I played a show with a few other bands this weekend, and the headlining band decided that everyone was going to share the same speaker cabs for the show. They said that this is commonplace at festivals and at shows in europe. I find it very difficult to accept that it is a commonly accepted practice to sacrifice your tone because somebody else wants to be lazy and leave their own gear set up the whole time.

Honestly, what's the deal with this?

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My Rig:

http://www.elkvis.org/rig/

I've never heard of that. Typically, at the festivals I'm used to, bassists might share rigs, and drummers will use one kit with a few hardware changes.

It doesn't make sense to me, though, to share cabs but switch heads. If you're going to change one, you may as well swap the whole thing. On second thought, I guess it keeps the mics in place and makes it easier to keep the board channels straight from band to band. hmmm....

I wouldn't really stress about your tone being "sacrificed" over a cab. If the cabs they were using were so horribly inferior, why not offer yours to be set up the whole time?

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I'm just two people short of a threesome.

Yes it is, we are pretty lazy on this side of the pond

No but seriously, I do it all the time, and not really out of laziness but it's pretty convenient (for the headliners) and it saves time and space. Not every club has the space needed to stock 3 or 4 bands cabs, even backstage (if there is such place...). I don't mind doing this mostly because 90% of the time it's my cab(s) that is the shared part of the equipement, so once it's on the stage I don't have to worry about much. I "sealed" the 4 ohms input of my cabs (after I plugged my amp , set at 16ohms, to this input...I'm an idiot), and plan on making a big sign that says "16 ohm", so people won't have to look for me and ask about that...

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Ibanez Xiphos
Flame EXG 7
Epiphone SG G-400
Boss Tu-2/Planet Waves chromatic pedal tuner
Dunlop CryBaby wah
Roland GFC-50
Boss SE-70
Alesis Midiverb III
Radial Twin City ABY switcher
Ampeg VL-1002
Peavey VTM 60
Marshall 1960A 4x12 (Sheffield 1200)
Marshall 1960B 4x12 (V30)

This isn't uncommon, and there's really no sacrifice if its decent equipment. Charity and multiband shows often use this setup. Touring companies often provide equipment for these kinds of shows.

"Tone" is what you make of it, and pretty much any decent amp should do the trick. Being able to adapt and still sound good is a major factor in success.

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Autistic Savant

for the most part it's not that uncommon and to put your mind at ease usually the best gear will get chosen to be the permanent stage gear.

now if youre playing one of these shows, dont stress about tone so much because chances are the sound guy is a hack anyways and it wont matter if you're god himself youre at the mercy of the sound guy.

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Messy Bedroom Luxe & Reduxe

Good exchange with Cham Clowder.

They do that here a lot too (toronto).

I dont mind it as long as i plug my head into their cabs which is never a problem.

Usually the drums stay the same, minus breakables, bass shares one rig or the cab is provided, and guitar cabs are provided. just makes switch overs fast which is a bonus.

Im always sketchy to lend my head though, i know its unlikely but if someone else f's it up then its my loss ya know?

BUT I NEVER EVER LEND CABLES, unless i know the band really well. i never do any more cause ive lost way to many cables that way lol

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Guitars:
PRS Custom 24 Artist
1969 Ibanez Hollowbody

Pedals:
{Out of Loop}-> Boss TU-S>Voodoo Lab Proctavia>EHX Small Clone

{In Loop}-> Digitech Whammy>MXR Phase-90(R28 Mod)>Catalinbread Trem>Boss RV-3>Boss DM-3>Empress Superdelay>Line6 DL4

Amp
Mesa Dual Rect
Mesa 412

What I Want:
- PRS Hollowbody ll
- Fender 70s Starcaster
- Ampeg Dan Armstrong
- EBMM John Petrucci
- Zvex Seek Trem
- Hughes & Kettner MKll Triamp

It's really common here - I actually don't have an amp in Europe because most of the shows we do have a shared backline that is supplied by the promoter. Yes, it can be a bit hit and miss - sometimes I have amazing amps and sometimes I have a dog, but usually it's all quite reasonable. I always have a Sansamp just in case though...
Personally I would never complain about not having to lug a quadbox

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the replies.

In this case, the bass cab they wanted to share for the whole night was a Behringer 410, which probably would not have tolerated my Peavey Classic 400 head. Fortunately, they were smart and switched it out with an SVT-810E cab, and it worked out fine. In fact, with my cab, I have to use an EQ in my fx loop to make it sound the way I want. With the Ampeg cab, I was able to bypass the EQ and sound even better, so in the end, it worked out great. The whole point of my concern here, though, is the fact that they booked us on the show, and then a month later sprung it on us that we would be sharing gear, and even then, the message they sent did not make it clear that it was mandatory. So I showed up at the gig with my cab, only to be told that I couldn't use it.

On a side note, I've decided I want an Ampeg SVT-810E. anybody got one they want to sell?

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My Rig:

http://www.elkvis.org/rig/

Honest to god, in my experience, the SVT 810E is almost crap compared to the SVT 410-HLF. The 410 HLF is a ported 4x10, and it has a LOT more deep end to it, and takes a lot less power to push. Two HLFs vs. a single 810E is no contest. The HLF just shakes the piss out of the place. But even it's no comparison to the Celestion G-18 cabs I used to use. If you stood near one, your contents of your bowels would literally be broken up, and you'd have diarrhea... Honestly, it's nuts.

As for promoter's equipment, I've usually had good luck with these, as promoters usually have a cache of amps that they keep. I see a lot of Silverface, modern but less common high end tube amps, as well as a lot of boutique bass amps and cabs, which are nice. Drums are the same ol same ol Company X's midrange line with Zildjians, and mics are always Shures... Not much surprise there. Bands I've played with used 60s and 70s Ludwig kits (which I have restored many of) or my Pearl kit, with Sabian HH and XS cymbals, or sometimes Paiste 2002 and Signature.

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Autistic Savant

Absolutely standard for a lot of gigs here. Especially in small places where any excess gear ends up piled at the side of the stage.


One thing that really pissed me off once was a band that refused to lend us a couple of cymbals (being poor students we only had hats and a crash/ride compromise thing, and we asked to borrow a seperate crash and ride) and then had the godamn cheek to ask if they could borrow our amps! Really wasn't impressed, I know cymbals are a bit more fragile than amps but it was the double standard that got to me.

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myspace.com/notnowthishorizon
myspace.com/hideshiseyesmusic

Ok, now that is ****ty.

Wow, reminds of an open mic we did where the guy who's kit was being used by everyone took off his expensive cymbals because of our drummer. When our drummer heard he said "what!?? I'd have to sit there for an hour constantly hitting the crash as hard as I could to break it!"

The other thing is, cymbals aren't nearly as expensive as an amp.

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Talking about wireless pedals...

Depends on the cymbal. I've worked with several drummers who played cymbals that were worth more than $2,500 a piece.

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Autistic Savant

I wouldn't imagine that open-mic-night-kid has $2500 cymbals on his kit, though.

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Stuff I use:
Standard Strat with Lace Hot Golds; Standard Ash Tele; Fulltone OCD, Line6 M9
My Music

regardless of what cabs sound better, the 810E sounded way better than the peavey 810TX I play through now. it has a very flat and lifeless tone. I've considered replacing the speaker baffle with a custom one with no port, and I've also considered replacing the speakers. any ideas on the best route to go?

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My Rig:

http://www.elkvis.org/rig/