Solo acoustic live sound, what do you guys use?

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

No "think" about it -- it flat out DOES provide the best sound. I'll post a demo clip below.

Yes, it sounds good - with a quiet, attentive, well behaved audience. Try this rig in a noisy bar in Key West.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by A-Mac

Yes, it sounds good - with a quiet, attentive, well behaved audience. Try this rig in a noisy bar in Key West.

Not to mention "the best sound" is totally 100% subjective PERIOD
The reality is for some it is no amplification what so ever.
For some it is a mic
For some it is a pic up
For some it is loopers and pedal effects

The only thing that matters is what you the performer likes and what your audience will listen to.
The rest is personal perspective and hyperbole

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by A-Mac

Yes, it sounds good - with a quiet, attentive, well behaved audience. Try this rig in a noisy bar in Key West.

Really good sound trumps sheer volume any day. If your solution is to be the loudest noise in the place you'll just increase the ambient sound level by starting a noise war. If it helps the owner sell more alcohol then he's happy.

But don't ever mistake "loud" for "good". And don't mistake a bar full of drunks for an audience...

Originally Posted by Wyllys

Really good sound trumps sheer volume any day. If your solution is to be the loudest noise in the place you'll just increase the ambient sound level by starting a noise war. If it helps the owner sell more alcohol then he's happy.

But don't ever mistake "loud" for "good". And don't mistake a bar full of drunks for an audience...

You don't take a bar gig if that's not what you want to play. If you only do concerts, or if you only do house concerts with no amplification, you're all set. If, however, you accept a bar gig, you are a beer salesman and the owner will have certain expectations of how you present. You will not meet his expectations with an insufficient rig for the job. It's really that simple.

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by A-Mac

You don't take a bar gig if that's not what you want to play. If you only do concerts, or if you only do house concerts with no amplification, you're all set. If, however, you accept a bar gig, you are a beer salesman and the owner will have certain expectations of how you present. You will not meet his expectations with an insufficient rig for the job. It's really that simple.

Agreed...BUT...

I found years ago that from an economic standpoint, doing a couple of senior centers, schools or hospitals per day @ $150 per gig, each consisting of a single 45 minute set trumps a single $250, 4 hour bar gig where you have to provide the sound system as part of your fee.

Of course if you have a day job and are doing the bar stuff for fun and pocket money, then fine. I like to earn more for my time and not have to deal with drunks.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Wyllys

Really good sound trumps sheer volume any day. If your solution is to be the loudest noise in the place you'll just increase the ambient sound level by starting a noise war. If it helps the owner sell more alcohol then he's happy.

But don't ever mistake "loud" for "good". And don't mistake a bar full of drunks for an audience...

Doesn't get much more oblique. I think most are aware of your preference for unplugged, but misconstruing the intention of others posts does little to further the crusade

[dannyg1]

Outside of 5-10 feet away, in a bar, I'd say a singing guitarist, un-amplified is noise. There'll be little to no lower mids or bass (With the exception of room reinforced mud and boom) and your dynamic range is very limited, so no way to effectively communicate nuanced vocals.

Either the audience needs to be close to silent or, at least in almost every case, you need amplification.

And who knew Jeb Bush played guitar and sings?

[alohachris]

Aloha,

Gigged (mostly solo), almost nightly for 53 years! I always felt that I MUST be prepared & have great gear for all types of gigs. This rig gives me the control & quality I need for every type of gig: auditorium, outdoors, quiet, loud, electric or acoustic, solo, band or jams, etc. I only take what I need to the gig.

Guitars: Three self-made OO/OOO sized Koa guitars - all 35+ years old. I need three for all the tunings I use.

Dual Source Guitar Amplification Systems: K&K Mini Pickup/AKG 416 hyper internal mic dual-source combo in all three gigging guitars.

External instrument mic: In quiet settings, in the best rooms, my first choice is aways to use an external mic alone - either a JW-modded AKG 460 condenser or Heil PR 35 dynamic mic (choice depends on the room). Or, I add an external mic to my basic K&K P/U-AKG internal mic combo at around 4-8" away at the 18th fret. DR Pro low profile stand. Very natural sound.

Preamp: Pendulum SPS-1 w/ PU-Mic blending & volume controls on the plug-in, end-jack module. Industry standard for over 25 years - nothing else is close. Fully parametric EQ prevents ALL feedback in ALL settings I've played to date. 1 rack space.

FX: TC Electronics M-2000 Dual Engine Stereo FX Processor. 1 rack space.

Power amp: Parasound 2125. 2 rack spaces.

Speakers: Custom Koa Daedalus W803's. Best I've ever heard & most efficient 8" three-ways ever. Great for vocals too.

Portable Rack: Odyssey BR-418 4-space portable rack with built-in HD handle and wheels. The preamp, FX unit & power amp are easily transported & controlled in this rack. Easy set up.

Cables: Canare/Neutrik, Mogami, Planet Waves.

Vocal Mics: AKG 535 condenser (often). Heil PR 35 dynamic (often). Depends on the venue. K&H stands.

Loud/Band Gig Pickup: If it gets exceptionally loud, crowded or rowdy at a gig, I slap in a Duncan Magmic SA-6 magnetic soundhole pickup & either use alone or blend w/ the K&K. I have an extra jack in one guitar w/ mini connectors @ the soundhole to facilitate easy connection when I put the SA-6 in. I turn off all instrument mic's. Nice full sound. No feedback. Not as natural sounding as my regular pickup system. Great for loud settings, tight stages & slide blues.

Accessories: Shubb Capos, self-made glass slides, National thumbpicks, large Fender medium flatpicks, medium D'Addario's or sometimes TM GHS's, acrylic nails. CMC music stand w/ Mighty Bright flexible stand lights.

This planned, compatible live signal chain provides the best live amplification & room control for my music that I've ever played through in over 50 years of gigging round the world. It'll be my last rig.

alohachris

[slewis]

Originally Posted by Uckizz

Hi!.... If there are any solo players/singers out there, what setup do you guys use?

I used a Fishman SA-220 for many ywears and was very happy with it -- the best bang for the buck, in my opinion -- but now use, almost always, a Bose Li Model II set-up that I bought used. Very happy with it as well; they're just more money and a little more hassle to transport and set-up. Both are very good sytems IMO... I also use a Boomerang III looper and a Zoom G3 multi-effects unit.

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by Wyllys

If your solution is to be the loudest noise in the place you'll just increase the ambient sound level by starting a noise war.

Not necessarily true.

Originally Posted by Wyllys

And don't mistake a bar full of drunks for an audience...

Not true either. I get a ton of private party and wedding work out of those scenarios. That wouldn't be the case if what you say was an absolute truth.

Originally Posted by Wyllys

I found years ago that from an economic standpoint, doing a couple of senior centers, schools or hospitals per day @ $150 per gig, each consisting of a single 45 minute set trumps a single $250, 4 hour bar gig where you have to provide the sound system as part of your fee.

The nursing homes around here generally have budgets of $100/hour and most of those happy hour gigs are 2pm-3pm, so doing more than one per day would be tough.

For me, playing over 300 dates per year, a 3 hour bar gig for $250 is far better than getting half that to not have to set up a PA. (I don't play four hour gigs.)

$150 X 300 = $45K
$250 X 300 = $75K

I have no problem setting up sound in a "bar full of drunks," as you say for that type of price differential. The beauty of that, is that I can still do the nursing home gigs at $100 per hour with no PA if I want.


It's a lot of playing. I usually only have Sunday or Monday night off on any given week, and my summer schedule is insane with lots of doubles and sometimes triples. Wedding season nearly kills me every year.

However, I love it. Having a killer scalable system makes it possible to play in a ton of situations. I have a volume knob that goes down as well as up, so there are no volume wars that you speak of.

Glad you found a way to do things in such a way that works for you. It may not work for others though.

[RedJoker]

Originally Posted by The Kid!

I have a volume knob that goes down as well as up.

Whaa???? Why would anyone purchase such a useless feature???

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by RedJoker

Whaa???? Why would anyone purchase such a useless feature???

Crazy, right??


I find that people see that I use a setup like this and automatically assume that I'm way too loud. I have year round weekly off night gigs at restaurants. If I were too loud, I'd lose work. If I weren't loud enough, I'd lose work too. Just my personal findings here. I don't claim to know everything.

[John Bartus]

Along with some of the other people here, I have loads of gear with many options for different size gigs. (Morgan Freeman voice) Let's go on a journey, shall we?

SMALL:
Guitar: Martin JC-16ME w/ Fishman Aura preamp built in
PA: JBL Eon One (or Fishman SA-220)
Stuff: Shure Beta 58A, Digitech Jam Man Delay looper, cables and stands

MEDIUM:
Guitars: One of my Breedlove 6-strings (whichever one I want to play), a Breedlove Jumbo maple 12-string, all into a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI via a Line 6 G50 wireless
PA: Bose L1 Model 1S w/ B2 bass module; ToneMatch engine mixer
Stuff: Shure Beta 58A, Digitech Jam Man Delay looper, tambourine and shaker (for loops), cables and stands

LARGE:
Everything in the Medium setup, except a Mackie ProFX 12 mixer, and enough Mackie SM450v2 speakers to cover the area needed.

XLARGE: My drummer and I have enough PA gear to run small festivals. I also have an electric rig with Fender Strats & Teles, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amps, Vox ToneLab LE pedals, and a Line 6 James Tyler Variax.

When you do this as long as I have, you tend to amass a lot of gear. Completely tax deductible!

[Northward]

Originally Posted by Wyllys

But don't ever mistake "loud" for "good". And don't mistake a bar full of drunks for an audience...

AMEN!
I detest overly loud music and a drunk audience, and I sing in a punk rock band! [emoji23]
Our hearing sense has it's natural limit, even if concert arrangers insists of pushing it way past the uncomfortable, cause it's "rock n roll" and sells more beer.. It's just silly IMO.

A drunken crowd cheering extra of this or that song gives me NO extra confidence that these songs are better than others. Alcohol doesn't do anyone any favours in critical thinking.

Long story short - roaring drunks in front of the stage has let to me not wanting to do gigs at clubs anymore. I simply don't like it. Have a beer or glass of wine and enjoy the show by all means. But the old Viking way of binge drinking is unfortunately very much alive here in Norway.

NB: sorry to the OP, I got a bit sidetracked here.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dannyg1]

Originally Posted by Northward

AMEN!
I detest overly loud music and a drunk audience, and I sing in a punk rock band! [emoji23]
Our hearing sense has it's natural limit, even if concert arrangers insists of

I'm a busker and I've been on both sides of this debate in my recent years. I used to believe, with all my heart, that unamplified music was pure and that it absolutely sounded best.

Bad experiences opened my eyes to a new way of thinking and they were not fun lessons to learn. My first introduction to the fact that unamplified singing was not only considered noise by many people came when I started gathering complaints from residents and businesses in the small PA. town I'd just moved to and, from that, came a backlash against me that I was ill equipped to defend against. There was a growing coalition of people who'd decided that 'I sucked' and they wanted rid of me (This even though I was a celebrated busker in NYC's Central Park for years and, besides being in a $250 coffee table book on the subject and having played for and with many famous musicians).

Adding this, even though the tourists in the town, without question, loved what I was doing. To the point that the cops, everytime they came to shut me down, sheepishly (and to their dismay) always had to apologize to the crowd I'd gathered, a crowd who were less than pleased with having their good times shut down without reason.

Long story short, I went on an odyssey of trying different battery powered amplifiers, trying to find something that would actually reproduce excellent sound (And by my posts here you'll know that I am more than just a little interested in the subject).

I did find that sound, and I have won in that, not only have my earnings been greatly enhanced, the perception of my talents is almost completely positive by my listeners now, albeit back in NYC.

My defense was/is to be audibly heard and that just wasn't possible without amplification. I'm awake and aware now. It is critically important to put your best foot forward always.

Un-amplified sound is a mistake I won't make again.