Hi I am in the process of starting a band. I know the basics of live guitar but I would like if someone would be able to give me an example of a live guitar rig set up. Iam obviously not playing stadiums...yet but hoping to play places as big as clubs and probly be playing lots of small pub gigs aswell.
Pretty easy. Guitar-->Pedal(s) if you want 'em-->Amp. It gets a little more complex if you want to use an effects loop. There are countless places you can find advice on how to set up, but it is ultimately up to you. Experiment, and find the sound that makes you happy.
You don't have to firebomb dresden to prove you can fly a plane.-Warren Zevon
Have dependable gear or have a spare. Number one rule.
Know if your using a PA or just amps. Find out if you need mic stands, mics, monitors.
If your not using a PA, consider renting a decent amp. Many lower priced amp cut costs at the speakers. I have a 50w vox modeling amp AVT50 that I was using around the house and I thought it was great, and it was but not for playing next to a drummer - the speakers lasted about 20 minutes (man, they sounded great just before the blew) If I were playing out - that would have been the end of the night for me.
Setting up the amp - I like to angle it slightly off stage it keeps me from feeding back unwanted. Use a surge protector. Mic one speaker of center. Tape down chord runs. Bring an extra set of strings and check each chord before hand. Chords don't generally break down all at once, you'll get cracks and pops first.
That's about all the tips I got.
Have your equipment in order and ready to go. Have everything together and organized - keep it simple - don't try to devise signal paths 10 minutes before go. - Don't let your equipment let you down. Oh, fresh batteries!!!
But you wanted an example... Here's my current small gig rig -
My guitar goes into my board usually some version of tuner - wah - OD - Phaser - flanger - Trem - Fuzz - wah - vol - eq -
into:
20 watt single channel amp with a second preamp - a chandler blue tube - on a ABY switch into the power amp - so basically a two channel amp. Only a 20 watt tube amp. It a Jetcity JCA20H with several mods to fit my needs but basically a $250USD amp. I have several bigger amps but they are either too heavy too valuable or just too much amp. I go out into a box that acts as a speaker emulator to the board which is pretty cheap and easy for moitoring, recording and whatnot - then a 2 x 12. I like seperate heads and cabs but combos are really better value often. Good speakers are important - you can get cheapo cabs from the big companies and they might sound great but they may not be able to handle the same kind of beating over prolonged usage - skimp anywhere else, not on the speakers. I use WGS 25 watters in several cabinets 2x12 and 4x12. I use the 2x12's as monitors or as standalone cabs depending. 90% of the time its all I need. I built the cab for around $50 and the speakers are about $50 as well - used speakers and cabs can be had for a song. Then I use a decent mic - you can just drape it over the cab - I use a senheiser 904 (I think) and its pretty high end at around $200 so you can get a pretty decent mic for next to nothing, used even less. But mics aren't a necessity. Good, solid, equipment.
Thanks for the replys, They were very helpfull. :D
