How loud do you play at a gig?

[Teleman]

I'm curious as to what volume level folks here play for live gigs. I play Deluxe reverbs with the volume between 3 - 4 for most gigs. If the room is big we throw a mike on it. For my situation this works out fine.

The reason for the post is I stopped in to see a band this weekend and was driven out of the room by the volume of the two guitar players in the band.


www.smokehouseband.net

[rcrecelius]

Wow, does your band have a drummer?
I wish I could play that quiet!

[John E]

My 18 watt November on between 1/4 and 1/2 on the volume... And I never really need to mike it except outdoors and at big concert halls. And yes we have a drummer, but he doesn't slam the drums like some of my past drummers... allows us to be way more dynamic. Nothing makes me want to leave a club faster than a band that's to loud... even if they're good...

[Marky D.]

If I'm miking it, my Pro Jr. is on 5 or Deluxe Reverb on 3. For unmiked situations, it's a Bassman RI on 4-5 or a Marshall JMP combo on 2-3 (that puppy can get loud).

[sound dog]

Just borrowed a buddy's DRRI this past weekend and I ran the volume @ 3 both nights (w/G&L ASAT Classic). Bumped it up to 4 for a G&L Legacy(nothing unusual, I have to do it with my other amps,too). I was blown away by how LOUD those 22 watts could be when I briefly bumped it up to 5 on a sound check.
Also use a Vibro King and almost never have the volume above 2 1/2. This band mics the amps, too.

[Lyle Caldwell]

Just loud enough to blend with acoustic drums.

[Dacious]

One drummer I work with I can get away with my 18ish watt homebrew Tweed Deluxe. The other, I need my 35 watt Vibrolux Reverb on about 6-7 with the guitar on the same to give me some volume to play with.

[tomtheguitarguy]

Wow, I was just talking about this the other day with some other musicians. As a regular working musician, I've had way too much experience with this "problem" lately - unfortunately.

The past few months I've had to hire out a drummer for gigs (my regular drummer had prior commitments) and I got into it pretty big time with my bass player about the volume level of particular drummers. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bash-the-drummer post, it's just relating my situation.

I've found that if the volume level is comfortable, the bartenders and waitresses can hear orders without having to scream "what??" too many times, and it makes them happier, as they can serve more drinks, which of course, makes the bar happier as well.

I find it very hard to understand why some people feel the need to play so loudly that you can't hear the vocals or guitar. I've had that experience lately, and it's the last time I've hired that particular person to play with me. Especially when they give me an attitude of ". .. well I've played other places before and we've always been able to just play loud . . ." Of course my answer is always, "don't care where you've played and how loud you've played, I'm telling you to play softer". Those who cannot or will not listen to me, don't get hired again - at least by me. I really don't care how good a person can play - how great their "chops" are, if they cannot play at a comfortable level. I need someone that will play with the band , not just for themselves.

I always try to do a sound check before starting a gig, and that entails going out into the audience and really listening to how loud the drums are, the bass is, etc. - and to really make sure that the vocals can be heard - after all, if you can't hear the vocals, why are you playing (not applicable for an instrumental obviously)?

Well, just my two cents.

Hope this helps.

tom

[T-bone Tone]

This is a good one. How many of us can honestly say, hand on heart, that we haven't played too damm loud at one time or another? :?

When we are on the other side of the stage, listening in the audience, it is a pain to hear a too loud band. :(

I think one of the problems is the high quality, wide variety of gear we all have these days. It is easy to get lost in all the techinical side of setting up and mic-ing into PA's etc, and wanting to show what our gear can do.

Also, any band with 2 guitarists has probably experienced the 'competition' syndrome. 'Mines too loud, you say? Well, all I can hear is yours!'

A good rule of thumb is to have a friend in the audience with some common sense.....and listen to him if he says you are too loud!

I try and stay light. I use a SuperChamp mic-d up to a PA, that way it is usually on 4- master and main vol. I get the full 'cooking' sound of those valves without going deaf! :)

[Axis]

I play a Univalve with 6550 into a Boogie 2-12 (V-30's) closed back at about 6-7 in rock channel with my Telecaster. If I have to play louder than that, somethings wrong...or someone has to go. If the club needs more than that, we just mic it because I am not diming it. When we play, the vocals have to reign supreme on stage....If we can't do the harmonies right, we might as well not show up. Reminds me of the quip about the Eagles....the quietest place at one of their shows is on stage.

[Twangmeister]

The size of the room/venue and stage will determine volume. I try to get "my sound" by keeping my amps set about the same from gig to gig, and micing them for the room balance. I usually use a Tone King Comet 40B and a Vox AC30, neither of which has master volume controls. I have to crank them a bit to get "that sound," but I use plexiglass shields in front of them to cut down on stage volume so the vocals can be heard clearly. If you're interested, you can check out the amp panel here:URLtext

[Hucklebilly]

This is a fascinating subject.

One of the great ironies of playing music for me has been that after all the energy put into finding the perfect gear, learning the chops, etc...etc...at the end of the day one of the hardest things is not to overplay, and to control the volume. I'm finally playing with a band where everyone is really sensitive to dynamics, and we listen to each other and try not to step on each other's toes, and we keep the stage volume low. It has taken years and years.

[Cheesecaster]

depends on our set and the room , sometimes as low as 3 and I rarely get past 5.
This amp just sings at 5. I took it to a big guitar jam with harmony central forumites.
A guy was playing a G&L asat thru my amp and it sounded amazing out front.
I also noticed that he notched the volume on 7, thats real loud. But the thing
with these old supers is that from 6-10 it doesnt increase that much in volume , just gets richer.

[Methos]

I jumper my '59 Bassman RI, guitar into bright 1, bright 2 jumpered into normal 1, bright volume on 5, normal volume on 2. The ASAT Special volume full on for clean, rythum and a Marshall Bluesbreaker II pedal for overdrive. If I use the ASAT Bluesboy I use the same settings but have to back off the guitars volume a bit to avoid squeal (it's an f-hole semi hollow).

[tweedman]

Vibrato [clean] channel volume set at 3-4 on my Super Reverb.

[halouis]

marshall JMP 2204 -> 4x12 master between 4 and 6.

yep its loud. we're a rock band/

[Tremo]

Depends on the size of the gig. Most smaller places I use my 64 DR with the volume on 4 or so. Even that will make people wince if they're too close to it. In a bigger room, it's the Vibroclone on about 4. Outdoors it's the Twin on 4.

I once was fired from a gig for playing too loud, and that was a week *before* the gig. Go figure. Actually it was an excuse for the band leader to replace me with his old buddy, who plays louder than I do. Dontcha love politics?

[old yella]

I use a '58 vibrolux or a 53 deluxe.Volume on 4-5, amp on an amp stand.Drummer doesn't use a full kit and switches between brushes and sticks ,depending on what's required.Amp gets a mic.
The vibrolux is 10 watts and when I got the deluxe which is about 14 watts, the band was worried that I would get too loud.
We keep a good stage volume where everyone can hear what's going on . If we're on a large outdoor stage I can use both amps , mic one amp and use the other amp as a monitor for the bass player & drummer.They can change the vol as they like.
At rehearsals I use a pignose amp and I'm still the loudest. This works for us as a 3 piece rockabilly band,but having the right drummer was the key for us.

[racehorse]

you know , I used a vibrosonic reverb (TR w/15)for years played it on 4 most of the time. had a house gig in a clube that seated 900 for a year and a half , bumped it up to 5.
4 wasn`t overly loud in most places. this was years 20 years ago.

now I take a bassman RI for a big amp , play on 4 most places , but it doesn`t really open up until 6.
It is too much amp for most places.

I have princton SF non reverb w/12, play it on 7-8 .,in church!

or a tweed deluxe type amp about 3/4 on volume knob.
this is the point these amps start to open up.

a DR on 4 is at practice in the living room volume.to me
not many drummers going to play that quiet.

sorry for the rambleing!!

I don`t like insane volume levels and no dynamics, But Live music is going to have ,some volume.

for give my rambleing, just thinking out loud

[Greg_C]

I have 2 6V6 Deluxe Reverb clone and I like to keep it around 3-4 and the guitar volume rolled back a bit. I can't play with just any drummer, oh and by the way, we won't get many return gigs if we play too loud. Greg.

[alexbatonrouge]

Then played a Twin at 3,5. Always too loud for small clubs. My ears rang so many times. Now I play a silverface Princeton Reverb at 3 with in ear monitoring. Best sound ever. I just hear what I want but not the bothering cymbals of our drummer etc.. This is also good for the mix because the stage sound is now very silent. Without my in ear I can hardly hear the amp on stage. You have to get used to it but the tube sound is all there - nice and direct. And best is I get home after 6 hours of playing relaxed and fresh - this really makes most of the difference for me.

[Laroosco!]

My Top Hat King Royale usually has the volume at about 10 oclock(if I don't use the master)
It's still pretty loud