Acoustic Set Without PA ?

RocknRollDave

Hi all,

Following on from the recent thread by @thecolourbox (http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/105407/unamplified-acoustic-tent-gig-gigs-now-done/p1) I may have a similar quandry.

As it happens, @thecolourbox was able to use a small PA in the end, so he was able to avoid unnecessary strain on his voice etc, but thoughts on this please:

You may have seen my thread where I asked what to charge extra for an acoustic set at a wedding gig.
Our agent-type chappy (an old acquaintance of mine, so the lines are a bit blurred) told me when he offered me the gig that I would need to source a 2nd PA for the acoustic set as it would be in a separate area to the main wedding set later in the evening, which itself would need to be set up before our acoustic set (in other words can't use the same PA and just move it after the first part of the day). No problem, after considering various options (massive Mackie speakers that we used to use as main PA = too big. Monitor speakers from our drummer's home studio = possibly too small etc etc) I had a facepalm moment where I remembered I could just borrow a Bose L1 from work. Tested it out with an acoustic and a mic...sounded perfectly decent for what I need. Job done.


Theeeeeeen, after some hinting and vagueness from agenty-chap, it transpires that there is no power to the area in question. I reitterate that we need power for the PA. He says he thought we were doing it acoustically? I remind him of the in-depth conversation we had about the second PA. He gigs himself, so he knows the score, he's not someone who thinks music magically appears out of electric guitars with no amps or anything.

I tell him we need power and he says he is going to check with the venue again when he is back from a trip later this week.


So...90 minutes of acoustic set with singing, followed by 2 x 1 hour sets of full band (again with me singing) later in the evening. I personally feel 90 minutes of unamplified singing, trying to make myself audible to any level, will rag my voice too much for later on. I appreciate it's just a background music wash for whilst drinks are being served, but still.

My initial feeling is that no power = no acoustic set and that I have to put my foot down on this. Am I being a diva?

EricTheWeary

Acoustic guitar just doesn't project all that well regardless of what it will do to your voice. So unless they are all going to sit quietly at your feet it may be a non starter. 
There are battery powered options but unless the fee is hefty enough to cover spending £250 on a Roland Street or similar I'm not sure that helps. 
The Bose L1 and a very long outdoor cable FTW. 

RocknRollDave

Yeah I think extra long extension (or, rather, extension into extension into extension) might have to be the answer. Without knowing the venue this means I have no way of knowing where the cable will run and what kind of trip hazard it will be...I can't exactly gaffer tape it all down if it's outside. 

EricTheWeary

something like this I guess

http://www.screwfix.com/p/masterplug-switched-4-socket-cable-reel-rcd-outdoor-power-25m-10a/55494

thecolourbox

The one I did would not have been possible in the end without the PA, the space it was in was quite large which worked nicely because of the PA, but would never have been heard without it. They had a sort of battery powered two speaker set up thing, I think a Behringer but could be wrong.

You undoubtedly have a louder voice than me as I'm very quiet and my guitar is a small one so also very quiet, but I think you need to find some way of amplifying it even just slightly. I couldn't hear myself acoustically that well let alone anybody else, though that was because of the bass sounds travelling from the main stage further down the hill. As a result I had to sing all my songs a tone higher as I couldn't hear my lowest notes well enough to pitch them accurately.

How many of you are there?

Interestingly The bluegrass band who finished the day at the one I played at (who were excellent) used their own speaker amp thing and had one of these types of mics which I'd not seen in person before, which amplified both members vocals and instruments (mandolin & guitar)

http://www.sontronics.com/Graphics/images/sontronics_halo.jpg

I think the amp was one of these though....pricey!

https://www.thomann.de/gb/acus_one_for_street_wood.htm

https://www.thomann.de/pics/bdb/382797/10935409_800.jpg

I think one of those power extension lead things that erictheweary has linked to above would be a winner

RocknRollDave

Thanks both!

Buying new gear - amps etc - is not definitely not an option I would be prepared to persue. Even if budget and wallet permitted, I still wouldn't feel comfortable buying new gear for one single performance in a venue that ought to be able to provide power.
I have plenty of mains power reels with thermal cut-out, and also a couple of RCD's I can use to ensure we don't fry (especially in the event of a weather disaster!) I guess my main concern with that is going to be whether, even with multiple extensions, the distance will be prohibitive and also what issues I will have with people tripping over the cables - not just for their safety but also for the risk of sudden unplugging mid-song


I'm hoping it's a dead simple solution and I can just run a looooong-ass cable (or five) with no fuss from the main building. I real, really , really do not want to sing unamplified, that is for sure.

Trude

I'd tell them to either provide (safe) power, or accept that you'll be delivering very quiet background music. If it ends up being acoustic then just relax and don't overdo it. If the punters can't hear then you can tell them to take it up with the organiser. 

maltingsaudio

For the cost of a decent battery powered acoustic amp you could get them to hire a suitable genie problem solved, or a quick google of backline hire in Birmingham threw up a few results give some them a bell and see if one of them has anything suitable, actually had a quick look Birmingham sound hire can hire you a battery powered PA speaker package for about £50

not_the_dj

maltingsaudio said:

For the cost of a decent battery powered acoustic amp you could get them to hire a suitable genie problem solved

http://wondersofdisney.disneyfansites.com/disfriends/aladdin/genie/genielamp.png

camf

thecolourbox said:

The one I did would not have been possible in the end without the PA, the space it was in was quite large which worked nicely because of the PA, but would never have been heard without it. They had a sort of battery powered two speaker set up thing, I think a Behringer but could be wrong.

You undoubtedly have a louder voice than me as I'm very quiet and my guitar is a small one so also very quiet, but I think you need to find some way of amplifying it even just slightly. I couldn't hear myself acoustically that well let alone anybody else, though that was because of the bass sounds travelling from the main stage further down the hill. As a result I had to sing all my songs a tone higher as I couldn't hear my lowest notes well enough to pitch them accurately.

How many of you are there?

Interestingly The bluegrass band who finished the day at the one I played at (who were excellent) used their own speaker amp thing and had one of these types of mics which I'd not seen in person before, which amplified both members vocals and instruments (mandolin & guitar)

http://www.sontronics.com/Graphics/images/sontronics_halo.jpg

I think the amp was one of these though....pricey!

https://www.thomann.de/gb/acus_one_for_street_wood.htm

https://www.thomann.de/pics/bdb/382797/10935409_800.jpg

I think one of those power extension lead things that erictheweary has linked to above would be a winner

I've got one of these - the ACUS - for jams in the house - it's great!

RocknRollDave

Well, now agenty-chappy has got back to me to say "there are plenty of power points in the patio area"....so after all that, it's not an issue at all!

Phew

not_the_dj

Well that's taken all the fun out of it!