What do you play at soundcheck?

[Franticsmurf]

Once the individual instruments have been checked for rough levels and no errant noises, the singer/guitarist usually starts doing 'Merry Xmas Baby' by Bruce Springsteen and we all sort of join in as a kind of slow blues jam, each of us trying to out do the others in laid back noodling. Not sure how it started but it usually gets a laugh. Then we'll do a song that everyone is playing on to get a balance across the board. Not always the same song. recently it's been 'Midnight Hour' or Boom Boom'; both feature in the set.

 

I was advised by a wise person from this very parish that a good bass line to soundcheck with is Pink Floyd's 'Money' because it uses all four strings, so that's what I tend to do when setting up my channel. It usually gets a couple of head's turning from the audience although we don't actually play the song. 

 

[Steve Browning]

For initial sound check for bass, just a 12 bar groove in A. When all instruments/mics done, we play a couple of numbers from the set.

[Rib13Bass]

simple quarter notes, slap low E string

 

edit: occasionally a guitar player thinks this is a prelude to go into "Runnin With The Devil"  where all Im doing is giving FOH my loudest possible extremity

Edited June 30, 2023 by Rib13Bass

[Supernaut]

The first number, whatever it is. 

[Phill]

For just the bass - Lowest notes and highest notes I’m most likely to play + any effects and such. 

With an artist/band usually a chorus or something that includes everyone doing something at multiple levels. 

[NancyJohnson]

What do we play?  Something that might intimidate the headliner.  If we're invited to do a second song, the hit.

[steantval]

Rebel Yell - Billy Idol, hard driving song, probably one of our loudest and it’s from midway of the second set.

[Rich]

My personal sound check is the bass part from the Dan Reed version of You Can Leave Your Hat On. Plenty of longish sustained notes, lows and highs and a few snaps, and repetitive. 

The ska band's sound check song is 007, as it features all the vocals and brass and isn't usually in the set.

The soul band's check song is usually whatever we've most recently been working on. Doesn't matter what, as everyone plays and sings on every song anyway.

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by Rich

[Paul S]

For the band as a whole we currently do about half of one of the songs we are working on, a Lonnie Mack tune called Cincinnati Jail.  One day Alan will learn the third verse and we can stick it in the set but that requires a rehearsal and drummer Joe doesn't have time at the moment, him being a farmer and all.

 

On occasions when I have to do a solo line check I launch into my 'disco bassline medley' but rarely get past the run down at the start of Disco Inferno before soundman shouts 'That's fine'.   That's usually after listening to 5 mins of 'dub dub dub dub' for the kick drum, followed by 5 mins of 'bap bap bap bap bap bap bap bap' for the snare.  Then the rest of the kit.  

[Bassfinger]

Usually Learn to Fly for reasons I am unsure of.

[Greg Edwards69]

For bass check, I just noodle something pentatonic in the first 5 frets.

To check instrument levels mix - a chorus and dual guitar solo in "Can't Get Enough" and a little bit of "Don't stop me now" to check the keyboard level.

For full band inc vocals - a verse and chorus of "Long Train Running".

Edited June 30, 2023 by Greg Edwards69

[mrtcat]

Whatever we were meant to learn for their first dance but never bothered to get together and rehearse.

[uk_lefty]

Usually something simple so we can wander around (we have wireless systems on all guitars) to see the levels. Our drum kit is electronic so we can have a beat recorded and looped. I'll usually test any pedals that can cause a volume spike too to make sure it's a boost not a nuke, or worse, a complete drop off. 

 

If we're in a venue with PA provided I'll play something with fingers for my sound 80% of the time, then hit it heavy for a bit to check how it reacts to slap, pop, pick, and again test pedals.