Re: [Harp-L] Small amps and gigs

["steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <swebb@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Low volume is a battle I have been losing for a long time. But... I am now playing with a guy who plugs his acoustic guitar into the PA, and I'm  playing plugged directly into the PA as well. Sometimes his wife will join us for an hour or so with an acoustic bass, also plugged into the PA. In other words, no amplifiers. The PA head is powerful (1000 watts,  500 per channel, I think), but we played a pretty good-sized club Saturday night, with crowd noise and really not that great for room acoustics.. and we weren't turned up very loud. No monitors, just loud enough on the voices so we could hear them, and I loved it.  It's a battle worth fighting.
It's funny, though. Sometimes I talk with a veteran musician about volume and he'll agree, then get up there and play way too loud. Maybe hearing loss has something to do with that, but it's my opinion that people  have gotten used to that type of volume and the only way we'll break that is to play at a lower level.
My three cents.
Steve Webb
a fool for the harp in wet Minnesota


---- IcemanLE@xxxxxxx wrote: 
>  
> In a message dated 10/15/2007 1:52:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
> nonidesign@xxxxxxxxx writes:
> 
> I agree.  I have tried this. It's up to the drummer in that his volume is
> what  typically sets the level when trying to keep things manageable at  lower
> volumes. If he/she has a jazz sensibility with regards to volume it  should
> be OK. If he/she has a rock attitude.....good luck  ;-)
> 
> 
> Drummer sets the stage volume and can make or break the situation. He'd be  
> the most important link to get in line with trying the low volume concept.
>  
> How do you think the ODBG classic bands used to play? With a wall of  
> Marshall amps, individual monitors with individual monitor mixes at their feet  and 
> mic'ing all the drums with a sound man to make sense out of this  confusion?
>  
> No. They played at a low volume and had the attitude to play at a low  volume 
> without compromising the room shaking groove that could be created. This  is 
> where the true fat tone lives - for guitar and harmonica - low volume.
>  
> The Iceman
> 
> 
> 
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