I had my first experience using my PAS strictly as my guitar amp in a conventional triple system environment Monday night. I had been skeptical of doing this, and when gigs as a "gun for hire" came my way (that weren't with my all-PAS band) I always brought my old rig of tube amp & pedalboard, just to make sure that I'd "fit in". Eventually, I just stopped taking gigs like this - after several months of playing in an all PAS situation, these "conventional" gigs became very frustrating for me, and sonically unbearable - reminding me all to well of why I was ready to quit prior to discovering the PAS. I agreed to do this particular gig as a favor to a close friend who had run out of guitar options. I told him up front that the Bose system IS my rig now, and that's what I'd be playing through.

My friend in need is a Rod Stewart impersonator, and he does an excellent job - he's landed jobs all over the country, from Vegas to Atlantic City, so I knew it would be a pro situation. The gig was an Independence Day celebration at the beautiful seaside town of Bath, Maine. They had blocked off a section of the ocean road, and we were on a flatbed stage overlooking a scenic park that lead down to the bay. The entire area was a fun carnival atmosphere - ferris wheel, kids rides, cotton candy, game booths...the works. And the main stage was right in the middle of the "midway" between the ring toss and a fried dough booth...it was really a fun family atmosphere. They had been having nearly constant live music all weekend long, and we were closing the celebration with two sets before the big fireworks display, and one set afterward to end the weekend.

I made sure to bring along a couple of direct box options, active, passive, db pads, etc, fearing a confrontation with the sound engineer over the PAS. I was immediately put at ease when the owner of the sound company came up to me and said "Cool, you have one of those new Bose sticks. I'm a Bose dealer, and have tons of 802's and 502's - I love the Bose stuff. I can't wait to hear it." Halleluiah, an open minded sound man..that's like winning the lottery - same odds . As if my fears weren't put to rest enough, I looked over at the sax player setting up for the night, and it was none other than Bruce McGrath of THE Linemen - the Bose demo band. Talk about good PAS reinforcement. Well now I felt just fine. I set up my stuff (lots of guitars for this gig...electrics, acoustic, 12 string, mandolin, lap slide) and we did a quick level check straight out of the PAS line out, and I got a big thumbs up from the FOH engineer across the street. Cool. The sound company owner - a older gentleman with over 40 years experience running sound - sat himself at the monitor board behind the band at the back corner of the flatbed...another good sign.

I only do background vocals with this band, so I opted to just run my guitar through the PAS, and have my vocal mic run conventionally - things were going too good, and I didn't want to make any waves or jinx anything. Well, we started up, and much to my surprise, the blend was excellent right from the get-go. This "old guy" on the monitors really knew what he was doing, and my guitar blended in perfectly with his monitor mix. I had a great mix in my monitor of the rest of the band, and everyone said they could hear me perfectly throughout the stage.

We had a great night watching the sun set, the carnival lights come alive, and the fireworks display over the bay - we had the best view in town from the stage. The crowd was very enthusiastic, and the sound on stage was great... No ringing ears on the ride home, and none of the sonic frustrations that had plagued my last several "conventional" gigs, essentially causing me to quit. What a HUGE difference a good sound engineer can make.

So now I feel pretty confidant about using my PAS as my ONLY guitar rig, regardless of the gig. I can only hope that if and when I agree to do another "conventional" gig, that the monitor guy is half as good as this one was...but I know what the odds of that are.

- gittar-jonz, July 6, 2005 -

full thread here

just curious to how the sound guy amped your sound from the stage in order to mix you in with everyone else. was the stage miked from the front or a mike infront of your pole??
varius