1st Gig with all the new gear!!

Davesjourney

Davesjourney

Member
Morning all (or evening, or afternoon depending on where you are in the world!)

Played our 1st proper show over the weekend with the new gear that we'd invested in over the last year or so.

For me, Axe FX II XL + MFC 101 direct to FOH + stereo Audiofly AF180 IEM mix provided by the band's new Presonus RM32AI mixer. Drummer, Roland TD30 + Roland SPDX + custom mould IEM's. Bass player, Peavey amp and BOSS GT-6B direct to FOH + AudioFly AF80 IEM. Singer /guitar Line 6 Vetta direct to FOH plus powered monitor (refuses to go to IEM set up). Myself and the bass player also run Roland PK5 bass pedals triggering Korg TR Rack synth modules. Only thing heard on stage was the Vetta - not that I can hear it with my IEM mix of course!

We spent a bit more time than normal setting up and doing the sound check as it's now all done with Laptops/iPads/tablets. The initial task was less gear to cart around and flexibility of personal monitor mix. No 32 ch mixing desk. No 32 ch multicore. 1 instead of 4 powered monitors. Result!

1st off the Axe FX. Just ....wow! So many comments from folk in the audience about my sound and "how do you sound like Andy Summers, EVH, Prince, Metallica, Bryan Adams, The Edge, Steve Lukather" (by the way...I wish I did!!!) It was certainly nice to hear and to me was reward for the hours of tweaking my sounds and patches. I had my patches ordered pretty much as per our set list, so stepping through these was a breeze. I used Scenes for some of them and Alternate patches on others. Took a bit of programming to get multiple things happening at one with one switch/pedal (eg engage Wah + delay + Filter for a boost) but it all worked like a charm for me. Way less tap dancing than when I used a Vetta in the past.

Can't speak highly enough of the Presonus RM32AIunit. What a sound FOH! We were nervous about using the IEM's for monitors but I couldn't have been more happy. Perfectly clear stereo mix for me with exactly what I wanted in it. We use some click tracks and samples and being able to mix these into my monitor mix just made it so effortless to lock in with Mr Drummer. Brilliant. Never going back to a backline/monitors. Our sound guy was able to take a cheap Linx 1010 tablet out into the crowd and tweak the overall mix to taste. Amazing. Technology, eh?

I know the IEM route is not for some and that for some a "4x12" type stage sound is required - but for us, the less gear the better. We've had some folk see us play live for just about all of our 25 year 'career', every single one of them said our overall sound went up a load of notches. Locals who had never heard us couldn't believe the sound quality.

Very happy right now.

Dave
 
Cool,
Simple curiosity, did you use mono or stereo ? If stereo any kind of enhancer or stereo trick ? amp blending ?
Cheers
 
Stereo for my AXE FX rig or the full PA?

Axe FX - full panned hard L & R in my IEM mix. FOH slightly panned L & R (probs about 10 to and 10 past, if that). Just about all of my AXE FX patches have the Enhancer block. I use no 2 Amps at the same time, so no Amp blending.

Main amp for crunch tones is the Splawn QRod
My cleans are nearly all Tube Pre (to emulate a guitar going direct into a desk) with tons of compression, reverbs, delays and 'shimmer'
For serious metal it's the Mesa V or a Angle Severe
For overdrive/lighter crunch I use either a Matchless Chieftain, Fender Princeton

Dave
 
Hi Dave,

Glad to hear you enjoyed the gig and gear! I also posted a question to another thread this morning and I was wondering what kind of backline should I use (power amp + cab or FRFR). Did also my first gig this weekend and really liked it, tubes are yesterday from now on ^^

So when you said you're not using any kind of backline anymore, is it really sufficient? I would definitely go with just FOH and without carrying extra loads if I was sure that it's ok. It's just some people say that without any (guitar) stage volume, it can be harder to hear guitars if you come closer to stage. But maybe it also depends of the quality of PA, size of the club etc. And you said it was better with zero (guitar) stage volume. Clearer mix this way?
 
Hi Rontti

Suspect all of the above can be true? It was a smaller venue, so the PA did all the work and filled the space. I suspect that for a larger venue, if folk are down the front and in between the pa speakers, there may possibly be a lack of grunt from the stage - but we have some fairly basic powered Wharfedale monitors that could be employed I suppose for a bit of stage sound if req'd.

Me personally - didn't miss a 4x12 (or 2!).whatsoever. The IEM monitoring was simply amazing for me. I could hear everybody who I wanted to hear and was able to pitch my backing vocals just right. No ear fatigue at the end of the night either!

Single best pieces of gear I've ever bought - the Fractal and an IEM system!!!

Dave
 
Ok, thanks for clarification! :) I have just 2x12 plus power amp, but still not a pleasure to lug around. And yes we all are gonna test some IEM's soon, maybe LD System Mei 1000 G2 and see what it's up to.
 
Congrats on the first gig! As Obi-Wan Kenobi once said..." You've taken your first step into a larger world." It's such an exciting and frightening feeling all at once. Glad it went well.
 
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