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In the past when I have played in duos I have always played my guitar into an amp. No other effects or speakers.
However one duo that I was in (acoustic guitar) was with a guy that had gear from his band. I plugged into his mixing board which went into speakers. The sound was very good.
I'm in a new duo now and am wondering if I should stay playing through my amp, get something like a Bose L1 or go the full hog with a mixing board and speakers?
I'm not a gear nut at all and am most comfortable playing through my amp.
Perhaps we could start through amp and put money aside to invest in gear.
What are your duo gig set ups for a singer and a fingerstyle guitarist ( who doesn't sing).
Thank you
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03-26-2024 07:36 AM
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Depending on size of venue…I like playing through a tube amp and then the singer can use a simple all in one PA like a Bose S1 Pro. I think the overall sound will be more 3 dimensional coming from multiple sound sources. And talk about a clean and easy set-up.
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I find that a good PA is better for a more acoustic finger style guitar sound, but not your classic Jazz guitar tone, unless you're using a modeller. IMO.
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Yes, I love my Vox AC15C1 which is normally loud enough. However I did a large wedding reception in a bar once and the amp wasn't loud enough at the back of the room.
Originally Posted by alltunes
Someone else from the Modern Guitar Harmony camp got back to me and they go into the board which goes into the speakers.
Interesting to hear the different approaches.
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I would stick with the tube amp since you are comfortable with it.
As far as the wedding reception where the people in the back couldn't hear you, that's fine. If you play so loud that the people in the back can hear you, you are too loud for the people in front and everyone will move away from you. Then you're playing to an empty room because 100 people are crammed by the back wall. But, I also think everyone is too loud.
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In my view it is more useful to think of sound from the audience perspective rather than the player perspective.
From an audience perspective, all voices/instruments should emanate together from the same point (s) with very high horizontal dispersion. This means listeners can hear everything clearly regardless of where they stand or sit. Good horizontal dispersion also means the players can often eliminate monitors, and simply "monitor from the mains," which IMHO is best because players hear exactly what the audience is hearing.
Guitars often do sound better when played through guitar amplifiers, but most audiences are more interested in hearing a well-balanced totality of the sound rather than an incrementally better guitar tone, in my view.
These thoughts are based on my experience with two vocal/guitar duos (but with two vocals) over several years playing in wine bars and restaurants where we brought our own sound reinforcement gear. I use the same setup now (small line array, no amp) as a single.
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My duo, trumpet, guitar (1990 Benedetto Cremona w a Bartolini floater) and me on some vocals has been very pleased with the EV Evolve 30 line array. After years of toting around two powered speakers, mixer, cords, etc it was a welcome change. Also, being able to mix via Bluetooth is very handy. I line out my guitar amp to the EV. I was using my Evans JE200 for years but recently went to a Quilter Cub and it sounds great! Also half the weight of the Evans.
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This is a complicated analysis.
If both instruments are electronic, or mic'ed, the line array is really worth trying out. I've played through two and really liked both of them (L1 and a JBL, the one with 7 inputs). The sound doesn't seem to be coming out of a box, it feels like it's all around and seems very natural. Hard to describe, but I loved it for both guitar and vocals. I ran an XLR from my Little Jazz to the JBL.
But, if one is mic'ed and the other isn't, the line array might cause a problem -- projecting the sound of one further than the other and sounding unbalanced at some distance.
That said, before investing in a conventional PA I would suggest carefully checking out the line array option. I think they're very impressive.
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I do a fair amount of duo stuff where I happen also to be the (only) singer. I use a TC Helicon VoiceSolo (“personal pa” with built-in effects and vocal-oriented presets) for vocals and a guitar amp. My duos are either 2 guitars, bass + guitar, or keys + guitar.
The VoiceSolo mounts on my mic stand, which helps keeping stage clutter under control. I play small places where this suffices. In general I just find it much easier to play electric guitar through a guitar amp than a PA. I get the point about audience perspective, but I don’t think it really applies to the small restaurant/bar spaces where i play.
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I play finger style guitar in a duo with a female singer. I use a tube amp with an SM57 mic draped over it. The mic goes into the PA so the sound of the guitar is blended with the vocalist.
This seems to work well for us.
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Great. I have both so will try that Originally Posted by charleyrich99
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Even better then a 58….. Originally Posted by Liarspoker
If needed I will drape this (see below) in front of my amp and plug into the PA. Even in some smaller rooms I will do this but keep the channel on the PA low. Can make your amp sound bigger. The 609 is great because it fits in your gig bag and doesn’t require a stand.
Instrument microphone E 609 Silver | Sennheiser - Sennheiser
They make a more expensive version too the 906.
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