earachemyeye Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 We arrive at the establishment early anticipating alot of fun and friends start showing up. Setup goes well, we've got some time to relax and have a beer and then the shit hits the fan, no sound from the moniters. Then the mains (which were working fine) started to buzz and cut out and then we lost all power to the board. It's 9:30 - showtime. Doom is now looming over us and the bar owner is getting pretty tense, he wants a show. We scramble home to get what gear we have from our basement studios to cobble something together and after an hour and a half we were playing with a bare bones PA from the stage. Wires EVERYWHERE. The show went pretty well and the owner paid us in full. I think he felt sorry for us. God help us I hope it gets easier from here. I couldn't sleep last night from the adreneline. Joe
princeofdarkness56 Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 It's only rock and roll, but I like it.
SirDouglas Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 at least you got to play and got paid... ive had gigs where our board went out and there was no getting ahold of anyone.... bleh... we got paid but it was all bare bones amps and drums.... hoot 3 hour jam session.... i always have a back up jsut in case now.. always be prepared... murphy is waiting for opportunities like this haha hope it doesnt happen to ya again man Sir Douglas Randy
HSB0531 Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 I don't know what gear you have, but if all your equipment was in a single rack, and plugged into a rackmount power strip, that may be the culprit.Or, the wall outlet that your PA rack is plugged into might have an intermittant problem, or wired in reverse. Get a outlet tester at a Home Depot or other hardware store. Use this to check outlets before you plug in. Also ask the club owner if he's got anything else on that circuit, like A/C or a refrigerator. Power surges from compressor motors can damage your equipment, or at the very least create a nasty buzz.
earachemyeye Posted August 28, 2005 Author Posted August 28, 2005 Guess I forgot to mention that it was the clubs PA and not a small one either. It was impossible to trace all the wires back since it was stuffed into a booth. The mains and subs were mounted in the ceiling and the wiring to the stage was in conduit. Also NOTHING was labled. SHEESH!!Joe
Steve Haynie Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Some people may laugh at small box shaped powered mixers, but they are absolutely worth every penny when a situation like yours happens. Anyone who has a PA system needs a backup. An eight channel powered mixer can be a lifesaver.
HSB0531 Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Ahh....so!It was the House PA that crapped out!In a situation like that, it's the club owners responsability, not ours, to keep it maintained. So if You weren't able to do the gig, He's the one that should take the heat.
Eric Weston Posted August 29, 2005 Posted August 29, 2005 Some people may laugh at small box shaped powered mixers, but they are absolutely worth every penny when a situation like yours happens. Anyone who has a PA system needs a backup. An eight channel powered mixer can be a lifesaver. Yup, we ended up using my little Yamadog 12 channel-200x2 watt mixer from my basement. We ran the main mid/high cabs off one side and chained all the monitors to the other for the first set. I can't believe it didn't burn up she was absolutely dimed. During our "break" we swapped into the drummers x-over and amp rack from his basement and ran 2 more cables into the ceiling to power the subs hanging up there. Then we had some serious power, but it was midnite already, AAARRRRGGGHHH!!! We ROCKED the house regardless of the BS and earned every f-ing cent (and then some). May the next gig be a little smoother.... it can only get better!!! Doc's Landing-Wednesday Sept 7th--- I can't wait edit to add- there were six Hamers on stage, did I get a picture? AARRRGGHH!-next time....
BCR Greg Posted August 29, 2005 Posted August 29, 2005 The clubowner's PA blew and he leaned on YOU?Drop that place.
tafkathundernotes Posted August 29, 2005 Posted August 29, 2005 The clubowner's PA blew and he leaned on YOU?Drop that place. +1 on that.He should have paid you guys extra for providing the PA when it wasn't part of the original deal.
earachemyeye Posted August 29, 2005 Author Posted August 29, 2005 Yeah he was a little tense at first. I think he thought our sound guy F'd something up because the PA never gave him trouble before. We don't really want to turn away work right now just starting out and all but I certainly hope to play bigger and better places in the near future. Joe
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