Just watching a show on backstage secrets featuring RUSH on this Snakes and Arrows tour --- notable in his rack is an Avalon Pre and a Palmer PDI-05...actually two of each...

The day's of huge speakers on stage and massive stage volume are gone for most major acts.
It's side wash monitors, fill monitors, flying monitors, and spot monitors for guitar feedback. The monitor mix guys have better stuff than the FOH guys had 10 tears ago.

The FOH guys/gal's won the war

What is even more interesting is that I didn't see any mic's on Alex Lifeson's stacks...He uses Hughs and Kettner amps...they must have a direct out or something...

Watched Matchbox 20 concert on HDTV yesterday..couldn't see any mic's on the guitar players Bad Cats...

I read on the net that Keith Urban's Bad Cat stacks are only for show on stage..the real amp is a 20W something under the stage...

quote:

Originally posted by Dutchman:
The day's of huge speakers on stage and massive stage volume are gone for most major acts.
It's side wash monitors, fill monitors, flying monitors, and spot monitors for guitar feedback. The monitor mix guys have better stuff than the FOH guys had 10 tears ago.

The FOH guys/gal's won the war

Even more, I'm seeing ears on touring acts. It's probably easier and cheaper for them to do the in-ears and not have to worry about carrying wedges and poweramps and the whole 9, or being dependent on dodgy monitors at a club and all the fun that comes with...the ears are more consistent and such.

I'm guessing that in the case of Rush, Alex is using an amp offstage...those cabs MIGHT be functional...but probably only as stage wash...

My dad worked at a music shop when I was a little kid (and he was still playing 4 nights a week) and he happened to ask his Marshall rep what their biggest selling item was...

...his answer?

...empty 4x12 cabs.

Urban's changed amp brands so often--and every time he does, there's a whole poser wall of them on stage with him. Matchless stopped paying him so he went with Bad Cat...I don't know how he gets his tone out of either one, frankly-I find modern Matchless and Bad Cat to not do well with single coils. Probably runs a Drz behind the stage wall of empties.

Geddy's toured with the same setup for years, I thought--Alvon U5 and a SansAmp rack amp sim. Both fed to the house mixer and blended to taste from there.

LIFESON has used a palmer speaker simulator for years....
PDI 03 Speaker Simulator , i believe...

THE PDI-03 ($565 RETAIL/STREET N/A) IS A combination signal splitter, DI, and load box designed specifically for guitar and bass. According to designer Martin Schmitz, this reissue is nearly identical to the original...

as used by van halen...
satriani....
keith richards..

i'm suprised you guys don't know this stuff...


one of the reasons i went to the palmer pdi-09 for recording, now that i can't crank my cab and mic it typically...

works like a charm.

hey, if it's good enough for THOSE guys.......!

Just saw Rush when they played the Idaho Center on the 3rd...floor seats about 15 rows back, near dead center. The boys played great as always but the house mix was awash in flabby, low end mud. Was the same story when I saw them on the Test For Echo tour....but I digress.

At various points during the show Alex would go over and fiddle with his stage amps and I swear I could hear subtle differences in tone when he did that. Don't remember seeing any mics on his cabs but I'm pretty sure they were indeed operational and in the main house mix.

the stage speakers are just for alex (and for show)..

the FOH sees the palmer only.

I did a big festival gig this weekend playing with the opener...Travis Tritt was the headliner. We got to hang at the side of the stage and watch his road crew run Crown Royal and Coke Zero to him throughout his show...Between him and his guitar player, they almost polished off a 26'er...but I digress...

The lead gunner was playing this new-type Fender head into a Marshall slant-cab that was FACING BACKWARDS and he was wearing in-ears...He told me after that he was going direct from the head amp and all the effects were built in the head...The backward facing cab was cranked and it was providing some air-movement to compliment the in-ears...The gunner in the other opener band, Whiskey Falls, had his amps facing backwards as well -- and it was still loud as hell on that outdoor stage...

BTW, Travis Tritt had a Keeley pedalboard full of Keeley pedals...java boost, katana, 4 knob compressor...and his sound wasn't all that shit-hot...I ran my Bravo in stereo with a Fender Twin and I thought my rig kicked ass over his...