Most people on this side of the pond. When you play without an amp you are totally at the mercy of the sound tech. Live sound mixing is a skill that takes years to master. I saw a 10 piece band over the weekend. Guitar, bass drums, percussion, horn section, 2 keys and vocals. The guitarist and keyboard player both went direct without stage amps, bass player had an amp. The guitarist had two sounds off and kind of sorta could hear him. The keys were anemic. The bass player sounded great. Just sayin'