How to effectively set up for a band rehearsal
Stop! Look! Listen! Think!
Yep, it’s great to plug in, crank it up & blow everyone away. Who cares that we can’t actually hear what each other is playing when we are in full flow? If we’re tight enough, the sonic force of air moving should be enough, right?
I understand. I’ve spent most of my musical life playing volume chess with the bass player. “Hmm, I think I need to go up a touch?” or “You’re too f*cking loud! Just turn down you d*ck!” Are all valid and totally professional ways to behave in studios.
But what could we do to improve the sound in a rehearsal? Sound waves are bouncing all around the room, cheekily phase cancelling & doubling up with each other to create a total aural mess. Though here at Brighton Electric we do equip diffusor/absorber panels to control the studio sound somewhat, we never want to dampen anything too much as essentially that is no fun & sounds a bit weird. By the way, carpet on walls is just about the worst thing you can do. Remove all the exciting top end & leave those dull mid range ‘boxy’ frequencies in charge. I don’t think so.
So here it is : Work towards getting a better picture of what the whole band actually sounds like. When I recorded local cult heroes Charlottefield’s debut album they set up in a semi-circle & spent at least a day adjusting their individual amp volumes to match the volume of the drummer. OK this was for a live studio album but the idea is the same.
Drummers don’t have volume controls, though I’m sure we all wish they did. This means that the volume of your drummer is a given. As an amazing guitarist you can actually vary your own volume below 11 simply by twisting the knob that says ‘master’ on your amp. For even better tone, turn down the input stage (channel or input gain) & keep the master output high. It produces a less ‘fizzy’ & more harmonic distortion from the output tubes. Nice.
Space is great. Towering over your own amp & standing close to it are not great for hearing detail. Lift combos up onto amp stands, they will sound better. Step away.
Go on, try it. All you have to do is move the amps around a little, so the sound has a little space to propagate, opposite you is good..Not too close. Give those groovy waves space. Move similar sounding amps further apart. Create a drummer sandwich with amps either side. Then ask ‘Sticks’ to start drumming. Work through your instrumentation individually and adjust the volumes appropriately so you can clearly hear the drums cut through your sound. Could be the best 10 mins you’ve spent in a while.
Wanna get obssessive about it? Get an EQ pedal & make some sonic space for the other instruments, top end please? Don’t mind if I do. Guitartists, you can afford to roll some low end off to give Mr Bassballs some room to roam. Try it, I think you may well be surpised at how much difference a little consideration can make to the quality of your practice & therefore the sound of your band. Good luck!
