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stage sound - first gig

U

Upandaway

Jul 9, 2022
7
31
#1
Hi all

I’ve been playing bass (as my first instrument and in my 20s) for around 2 years, never done a gig or played infront of anyone at all before other than my girlfriend and a few practices with other people

anyway i got asked to do a gig as they needed a bass player, it’s a session band of very seasoned musicians and it’s a 1 hour set at a local music festival (from hundreds to a couple of thousand people). i’ve had 1 practice with the band and it went alright, the gig is in a couple of weeks and we’ve got 2 more practices before then.

my gear situation, i have a novice pedal board with a behringer DI (sansamp clone) and a fender rumble 40w.
i’m wondering how i will hear myself on stage, they will have wedge monitors but will that be enough to hear myself? as my amp is most probably too small to use as a monitor? should i just xlr from my DI to the PA?

wondering this as it’s my first gig i have no idea about stage volume and setups and am dreading not being able to hear myself! we are the first band on the day and we are expected to have a quick line check then into the setlist

any advice?! thanks!


some songs are brown eyed girl, the boys are back in town, i won’t back down
 
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#3
Congrats and enjoy. Practice the set list dead cold every day. You got this.

If it’s a proper setup you will be able to hear from your wedge just fine. Remember that’s what the drummer is using too so it’s made for that. Don’t panic.

Also everyone hates when you guys play Brown Eyed Girl so they’ll be reaching for the beer. If you don’t nail that one it’s fine because it sucks your soul right out of your body. But Thin Lizzy and Petty will get the crowd back on your side so use BEG as your chance to tweak any settings.

Go get it. Be prepared and have fun.
 
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#5
Always helpful in terms of hearing yourself on stage if you can elevate your speaker(s) up closer to your ears. That's in case you bring your amp to use for that festival. Even if your amp can be tilted back to point more directly at your head, that should make it easier for you to hear it.

I'd also expect the monitors to be okay as far as letting you hear yourself, but just don't expect your wedge to give you a really great bass tone... unless it's an awesome monitor. My drummer likes it when I sometimes send a little of my sound into his monitor mix - his monitor is a little powered Harbinger V2308. That gives him a useful sound to help us play in sync without me blowing a lot of my sound across the stage from my own amp.

I can tell you that when I played my first gig with my first real band, we were playing in a new venue with a cement floor, cinder block walls, a high ceiling, and no sound treatment. The place was a total echo chamber and I couldn't hear my Ampeg 4x10 cab, even when I was standing right in front of it. Something of a nightmare.

I did know our material really well, so I stood where I could see my drummer's right foot and play in sync with him even though we couldn't really hear. Apparently we pulled it off because pals out front said we sounded terrific. So I guess as long as you can hear some form of your sound on stage, that's way better than not hearing anything.
 
#7
The quality of festival sound varies drastically. The stage may have a professional sound crew, massive PA, and high quality backline. The stage may also be run be a single unqualified tech who provides a system that is inadequate, poorly configured, and possibly even malfunctioning. Possibilities pretty much run the entire spectrum.

Ideally the band has a contact with the festival who puts them in touch with the audio team. The band rep should make contact well before gig day to discuss how the stage will operate and work things out. Ideally the band rep is knowledgeable about audio and knows what gear the band has and needs to be successful. Coordination may involve multiple phone calls and/or emails that occur over days, week, or even months.

Your 40W amp will probably be totally inadequate unless you are playing something like a blue grass festival. Sometimes you can bring your own gear and sometimes you are required to use the provided backline. If a backline bass amp is not available, then you will most likely need to have the bass put into stage monitors. This is one of those things that should be worked out in advance. You need to find out if the monitors and sound crew are up to the task?

Note: The quality of back line gear can vary drastically as well. The stage may provide a top of the line bass amp and cab, or they may provide something that is too small or non-functional. When possibly I prefer to use my own amp to avoid surprises. However, I have my own pro-level gear.

Most likely the audio tech will give you a DI. The DI delivers your signal to front of house (FOH) via balanced XLR and provides an unprocessed 1/4" thru jack. You typically plug your bass or pedal board into the DI and run the thru from the DI to your stage amp.

Things don't always work out. I have experience problems on huge stages with highly-qualified audio personal. When this occurs, do your best to put on a good show, as if everything is perfect.

I highly recommend that you get some quality musicians ear plugs and use them. IMHO, none of the plugs sound great. But if you don't protect your ears, you are likely to experience hearing loss/damage from exposure to high-volume sound...and damage occurs at probably a much lower volume than you might think. FYI, I was a pro and I wore custom plugs with ER15 or ER20 filters for almost all of my gigs.
 
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#8
hi guys thanks for the replies.

taking on board what people have said about the 40w amp, i’m expected to bring an amp and other than that will only hear myself via stage monitors. So my budget is very low but i spotted an ashdown mag 300w evo iii combo (old amp!) for cheap on marketplace. is it worth getting this for the gig? thanks!
 
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#10
Upandaway said:
Hi all

I’ve been playing bass (as my first instrument and in my 20s) for around 2 years, never done a gig or played infront of anyone at all before other than my girlfriend and a few practices with other people

anyway i got asked to do a gig as they needed a bass player, it’s a session band of very seasoned musicians and it’s a 1 hour set at a local music festival (from hundreds to a couple of thousand people). i’ve had 1 practice with the band and it went alright, the gig is in a couple of weeks and we’ve got 2 more practices before then.

my gear situation, i have a novice pedal board with a behringer DI (sansamp clone) and a fender rumble 40w.
i’m wondering how i will hear myself on stage, they will have wedge monitors but will that be enough to hear myself? as my amp is most probably too small to use as a monitor? should i just xlr from my DI to the PA?

wondering this as it’s my first gig i have no idea about stage volume and setups and am dreading not being able to hear myself! we are the first band on the day and we are expected to have a quick line check then into the setlist

any advice?! thanks!


some songs are brown eyed girl, the b'toys are back in town, i won’t back down
Click to expand...
Don't worry, the 40 watt will be enough for a stage monitor. The easiest way would be to run your bass to the Rumble and run the XLR out to the mixer.
As to stage volume, you will want to be able to hear yourself and the other musicians as well. Most importantly, you will want to be able to see and hear the drummer. I like to stand where I can see his kick drum foot.
It will be easier than you think. Have fun.
 
#11
Congrats on the gig and have fun! Ask the band leader who hired you what the PA set up is and what you need to bring. Don’t assume anything. Your Rumble will not be enough in any band setting. That Ashdown would be better…. Even if they DI your bass you can’t assume a good monitor situation. You need to be able to hear yourself on stage. If your goal is to play out after this as well, an investment in a giggable bass rig is a good idea.
 
#12
Upandaway said:
hi guys thanks for the replies.

taking on board what people have said about the 40w amp, i’m expected to bring an amp and other than that will only hear myself via stage monitors. So my budget is very low but i spotted an ashdown mag 300w evo iii combo (old amp!) for cheap on marketplace. is it worth getting this for the gig? thanks!
Click to expand...

you said you are expected to bring an amp which means you’ll likely need it for stage monitoring. Outdoors, the PA better have enough to cover everything else for a festival. It’s also possible there’s shared equipment but can’t count on that. Your DI should work to get sound to the PA.

The Ashdown mag ( if functional) should work well enough. Will be heavy to move around but should work to hear yourself on stage if you point it at you.

You could also rent or borrow something which would be cheaper and then save for something else later.
 
#13
I think people are hearing the word “Festival” and assuming he is playing a pro stage. I have played the “Town of …. Festival” or the “Italian-American Heritage Festival” where we had to supply our own PA and it was just another outdoor gig. Ask what you need. Don’t assume. The best thing you will ever need to be as a gigging musician is prepared.. learn your music, bring good sounding, reliable gear, be on time, help with load in and load out. That’s how you get asked to do more shows.
 
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#14
Upandaway said:
So my budget is very low but i spotted an ashdown mag 300w evo iii combo (old amp!) for cheap on marketplace. is it worth getting this for the gig?
Click to expand...


A quality 300W bass combo amp will definitely be more suitable for gigging than a 40W Rumble.

That does not necessarily mean you should buy this specific amp for the gig. Amp choices tend to be very personal. You might love the MAG and you may hate it. Ideally you should develop some sort of idea regarding the type of sound you prefer and how much you like twiddling knobs. Then you do research to find options with the right features and tone (for you). The MAG preamp has a lot of knobs and slide including a shape control and probably 5-7 tone controls.

Some people love these amps. I played a variant of this preamp years ago, and from what I remember, I really struggled to dial in the sound to my liking. It seemed like there was a lot of interaction between the various tone controls. So it was not a choice for me.

Most combos of this nature only provide 50% to 65% of their power rating into the internal speaker. For the full 300W you probably need a matching cab. Adding the matching cab usually give you about 4-6dB more headroom.

The most important thing is to ask the right questions to determine how important the amp will be at the gig. If the monitors are adequate and can provide a good bass sound, an amp may not necessarily be required. The problem with not having an amp on stage is you don't have direct control over your tone and volume on stage. With a good audio tech and sound check you can still have a great show. But there is also a chance the audio tech will not do a good job...and there may not be time for a good sound check.

If the answers to your questions suggest a stage amp is vital, then consider barrowing a rig. Then take a bit of time to learn what you like and do research before buying an amp. If you can, try to demo the Ashdown and any other rig you can get your hands on.
 
#18
here’s a couple of photos :)

the sound situation was ok, i ended up borrowing a 300w bass amp so i could hear myself no problem!

IMG_7103.jpeg
IMG_7106.jpeg
 
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