What was the sound like at gigs back in the days before big PA systems.

Roland

In a small venue you can sometimes get away without monitors because you can hear the PA reflecting off the back wall.

peteri

Great read.

I did my little bit of gigging mid/late 80’s, local pub stuff.

In 1987 my stage amp was a 50 Watt Marshall Jubilee into 2 4x12s, my top cab was my side with the other guitarist’s 4x12 underneath, same reversed his side.

Monitors were vocal and drums from memory - we certainly didn’t need monitors for guitar!

How anyone got served is beyond me - it was proper loud!

And (to 17 year old me) sounded glorious!

EricTheWeary

koneguitarist said:

I used to use wem column speakers, never knew what a monitor was used for...

... for putting your foot on in a rock star pose/ keeping the audience at arm's length/ taping the set list to. 

steven70

ICBM said:

koneguitarist said:

Went right back to the old days with small vocal PA and very small monitors for singer and drummer. Just running off of backline. sounded great. if you had discipline.

I still think there's something to be said for it in a small venue when you're playing below the level where the kit needs to be mic'ed - it gives a really nice natural mix in a way you just don't get with all the instruments through the PA, but you do need to know what you're doing and be prepared to listen to guidance from offstage to get the balance right. Positioning the amps and using EQ to mix rather than just volume is really important too.

That's my ideal gig sound- you can move around the room and tune into different vibes. Suppose it was the typical 'pub' setup when I was growing up. Using EQ to mix is interesting- and I suspect sometimes overlooked.

peteri said:

Great read.

I did my little bit of gigging mid/late 80’s, local pub stuff.

In 1987 my stage amp was a 50 Watt Marshall Jubilee into 2 4x12s, my top cab was my side with the other guitarist’s 4x12 underneath, same reversed his side.

Monitors were vocal and drums from memory - we certainly didn’t need monitors for guitar!

How anyone got served is beyond me - it was proper loud!

And (to 17 year old me) sounded glorious!

I remember a couple of rock pubs like that...had to point at your preferred beverage, hand over a couple of pound notes and pot luck what came back...health risks aside, was glorious.