No matter how well you play, having the
right gear—and knowing how to use it—
can make or break a performance.
In my previous column [“Choosing theRight Gear for a Pub Gig,” April 2012],
we continued with the story of a singer-songwriter—
hey, this could be you—preparing
to host a series of open-mic nights
at a local pub. With the gig secured, we
followed him into a music store where
he auditioned a variety of acoustic amps,
pickup systems, and accessories. And with
the helpful advice from the in-store acoustic
specialist, he decided on a hybrid pickup
system, along with a 2-channel acoustic
amp that would allow him to run a mic
when playing smaller gigs without a house
PA. Now it’s time for the fun part of the
tale … the playing.
You’ve spent the week getting familiar
with your new gear and rehearsing your
favorite material. While the new equipment
seemed a little daunting with all the signal-routing
options, available effects, and EQ
choices, you read the manuals several times
and experimented with a variety of settings.
You made a detailed set list, complete with
notes on the planned EQ settings for particular
tunes, and you’re quite happy with the
amp’s built-in effects. The reverb and chorus
add some nice color on several songs,
and you even figured out how to work in
some slapback echo on a little ’50s-style
rock medley you arranged. Holding your
excitement in check, you pack up your gear
and head out for the club.
You are a little nervous upon arriving,
but relieved to see five friends you invited
to the gig sitting right up front. The room
is already pretty full and a lively group of
guys are at the bar cheering for the local
hockey team on the widescreen. With the
soundman nowhere in sight, you start to
set up your gear in the middle of the stage
when you suddenly realize you forgot the
20-foot extension cord needed to power up
your amp. The only available outlet is at the
back corner of the stage and the manager
can’t come up with anything long enough
to reach it. A quick run to the hardware
store is your only option and you have just
enough time to make the run. Not exactly
the best way to focus and get mentally prepared
for your first set!
You get back to the club with about
10 minutes to spare and find Charlie, the
soundman, powering up the PA. For your
guitar sound, you and Charlie decide on
sending the board a line out from the DI
on the back of your amp, and that one of
the stage mics through the house PA will be
used for announcing and vocals. There will
also be a second stage mic and a house DI
available for the guest performers.
Showtime! The bartender turns off the
TV, the manager introduces you, and you
open with an up-tempo Delta blues number
that quickly gets the attention of the
crowd. So far, so good—the overall sound
seems balanced well and your playing is
rock solid. Before your second song, you
hit the mute switch on your amp and find
out just how useful that clip-on tuner you
purchased can be in a noisy room. Pushing
the volume a bit during the third number,
you find yourself experiencing a trace of
feedback on certain notes, but a quick flip
of the preamp’s phase-reversal switch completely
kills this issue. You’re really glad you
took time to study the manual! Things are
moving along nicely as you settle in and
work through your set list, when you come
to the realization that the stage sound has a
boominess that you can’t get rid of with the
amp’s EQ. But you go ahead and finish off
the set feeling pretty good and then head
over to your table of friends.
The 20-minute break is flying by. After
some high fives from your guests, you find
out several other musicians have shown
up for the open mic part of the night. You
introduce yourself to them, pull together
a quick schedule for their performances,
and decide to conclude with an impromptu
jam. With a couple of minutes to go before
the next set, you discuss the boominess
issue with Charlie. He suggests that getting
your amp off the floor and onto a low
chair might help. He also mentions that he
could hear you using the amp’s chorus on a
couple of numbers, but that it wasn’t coming
through the signal you were sending to
the house. So you quickly check the back of
the amp and realize that in your rush to set
up, you accidentally plugged the line out
into the pre-effects DI. Mystery solved! All
is good after a simple switch of the cable
over to the post-effects mix DI.
And thanks to the good call from
Charlie, you notice during the second set’s
opening number that putting the amp on a
chair completely solved the boominess issue.
As it turns out, the guest musicians are
pretty decent. One of them has a little
trouble singing in tune, but overall, things
go well and everyone has a good time.
The one guitarist who did not have an
onboard pickup was having a pretty rough
time being heard with just stage mic’ing—
reinforcing the value of the gear investment
you just made. And you discover
that the second channel of your amp can
come in handy too. Not having enough
DIs to go around for the jam, you’re able
to use the second channel for one of the
additional guitars.
Your first live experience with your new
gear is quite rewarding. And it certainly
doesn’t hurt that your friends keep saying
how totally cool and professional you were
onstage. Now you can’t wait for your next
gig to dig in a little deeper and really refine
your sound.
Our little tale illustrates a key point:
Having the right gear can’t always guarantee
your best performance, but not having the
right gear will almost certainly compromise
an otherwise acceptable performance. Next
time, we’ll take a detailed look at the inner
workings of the individual elements in your
signal chain.
Larry Fishman holds
more than 30 patents in
transducer and musical
instrument design. He is
president and founder
of Fishman Transducers,
which he began in his
garage in 1981. In the early ’90s, he
also co-founded and managed Parker
Guitars (which was later sold to U.S.
Music Corp.) with his friend Ken Parker.