I use a 900 watt amp for everything, with as little as a 2x10 or as many as 8 10s, depending on the gig. I use this knob on the front that says “volume.” It’s very useful. 
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What Is A Gig?
- Thread starter BulbousMoses
- Start date
When we played a job on Sunday nights at a local club, where typically, audiences were practically non existent, we called it a " gag ". Personally, my pet theory is that it is a shortened version of " gigue " which is : " The gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance originating from the Ireland jig. It was imported into France in the mid-17th century and usually appears at the end of a suite. The gigue was probably never a court dance, but it was danced by nobility on social occasions and several court composers wrote gigues." I can see 17th century musicians saying that they had a " gigue " to play tonight.
we played a new venue in Milwaukee and as we were done playing the first song the venue owner came by and asked if we could lower the volume by 6db. they said we had to be below 100 db. I have heard a bass amp should be about 4 times the power of the guitar players. not that you need to use it all, but just in case .
I think this is really splitting hairs
If someone were to say 'nice amp but you cannot gig with it' it is more or less referring to a band with a minimum of a rock or country volume drums. Are there exceptions to the rule? Of course there are. Can you play a 'gig' with a 25w amp, of course you can but it is limited to specific gigs on its own with no other support. A 500w combo with DI can be more versatile to handle small gigs to medium-large gigs.
Most of the posts replies for new amp help that I have read on here always ask more questions to help fit the right sized amp for the OP's needs/wants. Price range and what is the main use for the amp. This usually helps the OP to get a better understanding of what to get and then a bunch of favorites offered for them to check out.
If someone were to say 'nice amp but you cannot gig with it' it is more or less referring to a band with a minimum of a rock or country volume drums. Are there exceptions to the rule? Of course there are. Can you play a 'gig' with a 25w amp, of course you can but it is limited to specific gigs on its own with no other support. A 500w combo with DI can be more versatile to handle small gigs to medium-large gigs.
Most of the posts replies for new amp help that I have read on here always ask more questions to help fit the right sized amp for the OP's needs/wants. Price range and what is the main use for the amp. This usually helps the OP to get a better understanding of what to get and then a bunch of favorites offered for them to check out.
Big Hoss
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To me, a "gig" is when you play music or perform for an audience. Pay is irrelevant although it is a common factor. So the busker playing through a battery powered 25 watter is playing a "gig"
I learned a long time ago to pretty much ignore the "you can't gig with that" crowd as being too limited in perspective. I think a better way of looking at it is...
"You can't cause your audience hearing loss in a 50 seat coffee house with that".
An AWFUL LOT of the volume thing that is goin on is the musical gear equivalent of "mine is bigger than yours"! And it is just as productive.
My one, and only amp right now (not counting headphone amps of course) is a Fender Rumble V3 500 combo with a 210 extension cab. If I were to start twisting knobs to push this thing in pretty much any of the gigs I play, I would insure that me, and my band would never get invited back to play. I play to a much different crowd than the ones that want their ears to bleed. I play to a crowd that wants to enjoy the music. The typical audience we play to ages from 35 to about 65 years, and wants to hear themselves sing along to some of the songs we play. Our equipment is massive overkill, even the cheap, and I mean CHEAP Harbinger Vari V2112 mains we use, as nothing gets pushed anywhere near even the halfway point let alone maxed out...
I am pretty sure the teen / twenty something crowd would say we aren't loud enough. Fair enough, they aren't the audience we are playing to, there are plenty of much younger bands doing that sort of thing...
I learned a long time ago to pretty much ignore the "you can't gig with that" crowd as being too limited in perspective. I think a better way of looking at it is...
"You can't cause your audience hearing loss in a 50 seat coffee house with that".
An AWFUL LOT of the volume thing that is goin on is the musical gear equivalent of "mine is bigger than yours"! And it is just as productive.
My one, and only amp right now (not counting headphone amps of course) is a Fender Rumble V3 500 combo with a 210 extension cab. If I were to start twisting knobs to push this thing in pretty much any of the gigs I play, I would insure that me, and my band would never get invited back to play. I play to a much different crowd than the ones that want their ears to bleed. I play to a crowd that wants to enjoy the music. The typical audience we play to ages from 35 to about 65 years, and wants to hear themselves sing along to some of the songs we play. Our equipment is massive overkill, even the cheap, and I mean CHEAP Harbinger Vari V2112 mains we use, as nothing gets pushed anywhere near even the halfway point let alone maxed out...
I am pretty sure the teen / twenty something crowd would say we aren't loud enough. Fair enough, they aren't the audience we are playing to, there are plenty of much younger bands doing that sort of thing...
This supports your assertion of the term being derived from gigue. Then there is Irish dancing called a jig. Probably a similar origin.
Why did jazz musicians start referring to an engagement as a "gig"?
Anyone looking on the Internet for any advice needs to consider the source
Some folks only address the most demanding gig - that is a safe way to size a rig and to always be prepared. As you say, many gigs require 1/4 the gear. Or even *no* gear. I think the context usually qualifies the poster's intent. But just in case, you make a valid point.
Big Hoss
Up note, down note, blue note, brown note...
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Most people on these pages qualify it before saying it. ie-I play classic rock in bars. There. Now you can define gig worthy. If they do not, then it's not enough info, and responses will all be get a Fender Rumble.
That's probably a fair rule of thumb. If your guitarist is gigging a 100-watt Marshall stack, then a 400-watt 4x10 may indeed be the minimum. But if he's using a 20- or 30-watt combo, then the 4x rule would mean a mere 100-watt bass amp. dB is going to be more a factor of the speaker area than the wattage, of course, and some of those 30-watt combos are LOUD at high frequencies. The wattage is more for clean headroom than anything. But even without PA support, I've never had anyone tell me I was too quiet or they couldn't hear me playing through a 2x10 or 1x15 with, say, 200-250 watts. Granted, I don't play stadium gigs, this is mostly bars and backyard parties.
100 dB seems pretty quiet, though, unless it's a coffeehouse acoustic gig or something. I've measured the interior of a running car with the radio on at around 90 dB.
I disagree. Ones use of the word "you" implies an imperative that the audience should be taking the yak to heart.I hate that these days everything has to be qualified by adding "IMO" (In My Opinion) or "YMMV" (Your Mileage May Vary) or some other stupud qualifier.
If I said it, IT'S MY OPINION! DUH!
So, if I say "Neat amp, but you can't gig with that thing" it's just MY OPINION based on MY EXPERIENCES. I shouldn't have to qualify it to keep from offending those who play library, retirement hime and coffe house gigs.
If you can get away with playing your bass through your iPhone speaker at your "gig", that's great! For 99.999999% of us, that's simply not true.
So 99.99999% of us will say "You can't gig with that thing".
It should go without saying that it's just our opinion.
If you are the exception rather than the rule... meaning you can gig with something most of us would consider a "bedroom" or "practice" amp, then perhaps YOU should specify that in your question. One or two people clarifying that rather than all of the rest of us saying "You can't gig with that.... of course, unless you play in really small coffee houses or libraries or retirement homes or campfire circles or yada yada yada" makes more sense.
IMO/IME, YMMV.I hate that these days everything has to be qualified by adding "IMO" (In My Opinion) or "YMMV" (Your Mileage May Vary) or some other stupud qualifier.
If I said it, IT'S MY OPINION! DUH!
So, if I say "Neat amp, but you can't gig with that thing" it's just MY OPINION based on MY EXPERIENCES. I shouldn't have to qualify it to keep from offending those who play library, retirement hime and coffe house gigs.
If you can get away with playing your bass through your iPhone speaker at your "gig", that's great! For 99.999999% of us, that's simply not true.
So 99.99999% of us will say "You can't gig with that thing".
It should go without saying that it's just our opinion.
If you are the exception rather than the rule... meaning you can gig with something most of us would consider a "bedroom" or "practice" amp, then perhaps YOU should specify that in your question. One or two people clarifying that rather than all of the rest of us saying "You can't gig with that.... of course, unless you play in really small coffee houses or libraries or retirement homes or campfire circles or yada yada yada" makes more sense.
To me a gig is a paid performance or a performance played gratis when you are normally paid for your services
As far as the "can't gig with it" to me means: if I don't have PA support, I can't gig with it, and sometimes even when you do have PA support, you can't really hear it.
As far as the "can't gig with it" to me means: if I don't have PA support, I can't gig with it, and sometimes even when you do have PA support, you can't really hear it.
So the word "you" alone adds gravitas to a statement???
I don't see that at all.
But, hey, it's your opinion (obviously) so....
Yup, so be aware that your use of you indeed does carry much gravitas. You can't throw you around with gay abandon without being held as opinionated. You probably don't mind being held as opinionated, much like myself in a whole different way.So the word "you" alone adds gravitas to a statement???
I don't see that at all.
But, hey, it's your opinion (obviously) so....
