How to avoid 'Pit'falls?

[phil_the_bassist]

so,

It looks like I may be able to start landing some gigs in the local theatre pits within the not-so-distant future, and having never done anything like this (apart from some charity stuff in a local village hall) I was really looking for some advice re. equipment and ettiquete/unwritten rules.

I've already got:

A reliable, well maintained bass
Music stand& clip-on light
good, noise free leads
good, reliable, mutable tuner

Will I need a small combi, or DI box, or will that be supplied usually?

Any further advice/tips would be much apprieciated!

[frank]

theres a similar thread on here somewhere just cant remember where

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='285553' date='Sep 17 2008, 08:36 AM']so,

It looks like I may be able to start landing some gigs in the local theatre pits within the not-so-distant future, and having never done anything like this (apart from some charity stuff in a local village hall) I was really looking for some advice re. equipment and ettiquete/unwritten rules.

I've already got:

A reliable, well maintained bass
Music stand& clip-on light
good, noise free leads
good, reliable, mutable tuner

Will I need a small combi, or DI box, or will that be supplied usually?

Any further advice/tips would be much apprieciated![/quote]

Don't encore with Reign in Blood

Free advice

[Galilee]

It's Raining Blood, punk.

[waynepunkdude]

I think mine is better

[Bilbo]

I've always used my own gear - no DI's available (small 600 seater theatres). Don't forget spare everythings!!

[phil_the_bassist]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='286622' date='Sep 18 2008, 01:57 PM']I've always used my own gear - no DI's available (small 600 seater theatres). Don't forget spare everythings!![/quote]


Thats probably about the same sorta venue...and I've got spares for my spares of my spares!

Should I invest in a decent small combi with DI out, so I can use it as a monitor too?

[MuseMatt]

A small cab to monitor yourself is a great investment (Try a gallien-kruger?), something like the Microbass series. They have good DI's and aren't really big! Costs a bit but worth every penny!
If they don't do DI but a jack into something... (which i'd doubt) you might want a signal splitter so you can still use your monitor.

Edited September 18, 2008 by MuseMatt

[Doddy]

For theatre work,I usually use a Roland Cube 100 combo.It's small enough to take up little room and loud enough to be heard to be heard without overpowering the rest of the band.I then use the amp's DI output to send to front of house.
Other items which may be useful are:
Volume pedal-Handy for bringing the volume down for underscoring,cutting the signal during quiet moments and simulated bowing.
DI box-Sometimes there isn't room for an amp.
Picks-because you never know.
Pencil-to mark any cues,cuts or changes.
Eraser-to rub out you markings at the end of the run.
Spares of everything-strings,cables,patch leads,batteries etc.
Bottles of water also come in very handy.

[MuseMatt]

basically just set up a tent and bring everything. just camp on stage

[chrkelly]

Gear-wise, you definitely need a small amp, anything with a small footprint like the GK microbass is perfect. I'm using my aggie for my current show but it's a bit OTT. You shouldn't need to bring your own di or music stand. They should be supplied by the theatre company. Don't forget your blacks or a pencil. Playing-wise, make shure the pad is marked accordingly for page turns etc. It's very easy to be caught out by fast changes and all of a sudden you're trying to read the part upside down off the floor wondering what the hell went wrong. A simple marking of 'open all 5 pages, move to left or VS' in massive letters makes all the difference.

Oh and bring some earplugs, the brass can be painfully loud in the confined space of a pit.