Sharing backline

[Dad3353]

6 minutes ago, Raymondo said:

I'm sure I would If I only knew what FRFR meant. ...

Oh, I thought you were being devious; apparently not. 'FRFR' stands for 'Full Range, Flat Response', indicating a very 'HiFi' type of design and phonic result. The idea is to have no colouration in the sound. Used for PA rigs, and is useful when using modelling amps, as they can produce (By... Erm... Modelling...) the sounds of different rigs. The 'FRFR' will reproduce this modelled sound with fidelity.
Hope this helps. 

[Baxlin]

21 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

Oh, I thought you were being devious; apparently not. 'FRFR' stands for 'Full Range, Flat Response', indicating a very 'HiFi' type of design and phonic result. The idea is to have no colouration in the sound. Used for PA rigs, and is useful when using modelling amps, as they can produce (By... Erm... Modelling...) the sounds of different rigs. The 'FRFR' will reproduce this modelled sound with fidelity.
Hope this helps. 

I know you’re in France, Douglas, but could you put that in English?  (Joking, honest)

🤔🤔

Edited May 1, 2021 by Baxlin

[Dad3353]

16 minutes ago, Baxlin said:

I know you’re in France, Douglas, but could you put that in English?  (Joking, honest)

🤔🤔

Twerp..!

[Raymondo]

4 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

Oh, I thought you were being devious; apparently not. 'FRFR' stands for 'Full Range, Flat Response', indicating a very 'HiFi' type of design and phonic result. The idea is to have no colouration in the sound. Used for PA rigs, and is useful when using modelling amps, as they can produce (By... Erm... Modelling...) the sounds of different rigs. The 'FRFR' will reproduce this modelled sound with fidelity.
Hope this helps. 

I honestly had no idea.

Now that you have explained it I'm ..... wiser, but being technologically challenged, not able to converse knowledgably .

I plug my Precision (bass) straight into my AmpegB2R which in turn sends the signal to my 2x15" cabs and I'm happy.

Does that work?

 

Oh and by way of being on topic with the OP... I have shared my gear before and I have used other peoples.

I don't particularly like it but sometimes it's nice to be nice...HOWEVER... I have fallen foul of the "Headline"  gig, every other band uses your gear...they all bugger off when it's your turn to play and there is nobody left to play to!

You then have to pack it all away  without help.

Try to avoid that scenario if you can.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Raymondo

[Dad3353]

13 minutes ago, Raymondo said:

...I plug my Precision (bass) straight into my AmpegB2R which in turn sends the signal to my 2x15" cabs and I'm happy.

Does that work?...

The technical term for that ^^ is 'Doing It Right', and you should continue. Some folks (yes, I know; I find it odd, too...) seem to find a difference between one bass/amp/cab and another, and even (shudder...) have 'preferences'. This implies a remarkable (in the sense of 'able to be remarked'...) difference between rigs. Some folk (even odder...) want to have, not just the sound you get from your 'Doing It Right' method, but sounds of different rigs (as if that even was a Thing..!  ). This implies having one rig, and being dissatisfied as it only has the one sound, or having several rigs, which tends to become cumbersome on a crowded stage. The answer..? Yes; you've guessed it..! Modelling, and using an FRFR cab..! With this System, the Player can switch sound with alacrity, which, in their delirium, gives the psychological impression of having different sounds (Yes, yes; we know it's not 'real', but you just can't tell 'em...).
No, don't you worry your little head with all of this; just carry on 'Doing It Right', and use the money saved to buy a second yacht. 

13 minutes ago, Raymondo said:

... they all bugger off when it's your turn to play and there is nobody left to play to!...

Sharing or not, this is the Default result of going on after the (hugely over-running...) Reggae band. 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Dad3353

[uk_lefty]

My singer runs a pub which has a music festival. I've lent my amp out twice at this annual event. First time I arrived hours before our slot and he was in a flap because the bass amp had blown and they were borrowing something woefully under-powered so I lent my head and cab. I kept having a quick check that nobody was thrashing it until some band came on near the end and just before the first song the bassist cranked everything. The VU meter was screaming in the red and the bassist kept giving the amp dissatisfied looks and doing nothing to make it better (I. E. Turn down a knob or two instead of up, up, up). I did t want to be a nob and go straight on to the stage so tried to get the attention of the soundman (my rhythm guitarist) but no joy. I was nervous all through my set in case my amp packed in, luckily it didn't. 

The next year I was asked if my rig could be borrowed. I explained about idiots thrashing it the previous year and got firm assurance from the landlord/ organiser and soundman that nobody would be allowed to change any settings. I got there to headline day 2 and every knob was exactly where it should be. So I added another cab to give me more ooomph for my set and off we went! 

[Nail Soup]

I have heard of situation were a (smallish) band will come to tour the UK from, say, America. They may bring a support band with them.

Then they don't bring hardly any gear with them  and just engage a UK band a to support the tour (or maybe different band per gig) and gear share the drums and backline off the support band.

Of course the UK band are right at the bottom of the bill, short set before most of the punters are there.

 

I'd might be OK with it if the US band was someone I was a fan of. Otherwise may not be so keen.

[Wilson_51_]

Many years ago i let everyone at a gig use my amp as we were on last. When it was our turn to go on stage i found that the input jack had taken a hefty whack and was broken and kept cutting out if not in exactly the right place. from that moment on i have been a "you can use my cab but not my head' kinda guy, and most people are fine with that.

 

My pet peeve is when people just expect to use your stuff (even just the cab) without even asking, if it hasnt already been talked about pre gig night. Whenever i'm not using my own cab i will always find out whose cab it is and ask them directly if they don't mind me using it. 

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, Nail Soup said:

I have heard of situation were a (smallish) band will come to tour the UK from, say, America. They may bring a support band with them.

Then they don't bring hardly any gear with them  and just engage a UK band a to support the tour (or maybe different band per gig) and gear share the drums and backline off the support band.

Of course the UK band are right at the bottom of the bill, short set before most of the punters are there.

 

I'd might be OK with it if the US band was someone I was a fan of. Otherwise may not be so keen.

We did that for some friends of ours who were over from the US, aside from sticks & picks we provided everything for them. We did get main support slot though.

[Ed_S]

4 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

I have heard of situation were a (smallish) band will come to tour the UK from, say, America. They may bring a support band with them.

Then they don't bring hardly any gear with them  and just engage a UK band a to support the tour (or maybe different band per gig) and gear share the drums and backline off the support band.

Of course the UK band are right at the bottom of the bill, short set before most of the punters are there.

 

I'd might be OK with it if the US band was someone I was a fan of. Otherwise may not be so keen.

We suffered a night of that game. Of course, they neglected to let us in on their 'travel light' plan until we turned up, which made for some interesting conversations given that we'd been told to just bring breakables as usual. By showtime everyone was annoyed, the sound was terrible all night, the gig had hardly been promoted either so the crowd was thin, and the touring act went down like a brick.

By contrast, we got one where we'd been told to bring everything and get there early, which seemed a bit suspect and we assumed meant another sneaky 'lend us all your gear' gig. We got there to find the headliners doing a meet-and-greet soundcheck with everything set up, then they vacated and we were invited to set up in front of their stuff and given a proper soundcheck. Turned out we were the only support band that night and we had an hour to fill on the main stage, instead of the 20min first support slot in the little room that we were expecting. That gig was a pleasure to play and the touring band were excellent!

[funkypenguin]

I’ve seen too much gear being treated like s*** at multi band gigs to let anyone near my amp. The cabinets maybe, provided that the other bands had asked ahead of time. If they just turn up and expect to use it then no

[paul_5]

35 minutes ago, funkypenguin said:

I’ve seen too much gear being treated like s*** at multi band gigs to let anyone near my amp. The cabinets maybe, provided that the other bands had asked ahead of time. If they just turn up and expect to use it then no

This. It’s another argument for no back line and in-ear setups.

I’ve let other bands use my cabs in the past, and have always sought permission beforehand, and I don’t *really* mind someone using my head if they’ve suffered a breakdown during soundcheck or the gig, but someone who ‘forgets’ kit can ferk right off.

[Waddo Soqable]

The last time I let someone use my amp / cab  ( they were going on before us)... by the time I got to plug in, the settings were all over the place ( not a big deal as easily re set) but...he'd somehow blown the little "tweeter" thing in the top corner of the cab..... As it happens I was at the time favouring a very bassy sound for what I was doing so didn't really care that much about the "squwarker" thing, I just pulled the wires off and carried on...but that's not really the point is it. The universal experience throughout seems to be that "you let people use your stuff, it gets Fkd.... "

[neepheid]

23 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

The universal experience throughout seems to be that "you let people use your stuff, it gets Fkd.... "

It's not universal.

[bartelby]

On 01/05/2021 at 20:17, simon88wilson said:

My pet peeve is when people just expect to use your stuff (even just the cab) without even asking, if it hasnt already been talked about pre gig night. Whenever i'm not using my own cab i will always find out whose cab it is and ask them directly if they don't mind me using it. 

A few times I've done gigs and the bassist in another band has turned up with just a bass. One occasion a guy wandered over and said "ok to use your rig yeah? I'll need a lead and your strap too, cheers!"
He was a little put out when I told him to F off. He ended up doing the gig sat on the stage going through a DI box.

[Waddo Soqable]

All that being said, I like to think I'm quite a nice bloke in general, and if a lad came up to me and asked nicely to use my amp etc, my natural reaction is to say OK.....experience tells me to use caution however, and clearly some people just take the living p1ss....

Edited May 3, 2021 by Waddo Soqable

[BigRedX]

I really don't understand the idea of it being better to use some random cabs with your amp.

In the days when I still had a conventional bass rig I did this once. I had to purchase some extra speaker leads first to make sure that I would be covered for all eventualities as there was no way of knowing that the supplied cabs would have Speakons. It's just as well I did since they were jack only. They were very low sensitivity compared with the my cabs (EBS) and I had to turn up my master volume far higher than I would normally and I was still struggling to hear myself as soon as I stepped away from being directly in from to them. All in all a very unsatisfying experience, which lead me to say in future I would no longer bring just my amp. I'd either use my complete rig or the complete rig of whichever band we were playing with (having organised it in advance). If I was using an all-valve amp there would be no way that I would even consider plugging it into an unknown cab(s).

Since ditching the rig for an FRFR and Helix it's no longer an issue. The new gear takes up far less room in the band van than my old conventional rig, and can be fitted anywhere on stage that is convenient.The PA gets a DI from the Helix and I can ignore supplied rig and not have to worry about messing about with someone else's gear.

[Chienmortbb]

On 30/04/2021 at 21:54, la bam said:

I did the sound and a pa for a festival for about 5 good bands years ago. For a nice evening out. No money in it - just giving back to the venue and its causes.

I had to supply everything:

PA 

Monitors

Lighting

Backline

Desk

Cabling

Mics

Stands

DI

etc etc

Spent a fortune getting everything great for them.

 

First band comes on, very polite, but not that experienced. Didnt really know what they were doing with the amps, but no hassle.

Second band comes on. Utter bell *nds. Singer immediately starts jumping around like rage against the machine and swearing. Then after the first song, he goes on some political rant and starts doing mic drops with the new sm58s I'd bought. Denting one badly, and guitarists purposely drops the other.... I went on stage, took the mics off them, and give all the band cheap £3 mics for he rest of the gig.

Third band - good well known band. No problem.

 

Ever since I never lent anyone anything at a gig. 

Get some Behringer mics. They will only notice that they sound better.

[Ed_S]

1 hour ago, bartelby said:

A few times I've done gigs and the bassist in another band has turned up with just a bass. One occasion a guy wandered over and said "ok to use your rig yeah? I'll need a lead and your strap too, cheers!"
He was a little put out when I told him to F off. He ended up doing the gig sat on the stage going through a DI box.

Surprised he didn't want your clothes, boots and motorcycle as well! 🙂 

I do sometimes oddly envy people like that, though. I'm stood there in the hallway an hour prior to setting off, looking at a pile of cases and setting everything up in my mind's eye so I know I've got all I need. Meanwhile somebody else is probably just having their tea and a beer before heading out to play the same gig with whatever happens to be in their gigbag when they swing it onto their shoulder. And on balance of probability... they'll get away with it, too!

I remember one guy turning up to a gig with literally just a bass - it wasn't even in a bag. He had a strap, but that's because one end was permanently attached using a small screwdriver that had been hammered fully, parallel to the neck, into the hole where the top strap button used to be. People, eh!

[bartelby]

2 hours ago, Ed_S said:

I remember one guy turning up to a gig with literally just a bass - it wasn't even in a bag. He had a strap, but that's because one end was permanently attached using a small screwdriver that had been hammered fully, parallel to the neck, into the hole where the top strap button used to be. People, eh!

my guy's bass wasn't in a case or bag. IIRC it wasn't in tune either, through their whole set

[linear]

I once encountered a guy like that, although he was in tune and a good player.  After his set I watched him wander off into the night, carrying his bass by the upper horn.  I must admit, I was a little bit jealous.

[Supernaut]

This is why I always ask not to headline! 😄

[BigRedX]

TBH unless you are a reasonably well-known band with a decent following it's "playing last" rather than "headlining". 

In these situations the best time to play is second to last. You generally tend to get the biggest/most receptive audience.

[12stringbassist]

I once got stuck with a name nostalgia band that we were supporting using our gear at a big civic centre gig, so they could just walk on stage. We had the sound set so everything was fine.

The bass player from the headliners (a former Eurythmics bassist, now with a single member of a 60's Liverpool band) walked on, cranked my bass rig up to stun level, causing the crowd to start holding their ears as it became deafening in the PA and the guy doing the sound told me to sort it out.

I walked on stage while they were playing and turned them down again. I told the bass player that if he did it again, he'd end up going back to his car for his own combo. He shot me a look of pure hatred. I got applauded as I walked offstage.

Another time at the same venue, we did the same favour to a 70's band. I asked politely and their bass player left my controls completely alone. They nearly blew our guitarist's Fender combo apart, though. I'd never heard it sound so good, but he moaned for weeks afterwards that they had ruined it.

[uk_lefty]

1 hour ago, 12stringbassist said:

I once got stuck with a name nostalgia band that we were supporting using our gear at a big civic centre gig, so they could just walk on stage. We had the sound set so everything was fine.

The bass player from the headliners (a former Eurythmics bassist, now with a single member of a 60's Liverpool band) walked on, cranked my bass rig up to stun level, causing the crowd to start holding their ears as it became deafening in the PA and the guy doing the sound told me to sort it out.

I walked on stage while they were playing and turned them down again. I told the bass player that if he did it again, he'd end up going back to his car for his own combo. He shot me a look of pure hatred. I got applauded as I walked offstage.

Another time at the same venue, we did the same favour to a 70's band. I asked politely and their bass player left my controls completely alone. They nearly blew our guitarist's Fender combo apart, though. I'd never heard it sound so good, but he moaned for weeks afterwards that they had ruined it.

Surely in a nostalgia act where the overall sound is key they'd either bring or hire their own gear? Crazy. If you're borrowing stuff you have to respect the owner. When I've done multi band things if I have to plug in to an amp I don't know I don't play with the settings unless it sounds absolutely terrible, you never know where you might end up!