from the cymbals.
Same for me. In addition, I'm less likely to hit the ride cymbal with the headstock of my bass in tight quarters when set up on the hi-hat side of the drums.
Right off the high-hat/snare for me, whichever side that may be.
Immediately stage right of the drummer. I'm right handed and this way even if I'm just staring at the neck of my bass I can still see the drummer's stick falls. In my experience, you can't rely on hearing when on stage and there's no substitute for tightness like watching those stick falls like they are a visible metronome. I'd rather have someone walk away from a show saying "man that drummer and bassist were locked in and tight" than having them say how friendly I was to them while on stage. Not that I don't smile and wink at people in the audience and jump around and act like the fool I am... I do, but I really, really try to make sure the drummer and I are always locked in and lot of the time that means making sure I can those stick falls.
