How often do you see full stacks
- Thread starter Chistopher
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NegativeEase
New member
They are for show.... not actually used.
Demanic
PenultimateTone Member
The most I'll give you is "more than likely". But it looked like they were miked.
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NegativeEase
New member
Yeah, I wasnt there so to your point they could be real at your show, but the last 2 Exodus tours I saw there were some portion of Stacks onstage that were unused as purely stage pieces.
I mean I've been behind Slayer, Metallica, Judas Priest's rigs onstage and they have all used prop stacks for visual effect.... it's pretty much standard practice and it really makes the audience feel more excited without giving up any of the audio volume or quality -so I support it.
LRS
New member
Unfortunately bigger is usually also guarantee for louder. A couple of years ago I went to see a well known Dutch blues guitarist when he played in my town. My guess is that venue could host about 500 people max. The sucker played over two Marshall full stacks. I couldn’t see if they were 50 or 100 watts each, but it was too darn loud. Simply annoying, no matter how well he played. After two songs I left the sound engineer a comment, after four songs we left, and we were not the only ones. I don’t want to be forced to use ear plugs when going to see a band playing. I just want to enjoy good, unfiltered music without damaging my hearing.
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
You can see the speakers through the cloth in the picture, so they are not dummy cabs. And they are actually mic'ed.
dystrust
Well-known member
I remember reading an interview with Yngwie where he said that he puts as many stacks on stage as will fit, but he only plays through 2 of them.
I've hardly played my Marshall 2555 since getting the Mini Jubilee in 2017. That amp at 20w through a ported 1x12 loaded with an Emi Wizard (103.5db) is loud enough for anywhere with a decent PA. These days I have it sitting on top of my effects rack and I try to set it up as a side-fill for monitoring.
I sold my 4x12 recently because I just didn't use it anymore, and I'm planning to sell my ported 2x12 as well. I'm keeping the 2555 mostly for sentimental reasons, though I'll bring it out if I have to play outdoors or somewhere that doesn't put guitar in the PA (pretty rare, but I still see them occasionally). On those rare occasions when I need the 'big guns', I'll rent a 4x12 or two, but I much prefer a pair of slanted cabs side-by-side to a stack.
It's still almost always half stacks at any show I play or attend. Occasionally full stacks - actually last real show I played guitar at was all full stacks because that's what we had onstage to share, although I only used one cab. I see a lot of people running dual half-stack setups, especially in bands with only one guitar. Combos much less frequently, more on the indie and punk side of things. Last smaller gig was a buddy's wedding, and I had a guitar head running through a 2x10 Hartke bass cab, which sounded fine. But unless I luck into a couple of good 2x12s and have the luxury of choosing a different tool for the job, my half stack will accompany me everywhere I go. It has a master volume. I know how to use it. Everything will be fine.
PFDarkside
of the Forum
The half stack was the 90’s answer to the 60’s - 80’s full stack.
The quarter stack was the 2000’s answer to the half stack.
The modeler straight to the PA is the 2020’s answer to the quarter stack.
I know, some have done modelers direct for over a decade, it didn’t really get that popular until the last couple of years of the 2010s.
I still love the look of dual full stacks like the Loverboy photo, but really a mixed quarter stack is great now, especially a vertical one so you can still easily see controls. Then you see someone like KWS with a few Fender combos with the treble up and it rips your head off still.
My friends comically brought their full Plexi stack and Ampeg 810 to a bar show as a power trio a few years ago. Completely unnecessary but awesome. In HS I knew a guy that would unironically bring his Hartke 810 setup to coffeehouse gigs. You’d hear him down the street, so ridiculous.
The quarter stack was the 2000’s answer to the half stack.
The modeler straight to the PA is the 2020’s answer to the quarter stack.
I know, some have done modelers direct for over a decade, it didn’t really get that popular until the last couple of years of the 2010s.
I still love the look of dual full stacks like the Loverboy photo, but really a mixed quarter stack is great now, especially a vertical one so you can still easily see controls. Then you see someone like KWS with a few Fender combos with the treble up and it rips your head off still.
My friends comically brought their full Plexi stack and Ampeg 810 to a bar show as a power trio a few years ago. Completely unnecessary but awesome. In HS I knew a guy that would unironically bring his Hartke 810 setup to coffeehouse gigs. You’d hear him down the street, so ridiculous.
As a sound guy of 20+ years, I have seen it all. The control aspect that many musicians hate about sound guys is mostly due to the fact that no one goes up to the band and blames them when it sounds bad, they look at the sound guy. Nothing worse than having a band that sounds like absolute dog doo, but you can't do a thing about it because the drummer is playing with baseball bats, the guitarist is playing out of two half stacks and the bassist has an actual refrigerator for his bass rig. Then to boot the vocalist has his wedges right on the verge of uncontrolled feedback and all that stage wash and monitor level feeds into the vocal mic, which is amplified by the main PA.
In the situation above, the sound guy wants to duck and hide. Then you have venue policies and local ordinances, and let's be real, your right to play as loud as you want, ends the second it hits my ears.
A good sound engineer can make more people in the room happy than some Joe Blow off the street or a band member that thinks they know sound, that is a cold hard fact. So giving at least some control to the sound guy is in your best interest. I have been a guitarist and musician for over 30 years, and I have been on both sides of the stage at different points in my life. The best mixes are always the ones where the band sounds right, long before I even put a mic on the instruments. Loud bands inherently don't sound good, and most loud bands have an excessive amount of gear for the venue they are playing, so yeah, sound guys will often project and preempt the inevitable.
That being said, It is not always the case that excessive amounts of gear = loud and crappy-sounding bands. There are some truly professional acts that the stage presence is part of their shtick. They sound amazing because they only use as much as is needed and have their sound dialed.
One way to get a truly unbiased idea of what your band sounds like is to take a stereo X-Y recording of your band with the mics somewhere in your rehearsal space (preferably in the middle of your band's layout). When you play it back, you should be able to hear all the instruments clearly and the vocals should be understandable. If it sounds like a ball of poop all mushed up, that is what you sound like to the rest of the world. If it sounds good, almost like a recording, it is a sign that you are not doing so bad.
In the situation above, the sound guy wants to duck and hide. Then you have venue policies and local ordinances, and let's be real, your right to play as loud as you want, ends the second it hits my ears.
A good sound engineer can make more people in the room happy than some Joe Blow off the street or a band member that thinks they know sound, that is a cold hard fact. So giving at least some control to the sound guy is in your best interest. I have been a guitarist and musician for over 30 years, and I have been on both sides of the stage at different points in my life. The best mixes are always the ones where the band sounds right, long before I even put a mic on the instruments. Loud bands inherently don't sound good, and most loud bands have an excessive amount of gear for the venue they are playing, so yeah, sound guys will often project and preempt the inevitable.
That being said, It is not always the case that excessive amounts of gear = loud and crappy-sounding bands. There are some truly professional acts that the stage presence is part of their shtick. They sound amazing because they only use as much as is needed and have their sound dialed.
One way to get a truly unbiased idea of what your band sounds like is to take a stereo X-Y recording of your band with the mics somewhere in your rehearsal space (preferably in the middle of your band's layout). When you play it back, you should be able to hear all the instruments clearly and the vocals should be understandable. If it sounds like a ball of poop all mushed up, that is what you sound like to the rest of the world. If it sounds good, almost like a recording, it is a sign that you are not doing so bad.
Demanic
PenultimateTone Member
I've been doing this with the band that I play with for the last 15 years. It has given some improvements in our sound. But regardless of how often I play stuff back for the other two guys, when we are actually playing, the drummer always thinks that the guitar is too loud, so we turn it down. Then the guitarist, who is also the vocalist, thinks that vocals and drums aren't loud enough, so he turns up the PA, which is running the vocals and kick drum mics. Then inevitably while listening to the playback, they both say that the bass is too loud. They still don't get that it sounds different out in front than what each of them is hearing from their respective positions in the room when we're playing.
I've given up trying to convince them of the fact, which is probably part of the reason that we don't play together very often anymore.
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Running sound from the stage is almost impossible, even for me, it is a difficult task. Being objective is one thing, but being able to quickly, fairly, and responsibly do the task while actively playing is another.
I have a saying, some like it, many don't: " A good sound guy is one who can make 7 out of 10 people in the room happy, the other three can go F%$# themselves..."
The point of it is simple, every ear hears the exact same thing differently, who is right depends on who is getting paid, and who is writing the check. When you find a sound guy you like, you like him for three basic reasons:
1. He/She is your type of character, you get along with them, and they fit in well with your group as a whole. Despite their skill level.
2. He/She makes you happy with the sound you're getting, and you feel YOUR goals are supported. Despite their skill level.
3. He/She acquires good feedback from other peers and trusted individuals about your sound, and you can afford to pay them... Good ones aren't usually cheap.
Without those three things, the sound guy is just some other butthead that you have to work with that day. They either make your day, or they don't, but if they miss on any one of the three points, they are not YOUR guy.
Being a sound guy is not easy. Beyond the physics, the skill, the knowledge, and the job itself, you have to be a character chameleon, able to fit in with multiple personalities and demographics. You work with Rap groups one night, Metal bands the next, and then on Tuesdays, you do reggae. All different, yet all the same to you as a sound guy. Now throw in traveling the country, working with all kinds of different acts and corporate clients, and managing all your other upcoming events at the same time! You have to be a jerk every now and then when your patience is tested, and you know what you need, but just can't seem to win over " the Talent " and get them to see eye to eye with your own needs. So be nice you your local sound guy, he may not be there yet, but don't scare him away from it before he even gets a real taste
