Anyone still play small outdoor gigs?

playas

playas

Well-known member
Anyone still play small outdoor gigs without P.A.?

i.e. no kempers etc. and no stadium gigs, just relying on an amp (and cab) for enough volume for a small gathering.


If so what amps do you use?
 
Just to clarify I mean the guitar you're using isn't going through the PA, not necessarily that there is no PA.
 
The last one I did was a friend's wedding band a couple years ago. I used what I could fit in the car along with my family, which in this case was an old 100W Traynor guitar head and an aluminum cone Hartke 2x10. I ran it loud but clean, with distortion, reverb, etc from a Line 6 HX Effects. Lineup was guitar (me), drums, bass, keys, sax, and vocals. PA for the last three only. It sounded great.

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We have outdoor gigs around here all the time. Typically, for me, it is my 2x12 Marshall cab and the JCM 2000h. I know 100w is overkill, but most of my amps are huge. Now that I have the VOX AC30, I imagine I will use it for the next outdoor gig.
 
i played a gig tuesday that was outside and only thing in the pa was vocals, kick, and overhead drum mic. i used a tweed bassman on maybe 4 and it was plenty of volume. i would have used my deluxe reverb but the bassman was already in the car. volume is more than just watts, speakers make a huge difference
 
playas said:
Is there much difference between the Tone Master and the original volume wise?

The Tone Master is 100w, right?
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Well, the TM has a watt attenuator, which allows you to bring down the volume but push the modeled output tubes at a much quieter volume. When the attenuator is not being used, it gets about as loud as a tube Deluxe and starts distorting at about the same volume (around 5).
 
Outdoors I find that amps need to work a lot harder. I've got a 40 watt Traynor running through two 12s and it is never underpowered indoors, but sometimes it feels like it's right on the edge of not being enough for doing clean stuff when playing outside.
 
Like Jeremy said, it has a lot to do with the speaker. Most of my first gigs were outdoors in parks, and I played a Fender Deluxe. The other guitarist had an old-school wooden 60w Crate amp. Many times, we were told we were too loud.
 
GuitarStv said:
Outdoors I find that amps need to work a lot harder. I've got a 40 watt Traynor running through two 12s and it is never underpowered indoors, but sometimes it feels like it's right on the edge of not being enough for doing clean stuff when playing outside.
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I found the same thing at a small outdoor gig...but I was only playing with a Princeton Reverb Reissue...all of 15w through a 10" jensen speaker, so not that surprising in my case.
Definitely had it starting to break-up for "clean" tones.
 
Do events regularly where I'm not miced. If it's a small room or if I'm playing with a couple acoustic players, I will normally bring my little 20 watt Mesa Subway Rocket. Anything Bigger I will run one of my 50 watt PRS heads on a 1/12 or 2/12 cab depending on what I am doing. Can easily use ether head with a cab even en a small room as can get great super low volume tones with ether. I just don't want to carry the extra weight of a head and cab plus my big pedal board for really small events.
Here is a totally unmiced event running my little Subway>
 
The last couple times we played outside I used the same rig I generally use: Marshall Mode Four and a Marshall 1960a cab.

One time I used a Peavey XXL and a couple times I used a TSL

When that first volume swell hits them.....it's magical!
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GuitarStv said:
Outdoors I find that amps need to work a lot harder. I've got a 40 watt Traynor running through two 12s and it is never underpowered indoors, but sometimes it feels like it's right on the edge of not being enough for doing clean stuff when playing outside.
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My first tube amp was a YCV40 2x10 and have had a couple 1x12 versions. Are the 2 12" speakers Celestion 70/80? Different speakers might change that for you.
I used to have a YCV40 with a Eminence Legend 1210 and it was plenty loud with lots of clean headroom.
 
Fender_Punk said:
My first tube amp was a YCV40 2x10 and have had a couple 1x12 versions. Are the 2 12" speakers Celestion 70/80? Different speakers might change that for you.
I used to have a YCV40 with a Eminence Legend 1210 and it was plenty loud with lots of clean headroom.
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YCV40WR with extension cab, and at the time I was running two V30s. Not sure if it's just that there's no sound bouncing off walls to make it seem louder, or if it's that we play stupidly loud outside.
 
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