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Author Topic:  Outside vs Inside
Paul King

 

From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2017 3:16 pm    
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I played a gig outside on Friday. I am wondering if you guys find that you have to adjust your amp or do you basically leave it where the settings normally are. Personally I like to play outdoors but the wind sure caused problems this time around. I did cut the lows back a touch on the amp but all else was the same.
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Erv Niehaus


From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 5:53 am    
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I find that it's hard to get a good sound outdoors.
There's no walls for the sound to bounce off of. Very Happy
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Jack Stoner


From:
Kansas City, MO
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 6:01 am    
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I hate outside jobs. I usually wind up with dead strings after an outside gig.
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Erv Niehaus


From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 6:27 am    
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I remember playing an outside gig at a nursing home and I must have set up right over the power cable going into the facility, now you talk about a bad sound! hum, hum, hum. Whoa!
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John De Maille


From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 9:23 am    
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About half of my gigs this summer were outside. I know it's nice to be outside and enjoying the sun and the weather, but, I really, really dislike those gigs. There's no control over your overall sound, unless you have a sound man and that can be a crapshoot too. If you're lucky enough to be in some sort of amphitheater, then, it's sort of plausible. But, the weather can play havoc with your sound. The heat will make the instruments go out of tune, humidity will deaden everything and there's always the chance of getting caught in a rainstorm. That happened to me twice. It was a disaster! Also, the complete opposite can happen too. The cold sets in and your fingers don't want to move, and the instrument starts to act funky, the sound gets crazy!
I'd rather have a nice inside job, where, you can adjust to your surroundings and get a response to it. But, we go where the money is, don't we?
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David Mitchell

 

From:
Tyler, Texas
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 10:42 am    
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Playing Rodeos in Florida are always fun and wet. You can count on rain but you never know when. I would always unplug my amp first and try to get it under the flatbed trailer. I let my pedal steel get drenched. It never seem to hurt it once it dried out. Yes the sound was always horrible especially with a 15 to 20 mph wind. The cowboys and cowgirls did love to hear country music. Any other kind wasn't welcome. We played mostly country gospel music. Professional Rodeos are some of the last remnants of a great America. Those cowboys and cowgirls take the musicians in as one of their family. Like a big ol circus. They live, work and travel together. Lots of gigs I never feel a part of their organization. Like the band is just the jukebox in the corner.
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David Mitchell

 

From:
Tyler, Texas
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 10:50 am    
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We did play some shows in a huge enclosed stadium in Lakeland, Fl. My steel sounded like the voice of God coming through those huge speakers in the ceiling beams. Big event. One of those times I was extremely careful not to make a mistake. The mistakes had about 10,000 watts behind them. I could hear my amp too but you sure could feel the awesome stadium power. It was worth all the rainy flatbed trailer gigs to get to that one.
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Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 11:25 am    
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I would say 90% of the gigs I do anymore are outside.

In our band, sound man is a key member of the group. All amps are mic'd. Signals can be sent to floor monitors and contoured to each band member's needs if there are enough monitor sends at the mixing board. Short of that, we will face the PA mains at a slight inward angle so they act as side-fill type monitors. I actually prefer the side-fill method, because it keeps the floor monitors clean for vocals and we hear the same sound the audience hears.

The point is, on an outdoor gig, a full-range speaker system rounds out the more focused range of a guitar amp's speaker. My Mesa Boogie sounds pretty plinky-plink at Stage level volume when playing outdoors, whereas inside it sounds massive because of room acoustics. To get that tone and feel outside, I would have to run it at ear-bleeding volume.

I really can't enjoy an outdoor gig any other way, now that I know how it can sound if it is done right.

PS- We have pretty good luck with weather here in California between May and October, though the summer heat was extreme this year. My heart goes out to you guys and gals dealing with rain and wind and cold.
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Dick Wood


From:
Springtown Texas, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 1:11 pm    
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I don't care for outdoor gigs because it's either too hot or too cold and in some cases Mosquito's are all over us. I'm usually not real happy with the tone I get either.
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Paul King

 

From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 1:36 pm    
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The gig this weekend, we fought the wind. I did a video and the tripod was moving too. I usually like an outdoor gig weather permitting.k
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Jim Fogarty


From:
Phila, Pa, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 5:20 pm    
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If you have one, use a closed-back speaker cabinet, as you tend to lose low-end and fullness without a back wall and enclosed space.

If I have a combo or open-back cab, I'll stack some cases right behind my amp, and that seems to focus the sound forward a bit.
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b0b


From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 6:39 pm    
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Most of my gigs are outdoors from April through October. I like the fact that there are no strange acoustics to deal with. I hardly touch my amp settings from one gig to the next, except to adjust volume to match the venue.

Sometimes heat or cold can cause tuning problems. I've even had to retune in the middle of a set if the temperature is rising or falling quickly. Whoa! I carry a fan and a heater in my van for comfort when the temperature goes below 60 or above 90, but in this climate I don't have to use them very often. Smile
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Dan Robinson


From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 7:35 pm    
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I had two outdoor gigs in the past couple of weeks. By and large the sound was fine. We mic everything, and that helps. I monitor the steel either with in-ears and my own mix, or thru my amp in a tilt-back stand.

I prefer the sound of my amp to in-ears or a floor wedge, and I'm more relaxed when I can hear the room. Hearing protection? Always. I don't leave home without it.

We were outside Saturday afternoon, Sep. 2nd. The bandstand was MOSTLY shaded by a tarp, except where it wasn't. Direct afternoon sun at 5,000 feet is intense. This fan normally serves my own comfort, but I sacrificed to keep my amp safely ventilated.



We were outside again yesterday evening. Temp. dropped 20 degrees after sunset, and I chased my tuning for about an hour.

If I had my druthers, indoors beats outdoors. But playing a gig beats sitting at home watching TV.
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Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2017 10:08 pm    
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b0b wrote:
Most of my gigs are outdoors from April through October. I carry a fan and a heater in my van for comfort when the temperature goes below 60 or above 90, but in this climate I don't have to use them very often. Smile


Bob, I envy you and that coastal Mediterranean climate! Here in the foothills and especially the Big Valley, the heat was truly unbearable this summer. I will not be doing outdoor gigs much longer if this keeps up. Might as well be in Arizona.
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Paul King

 

From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 18 Sep 2017 1:27 am    
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I too have found in the past that staying in tune is an issue. We were covered Friday which did help. We also had a windy day which helped on temps but made the videos come out awful. Personally I have found not much adjustment on my amp outdoors.
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b0b


From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 18 Sep 2017 7:44 am    
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Fred Treece wrote:
Bob, I envy you and that coastal Mediterranean climate! Here in the foothills and especially the Big Valley, the heat was truly unbearable this summer. I will not be doing outdoor gigs much longer if this keeps up. Might as well be in Arizona.

Cloverdale got pretty darn hot this year (coastal weather doesn't reach here), but a 30 mile drive can drop 20 degrees in temperature. Most gigs aren't during the hottest part of the day anyway. It cools down in the evening.

We usually specify shade in the contract. The sun can be brutal!

I saw my nephew's band (The Seedy Players) at an outdoor venue in western Pennsylvania last week. Very pleasant.
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Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 18 Sep 2017 8:13 am    
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Setting up and sound check usually happens during the heat of the day, between 3 and 5. Doing the show is the cool easy fun part Cool
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Larry Bressington


From:
Nebraska
Post  Posted 18 Sep 2017 9:05 am    
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I'm with the majority of people here on the notion outdoor gigs are not favoured, maybe it's location depending but up here in cowboy land it's tornadoes, wind, rain, extreme heat, and those dreaded flies and mosquitoes. And then you got the cooler months like October or September where you can be outside playing to yourself because it's so cold out and people are inside watching tv cuddled up, yip outdoor gigs suck bigtime, roll on winter and back to a good old honky tonk, come rain, sleet, snow or hail!
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Floyd Lowery

 

From:
Deland, Florida, USA
Post  Posted 18 Sep 2017 10:12 am    
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When I was playing outside, I never changed anything other than adjusting my volume to match the rest of the band.
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Don R Brown


From:
Rochester, New York, USA
Post  Posted 18 Sep 2017 1:51 pm    
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John De Maille wrote:
Also, the complete opposite can happen too. The cold sets in and your fingers don't want to move,


I played at a weekend jam a few weeks ago and the temp Friday night was 44 degrees! Gave me a perfect excuse for my clams, I just blamed everything on frozen fingers! Laughing
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Kevin Fix

 

From:
Michigan, USA
Post  Posted 18 Sep 2017 6:31 pm     Outdoors?Indoors
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90% of our gigs are outdoors. It can be a crap shoot!! I have a large straw hat for sunny days and for possible rain I bring a tarp with me and keep it by my side. If it starts to rain hard in a hurry I pull the tarp over my gear and climb under with it!! Played in November once and wore my Carharts!!! Always bring extra cloths for warmth or if I get wet.. I won't play in the rain.
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Paul King

 

From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 19 Sep 2017 1:22 am    
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I played an outdoor gig in cold weather one night. Never again. I was shaking so bad I could not even play. I am a winter time wimp and hate cold weather. Not that I like 100 degree weather either but at least I could still play.
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Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 19 Sep 2017 12:00 pm    
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Floyd Lowery wrote:
When I was playing outside, I never changed anything other than adjusting my volume to match the rest of the band.

I don't really change any tone or volume settings either. The perception of what is coming out of the amp sure changes though. That is why having amps mic'd and running into some kind of monitoring system helps with hearing my own sound in context with everything else. Same with large indoor venues.
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Jim Bob Sedgwick

 

From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
Post  Posted 20 Sep 2017 12:34 pm    
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I played outdoor gigs for 12 years, mostly rodeo gigs. No one has mentioned the dust and sand that gets in your changer, and the tuning instability. Eventually you will have to dismantle the guitar and clean out the dirt and lubricate so your guitar will play smooth again, It is PITA Sad . For you guys that hate playing in the cold... go to the buffet and swipe a couple of baked potatoes. They are usually wrapped in aluminum foil. Put them in your pockets of your jacket along with the bar. Warms up your hands and your belly too. Then your bar won't feel like a frozen popsicle. Works great until the foil tears, then you get baked potato all over your bar. beats the hell out of freezing though. :lol
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Pete Burak

 

From:
Portland, OR USA
Post  Posted 20 Sep 2017 12:43 pm    
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I like most of my outdoor gigs because I really get to open up the ol' Walker Stereo Steel rig.
Usually there is more room to put the speakers farther back and farther apart, and I can really crank it up Smile
It's like Sensurround.
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