Here we go again: "No amps on stage"

[SamClemons]

Just a comment. If the muscians have self control and the sound guys know what they are doing, and you have a band leader who knows what he is doing, from a sound point of view, there should be no problem with amps on stage. Every pro band from clubs to concerts has/is doing just exactly that. The only real issue is one of looks. There are still a lot of church folks that are hung up on looking too rock and roll.

[black_doug]

Originally Posted by SamClemons

Just a comment. If the muscians have self control and the sound guys know what they are doing, and you have a band leader who knows what he is doing, from a sound point of view, there should be no problem with amps on stage. Every pro band from clubs to concerts has/is doing just exactly that. The only real issue is one of looks. There are still a lot of church folks that are hung up on looking too rock and roll.

Exactly. Add out of touch and culturally irrelevant.

[Rick Towne]

If you have the right setup and a quiet running tube amp, and----you don't need to use too much gain-----there's no reason to have a stage volume problem. It's a great deal about appearances.

Originally Posted by SamClemons

Just a comment. If the muscians have self control and the sound guys know what they are doing, and you have a band leader who knows what he is doing, from a sound point of view, there should be no problem with amps on stage. Every pro band from clubs to concerts has/is doing just exactly that. The only real issue is one of looks. There are still a lot of church folks that are hung up on looking too rock and roll.

[Edwin]

I really don't liky synth. In our church we are small about 150 people (men, women, and childeren) We don't have a sound man so the PA is only set up for vocals. The drummer is unshielded and the instruments are pushed through the amps on stage. This works well for us and we haven't had many complaints. I would dread the day if I played in a larger church where there are no amps a shielded drummer and have to plug in an earpiece to hear myself play along with a click track. It's too much to think about.

[pack2113]

Don't know if someone has asked or suggested this yet (200+ comments is a lot to read) but, how tall is your stage? I just went from an xt live to a handwired ac15 put under our stage. It's right under my feet so I'm getting some of that amp "feel" from the low end but virtually eliminating stage noise from the amp. Even ran wide open it's not loud enough to hurt the FOH mix. In fact, my sound guy is really digging it! Downside is no controlled feedback but I'm not really cool enough for that anyway lol.

[Robbied_216]

At the end of the day we need to submit to our leaders and our authority. Whether its good tone or bad tone, its pretty irrelevant. Instead of opposing a your leader, perhaps see it as an opportunity to help them hear things the way you hear them. I'm not in your shoes, so can't say do this or do that. Our bigger venues at my church have amps out the back in a separate area and levels sent back to monitors. Our smaller venues we have amps on or behind the stage.

At the end of the day, if the FOH guy comes and tells me to turn it down. I turn it down. The thing I love about playing in church is the fact that it isn't actually about me, or about my "awesome" tones. Its about supporting the service, setting up the atmosphere for the Word to be preached. I think when the time comes that I make my playing guitar at church about me, I might have to really sit and think about why I am doing what I am doing. Not in the slightest saying that I being anything other than my very very best.

Good luck with your situation ;)

-Rob

P.S. Just wanted to ad that I don't get paid for playing at my church. I do it as a volunteer. Just wanted to clarify that my stand isn't on the fact that its a "paid gig" of any sort.

[cpd73mc]

Amen Robbie_d

[garytelecastor]

Originally Posted by vaughn4380

Every six months or so our Worship Leader gets a bug in his rear and decides that the guitar amps on stage are the root of all evil and all problems in the world could be solved if we just bought more Line 6 stuff (I mean Lincoln uses it so it HAS to be the best in the world right).

I knew it!!!!!!!

Do you want to be responsible for.....for.......ThIS?????




I love that the bad guy goes around committing assault with a deadly weapon in a suit.

[BigDaddyLH]

Originally Posted by garytelecastor

I knew it!!!!!!!

Do you want to be responsible for.....for.......ThIS?????




I love that the bad guy goes around committing assault with a deadly weapon in a suit.

A-and that last shot, what a bunch of hoes!

[JohnSS]

Vaughn - I think the Lord will re-direct you to another church where you can serve Him with your talents. For 7 years, I was a charter member part of a church worship team & contributed to the growth of the church from 15 members to 500+. During that time, I contributed countless hours on keys, guitar and bass - whatever was needed. I also made about $5K worth of gear from my studio available to worship team members for services or even for private recording projects.

Once the church got to a certain size, politics came more into the fray. We had to support "Red" because Bono was one of its proponents. Drums were isolated in a booth to the far stage left while my bass amp was far stage right - because it looked "cool" and other churches were doing it. Only singers had monitors, and we were constantly criticized for playing "out of sync". - duh! Mind you, the room only holds about 350-400 total anyway, so this was all overkill. After repeated entreaties to the newly elected "elders" - I was asked to put my explanations into writing. I did so, outlining the historical reasons for rhythm sections being in the center so all other musicians can hear them, and why a P.A. is supposed to be "sound REINFORCEMENT". I was labeled a "troublemaker" because I was not a "Red" supporter and would not toe the line for the new P&W group "image" over the degradation in music performance.

God then introduced me to a new church, Calvary-St. George's in NYC, that was undergoing a transition and greatly appreciated any help that I could give to them. I took this as a sign, and resigned from the other church. However, when I went to retrieve my gear, which I wanted to make available to Calvary, it had all disappeared! I then had a 6 month fight with the church elders over getting a donation receipt for the gear, and had to threaten a grand larceny charge in order to get one - not very Christian brotherhood minded, but at least I finally got the receipt!

I am now happily contributing bass, electric lead/slide, lap steel and acoustic 12 string in a very challenging but rewarding situation. The WL is an internationally acclaimed opera singer, pianist & conductor, and we will frequently have classical and jazz guest musicians from other countries who happen to be passing through in NYC. I may be asked to play a Robert Randolph type lap steel part on a Schubert piece or a Middle Eastern electric motif on a Matt Redman song, to extended jazz voicings on an old gospel hymn.

The Lord knows what you need and will answer your prayers. Just don't quit.

[Thighbanez]

Wow JohnSS, they must have gotten notice that you were leaving.
I would have collected all my gear with a smile, then told them good-day.

Yeesh...if I couldn't play with my amp out, I don't think I could be heard in service.
And I definitely couldn't hear myself the way they have things wired.

[Late Comer]

What is "Red"?

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by Late Comer

What is "Red"?

The color red you mean?

[JohnSS]

RED is Bono's left wing advocacy group:

http://www.joinred.com/red/

[BigDaddyLH]

Originally Posted by Late Comer

What is "Red"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_Red

EDIT: Is eliminating AIDS in Africa political? If it is, I'll remove the above link.

[JohnSS]

RED and ONE are inextricably linked. They represent a number of left wing causes beyond AIDS, including trying to get Western nations to forgive debt run up by kleptocratic African nation military dictatorships. They do NOT contribute any money to the causes they claim to represent - they act as "advocates" (read: lobbyists) to pressure politicians and celebrities to influence their constituents and fans. I don't believe any church should make it a policy to demand that its members and worship leaders support such an organization, regardless of ideological orientation.

[BigDaddyLH]

I see, I was just looking at the AIDS campaign. Some churches have an explicit social/political calling (for example liberation theology) but one should know that coming in.

I'm pretty shallow. I switched churches for better parking.

[jb12string]

I assume he means this:
http://www.joinred.com/red/

[74 Deluxe]

A Digitech RP300a is the nucleus of my pedal board, everything else on there is in rotation. I have lots of pedals and I change them up some for new songs or just to change my sound some, but the RP allows me to run direct to the board, and a Morley A/B splitter lets me use my little Bugera V5 amp as a monitor. Sometimes we take me out of the mix and I crank up a little for that subtle in the backround sound. I also play either a jumbo 12 string or a tele, and with different presets, switching guitars is no big deal.

[JohnSS]

I myself only use a 15 w. Peavey or Epiphone at relatively low volume (enough to hear with drums, sax, bass and piano). No excess volume issues and everyone is professional enough in handling dynamics so that the focus can be on the worship and music, rather than on electronics.