Remember, it's not always about tone!

  • Thread starter Thread starter abrackas
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abrackas

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I played a gig in a 3 piece band this past weekend and in-between our sets my main rig went down and I didn't have a backup. In a pinch I plugged straight into the board as that was my only option. It sounded like s**t to me but people were still dancing and having a great time.

Seeing their reaction it made me realize that the music is way more important than sounding good tone-wise. As much as some of us on here obsess about it, the average person doesn't notice/care.

I'm sure the fact that they were more drunk helped too.
 
I like the idea of having an emergency backup you can run direct with, like one of the Mooer preamp pedals with a cab sim output. $100 and next to no space in the gig bag buys a lot of peace of mind.
 
They may not notice but I do, and I'm having much more fun when I know my tone is killer.
 
I get the OP's point. That has happened to me too in the past. I also did a recent Casino show where I just used my Flyrig pedal and it sounded lame to me but the gig went very well and people dug it. We obsess over tones here and gear - that is fun. But to the laymen, it really doesn't mean much. I do think that getting a good sound on stage can inspire you for sure. If I was a pro with roadies etc I could easily play through a Kemper rig etc. Pro soundmen can make that stuff sound killer in your ears and through FOH. I mainly use my amp on stage because I do not trust soundmen to mix me right. If had the same guy for every show and I trusted him, it may be a different story.
 
stratjacket":35w529lg said:
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YES!!!

Just watched this the other night. I saw this in the damn theater opening week! How old am I?? LO!

To the POP's point, yeah no one cares about our guitar tones. I had no less a positive reaction from casino/convention folks on my RP1000 than I did with my Kemper/AX8/Helix/Friedman rig.
 
RaceU4her":3tzp75gb said:
people watching cover bands have no clue
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You may be giving people watching original bands too much credit...
 
JerEvil":3jfnsrge said:
stratjacket":3jfnsrge said:
Click to expand...
YES!!!

Just watched this the other night. I saw this in the damn theater opening week! How old am I?? LO!

To the POP's point, yeah no one cares about our guitar tones. I had no less a positive reaction from casino/convention folks on my RP1000 than I did with my Kemper/AX8/Helix/Friedman rig.
Click to expand...

I love that movie, I've seen it at least 20 times doctor.
 
stratjacket":229io83k said:
JerEvil":229io83k said:
stratjacket":229io83k said:
Click to expand...
YES!!!

Just watched this the other night. I saw this in the damn theater opening week! How old am I?? LO!

To the POP's point, yeah no one cares about our guitar tones. I had no less a positive reaction from casino/convention folks on my RP1000 than I did with my Kemper/AX8/Helix/Friedman rig.
Click to expand...

I love that movie, I've seen it at least 20 times doctor.
Click to expand...
"Did you hear that???"
"Yup, it's a dickfer..."
 
No doubt. Your tone would have to be so horrible that it sends the rats in the bar's kitchen running before the audience cared.

The only people that really care about your tone are you and the guitar players standing there with folded arms because they could do way better than you.
 
I don't think I could plug straight into the pa
Wow this can't be for real
 
Yeah . . . I'm gonna have to agree . . . . ppl just don't care as long as they can have a drink and dance, that's what they came there to do, not sit in awe of your guitar tone. But it doesn't hurt to have a kick ass tone either.
 
just hire a dj. :scared:

make sure he/she has the pro gear though:

dj-tour-e1464135368437-640x203.png




:yes:
 
My standards for tone aren't geared towards lowering them to us a PA system instead. Something happened at a gig I was at once in high school with the jazz band, and they had me play through the PA. It totally sucked in tone, and the other players going through it (vocals, etc) all sounded like crap once the guitar was in the mixer. Not sure how, crosstalk on the signal, who knews, but I had no fx, just plugged straight in, and I guess the speakers or the mixer couldn't handle the P90's in my ES330. Everyone thought it was a disaster, and I had to agree.

Maybe you could do this with a newer modeler in a pinch, but not back in the 70's.
 
Functional sound in this case is a win. Small victories!!
I'll play anything, anywhere through any amp, and its an attitude I'm glad I adapted early on.

Honestly. Tone isn't really a priority for me when it comes to live sound, but more of
a question of where and how does my sound fit in the mix and how can it be better while still within the
Parameters of what my ears like to hear/feel.

As an aside, a sansamp gt2 makes a good, quality backup in a pinch.
Used it for years as a boost but mainly just let it sit there first on the board plugged in and ready to go straight to PA, which was actually very convincing direct to board or di to board.

Where was your backup man? Are you daft?!!!
 
Dopethrone":12dwk7b9 said:
Where was your backup man? Are you daft?!!!
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If you're directing this at me, I was 16, the amp was supplied by the venue, it blew up. My amp was back at the high school locked up. I wasn't allowed to bring my amp due to space requirements, so when it went poof, I was lucky to have a cable long enough to get to the PA head! LOL Keep in mind, this was 1974, and my Marshall 1/2 stack wasn't going on the trip.
 
Dopethrone":1c5lzkaf said:
Not at all
OP
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Ok, your post followed mine and you didn't specify, so I guessed it was in reply to me.
 
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