BCH Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 31st July 2021 first gig since Feb 2020. During lockdown we decided...due to age, bad backs etc to go digital & no backline or monitors. We are a 3 piece ( guitar, bass & drums with two vocals) mainly doing 60's & 70's. We use Roland V drums which is a godsend for our ears and setting up time, so decided to go for a silent stage. We are big fans of RCF so invested in RCF M20X mixer, TT FoH active cabs & bass bin. I have been able to get a great & powerful bass sound in rehearsals at lowish levels & at the gig last Sat outdoors ( and in a hall with no audience ) it was excellent, ...so the risk and investment paid off all of the band were happy & the feedback from the audience was good a couple of musicians commented on the clarity, separation & hi fi sound..so the backline is gone (for this band anyway) And YES the guitarist amp etc is history...load cheers from BC members But what about monitors? they have gone to. We have used IEM's but did not like the ground level noise, sound quality, latency and "faf" We invested in a DACS Clarity headlite 3+ with upgraded power channels (1U)...basically a studio headphone amp. This is individually fed from the desk and each band member has his own mix & volume control via desk, ipad or phone...stereo jack cable from headphone amp to belt clip with stereo socket...plug in you inears (at rehearsals, headphones) and no noise...clear real time hi fi mix. We did not need as much volume in our ears and we sang better (pitch and harmony blend)...it took a lot of practice but wwe are we are hooked and cannot go back We have a comms channel to band members only via momentary pedal ..and a shotgun mic to pickup the crowd when we stop making a racket! I am sharing this as we have never had such a great FoH sound, foldback & clarity of how we are playing together...it was quicker to set up and pack...horah and we were not tired & our ears did not ring on the way home....I hope it inspires you..to think different...it took a lot of incremental tests and different gear (desks, headphone amps, In ears, headphones, footswitches etc) Some pic's during testing...NOTE: the desk EQ is sooo good, I have got rid of the sansamp RBI Cant wait for the next gig 15th Aug 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moley6knipe Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 Good work. I dream of such a setup but the band are all dinosaurs so no chance! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Nice to hear your story. We’ve been using a silent stage for 17 years now. Definitely had a few rough spots when we first went this route but it is well worth it and for all the reasons you posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 That "sounds" amazing (pardon the pun) I have hated loud backlines for years as we suffered from lack of or poor monitors and creeping backline volumes. I would always find that towards the end of a gig all I was hearing was a wall of noise and the drums. I just prayed and stayed in time with the drummer and hoped for the best. It doesn't make for a tight band. Not when you could play together quietly and nicely in a rehearsal room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCH Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 42 minutes ago, ubit said: That "sounds" amazing (pardon the pun) I have hated loud backlines for years as we suffered from lack of or poor monitors and creeping backline volumes. I would always find that towards the end of a gig all I was hearing was a wall of noise and the drums. I just prayed and stayed in time with the drummer and hoped for the best. It doesn't make for a tight band. Not when you could play together quietly and nicely in a rehearsal room. Very true...it also surprises other musicians that you have no stage gear (or feedback) and the FoH is spot on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sPiKi Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 +1 for silent stage here too. We did play a few gigs this way before lockdown and all since restrictions have been relaxed. My set up at last week's weddings: Mesa D800+/Behringer P2 going into an A&H Q5. With some tweaking, I've dialled in a great bass sound. I have also have an LD wireless system but prefer the sound quality out of the P2. A very easy load in and out tops it all. We also bought a new PA just before the pandemic kicked off and it has been great to gig it too. All on wheels and takes about ten minutes to set up - https://www.harmonic-design.com/products/systems/hd-hls24-toursys1/ Whole band is using IEMs now and while it did take some investment and time to learn how to use all the new gear, there's no going back. Definitely worth trying it out if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCH Posted August 6, 2021 Author Share Posted August 6, 2021 20 minutes ago, sPiKi said: +1 for silent stage here too. We did play a few gigs this way before lockdown and all since restrictions have been relaxed. My set up at last week's weddings: Mesa D800+/Behringer P2 going into an A&H Q5. With some tweaking, I've dialled in a great bass sound. I have also have an LD wireless system but prefer the sound quality out of the P2. A very easy load in and out tops it all. We also bought a new PA just before the pandemic kicked off and it has been great to gig it too. All on wheels and takes about ten minutes to set up - https://www.harmonic-design.com/products/systems/hd-hls24-toursys1/ Whole band is using IEMs now and while it did take some investment and time to learn how to use all the new gear, there's no going back. Definitely worth trying it out if you can. Wow thats some PA (how many roadies?)...nice one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sPiKi Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 (edited) None! Just 4 strapping lads in the early 50s It's all on wheels with heavy duty covers and the tops and amp is flightcased, meaning bags etc can be set on top. Win win! Edited August 6, 2021 by sPiKi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Exhibit A: the two verrrry small items on the left are my rig when we're (the pub/function band) gigging in-ears only. The rest of the stuff is for easy setup/small bar stuff (Stomp and customised Rumble) and full-on Rawk band (Stomp and Walkabout and Super Twin)...I've only ever used the full stack once at a big stage gig...and that was just for show, really... 😃 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCH Posted August 27, 2021 Author Share Posted August 27, 2021 Silent stage ( no backline or monitors) set up for gig last Sat. This time the wifi was working (thx to EBS_freak for removing guitar wireless) so drummer & guitarist have iPad for their in ear mix We achieved a great sound & we were all very happy with the in ear foldback...you can run in-ear quieter and pitch/blend better....at the end of the gig we all felt relaxed, (not tired etc)...the investment of time, money & testing has paid off....the desk was important but the biggest improvement came from the DACS studio amp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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