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What Is A Gig?

#66
I've played folk/singer-songwriter stuff in a coffee house (converted church) with a little Fender Princeton and an ABG. Plenty loud for the gig.
I've played rock covers/originals in many pubs with a 1x18 folded + amp set up. Plenty loud for the gig.
I've played pop/rock in many small clubs/bars with an 80W combo. Plenty loud for the gig.
I've played alternative/pop outdoors with no backline and into the PA. Plenty loud for the gig.
I've played loud rock/metal in clubs with a 4x10 and power/pre set up. Plenty loud for the gig.
I've played hard rock in large rooms with a 8x10 + tube amp set up. Plenty loud for the gig.

It depends on the music you're playing, the venue, the sound guy/girl, and the rest of the band/equipment to determine how well your rig will hold up, or how well you'll be heard.
I like a loud-ish stage, but only when it's appropriate.
 
#68
I think a lot of bands play way too loud. My experience is that this is the case. I like live music but there are bands I avoid because I don't need to be punished by sound levels.

My bands are not loud. They tend to play bars and private events indoors. People WANT to be able to talk while we're playing. 300+ watts is unusable in that situation.

I have a Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.2 with a single docking 12" cab. I have a second G-B shuttle 2x10 speaker (that I can connect to open up 600W) but I've never needed it even for outdoor gigs. The 375 watts the Shuttle puts out is overkill for nearly everything I've played. I've never had the volume over 3 at a gig. "Yeah, but you have headroom!" Sure, in that case, 3/4 of the volume in my gigs is set aside for headroom.

So with the G-B being overkill, I bought an even lighter 22-pound Fender Rumble 100 V3. Sweet amp, very traditional tone, strong low end. I played a gig last night at a Senior Center in a room with hard surfaces, using that Rumble 100. I bet I had that amp with gain at 50% and master volume at 1. Of course, that audience doesn't go for loud music, but I could have played that gig with a 25W amp. I'm selling my 1980's Fender Bassman 120 combo (solid state, 15" speaker) because it's over 50 pounds and offers no sound advantage over the Rumble 100. I've used that Bassman 120 at a wide variety of gigs, including a couple of performances outdoors. It always came through OK.

So in my very humble and specifically limited opinion, gigging amps do indeed start at 100W. If you're playing a big club with a couple hundred people all moving around, then yes, it would be good to have more. With that in mind, if you buy a bit more power, you can always turn down.
 
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#70
We tend to run a quick level check at some time prior to showtime using the house's SPL meter if they have one or use our own if not. A quick 12-bars of boogie does nicely. We start off around 95 roughly centered in the primary listening area. If we get through a few songs at that level and the crowd and club folk are happy then we stay in that region. If they want more and the club is good with it we bump up a dB or two.

Always easy to spin up the volume after a bit as people's ears get used to it. Never get complaints from the club this way
 
#72
I think one problem with responses to those types of threads is that they are so often answered from a “ ̶O̶n̶e̶ ̶ My size fits all” POV.

Another problem is that the questions so frequently don’t come with a full disclosure of the circumstances (which can be part of the cause of the "My size fits all" responses). Something that might help would be a forum rule, requiring completion of something like this…

Compulsory Questionnaire/Checklist - Complete Before Posting (and include with) Any “Will I be able to gig with…” Threads

1. Genre: _________________

(edit) 1a. Drummer: Controlled/Out of control

2. Indoor/Outdoor

3. Venue Capacity: _________ (divide by 2 unless you got the number from the Fire Marshall’s placard or another source more reliable than your guesstimate) = Actual Capacity ________

4. Active Listeners and/or Dancers: __________ (divide by at least 2 / divide by 6 if, for example, you put 150 because you started to put 50 but were for some reason embarrassed to put anything less than 100, when the actual number is 25) = Actual Active Listeners __________ (Photographic proof may be required)

5. PA Support Is Available: Always/Sometimes/Never (If "Always," click the cancel button)

6. IEM Use: Yes/No (If "Yes," why on earth did you make it past the last question??? Please click cancel!)
 
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#74
JimChjones said:
I dunno, in these days of in ear monitoring and sophisticated high quality foldback systems I would have thought anything is big enough. And I'm old enough to remember the days when 100W was a pretty decent sized bass amp, and somehow we managed. Its almost as if, with huge amps and earplugs available, people just aren't being sensible about on stage volume...
Click to expand...

To be fair, 100 watts of tube power is about 300-400 watts of solid state...
 
#75
BulbousMoses said:
Over the years, I have belonged to a number of music forums and when is comes to discussion of amps, I have seen people post things like "but you can't gig with it" in reference to amp xyz or cab abc, etc. I always do a bit of an eye roll when I see this and the reason is simple. There is no agreed upon definition of a "gig". Is a gig only a gig when it's a 3000 seat theater? A stadium? A 50 seat coffee bar? I would say yes to all three of these examples. As far as I'm concerned, if you are being paid to play for an audience, then it's a gig. If we agree that a gig can be anything from the smallest coffee bar to the largest stadium show then any appropriately powerful combo or head/cab can do the job. Would I play Wembley Stadium with an Ampeg BA110 combo? No, of course not. But I would play a 50 seat coffee bar with one, depending on the type of band/music. Conversely, I would NOT play a coffee bar gig with an SVT/810 cab.

So, I guess the point is, before you say "You can't gig with this amp", think about all the possible gig situations or better yet, say "I can't gig with this amp" if you play big venues and it's a small amp we're talking about.
Click to expand...

For me, a gig is a job with a musical project. If your gig is playing bass with a pan flute duo, obviously, you can’t gig with an SVT driving 2 8-10 bottoms. Conversely, if your gig is with a thrash metal band with 3 guitarists with 200 watt tube amp each driving Marshall Stacks, odds are you can’t gig with a 15 watt solid state bedroom practice amp.
 
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#76
BulbousMoses said:
Over the years, I have belonged to a number of music forums and when is comes to discussion of amps, I have seen people post things like "but you can't gig with it" in reference to amp xyz or cab abc, etc. I always do a bit of an eye roll when I see this and the reason is simple. There is no agreed upon definition of a "gig". Is a gig only a gig when it's a 3000 seat theater? A stadium? A 50 seat coffee bar? I would say yes to all three of these examples. As far as I'm concerned, if you are being paid to play for an audience, then it's a gig. If we agree that a gig can be anything from the smallest coffee bar to the largest stadium show then any appropriately powerful combo or head/cab can do the job. Would I play Wembley Stadium with an Ampeg BA110 combo? No, of course not. But I would play a 50 seat coffee bar with one, depending on the type of band/music. Conversely, I would NOT play a coffee bar gig with an SVT/810 cab.

So, I guess the point is, before you say "You can't gig with this amp", think about all the possible gig situations or better yet, say "I can't gig with this amp" if you play big venues and it's a small amp we're talking about.
Click to expand...


So you're agog?
 
#77
You can "gig" with amp xyz or cab abc if it produces sound that is loud enough, the tone is good enough, it doesn't make smoke or buzzes or crackle or hiss, parts don't fall off, and you can load it in and out and carry it to and fro without super special care. I have an old stereo in the basement that is not gig-worthy. I have an RBI and a Crown in a rack on top of some Faital'd DIY boxes that are. I would add "IMHO", but @twofingers would get me.
 
#78
BulbousMoses said:
Over the years, I have belonged to a number of music forums and when is comes to discussion of amps, I have seen people post things like "but you can't gig with it" in reference to amp xyz or cab abc, etc. I always do a bit of an eye roll when I see this and the reason is simple. There is no agreed upon definition of a "gig". Is a gig only a gig when it's a 3000 seat theater? A stadium? A 50 seat coffee bar? I would say yes to all three of these examples. As far as I'm concerned, if you are being paid to play for an audience, then it's a gig. If we agree that a gig can be anything from the smallest coffee bar to the largest stadium show then any appropriately powerful combo or head/cab can do the job. Would I play Wembley Stadium with an Ampeg BA110 combo? No, of course not. But I would play a 50 seat coffee bar with one, depending on the type of band/music. Conversely, I would NOT play a coffee bar gig with an SVT/810 cab.

So, I guess the point is, before you say "You can't gig with this amp", think about all the possible gig situations or better yet, say "I can't gig with this amp" if you play big venues and it's a small amp we're talking about.
Click to expand...

I'd say most people consider a "giggable" amp to be one that can hold its own with a live drum kit and band. Sure there are exceptions, especially for smaller gigs, and a lot of what used to be "ungiggable" is now giggable... Ampeg 110's and 108's are a far distance better than the garbage 10' and smaller practice combos of a decade ago and more.

Of course most of this is subjective. I consider the old GK MB150 to be ungiggable, as I just couldn't get the oomph I need in anything more than a traditional jazz quartet, although it's a great sounding amp. I play some standard jazz gigs, but more often than not my gigs are less traditional, funkier fusion (ala Crusaders, etc.). Despite the convenience, despite every jazz cat in the 90's/00's swearing by them, my MB150 ended up a practice amp more than anything else, and I eventually sold it, no ragerts. Sure it would kill on any coffee house gig, but alas, its not a giggable amp. ;)
 
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#79
In MY world a 'gig' is 12 people onstage in front of a few hundred people. And this usually requires more than a 115 or 210 will deliver comfortably. I've settled on a 'super' 212 with about 300 watts behind it....It would be a much different story with in-ears but we don't have 'em.
 

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