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The good and the bad.

Nanaki

Nanaki

Dec 13, 2016
118
191
UK
#1
Good evening, just wanted to share my weekends gigs with you all.

Yesterday my band, pretty much your weekend warrior types (although we do the wedding and function scene too) set up to play a gig at a venue in the centre of a busy town, pretty popular place for stag and hens etc.. well anyway so far so good. We all use wireless so we can all move FOH at sound check and make sure we are happy with sound thus cutting out paying for a sound guy. Sound check is great and we chill until we are ready to start.
Well two bars into the first song my bass starts cutting out and it's clear that it's an issue with mine and one of the guitarists transmitters (never happened in over two years of us both using the same gear). So anyway at we get through the song with basically no bass and sort the issue in about 30 seconds. This totally puts me on edge though and I have one of the worst if not the worst gig of my life.

Cut to today and everything goes smoothly and I had one of the best gigs of my life. I was dreading playing today due to the bad experience yesterday but I needn't have worried.

Moral of the story don't let one bad experience put you off and bring you down, you can always make up for it :)
 
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#2
Nanaki said:
Good evening, just wanted to share my weekends gigs with you all.

Yesterday my band, pretty much your weekend warrior types (although we do the wedding and function scene too) set up to play a gig at a venue in the centre of a busy town, pretty popular place for stag and hens etc.. well anyway so far so good. We all use wireless so we can all move FOH at sound check and make sure we are happy with sound thus cutting out paying for a sound guy. Sound check is great and we chill until we are ready to start.
Well two bars into the first song my bass starts cutting out and it's clear that it's an issue with mine and one of the guitarists transmitters (never happened in over two years of us both using the same gear). So anyway at we get through the song with basically no bass and sort the issue in about 30 seconds. This totally puts me on edge though and I have one of the worst if not the worst gig of my life.

Cut to today and everything goes smoothly and I had one of the best gigs of my life. I was dreading playing today due to the bad experience yesterday but I needn't have worried.

Moral of the story don't let one bad experience put you off and bring you down, you can always make up for it :)
Click to expand...
Any gig pics to share?
 
#4
mrcbass said:
So you don't have cables to go to in the event of wireless failure? I love my wireless, but I always have a cable within reach (out of the bag and ready to plug in) when I'm using wireless - too easy to have issues with interference, battery failure, etc.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's exactly what we did at the end of the song, the weird part was that neither our receivers were showing a problem, mine flashes white if there is and that guitarists flashes red.
 
#5
Sometimes you just get some local interference - the fact the you both had issues lends itself to this theory. I can re connect in seconds if something starts getting wonky with my wireless - too many dirty looks from band mates who disdain wireless intruments when my battery has died during rehearsal.
 
#7
Nanaki said:
Yeah that's exactly what we did at the end of the song, the weird part was that neither our receivers were showing a problem, mine flashes white if there is and that guitarists flashes red.
Click to expand...
I used to have intermittent issues with my wireless - just dropping out for a beat or two . After some trial and error I put it down to the fact that I always left my cell phone on top of the amp right beside the receiver. Once I removed my cell phone from the transmitter I have had no issues at all - might be something to look into
 
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#9
Crazy_Jake said:
I used to have intermittent issues with my wireless - just dropping out for a beat or two . After some trial and error I put it down to the fact that I always left my cell phone on top of the amp right beside the receiver. Once I removed my cell phone from the transmitter I have had no issues at all - might be something to look into
Click to expand...

I tried two different Line 6 systems that both were prone to drop outs. They were both in the 2.4 ghz range, the same as wireless devices like routers etc.

I replaced them with a Shure H10 system and haven't had an issue yet.

Always have a cord close at hand though.
 
#10
I've had a couple of disaster gigs involving wireless. I was trying out a new mixer, a Soundcraft UI16, which is controlled from a phone or tablet. Apparently the wireless on my bass interfered with the mixer connection and we completely lost the ability to control the PA. I could probably fix it using a different channel or setting but it's simpler just to play with a cable - I sing in that band and am pretty much chained to a mic stand anyway. Another time, in another band, there was a weird problem, where IIRC what was happening was the singer's wireless in-ear signal was getting picked up by both my and the guitarist's amps and broadcast out, creating feedback.

These problems all have solutions, though. I'm generally a believer in the benefits of wireless. But I always bring a cable just in case.

I've also noticed the benefit of back-to-back gigs. You come into the second one all warmed up and charged, ready to nail it. Almost every time I've had them, the Saturday gig rocks even if the Friday gig was a little wobbly.
 
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#11
When I read this, I picture the Spinal Tap RF interference scenes. One day, Nigel smashes his guitar and walks out. Another day (when things offstage are better), he just rocks on. Sometimes, its just attitude that makes the gig great (or not).

..and back to back gigs - yes, having played at, and done FOH for many church weekends where there were Saturday night and Sunday services, Sunday is almost always better.
 
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#13
Nanaki said:
Good evening, just wanted to share my weekends gigs with you all.

Yesterday my band, pretty much your weekend warrior types (although we do the wedding and function scene too) set up to play a gig at a venue in the centre of a busy town, pretty popular place for stag and hens etc.. well anyway so far so good. We all use wireless so we can all move FOH at sound check and make sure we are happy with sound thus cutting out paying for a sound guy. Sound check is great and we chill until we are ready to start.
Well two bars into the first song my bass starts cutting out and it's clear that it's an issue with mine and one of the guitarists transmitters (never happened in over two years of us both using the same gear). So anyway at we get through the song with basically no bass and sort the issue in about 30 seconds. This totally puts me on edge though and I have one of the worst if not the worst gig of my life.

Cut to today and everything goes smoothly and I had one of the best gigs of my life. I was dreading playing today due to the bad experience yesterday but I needn't have worried.

Moral of the story don't let one bad experience put you off and bring you down, you can always make up for it :)
Click to expand...

Nobody likes to have a bad night. But O! What is more pleasant than bouncing back after a clambake?
 
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#16
I did an outdoor gig in the 90's in between the twin towers of the World Trade center (RIP).
My wireless was a key component of my stage presence, and I was NOT at all interested in using a cable.

The sound guy absolutely forbid me from using the wireless at the show.
He said "There is way too much RF flying around all over the place here. No way we can rely on wireless. It's out of the question. Use a cord, or we don't proceed with the show."

I have no idea how it would have worked out if I had tried the wireless, but I never forgot that valuable lesson.
I assume he probably saved me from all sorts of stress and embarrassment.
And I never did a show again without a 20' cable coiled up in a nice neat coil on the floor right in front of my rig, ready to deploy immediately if needed.
The moral of the story: Better safe than sorry. Always have a cable at the ready.
 
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