Gigging - convenience vs tone?

**kris** · 03-14-2013, 04:21 AM

Originally Posted by pkirk

My opinion: For a wallpaper/restaurant type gig where nobody listens, bring the smallest *looking* rig. Cranky clients see a large speaker and "hear" loud music and complain, even if the amp is turned off!

For anything else, especially if people are listening, it depends on the space and the volume. In my experience if you play with a drummer the subtlety/timbre of fancy archtop/hifi amp is lost, I go for a stereo reverb/rig to spread the sound.

In a drummerless duo or trio in a nice acoustic space where people are listening is when to bring the your favorite sounding gear.

Jim How is that tiny stereo amp working out?

+1

**kris** · 03-14-2013, 04:34 AM

Originally Posted by Jim Soloway

I don't know if I will keep the eight. At least in theory, I've gotten set up as an RE dealer and the Stealth 10 was the first cab I bought to be my "inventory". I already owned the NY 8. So taking the Stealth 10 kind of commits me to keep it. I ended up taking the NY 8 and it did the job but there was a part of me that thought it would have sounded better with the 10. Part of the attraction is that I'm tuned down to C#, so there's a LOT of bass going on. The 8 handles it but the 10 just breezes through it. I don't play out again until Monday so now I get a few days to think about it. The good news is that the gig went well and it felt great to be back in action (although I had forgotten ow hard it can be on my hand to play three hours straight).

Congrat!
Solo playing is a hard work.
All The Best
kris

**xuoham** · 03-14-2013, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by Jim Soloway

...the gig went well and it felt great to be back in action (although I had forgotten ow hard it can be on my hand to play three hours straight).

Jim, congrats on the gig.

Please excuse me for asking a probably naive and ridiculous question (i heard your music several times, i do like it) but three hours seems like gigantic to me.
I am not really a jazz player, at least not as a job, so i have hard times imagining what you did:

Only your own comps, stretched and highly improvised ?
Added some standards and, i guess, mostly ballads ?
Freely did some modal impros ?
Freely noodled on some vaguely planned chord progression ?

All of this, i guess, but i'd be really interested to know ...

Thank you

**Jim Soloway** · 03-14-2013, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by xuoham

Jim, congrats on the gig.

Please excuse me for asking a probably naive and ridiculous question (i heard your music several times, i do like it) but three hours seems like gigantic to me.
I am not really a jazz player, at least not as a job, so i have hard times imagining what you did:

Only your own comps, stretched and highly improvised ?
Added some standards and, i guess, mostly ballads ?
Freely did some modal impros ?
Freely noodled on some vaguely planned chord progression ?

All of this, i guess, but i'd be really interested to know ...

Thank you

For many years, I was a singer who played guitar so pretty much everything I play is in the context of songs (even though I'm not singing now). I don't noodle much and and I have studiously avoided modes for my entire adult life. Mostly I play standards, or at least my interpretation of them (which often includes some fairly extensive re-imaging of them). I don't write a lot but there are a few originals, and after enough years the've started to add up (and I have been writing a bit more lately) but the heart of my repertoire is made up of things like Jimmy Van Heusen, Richard Rodgers, Gershwin, Cole Porter etc. I also do several Brazilian tunes and I even do a barely recognizable version of Little Wing.

**xuoham** · 03-14-2013, 12:57 PM

Thank you, i got it.

Well, then i guess it's a lot of tunes, around 45, 50 ?

If the audience is not closely paying attention and one can play relaxed, that is, if
memory black holes don't mean you're dead, i guess it must have some very pleasant moments.
Besides the strain of playing non stop.

**mr. beaumont** · 03-14-2013, 01:02 PM

Yeah, the solo gig can be a lot of fun, even if you're just background music...gives some freedom, you can stretch out...I'll often play tunes a few times through when improvising--at slower to medium tempos that can be well over 5 minutes a song.

For a three hour gig, I'd bring probably 3 sets of 15 songs, knowing I might not get to everything, which is fine. Better to overplan...but the truth is, if it's a restaurant gig, your audience is ever-changing...playing a tune in the third set you played in the first is never a big deal, really...

**Keira Witherkay** · 03-14-2013, 01:07 PM

hi ya Jim, congrats on the gig ,

re the question.. dude carrying an 8" cab or a 10 " cab is not a great difference .... so yeah go with "best tone" if it was a 4x12 i would say forget it heheheheh

i also have various rigs for my different gigs... and i also work on a reasoning of "how much am i being paid" cos as much as the 'compact gear " can get the job done in most venues BUT a big rig even quietly will sound better especially for jazz.....where a fat tone is always better ... but if the gig is a 50 seater bistro paying minimum rates and you just background music ...for me i would bring a nice sounding "compact rig" and not go overboard with the gear ....

enjoy the gig and tell us how it goes ...

**Keira Witherkay** · 03-14-2013, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Yeah, the solo gig can be a lot of fun, even if you're just background music...gives some freedom, you can stretch out...I'll often play tunes a few times through when improvising--at slower to medium tempos that can be well over 5 minutes a song.

For a three hour gig, I'd bring probably 3 sets of 15 songs, knowing I might not get to everything, which is fine. Better to overplan...but the truth is, if it's a restaurant gig, your audience is ever-changing...playing a tune in the third set you played in the first is never a big deal, really...

ahmen to that . i loooove soft background instrumental gigs and do as many of them as i can ......

and yes you need lots of songs in the repetoire but most players doing the solo jazz guitar scene that i have bumped into world wide are also old dinasours like me ...and by the time you been a pro for 20yr or more you comfortable to be able to play 80 -100 jazz standards from memory .... so for me i have that amount memorised (till my memory fades even more than it has already ) and then i have all the real books and fake books as e books so i can look up anything i may have forgotten ..

so yes for me solo jazz guitar is by far my favourite avenue of performing , also forget using back tracks ...grrrrrrrr nothing freaks me out more than a solo jazz guitar player who uses backtrax..... i get why rock solo artists do it but for jazz there's so much that can be done with just the guitar ........and no need for tracks (end of rant)

**mikeSF** · 03-14-2013, 03:08 PM

on Saturday I played a 4 hour solo gig at a large department store, out in the center of the sales floor. I decided to bring my "better" sounding rig for a fuller bottom. I always start out quiet and expect to gradually get louder as people get comfortable hearing the music...
Well, within 16 bars of the first tune, a few sales people ran over to ask me turn down. I was playing so softly, I could not believe they felt it was too loud. I complied and about 30 minutes into the gig, the same person came back and asked me to turn down more. I swear my volume knob was already in that mysterious area between no signal and the first blinking on of volume, i had nowhere to go. I was puzzled that they would even hire a musician when some of the sales people were determined to prevent the music from ever being heard! I literally could barely hear myself over the piped in store music above. Ultimately, I conceded that I was being paid anyway and proceeded to play 4 hours as a virtual pantomime.

I will make an appointment to have my hearing checked...i think?

**mr. beaumont** · 03-14-2013, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by Keira Witherkay

forget using back tracks ...grrrrrrrr nothing freaks me out more than a solo jazz guitar player who uses backtrax..... i get why rock solo artists do it but for jazz there's so much that can be done with just the guitar ........and no need for tracks (end of rant)

Does the forum have a "love" button?

The guitar is one of a VERY small handful of instruments that can provide it's own accompanyment. Embrace the guitar!

**benjazzman82** · 03-15-2013, 10:47 AM

i am a guitarist that uses backing tracks regularly. I have 3 weekly residencies that want a whole band sound but either dont have the room or the budget to have one.

I will be honest and say that i prefer gigging with a band but the backing tracks provide a great platform for easy restaurant/resthome/wedding gigs.

The bonus i find is that guitarists never want to play using backing tracks so this free's up alot of the market down here for me.

At the end of the day i am the one with 3 residencies as week and alot of other solo players find it hard to get work round here.

WE may not like it as musicians but the people who pay my wages LOVE it and for that reason alone i wont stop using backing tracks in the near future.

As far as tone vs convenience, i always take my Eastmans to jazz gigs and generally find the tone i want out of a 40xl cube....soon to be replaced by a mambo head with a custom 2x10 cab.

cheers guys

Ben

**jorgemg1984** · 03-15-2013, 11:22 AM

So far I have avoided backing tracks, thank god. But as things are never say never... I personally find backing tracks hideous I don't even use them to practice. Jazz must leave room for the unexpected. I never quite understood why venues would want that - at that point you might as well get a good DJ instead. Seems like the worst of both worlds to me, honestly.

**mr. beaumont** · 03-15-2013, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

So far I have avoided backing tracks, thank god. But as things are never say never... I personally find backing tracks hideous I don't even use them to practice. Jazz must leave room for the unexpected. I never quite understood why venues would want that - at that point you might as well get a good DJ instead. Seems like the worst of both worlds to me, honestly.

I don't real hold anything against cats who use tracks...I just won't do it. I'm lucky enough to have teaching as my main gig so I don't have to take gigs I don't want--or gig at all, which I'm not doing (aside from a few private parties here and there) now as my wife and I raise our 15 month old son. There'll be time to gig again later...now it's shed time and Dad time.

I've worked hard to be able to play a 3 hour gig solo, and I'm proud of that, so yeah, it's a pride thing...I'm glad I have the luxury to feel that way.

**benjazzman82** · 03-15-2013, 11:47 AM

you see Jeff, that where i want to be. I am not there yet but being able to play a 3hr set is a fantastic achievement.

Kudos.

**feet** · 03-15-2013, 11:52 AM

jim won't be happy until he is playing air guitar going directly into people's heads.

how are you travelling/loading in? i'd suck it up the first time and take the stealth 10 just to learn the venue and see what you can get away with. if its a huge issue, a cart or a dolly or whatever can't be that much. as for me, a 1x12 and a pedaltrain nano with a few relevant pedals is what i take. i prefer to take the tophat because its lighter, but the vox works better at the moment.

though this thread has gotten me thinking- maybe i should fix up my vox ac4 so i could get to gigs on my bike

i may like to try a winfield typhoon ef84 head because those are teeny tiny, as well.

and yes, backing tracks live are kind of creepy to me. mainly because they sound super cheesy, and then they sound even worse run through an ipod into a guitar amplifier. and hearing the ipod clicks through the amp kills me, too. but if you have to, you have to. i suppose my issues are more with the tracks themselves, and not people using them. still, i don't think i could ever bring myself to using them. a looper is already pushing it for me.

**mr. beaumont** · 03-15-2013, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by benjazzman82

you see Jeff, that where i want to be. I am not there yet but being able to play a 3hr set is a fantastic achievement.

Kudos.

Thanks.

I just takes time...I'm nobody special. Took me about 3 years of steady work to get the repertoire up big enough, and it keeps evolving...I don't play a lot of tunes any more I did at the beginning, tired of them, I guess...or my brain can only hold so much...and there's still HUNDREDS of common tunes I should know, as I'm really figuring out this year with my "Song of the Week" project...

Back to Jim's quest, I totally get it. Now my gig rig can be carried on my back and one hand, one trip from the car or I can even hack it on public tran (though that is NOT my favorite way to gig travel)...

Once you see how small you can go and still sound great, you keep thinking...

**jorgemg1984** · 03-15-2013, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I don't real hold anything against cats who use tracks...I just won't do it. I'm lucky enough to have teaching as my main gig so I don't have to take gigs I don't want--or gig at all, which I'm not doing (aside from a few private parties here and there) now as my wife and I raise our 15 month old son. There'll be time to gig again later...now it's shed time and Dad time.

I've worked hard to be able to play a 3 hour gig solo, and I'm proud of that, so yeah, it's a pride thing...I'm glad I have the luxury to feel that way.

I plan to do that too - just finishing my jazz degree and then try to have my life stable with teaching music. It's the best way to me!

**mr. beaumont** · 03-15-2013, 12:16 PM

Teaching is great...if you like teaching.

I'm a high school teacher and a private guitar teacher, so I get to see a little bit of all of it...but it's a fine way to make a living, for me.

**Jim Soloway** · 03-15-2013, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Back to Jim's quest, I totally get it. Now my gig rig can be carried on my back and one hand, one trip from the car or I can even hack it on public tran (though that is NOT my favorite way to gig travel)...

Once you see how small you can go and still sound great, you keep thinking...

Just to give this some context, I should probably add that this gig is at the airport and it's on the wrong side of the security check. So not only do I have to haul the gear a fairly long way, but I have to take it through the security process just like a passenger. I don't have to wait in line but I do have to take all my stuff off the cart and run it through the x-ray machine with my shoes off and then reassemble it (and me) at the other side. On the other hand, I'm playing through the Stealth 10 this morning and it does sound really good.

**Bryan T** · 03-15-2013, 12:24 PM

Interesting gig. I'd get tired of security really quickly!

**Jim Soloway** · 03-15-2013, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by Bryan T

Interesting gig. I'd get tired of security really quickly!

It's definitely the worst part but other than that it's a really good gig to get me back to playing out a lot again. It's Monday evening and Wednesday afternoon, which are both really convenient times. I play three hours with no pressure, no rules, other than keeping the volume reasonable. No one tells me what to play and people seem to really appreciate having some gentle music in what is otherwise a high stress activity for most of them. I get to solidify a purely instrumental repertoire with no phones ringing and no e-mails asking me about guitars. And best of all, it makes me feel like I have that part of my life moving back in the right direction.

**Keira Witherkay** · 03-15-2013, 02:34 PM

Oh cool an airport gig .... I love travelling to thailand and the surrounds and often pass thru singapore airport .... And that airport also has a few live music acts too , i forget his name but a few yrs back i met an american guitarist who was teaching jazz in singapore doing a solo guitar and female vocal duo gig at the airport ... Beautiful and a tastefull jazz player .... Always remember those flights fondly... Sadly someone else was there the next trip

So yeah jim nice gig , and i get it re security ... Can't be easy ... Do they allow a baggage trolley?

Anyway a cool , unusual gig ... Keep us posted , also who knows what celebs or industry people might hear you , so it may lead to greater things ...

**jorgemg1984** · 03-15-2013, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Teaching is great...if you like teaching.

I'm a high school teacher and a private guitar teacher, so I get to see a little bit of all of it...but it's a fine way to make a living, for me.

I basically teach the most these days. I agree it's a fine way, I love it. But I do wish I'de be having a little more gigs than I've had recently.