DaytonaRik

Own the entire PA - every single component from each lowly but essential 13amp power lead and mic cable to the subs except for one SM58 mic that belongs to one of the guitarists for b/vs. Own the small but functional and very portable lighting setup. Operate 1 & 2 the above. Carry 1 & 2 above in a van bought solely for that purposes. Load and unload 1 & 2 above in and out of 4 above on my own, despite one of the guitarists living approx 400m from me!!! Go through the cable and power trunks the day after a gig putting everything back as it should be! Sort out the shared diary, including reminding everyone to fill it in after someone says they're busy on a night that is plainly free in the diary. Sort out rehearsals inc locating and visiting new rooms due to band member changes. Select material and set lists. Sort out the gigs, including visiting venues in person to look for new gigs, posters etc Record, mix and produce multi tracks from gigs and rehearsal for appraisals and use in social media. Keep social media up to date, including advertising gigs on regional and venue pages. Brilliant? I'm f**king amazing!!!!

About three? I think I can add a zero on the end of that one! I rehearse with a wireless setup too - I'm just not happy being 'tethered' to anything!!!

A couple of years ago I bit the bullet and funded the entire PA inc a van to carry it all. I figured that a) it would save arguments b) I could get what I liked c) if they didn't like it they could lump it d) I could earn a few pennines wet hiring for small venues. Luckily by making sure I bought a desk capable of handling as many channels as we could ever need (X32 Rack plus an SD8 and SD16 digital stage boxes) along with plenty of wedges everyone has a monitor mix they like. One guitarist regularly asks me to turn his monitor down! 😉

Midas MR18 is £499, the slightly cheaper Behringer option (XR18) is £477 - there really is no reason why these small form factor digital desks are not the staple for most pub/small club gigging bands given that you not only get 6 aux outs for multiple dedicated monitor feeds but you also get 2 FX channels, 31 band graphic EQ on each output, 4 band parametric, dynamics, a noise gate and insert points on each input channel. And I never let the lead singer loose with the iPad! Give them proper monitoring either though their own wedge or IEMs and it happens. Believe me! You can crank a wedge so loud they turn their backline down!!!!!

An even better solution is to get a desk with enough individual monitor sends for everyone!

One of our guitarists bought a TC-Electronics G-System at the start of lockdown - still hasn't set it up! He also had a Victory Countess mkII amp in the cupboard for 12 months PRIOR to lockdown before swapping it out untouched for a PRS MT15 amp 🙄

Well the muscle memory has kicked in and it has taken about a week to remember the whole set, and the fatigue is going fast! I always practiced diligently prior to lockdown and although I still played during that period it was for an unplugged rock trio with completely different material that was much more chilled and laid back. Getting sidetracked learning to pay drums didn't help much either as given a choice between the two over the enforced layoff I'd much prefer to pick up the sticks!!! It turns out that it really is like riding a bike after all

After what seems like an eternity we're back in the rehearsal room next week but this time it's to audition a new drummer after our long-serving tub-thumper has decided to reduce the number of bands that he plays in. Ok - pick up bass, try to remember how things go - not a clue! Fingering all over the place, arm/fingers/wrist aches - oh this is horrible! Who else has gone through the same painful process of realising just how out of practice they are after the enforced lay-off?

Well - yes and no. If you have insufficient monitor channels on your desk for each band member then people just turn up their backline which then has to be heard over the drum kit, who then hits harder and now the vocalist can't hear their wedge so that gets turned up and so it spirals out of control. It starts with proper monitoring enabling you to reduce backline levels to an absolute minimum if not remove it altogether.

We swapped to rehearsing with quieter backline and relying on monitoring either via wedges or IEMs a long time ago and it makes such a difference to live performances. No more arguments about how loud backline is, no volume wars between guitarists band members - just a tweak in their own mix and viola! It needs investment - not only in equipment but time both to a) mic cabs, setup wedges etc etc at the rehearsal and b) to get things to the point where you have 'ready to go' base-line settings for gigs - but it's worth it on both counts. In the current setup with 2 monitors are you running a compromise mix @geoham i.e. those two wedges providing monitoring for multiple band members? If so then it's unlikely you'll get something that works for everyone, just a poor compromise that just winds everyone up. I do feel your pain as band leader, bass player, PA/Lighting owner/operator and backing vocalist! We do this but to prevent excessive lead guitar volumes in monitor mixes by applying a limiter to 2nd guitar channel only feeding the monitors.

I have a USA Thunderbird IV and the Epi thru-neck equivalent (Classic IV Pro) as a spare and tbh in the context of a live band and even in feel I struggle to tell the difference between the two!

I've never used their pedals but have an XR18, an X32 Rack and both an SD8 and SD16 digital stage boxes and in the past I've had their outboard rack gear notably the 4 way cross over, 31 band GEQ and a V-Verb Pro 2496. All have performed flawlessly and done exactly what they are supposed to do at a fantastic price point.

Upgrading to a Midas M32C or Behringer XR32 Rack will expand your available outputs to 16 aux channels - 8 stereo pairs - but you'll need to invest in an SD8/SD16 to add additional physical XLR outputs and there is no built-in router...not a bad thing actually! The plus point of these is that with a single cable you've added 8 or 16 physical inputs and 8 physical outputs patchable from the X32 routing page. We use an X32 Rack in conjunction with an SD16 upstage for backline and kit mics and the drummers monitor, and an SD8 downstage for vocal mics, downstage monitors and FOH L/R outputs

Many of the online ticket companies have their own pre-sale usually going on the sale the day before. I often take a look around the ticket sites a few days before to see who is offering pre-sales from their own site. I really miss the overnight queuing to buy physical tickets for big bands too - I remember queuing overnight a for a few bands at Cardiff in my teens...Iron Maiden, Rainbow, Whitesnake. The only alternative then was the ticket hotline so you either queued or hoped your call would be answered!

I played there a few years ago with a Thin Lizzy tribute band - great bunch but it's a horrible place to get a good sound...like trying to play in a square tunnel!

Not so much a great VST deal, but Brainworx studio was wiped out in the German floods earlier this year and Plugin Alliance have a 48 hour sale in which all proceeds are being donated to Brainworx to help then through the massive rebuilding project that they have ahead of them. All of the PA partner companies have pitched in so if you were *thinking* about picking something up anyway, maybe now is the time to help out. Sadly, their Neve VSX72 was also badly damaged and subsequently sold 😢 https://www.plugin-alliance.com/ https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/blog/blogpost/items/bx-under-water.html

A very satisfied Reaper user here - works well and I found it very intuitive especially when emulating a traditional analog desk and assigning inputs, (analog and MIDI) bus masters and FX returns. Not sure how well it would run on an ageing laptop though - I run an i5 iMac with 24gb ram!

I may have to check that out - I use the Flare plugs as well as the Flares Jet IEMs for my motorbike intercom.

The Rockbar in Shobnall, Burton on Trent?

For m it's not only music (playing, listening and rock clubs) but years of motorbikes too - loud race bikes, no earplugs etc. Now it's Flare Audio plugs when attending gigs, the same for riding my motorbike bike but this time I use their in-ear headphones connected to my Cardo Packtalk Black for comms and and ear protection, plus gigging/rehearsal with my 64 Audio IEMs Sometimes it's worse than others but there's usually some kinds of ring/buzz. I'm just doing whatever I can to save what I have left. Agree completely with comments surrounding e-kits for drums - I play mine through Steve Slate Drums 5 and have a plethora of kits and cymbals to choose from - all way above my income especially on the cymbal front but there they are - all ready to get fed straight into the X32 desk via glorious digital straight from the Mac. 16 channels of perfectly mixed drums at anything from whisper quiet to whatever the PA can throw out.

Bass GAS is completely non-existent but currently lusting after a Jobeky e-drum kit to replace the Alesis Crimson II kit that got me started drumming.

He admits to getting caught out on occasion with it!

Our guitarist's Jackson Dinky neck inlays - nightmare!

VST based - Neve channel emulator on the Slate Virtual Console Channel, into the Neve 1073 pre-amp/EQ with the LA-2A compressor to keep a lid on things.