I put together my acoustic solo / duo / trio "Dream PA" and I'm thrilled!

[varmonter]

Originally Posted by The Kid!

I use an external crossover. More control. I loop beats with an Akai XR20 and bass lines with a Boss OC3. The sub is pretty important on a lot of gigs. Not every gig, but there are certainly many that benefit from it.

do you get any of the guitar in the sub??

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by varmonter

do you get any of the guitar in the sub??

When I engage the octave pedal for bass lines and maybe some percussive thump from my right hand. The guitar itself, ... nah.

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

If you don't mind, I am just wondering about the cost of all this. You have mentioned that your rig is "paying off" with more gigs and increasing charge. Are you still able to come out ahead financially with this amount of equipment overhead?i

Steve

To better answer the “paying off” with more gigs part of your question:

Looping enabled me to expand my setlist to include a lot of tunes that would sound anemic without beats, bass lines and other parts behind them. Developing a full sound to do those tunes justice is also a piece of that puzzle. Upgrading my set list generated more work for me. Making those songs sound good helped as well.

I went from charging solo prices to charging trio prices (sometimes more) and it’s still me solo.

I used to make the beats by tapping my guitar. Still do some percussive stuff on the guitar, but I wanted a fuller kick drum sound then I could produce by hitting the guitar. The Akai XR20 made me “need” the sub, and the sub made me need a rock n roller cart to lug everything around.

It seems like a lot, but with the cart, it’s not hard at all. Load the cart, wheel the cart, unload the cart. If I run into a difficult load in, I have no problem asking for help. I find that employees at these venues are always happy to lend a hand when needed.

I play a place in Ellicottville, NY. Beautiful second floor patio. The only access is stairs. They send three or four guys down to grab my stuff and all I do is unload my truck next to the stairs. What should be one of my hardest load ins is probably my easiest because of how wonderful they are to me.