If you play live a lot, do you practice plugged in?

[Mandobart]

When I did solo gigs, I would just do a few plugged in practices to check the settings for my amp. Of course it's always subject to a little adjustment when I set up and sound check, and again when the 90 watt heaters and sound absorbers come in.

Now I only play out with the bluegrass band, and I surely wish I could get my band mates to practice with the sound system. They're good players and singers but I can't get them to learn how to use the mics, and I can't get our PA owner to put in the time to learn how to set up and use his gear correctly. We never seem to have enough stands, mics, channels, etc. So I bring some of my own gear, but I've pretty much got my hands full wheeling my 3/4 double bass around.

We pretty much just play farmers markets, contra dances and a few festivals. We set up our own sound at the markets but the dances and festivals have dedicated pro sound people that make it work.

[Chriscom]

As a gig approaches I always practice plugged in, through my pedal setup (simple as it is) and mic into my 30m and Aux out through headphones. I'm a simple strummer and singer but man does it make a difference.

(With headphones because I live in an apartment building)

My gigs have typically been spaced out at least two weeks between events, so if I were doing it more often I might not need the PA work--don't know yet!

[jricc]

I gig a few times a week. I'll run through a new song a few times, just to get phrasing down. The only time I plug in is to practice a loop that I might be using.

[L20A]

Most of my practices are acoustic.
Once in a while I will set up the full stage set up and practice using my voice harmony box.
I need to do this to remember when to use the harmony box and when to shut it off.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

…You?

Hi Brent…
Rarely do I play my acoustic plugged in when practicing. Only Worship Team practice Thur evenings.

Everything else (acoustic) I practice in my living room.

[Methos1979]

Once I have a 'system' (guitar, mics, amp) dialed in, I no longer practice amplified.

If something new gets introduced into the 'system' (usually a new guitar) then I'll spend some time dialing that in and acclimating to the nuances of the new guitar's idiosyncrasies and its effect on the remaining parts of the system and we'll run a few days or weeks of duo practice to make sure everything is firing.

In that mode right now - new year, new songs introduced for 2024, new setlist order, new guitar added to the fold so dialing everything in. One more week off before the 2024 gig season begins. Going to mess with using IEM's for the first time starting next week.

But once all that is dialed in, back to practicing acoustically.

[markcrawford]

pretty much the same for me. I will say that if I go long enough between gigs...like during the middle of the winter, most of the time I set up to check and make sure everything works.

Here is another nugget...I learned from a friend a long time ago that you need to practice like you play. Of course, I don't always do that, but I make it a point to play standing-up singing into a condenser mic that is not on. I have played for a living for a few long stints and I can usually tell when someone is a pro or not. They might come off like they are laid back, and of course, all gigs are different, but the good solo performers and ALL well rehearsed.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

When I did solo gigs, I would just do a few plugged in practices to check the settings for my amp. Of course it's always subject to a little adjustment when I set up and sound check, and again when the 90 watt heaters and sound absorbers come in.

Now I only play out with the bluegrass band, and I surely wish I could get my band mates to practice with the sound system. They're good players and singers but I can't get them to learn how to use the mics, and I can't get our PA owner to put in the time to learn how to set up and use his gear correctly. We never seem to have enough stands, mics, channels, etc. So I bring some of my own gear, but I've pretty much got my hands full wheeling my 3/4 double bass around.

We pretty much just play farmers markets, contra dances and a few festivals. We set up our own sound at the markets but the dances and festivals have dedicated pro sound people that make it work.

I had a very similar issue when I played dobro with a bluegrass band. The p.a. was mine, so I had to do all the set-up for gigs. But when we practiced the 5 of us just stood around in a semi-circle in whoever's house we were at that week. Playing with each person and instrument individually mic'd at gigs was never very satisfactory. It was just really difficult to get everything sounding as sweet and balanced as we did during purely acoustic practice. The harmonies weren't as good, the playing wasn't as good.

I suggested that we try single mic'ing and everything just fell together. We were a lot more relaxed at gigs (mostly weddings, pub bookings, local venue concerts and festivals), we played better and had a LOT more fun. The reduction in overall volume really wasn't a problem, even for Friday night pub gigs in Bala, and no one in our audiences at any venue ever mentioned it. Pub landlords were happy because the bar staff could still hear to take orders! Our bass player (a cheap 3/4 upright) would take a kick-back bass amp and we would set that behind us right at the back of the mic' field. This seemed to work well to give us a nice driving bass we all could hear. Everything else was just caught by the mic'.

It sure saved me a lot of kit and carrying. A couple of powered speakers with stands, the mic and mic stand, a small mixer with 48v phantom, and a 15 band e/q to ring the room - plus cables.

This may not work for your band - but it could be worth a try. It certainly did mean that the sound we had purely acoustically in practice standing around a single mic' stand was pretty much what we got at gigs when using the p.a.

A couple of summer weddings we did we played our set and then, when the "disco" came on, we would move outside with no p.a. and play acoustically to all the generally older folk who were escaping the deafening disco. We made a healthy tip on the gig fee for that!

[EZYPIKINS]

All rehearsals for over 40 years were with a full PA system, a full band, with anywhere between 4 and 6 singers.

Learned all my acoustic parts back in the day, on my electric guitar, strung up with .008's.

[fazool]

I practice at home unplugged, daily. I use an electric practice just to set volume levels, etc.

My band rehearses weekly where I do practice amplified

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

You have to practice the way you're going to play live. That includes standing, if you will be.

Why?
…………………..

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Why?
…………………..

So you won't suck. But I guess there's no law about it -- contrary to the old saying, failure actually is an option.

[fpuhan]

Like many others, I do both. I play straight acoustic when I'm noodling or working out a new arrangement, but then I plug in when I've made the decision that I'm going to play a live set.

Not doing so has resulted in some less-than-optimal performances, because the venue (including the lights, which I cannot replicate at home - and they DO affect the way I play) often makes the sound I'm producing straight out of the box (guitar) completely foreign to my ears. And, if I want a little reverb or some "conditioning," I have to practice that way so I can tell the board operator how I want it.

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Why?
…………………..

(Re Mr. Beaumont's comment that You have to practice the way you're going to play live. That includes standing, if you will be..

That is me 100% even though I don't always practice what I preach. If I've done most of my practice that week sitting down, out of sheer laziness, but perform standing up (as I usually do), some of my strumming, transitions and modest fills are really sloppy. I guess wrist and arm positions matter a lot to me.

This affects some more than others. It reminds me of Aaron Short saying he really doesn't notice or care much about fretboad width. Me, I find it very difficult to play 1 & 11/16th instead of 1.75, which is what all my Martins & gig guitars have. Whether it's a matter of skill level or individual quirks, whatever. Different people are different.

[rllink]

I don't play a lot of gigs, none of them are big time and most of them outside. We've tried to mic the instruments and all we get is wind noise, feedback and players stomping their feet, so we use amps and I have a hollow body electric just for that purpose. I'm sure that if we wanted to put some effort into it, we could sort it all out eventually, but we don't. I play it plugged in to practice once in a while just to be familiar with it of course and sometimes just because it is fun to play it plugged in with those all those pedal thingies we've bought.