Gear_Junky
New member
my friends and I played a little outdoor jam for ~60 guests. My backyard is roughly 150 ft x 150ft with woods around.
We were set-up on my deck with un-mic'ed drums, a 15" 140wt bass combo in backline (and DI'd to PA), my SCXD was also in the backline, also DI'd into PA. The other guitarist was plugged in straight into PA through my GDI21 (SansAmp clone). We have no monitors, so we used a little solid-state 30wt guitar amp as an active monitor, it worked out fine, although I'm sure an actual full-range speaker would be better.
The PA was a modest, budget 100wt (or even 90wt?) powered head with 2 speakers on stands (12"). We also used my Behringer Xenyx 1202fx for more inputs and reverb.
WE HAD VERY GOOD SOUND. We easily filled the yard, without being deafening to our guests (but we weren't timid-sounding either). I did the sound-check and I also listened to one of the songs from the back of the yard. really nice balance. I really didn't miss not micing the drums, either, except maybe for a bit of reverb.
1. The SCXD performed marvelously. On some of the songs I felt I had TOO MUCH stage volume (but we had no time to fiddle, it was acceptable). The line-out sounds very good, but again, there was no time to compare it by miking. Plus, the stage volume in this size venue was still a noticeable part of the sound.
2. The "you love to hate" Behringer gear sounded great. The thirty-dollar GDI21 (aka SansAmp GT2) via Xenyx 1202fx for some reverb - sounded really nice. I prefer playing through my SCXD, but I am totally glad that I have my Behri gadgets (I also have the BDI21 "bass DI" and ADI21 "acoustic DI"). IMHO it beats playing through an obnoxious solid-state amp and easier to set up.
3. Our PA setup was "below" the specs anyone would prescribe. My instinct would tell me to get more power and more monitors. Certainly, any Guitar Center salesman would tell you that very convincingly. Truth is, you just don't need more. Sure, having 2 monitors would likely be better, but other than that... - a nice powerful bass combo, possibly miking the kick-drum and snare-drum for a bit more punch and for reverb... a couple of 15wt tube amps, that's all you need.
We played rockabilly-type stuff, rock'n'roll, surf, but even if we wanted more distortion, it would still sound fine.
And final point: I found it much easier to get a good sound than when we practice indoors. But I ascribe that to the fact that all the amps face the middle of the room and there's likely all sorts of cancellations happening.
I also have a "sound man" question: as I mentioned we had very good sound. But I'm wondering if I could've done more. I know that "stereo" is not usually done in live situations, but would it be better if I had the 2 guitars panned left and right (according to where they/amps were standing) and would I do a full ("hard") pan or partial.
also same for bass - is it better off panned slightly or fully towards the side where the bassist/amp stand?
Thanks.
We were set-up on my deck with un-mic'ed drums, a 15" 140wt bass combo in backline (and DI'd to PA), my SCXD was also in the backline, also DI'd into PA. The other guitarist was plugged in straight into PA through my GDI21 (SansAmp clone). We have no monitors, so we used a little solid-state 30wt guitar amp as an active monitor, it worked out fine, although I'm sure an actual full-range speaker would be better.
The PA was a modest, budget 100wt (or even 90wt?) powered head with 2 speakers on stands (12"). We also used my Behringer Xenyx 1202fx for more inputs and reverb.
WE HAD VERY GOOD SOUND. We easily filled the yard, without being deafening to our guests (but we weren't timid-sounding either). I did the sound-check and I also listened to one of the songs from the back of the yard. really nice balance. I really didn't miss not micing the drums, either, except maybe for a bit of reverb.
1. The SCXD performed marvelously. On some of the songs I felt I had TOO MUCH stage volume (but we had no time to fiddle, it was acceptable). The line-out sounds very good, but again, there was no time to compare it by miking. Plus, the stage volume in this size venue was still a noticeable part of the sound.
2. The "you love to hate" Behringer gear sounded great. The thirty-dollar GDI21 (aka SansAmp GT2) via Xenyx 1202fx for some reverb - sounded really nice. I prefer playing through my SCXD, but I am totally glad that I have my Behri gadgets (I also have the BDI21 "bass DI" and ADI21 "acoustic DI"). IMHO it beats playing through an obnoxious solid-state amp and easier to set up.
3. Our PA setup was "below" the specs anyone would prescribe. My instinct would tell me to get more power and more monitors. Certainly, any Guitar Center salesman would tell you that very convincingly. Truth is, you just don't need more. Sure, having 2 monitors would likely be better, but other than that... - a nice powerful bass combo, possibly miking the kick-drum and snare-drum for a bit more punch and for reverb... a couple of 15wt tube amps, that's all you need.
We played rockabilly-type stuff, rock'n'roll, surf, but even if we wanted more distortion, it would still sound fine.
And final point: I found it much easier to get a good sound than when we practice indoors. But I ascribe that to the fact that all the amps face the middle of the room and there's likely all sorts of cancellations happening.
I also have a "sound man" question: as I mentioned we had very good sound. But I'm wondering if I could've done more. I know that "stereo" is not usually done in live situations, but would it be better if I had the 2 guitars panned left and right (according to where they/amps were standing) and would I do a full ("hard") pan or partial.
also same for bass - is it better off panned slightly or fully towards the side where the bassist/amp stand?
Thanks.
