Gear Hog

I don't want to become a gear hog. I can't afford it. Any suggestions will be very much appreciated. I just want to be a musician entertainer.

I've heard many musicians play and enjoyed that they played excellently or I liked the tunes they played better than some other entertainer, or they could swing or jam better than other musicians but I have never liked one player over the other because his PA sounded better.

Isn't the tune selection for a given audience the most important thing. Maybe the sound is more important to the player then the audience?

I've had quite a few people say that the stereo is mostly for the entertainer himself because the audience will not even know the difference especially in a large room. Whose right here? Still trying to figure all of this stuff out.

Bric.
IMO....the fine nuainces of sound are more for those who can decipher or hear it....the efficienados of sound, rather than the general audience who could only tell if it were fairly poor....feedback or just an overall lousy sound system. I believe most audiences are there more so for the "live show" experience.

I'm not even sure most of us can tell those fine nuainces. We can hear it in the proaudio rooms A/B'n monitors, but once they are in our studio, if we drove back across town and listened to a different set?

I think we all perhaps have a more trained ear to listen for highs, lows and the mid ranges, but I certainly think the general populous just listens for overall sound quality.

I've never had anyone say to me from the general population....I just bought this cd and the sound quality was so good I bet they used DSP and I think I heard some compression on cut 2, then there was this slapback delay 12th bar of.....point being they are not as pickie as those in the biz. When they talk about a cool cd, they are generally talking overall, sound and content.

I believe if most of us sat in a studio with a real professional studio engineer....he'd be saying I don't believe you can't hear that.....that sucks and has to come out.

So it's all relative IMO.
jam on,
Terry

Boo...
Matching the music to the crowd (Programming)is undoubtedly critical to their enjoyment and your success. Your sound system is also critical..but no need to go crazy here. A good PA (like Mackie, Peavey, etc) decent speakers (JBL, EV, Peavey, etc)...or maybe a good pair of powered speakers and a high quality mic will do the trick for most all jobs I play. Personally I prefer using mono, but that is just my choice.

Every job is unique and keeping busy requires a lot of diversity. Tonight I will be doing a "Society" gig.. softer than usual in volume... a little more fox-trottish than I normally do, more show tunes and, frankly, more sedate and not as much fun as my regular jobs...but good $$$s.

Tomorrow afternoon a Christmas Festival in a shopping center parking lot where the promoter is providing a very large sound system...and the fare will be lots of Christmas music skewed to kids. Then, change gears again for another job at night for a private party of seniors who want line dances, Christmas carols and sing alongs and lots of dance music. All very different kinds of jobs.

With the exception of the Shopping Center Festival, my set up is a PSR 2000, Peavey amp, a pair of JBL 1500s and a Samson E20 (that doubles as a monitor for most jobs and the only speaker I use at the assisted living centers). BTW, my Sampson does not have a hiss or hum...but does tend to be a bit weak on the high end.

As far a priorities go, I can't put programming above or below the sound system. Good programming thru a bad system doesn't work. Poor programming thru a good system is no better.

You don't have to be a "gear hog" to put on a good show.

Eddie

I think a good sounding system is equally important as a good players performance. A number of Organ \ Keyboard Societies I have attended over the years I am amazed how bad some of the PA systems are that the professional carry around with them.
Or possibly the failings on my part, having worked within the sound business most of my working life, I am possibly over critical but It takes just along to setup a poor PA as it does to setup an excellent one. The performers who think the Audience will not notice between good or bad...Mono or Stereo are only fooling themselves...If its worth doing its worth doing well.

Graham UK

If it sounds really good to you, you'll get into the music and play and sing better. The audience DOES know the difference.
Don

Hi Boo...For me, it's like anything else I guess. If you are a solid musician with good fundamentals and work hard to polish your talent, you can use a 50 dollar mike, a used amp and any basic guitar or keyboard, and that's all you need. Technology and lots of stuff can't make you a good musician. However, it is important to get quality gear, regardless of the price, because you DO want to be able to communicate to the audience effectively and let your talent shine. The best musicians I know have talent, they work hard, and don't rely on gimics or gear to be the real deal. That's why this forum is so invaluable to me. I have dozens of performers who have seen it all and can help me to focus my efforts on "quality" gear, used or new...that will help me equip myself with good basic gear...the rest is up to me and you....Good Luck...Let us know how it works out for you. I had the Ev's out this weekend for 2 Christmas parties in pretty large settings, and they sounded great during the live stuff I did and the DJ portion. They really are killer speakers. And my back feels great too!!!!! Cheers Brian

I believe that you should absolutely always go with the very best equipment on the planet that your talent is capable of utilizing, is appropriate for the size and type of audiences you entertain, and the income from that talent is capable of paying for. Extra points go to people who can do all that and stay portable at the same time.