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Does any band have to be loud?

Yep. Exactly that. There are at least a couple of bands I know of that use a pair of 18-inch powered subs in the local pub circuit... and they use backline too! Sounds good, but overkill IMHO. (And yes, I do realise they have volume controls, so they don't have to be loud).

Good point. Low frequencies are omni-directional and more likely to be structure borne, meaning sound insulation has little to no effect on them. That's why you always hear mainly bass when your neighbour has a party.

Thanks everyone. I noticed that nobody mentioned Orange amps. Are they not as highly regarded as the brands mentioned so far?

For me I like terrace style backing vox and them to be loud, which given I do punk/Oi it`s pretty much a requirement, whereas some singers say that bvs should be a supplementary sound and remain in the background. I think really the levels need to be set to accommodate the strength of the voices - some people who do bvs have a much stronger voice than the lead singer, so you have to keep them down further on levels. I suppose really what I`m trying to say is set by ear.

Oooh, I don't know. Maybe they'll have to give up inflicting their horrible music on the world if they go deaf. Silver linings and all that.

Rockboard to modular patch bays, including wireless, midi, mains, and so-on. I have a MIDI one in a 19" rack unit (they do a 2-module 1U rack adapter). https://www.rockboard.de/en/mod-patchbays/

The GigRig Cinco Cinco is a pedalboard patch bay. https://shop.thegigrig.com/products/cinco-cinco-patch-bay It's just 5 straight-through jack socket pairs and each is stereo. With one of these you can lay out your pedals as you please and don't have to have the first & last in the chain at the edges of the board. They're great with EBS flats, so you wire up the board permanently. I think they may be made by Bright Onion on occasion.

Just from purely personal experience and anecdotal evidence, I can see how bands might be louder than they were, maybe even just 15-20 years ago. A lot of bands like ours used to use modest backline to fill the room and a modest PA for vocals only. Whilst many bands have embraced modelling with silent stages and IEMs, the PA systems required for this are beefier and include subs to handle the full band, including micing up drums in a pub!. Not to mention, technological advances have made powerful PA systems more affordable. Whilst it makes things more consistent and arguably better sounding, we're capable of going a lot louder than we used to, and louder than we should do. In all likelihood, it's the subs that are causing the noise complaints these days.