Yesterday's Gig

[tonebender]

We played on Lake Panasoffkee at a place called the Big Bass Grill. It was our first time there. The weather held out until the last hour and then the rain came. The stage was covered so not worries there and there was plenty of sheltered area for the audience. We were well received. When we finished it was raining pretty steady so we packed and stacked just waiting for it to let up. As it diminished my band mates made a break for it but I waited around nursing a Modelo waiting for it to stop. Soon it did and I loaded out. Before I left I discovered that the owner was sitting in a group that had been there all day. I went over and had a nice conversation with him. He loved the band and raved about the job we did. Hopefully we will be back there when the weather is more pleasant. We only use one Bose sub and tower unit for PA and a couple of monitors. We have a pretty striped down approach. The drummer uses a cocktail kit. The bass player brought an amp but sometimes he just plays through a preamp module into the board. Robbie uses a 12W Princeton and me a 15W Gibson Goldtone. We get big sound out of a minimal set up. I love that.

[toomanycats]

That white Junior and the Goldtone amp are total class. The Rick and the SG don't look too shabby either.

[sabasgr68]

@tonebender Love it! I´m glad it was a good gig. I like the pics. Hope there are more gigs coming.

You good with just one pickup? I almost always play with the bridge pickup, so it´s like I didn´t have the neck pickup, but, I don´t know, it´s good to know the other pickup "it´s there" haha. crazy things.

I believe you´ve mentioned that you love your junior.

[uwmcscott]

Looks like the perfect setup, glad the gig went well. I must be living under a rock but I did not realize you were back into the Electric world, I thought most of your sets of late were with the acoustic group.

[tonebender]

@tonebender Love it! I´m glad it was a good gig. I like the pics. Hope there are more gigs coming.

You good with just one pickup? I almost always play with the bridge pickup, so it´s like I didn´t have the neck pickup, but, I don´t know, it´s good to know the other pickup "it´s there" haha. crazy things.

I believe you´ve mentioned that you love your junior.

I was a neck guy for a long time. It is only in the last 6-8 months that I have learned to make the bridge pickup fit into the spectrum with this band. I still have an affinity for the neck pickup for soloing but I am learning to work the tone knob to please my ear. Sort of the way people use the volume knob.

[tonebender]

Looks like the perfect setup, glad the gig went well. I must be living under a rock but I did not realize you were back into the Electric world, I thought most of your sets of late were with the acoustic group.

They guy playing the SG, Robbie is an old friend. He played with me in my first band back in the 90's. He formed this band about 12 years ago as a straight up blues trio. Robbie writes a lot of songs so they also recorded a lot over the years. You can check out our music on several services or just visit the website thunderboltbrown.com. There are some samples of the new record on there.

You are correct. Back in '17 I decided to retire from the band and pursue an acoustic act. I invited Robbie because we had always talked about our desire to do acoustic shows. Also we were sometimes joined by our front man, vocalist and harmonica player from the old band. Finally we got it going, it was a side project for them but my main thing. We played out with that acoustic act quite a few times but Covid hit and it ground to a halt. During that time Thunderbolt Brown recorded their 4th record and were doing live internet shows to play the new songs. Robbie had recorded multiple guitar parts on the record and they were missing some of those parts when trying to play it live. Since I had actually played some of those songs when we were doing the acoustic thing I was the natural choice to join them for the live internet shows. I agreed to do the show with the caveat that I really wasn't looking to play in a band in general. So I rehearsed and did the show. It was so easy playing with Robbie again and the other guys are fantastic to be around and to play music with as well. They like me and it was a good fit. I really love playing original tunes and they indulge me by playing some of my stuff too. If not these guys, I doubt I would not be playing in a band. It is a complete drama free situation and very professional. With my previous bands, it was always something. I have very little patience with BS and it drove me crazy. Now it is all good.

[tlarson58]

Three questions...

1. The monitor in front of you... does the bose not give you enough stage volume to forgo it?
2. Does the bass guitar go into something like this before the board (see link)?
3. When the bass does go through the bose does it compete with the vocals and muddle the output (I would guess not because of the frequencies, but still...)?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... direct-box

Note: Drama-free is where it's at. We've tried inviting other musicians but we choose to hang together because we're tight.

[tonebender]

Three questions...

1. The monitor in front of you... does the bose not give you enough stage volume to forgo it?
2. Does the bass guitar go into something like this before the board (see link)?
3. When the bass does go through the bose does it compete with the vocals and muddle the output (I would guess not because of the frequencies, but still...)?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... direct-box

Note: Drama-free is where it's at. We've tried inviting other musicians but we choose to hang together because we're tight.

@tlarson58 Tommy, Sometimes I do not use a monitor because the main behind us like that is enough but when we did a sound check I needed one at this venue. Each Venue is different. In general I like the sound in my face when I am singing and especially when I doing harmonies. I need to really hear it. Often I hear the Bose just fine but if it is too far from me either behind or to the side I use my monitor. We got compliments from a musician that was in the crowd for our harmonies. Good harmonies is what is often missing with local bands. I am not sure what module the bass uses and there is not that much competition with the vocals but I do like the sound much better when he uses an amp. Honestly as good as Bose is, it is not "that" good. Especially if the venue requires we turn it up. At low volumes it is fine.

[andrewsrea]

Great to see you jamming with guys who complement each other and an audience who appreciates the sound you make!

Following some of the thread discussions, if you want to maximize hearing yourself from a monitor wedge no matter what the volume, seek out a Beringher Feedback Destroyer 2496. Worth every penny. It goes in between the PA monitor send and your powered monitor or the monitor amp (which ever system you use).

Cool rig, the LP Jr and Gibson Goldtone. Do you mic it or is there a direct out?

[tonebender]

Great to see you jamming with guys who complement each other and an audience who appreciates the sound you make!

Following some of the thread discussions, if you want to maximize hearing yourself from a monitor wedge no matter what the volume, seek out a Beringher Feedback Destroyer 2496. Worth every penny. It goes in between the PA monitor send and your powered monitor or the monitor amp (which ever system you use).

Cool rig, the LP Jr and Gibson Goldtone. Do you mic it or is there a direct out?

We have not played anywhere that requires mic'ing up. We are in the line up at a music festival in a couple of weeks and pretty sure they will be mic'ing us up. We only play for 25 minutes so it is a hit and run type show. They supply the back line and PA and we just being mics, guitar amps, snare and kick pedal. They even have a Soldano 2x12 cab but I will bring the Goldtone.

In general we play at relatively low volumes. We do mic up the kick and snare but still do not crank it. I really like our mix and I can hear everything nice and clear. We rarely experience a feedback issue. With the PA behind the vocal mics you have to tame it.

[andrewsrea]

We have not played anywhere that requires mic'ing up. We are in the line up at a music festival in a couple of weeks and pretty sure they will be mic'ing us up. We only play for 25 minutes so it is a hit and run type show. They supply the back line and PA and we just being mics, guitar amps, snare and kick pedal. They even have a Soldano 2x12 cab but I will bring the Goldtone.

In general we play at relatively low volumes. We do mic up the kick and snare but still do not crank it. I really like our mix and I can hear everything nice and clear. We rarely experience a feedback issue. With the PA behind the vocal mics you have to tame it.

Second to the last gig I played, the bass player was using an Ampeg SVT 300w with (2) 8x10 cabs, the other guitar player was using a Marshall reissue Jimi Hendrix full stack 100w and I was playing a Marshall 40w Offset reissue and the drummer was mic'd to keep up. Monster PA and my 300w monitor rig. We were quite loud.

[tonebender]

We have not played anywhere that requires mic'ing up. We are in the line up at a music festival in a couple of weeks and pretty sure they will be mic'ing us up. We only play for 25 minutes so it is a hit and run type show. They supply the back line and PA and we just being mics, guitar amps, snare and kick pedal. They even have a Soldano 2x12 cab but I will bring the Goldtone.

In general we play at relatively low volumes. We do mic up the kick and snare but still do not crank it. I really like our mix and I can hear everything nice and clear. We rarely experience a feedback issue. With the PA behind the vocal mics you have to tame it.

Second to the last gig I played, the bass player was using an Ampeg SVT 300w with (2) 8x10 cabs, the other guitar player was using a Marshall reissue Jimi Hendrix full stack 100w and I was playing a Marshall 40w Offset reissue and the drummer was mic'd to keep up. Monster PA and my 300w monitor rig. We were quite loud.

I've been there, the giant Ampeg bass rig, stacks, 5000W PA, etc. I would do it again if someone else sets it all up. We are in the lineup at a music fest next weekend and I am sure it will be huge gear. All I have to bring is my guitar, small pedal board, mic and the Goldtone. I can do that.