thebrig Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Our band, along with another band who are friends of ours, have been invited to play at a free 'Diamond Jubilee Event' in June. Neither bands have any experience of playing outdoors, and the organisers are relying on us to state what is needed in terms of generator, PA etc, which they will hire. The audience could be anything from 200 to 1,000+ people, so can anyone give some advice on what is needed as far as power is concerned, will all the amps have to go through the PA for instance? I have read on some forums that the bass should be ok as it is, (I have a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 going through 1x12 & 2x10 cabs = 600watts), but I am a bit sceptical about whether it will just get lost. Please help, we are clueless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pietruszka Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I can't tell you much about PA's for that kind of thing, but all backline WILL be DI'd/mic'd. You can't expect your amp to hold itself in that situation. It will used as stage monitoring effectively. Don't be surprised to crank your amp a bit more than what you normally have to, I've done it before just to hear myself but it really does depend on the size of the stage you're playing on. The last outdoor gig I did I had my amp on about 2 o'clock instead of the more usual 11 o'clock ish, and that was an 800watt 410 cab and to 8,000 people. If the organisers are asking you for the equipment list, ring a pro PA hire place and ask them what size PA you'll need to hire for that size of crowd and of course size of outdoor space. Hope you get sorted! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 i've played a couple of open air gigs on large stages with the same amp as you and I two Markbass 2 x 10"'s. Didn't go through the P.A. Infact it was all pretty much our standard gig set up, ( can't recall what the P.A. was) Anyway volume wasn't a problem. The problem I encountered was with my amp cutting out. It was a momentary thing but happened a number of times during the gig. I thought at first that the amp was playing up but realised after a while that it was something to do with the generator. The amp has never missed a beat on any other occassion, indoors or out, just that one gig with the generator. Sorry can't tell you why it happened, although I suspect the supply was just not consistent enough. I suppose the advice would be look for a high spec generator, if there is such a beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pietruszka Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 [quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1334933040' post='1623712'] i've played a couple of open air gigs on large stages with the same amp as you and I two Markbass 2 x 10"'s. Didn't go through the P.A. Infact it was all pretty much our standard gig set up, ( can't recall what the P.A. was) Anyway volume wasn't a problem. The problem I encountered was with my amp cutting out. It was a momentary thing but happened a number of times during the gig. I thought at first that the amp was playing up but realised after a while that it was something to do with the generator. The amp has never missed a beat on any other occassion, indoors or out, just that one gig with the generator. Sorry can't tell you why it happened, although I suspect the supply was just not consistent enough. I suppose the advice would be look for a high spec generator, if there is such a beast. [/quote] Good call on the generator issue! I wouldn't have thought of that! I feel I must add that my cab was more than loud enough, and coped perfectly well, infact it seemed to enjoy being pushed that much and sounded incredible! It was MarkBass 410 to. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 If you use an underpowered generator then the voltage fluctuates. Work out the maximum current draw for everything you are going to run (backline, PA, lighting etc.) and then double it. As has already been mentioned, you'd be far better off going to a PA hire company who have experience of this sort of work and get them to supply the appropriate kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I`ve only done one outdoor gig, and that was voc pa only, bass and guitar using only their own amps for volume. Had no worries being loud enough, but had to really boost the lows on my amp - the sound I usually used was really thin and weedy without false wood flooring, walls to boom off of etc. I was using a Marshall DBS7400 & VBC412 for reference, so not a huge rig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 The cost and organisation could run and run on this. The simplest job is to book a small PA hire for around 2kw and perform during the day. If you are playing into the evening, you'll need lights which may have serious power supply implications and then you might need a stage. The venue will want or need PLA and you'll have more than a simple booking to navigate. So, first things first...check venue, power and then see what hoops you have to jump through if this gets any bigger than a private party..which if you are talking 200 plus.. it appears it might Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Thanks for all the advice so far. The event is open to the public, and is being organised by local Councillors, and backed by the council. It will be advertised in the local press and community news magazines, so there is no way of telling how many people will turn up. Unfortunately, the people who are organising the event, don't have much experience in this sort of thing, and are waiting for us to advise them on our requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 It is good that it is backed by the council as they are normally the ones to make you jump through hoops..and the cost gets silly. If you can get them to underwrite the cost and admin of this, ie they have a liason on site..then all you need to worry about is stage area, lights and PA...all of which you hire in. Find out what music is required, how many bands or musos and what running time you have to adhere to, and then ring round for P.A quotes. Expect Engr'd P.A to start at around £400 for 2k upwards and see if they can supply lighting as well, if required.. If you need a stage built..that gets complicated if outside as it will need to be covered... but better if in a tent. Either will add costs to an alarming degree. Tents and/or stages aren't cheap as they mostly need to be built.or scaffolded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 [quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1334949095' post='1624058'] Thanks for all the advice so far. The event is open to the public, and is being organised by local Councillors, and backed by the council. It will be advertised in the local press and community news magazines, so there is no way of telling how many people will turn up. Unfortunately, the people who are organising the event, don't have much experience in this sort of thing, and are waiting for us to advise them on our requirements. [/quote] Well they will have to do a risk assessment - it's the law even if they are the council... Part of that risk assesment is to state what they think the potential number of attendees to the event are going to be - this is used to look at the impact on the local community, the provision of first aid and even the availability of adequate toilet facilities. You're going to need that information to come up with a ballpark figure of possible audience size which is in turn used to assess PA requirements. We have a three day music festival in the village I live in and have to follow those rules every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1334949698' post='1624068'] Tents and/or stages aren't cheap as they mostly need to be built.or scaffolded [/quote] A couple of 40' soft sided trailers make a good stage if parked side by side - if you have the space of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 For a risk assessmnet, I think the magic number is 500 and over..and then you'll need one, IIRC. But then the council should walk you through this requirement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.