Stage "props" instead of cabs?

I go 100% direct to FOH. I do however have some "props" on my side of the stage for larger venues. Really fills out the visual.


 
Rick said:
I don't play in a big rock band, so maybe this isn't spot on for all, but I like the clean look onstage since I have dumped the big backline. I do have to admit, though, that I have thought about prominently micing up a Fender Champ or Bronco on a stand and hiding everything else... just to mess with people.
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LOL! Kind of the next incarnation of having a wall of cabinets with a small combo mic'd behind them.
 
Losing my guitar cabs hasn't saved a huge amount of 'space' but what it has given me is loads more 'time' seeing as my setup is FX2 into desk and job done.

I now use the time I would have spend mucking around with cables, cabs, pedals, amps etc to put up our new band banner and fill the stage area with loads of lights.
 
Indigo Hammer said:
Losing my guitar cabs hasn't saved a huge amount of 'space' but what it has given me is loads more 'time' seeing as my setup is FX2 into desk and job done.

I now use the time I would have spend mucking around with cables, cabs, pedals, amps etc to put up our new band banner and fill the stage area with loads of lights.
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Lights is definitely the ultimate goal at some point. To the average audience member, I think the light show is almost as important as the actual performance it self (to some audience members, even moreso depending on the amount of alcohol consumption).

My intention is to set aside a certain percentage of money from each gig and all it a "band fund", and that fund can go to things like lights eventually, but right now we're still in the process of sorting out songs and looking for a bass player. Even if we pool all of our resources, buy all of our lights from China (cheaper, although maybe not as high quality), and find the best deal on a DMX board we can get (we won't be playing to a click track, so I'll need someone to either run them, or I'll need a foot controller for them...or both), we still wouldn't really have the excess funds to pull it off.

I figure taking my time, finding the best deals, I'd still be looking at about $600 worth of lighting gear, maybe more if I factor in lengthy cables and trusses.
 
ChristThePhone said:
Forget about footswitches and light boards. Instead get a DMX interface and run the show from a laptop, potentially triggered via MIDI.
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Wouldn't that only work in proper time if we're playing to a click track though?

We've kind of sided collectively as a band (those of us who are members so far at least) against the idea of click tracks. Even were that something we wanted to do, we're a long way away from having any kind of in-ear-monitors.
 
ChristThePhone said:
The AxeFx has a lot more MIDI capabilities than the AX8 so the answer is yes, it would work even better.
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Interesting. In the case of songs that don't have a lot of (or maybe even any) scene changes, I imagine I could probably opt to just using a normal midi pedalboard instead? Like an FCB1010 or something, since for the most part, midi is midi.

Don't get me wrong, I've got someone who's willing to run lights for me (doesn't even care if they get paid), but the cost of reliable DMX boards that do more than just "on off change color" seems ridiculous (or maybe I just haven't looked in a while)
 
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