how do you configure your live rig (mono, wdw, etc)?

[mentoneman]

i play and mix live and have done so regularly for many years (live sound for 24 and playing for 18)


i started playing a stereo rig in the mid/late 90s, then trimmed back to a mono rig in about 02, went back to stereo in about 09, and since then have bounced between stereo, w/d/w and now run w/d all the time.

in all my time mixing i have only seen a handful of players running a stereo or w/d rig. 99.9% of the time it's mono. just wondering what you guys are running these days?

 

[Mr. Willy]

Mono because it's easier. Wet/dry, sterio, etc sounds great but mono is easier loading in and out.

 

[Bob Savage]

No live playing. You forgot the "pizza" option.

 

[tripstan]

I don't know how you would classify it but here is my set up. I use Einstein>2x12. Compensated out of Einstein goes into front of MKIII combo with extra 1x12 cab. Verb, delay, (modulation) etc . . . are in the serial loop of Einstein. I run the stereo in/out's of the timed/modul effects in the loop of the MKIII. Is this just a Stereo rig?

 

[Badronald]

Mono. I've messed with stereo rigs at home before, but was never interested in it live.

The crowd wouldn't care.

 

[Pushead]

Mono through one 4-12 cab. Though at bigger venues the other guitarist and I will use two full cabs and run one cab on each side to make monitoring each other easier and to keep the mix better for people standing right up front.

 

[Bishop5150]

Stereo with 2 halfstack if stage size permits. If not 2 2x12's in stereo but probably just a mono halfstack.

 

[ned911]

Stereo directly out of a GSP1101 mainly to make my 3 piece 80's cover band sound bigger.

 

[SFW]

I ran stereo for years. Within the past five, I've gone back to a mono rig. In most clubs, I'm lucky if my amp isn't louder than the PA to begin with. The second issue that I have run into is that local sound guys don't know how to handle a stereo rig.

 

[stratotone]

Mono out, because if you run in stereo nobody is really going to 'hear' it unless they are center. I have run stereo monitors though, was actually pretty badass but since it was an extra trip to the car to setup and an extra trip to load, I said screw it.

 

[Meathead]

Mono.

I used to run two of the same amp in stereo,. It sounded great if you stood in one spot with the stereo delay and the stereo detune effect.

I love the smaller load in with mono (one amp) ...and nobody out front even knows your stereo anyway.

 

[dirtyfunkg]

Mono out, because if you run in stereo nobody is really going to 'hear' it unless they are center. I have run stereo monitors though, was actually pretty badass but since it was an extra trip to the car to setup and an extra trip to load, I said screw it.

Exactly.

I've toyed with the idea of doing a stereo rig, but the audience wouldn't hear/notice it. I would consider running two half stacks, one on each side of the stage, but I don't want to have to haul two 4x12's to any given show. Even one 4x12 is not even worth it for most shows.

 

[mentoneman]

interesting so far--

i generally agree with mono being the most practical setup.
what gets weird for me is the more elaborate configs.

again i agree stereo rigs are great sounding and i used this for years, but difficult to ensure that what you hear on stage is what you hear in the house.

wdw to me sounds the best but again to me is very cumbersome to haul around and set up. i only see the biggest and baddest rolling with those rigs.

so w/d to me is the best compromise between staying relatively compact---i can make a superchamp xd and a tech 21 power engine w/d rig work for me---- yet maintaining the clarity you achieve not having to use fx loops or driving all your signal through an effected mono series signal path, and creating more realism with spacial effects.

interestingly enough my all time tone hero mike landau has gone w/d with 2 fender combos, but he could make raking a sidewalk sound rad.

and i can remember years and years ago steve morse being an advocate of a w/d rig and thinking how he was missing the boat not running full stereo, but who has the last laugh now???

 

[mentoneman]

I don't know how you would classify it but here is my set up. I use Einstein>2x12. Compensated out of Einstein goes into front of MKIII combo with extra 1x12 cab. Verb, delay, (modulation) etc . . . are in the serial loop of Einstein. I run the stereo in/out's of the timed/modul effects in the loop of the MKIII. Is this just a Stereo rig?

how do you run stereo fx in a mesa mono loop?
generally speaking i'd call your rig a w/d rig

even if you have some delay/verb in the einstein; i have a tc flashback in my "dry" pedal path before my peacemaker head


so the way i see it, einstein dry and mesa wet right?

 

[Bishop5150]

I totally agree that around these parts anyway running stereo is a total waste of time. That being said I only do it for myself. For purely selfish reasons. It sounds great to me on stage with 2 halfstacks sitting behind me. I used to put one on my side and one on my bass players side to get that stereo spread but ya know screw it. It looks cool having 2 half stacks side by side. And let's face it part of what we do in playing live is looking cool whether this might be considered shallow or not. I'm still young enough and physically fit enough to load two halfstacks in and out of my ride and in and out of a club at 3am. I've spent the money on the stuff might as well use it. I downsized for awhile and went with just a head and 2x12 cab. Sounded great. Easy in and easy out. But no wow factor on stage. I don't know. Something changed my mind over the last couple of years. I'm kind of like screw it. Let's put on a rock show. Nothing says rock like half stacks for sure. The stereo part is strictly for my own enjoyment. The more I enjoy it the more I hopefully look like I'm enjoying it and that translates to the crowd enjoying it. But I'm an idiot for doing it for sure. It sounds no different out front than if I'm running my amp and a 2x12. But I'm also the guy bringing 6 guitars with me to the show. I play in an Ozzy tribute. I've got 2 white halfstacks and several Ozzy type guitars. How can I not bring all of it to the show? I do it cause I love it. Might as well go the extra mile and bring the gear right? Oh my aching back. LOL!

 

[Spaceboy]

I plug my guitar straight into the amp in 99% of situations.

 

[JTyson]

Mine is w/d/w but its all in mono. The guitar goes straight into the Fortin JMP, the speaker output goes into a Marshall SE100 and back to the center cab, the center cab is dry but attenuated so its not killing people, the compensated feed from the SE100 goes to the rack and then to a Marshall 100/100 pwr amp, but is pulled back slightly from the center volume. The wet cabs mostly add some space to the tone, I have an REV7 that I run a live reference patch on all the time at around 20-25%, with other stuff switched in/out for a bit of sauce when needed.
I dont use effects very much, but the REV7 is on all the time. That thing works everywhere I try it. You cant really tell its there until you bypass it. The live reference patch dosent sound like a reverb at all, it just sounds like a really great room. I have 2 of them that are 30+ years old, I pray nothing ever happens to them, I love those things. They take somthing that sounds great and makes it MASSIVE
My setup is old and kinda noisy, but it makes me smile everytime I hear it
I hardly gig at all anymore, I would hate moving all that on a weekly basis

 

[mentoneman]

Mine is w/d/w but its all in mono. The guitar goes straight into the Fortin JMP, the speaker output goes into a Marshall SE100 and back to the center cab, the center cab is dry but attenuated so its not killing people, the compensated feed from the SE100 goes to the rack and then to a Marshall 100/100 pwr amp, but is pulled back slightly from the center volume. The wet cabs mostly add some space to the tone, I have an REV7 that I run a live reference patch on all the time at around 20-25%, with other stuff switched in/out for a bit of sauce when needed.
I dont use effects very much, but the REV7 is on all the time. That thing works everywhere I try it. You cant really tell its there until you bypass it. The live reference patch dosent sound like a reverb at all, it just sounds like a really great room. I have 2 of them that are 30+ years old, I pray nothing ever happens to them, I love those things. They take somthing that sounds great and makes it MASSIVE
My setup is old and kinda noisy, but it makes me smile everytime I hear it
I hardly gig at all anymore, I would hate moving all that on a weekly basis

i helped a friend retool a industrial space for a youth church group and outfitted him with some sound treatment material, pyramid diffusors for highly reflective surfaces, and a yamaha rev 7 for their modest PA system.
that was a cool unit.

 

[JTyson]

Mine is w/d/w but its all in mono. The guitar goes straight into the Fortin JMP, the speaker output goes into a Marshall SE100 and back to the center cab, the center cab is dry but attenuated so its not killing people, the compensated feed from the SE100 goes to the rack and then to a Marshall 100/100 pwr amp, but is pulled back slightly from the center volume. The wet cabs mostly add some space to the tone, I have an REV7 that I run a live reference patch on all the time at around 20-25%, with other stuff switched in/out for a bit of sauce when needed.
I dont use effects very much, but the REV7 is on all the time. That thing works everywhere I try it. You cant really tell its there until you bypass it. The live reference patch dosent sound like a reverb at all, it just sounds like a really great room. I have 2 of them that are 30+ years old, I pray nothing ever happens to them, I love those things. They take somthing that sounds great and makes it MASSIVE
My setup is old and kinda noisy, but it makes me smile everytime I hear it
I hardly gig at all anymore, I would hate moving all that on a weekly basis

i helped a friend retool a industrial space for a youth church group and outfitted him with some sound treatment material, pyramid diffusors for highly reflective surfaces, and a yamaha rev 7 for their modest PA system.
that was a cool unit.

It is, that one patch is actually a stock setting, but its fantastic with the mix set at under 30%
Opens things up a lot without hurting what you like in the first place

 

[Reflux]

Right now I am running Mono. However a guy just offered to trade me his rack mounted dual recto. If that trade offer goes through, I will be running that stereo with my 50w 5153. Which will sound monstrous I am sure.