Putting together a Vintage Stereo system

[AlecSp]

It's interesting to see how far we'd pursue "authentic" with our live music.

Pink Floyd and The Beatles are among my passions, though I never saw either live.

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets - Nick & an assortment of artists playing early Floyd music - at their launch night a few years ago at Dingwalls through a contemporary PA was phenomenal, and felt like it delivered the best representation of Floyd's legendary UFO gigs from another age.

But, if the Beatles were still around and playing at Shea Stadium, would anyone these days be content with seeing them using the same PA they used at the time. Fully authentic, maybe, but really a bit crap.

[mikehende]

But, if the Beatles were still around and playing at Shea Stadium, would anyone these days be content with seeing them using the same PA they used at the time. Fully authentic, maybe, but really a bit crap.

Alright lol. I'll give you that one, it's a good point.

[uselessoldman]

Strange but if I had the choice between watching live, The Beatles or Oasis, I would choose the latter. As much as I admire what they did I just could never be a fan and all those screaming girls? no thanks, my poor old ears.

Ah yes those Yamaha NS1000s, if I didn't already have a room full of various spurious speakers I would very much still like a pair of them. I did actually look at a pair and nearly bought them before I bought the Adams, for some reason, I guess after my 01x experience, Yamaha was still and still is a sore point with me.

What is different today is Bands now use a PA system over a long line of 4x12 cabs. Having seen AC/DC Motorhead etc they never needed a PA for those Cinema gigs, what they used was more than loud enough. Yes festivals were different, but I don't remember many if any sounded specifically bad? But then festivals were ok but I preferred smaller gigs, less mud.

[AlecSp]

What is different today is Bands now use a PA system over a long line of 4x12 cabs.

But they're not actually *using* any/many of those cabs.

[blinddrew]

[Martin Walker]

I never realised that went on!

(how gullible am I? Answers on a postcard please to the usual address)

Martin

[RichardT]

Wow - really? I’m shocked, like Martin!

[Mike Stranks]

Oh yes; I've seen it m'self at a festival where a well-known and popular 'bank of Marshalls' band were appearing... I was stewarding backstage.

[MarkPAman]

I'm sure I've mentioned here before about the b*******g I once got for picking up 2 cabs at once during a changeover. Gave the game away somewhat

[AlecSp]

I never realised that went on!

The fake cab arms war for looks has been a thing for decades.

These days, it's much more about using isocabs to keep stage volumes low, and get instantly reproducable guitar sound. Leave guitar cabs on stage for cosmetics if you must.

Here's an example: https://youtu.be/Be0lN-xF62o

[BigRedX]

I use a sneaky low-budget version of that myself.

A few years ago I got rid of my massive (in all senses of the word) EBS/Tech Soundsystems bass rig and replaced it with a Helix Floor and an RCF 745 powered speaker (which incidentally cost new about half what I paid for the previous rig which was mostly bought secondhand).

A lot of the gigs my bands do are supporting 80s acts most of whom are still using conventional amplification systems (although Toyah's band were a notable exception). I simply set up in front of the headliner's Ampeg fridge. The RCF goes under the stand which holds the computer and other devices that provide our synth backing, usually firing sideways across the stage so that the rest of the band can hear me better, and the PA gets a feed direct from the Helix. As far as the audience are concerned I'm a typical bass player using a typical bass rig.

The other advantage is that my current bass rig occupies about a quarter of the space in the van that old one did, and we don't have to shift a load of heavy old boxes about at every gig.

[AlecSp]

The other advantage is that my current bass rig occupies about a quarter of the space in the van that old one did, and we don't have to shift a load of heavy old boxes about at every gig.

For me, space and weight are everything - it's amazing what you can fit in a car these days.

[Luke W]

I'm sure I've mentioned here before about the b*******g I once got for picking up 2 cabs at once during a changeover. Gave the game away somewhat

That's cracked me up

[Tim Gillett]

I never realised that went on!

The fake cab arms war for looks has been a thing for decades.

These days, it's much more about using isocabs to keep stage volumes low, and get instantly reproducable guitar sound. Leave guitar cabs on stage for cosmetics if you must.

Here's an example: https://youtu.be/Be0lN-xF62o

Isocabs. Interesting. Is this normal practice at large gigs nowadays? Many studio recordings have DI ed the bass for many years. For many years I've DI ed my bass at live gigs. What is it about the sound that you get from running the bass guitar to a speaker and mic, and then to the FOH or monitor inputs? What do you gain and what do you lose?

[Wonks]

With the top end modellers - Line 6 Helix and Kempers and their ilk - now being such good sounding devices, there's a big shift away from having any guitar amps on stage (even with iso cabs), with everything direct to the PA and relying totally on the monitoring system for stage sound. Very few bands go the loud amps on stage route any more.

There are times when you need volume on stage, especially if feedback is a part of your sound, but if not, then quiet amps or modelling gets you a better FOH sound all the time.