Equipment Requirements
By George O'Brien - Arizona Correspondent
This is a series of articles on building an Irish/Celtic band in Arizona. In Part 1, I discussed the questions: "Do You Really Want To Be A Professional Musician?" and "Do You Really Want To Do Irish Music?" In Part 2, I looked at "Can You Fill The Role Of Band Leader?", In Part 3, I asked "What Kind Of Irish/Celtic Band Do You Want To Build?" and "What Performance Style Should You Have?" In Part 4 I discussed "Who Should Be In The Band?" In Part 5 I discussed "What Is Your Repertoire?" In Part 6 I discussed "Do You Have Stage Presence?"
DO YOU HAVE THE EQUIPMENT TO RUN A BAND?
The equipment requirements for having a band depend on the style music being done. A solo folk artist can get by with a guitar, a small portable amplifier, a couple of microphones, some mic stands, and stool. A regular pub band needs a truck load of equipment, cases for carrying the stuff, and a truck to haul it around in. Traditional bands and contradance bands generally use less elaborate systems, but still needs a lot more than the novice might imagine.
The technical requirements of equipping a band go beyond the scope of this series (and well beyond my personal knowledge). However, there are some principles that should be used in beginning the search.
ASK OTHER MUSICIANS BEFORE BUYING ANYTHING - It is hard to know exactly what kind of equipment the band needs. Ask members of other bands that are doing comparable work what they are using and why. Find out how much they paid and whether they would do anything differently knowing what they know now.
Our bands are tend to be quite supportive of one another. In a pinch, they may even offer to lend some pieces of equipment to a new band doing its first few gigs. In other cases, they may be willing to sell good used equipment if they are upgrading their systems.
PLAN FOR THE LARGEST VENUE THE BAND IS LIKELY TO PLAY AT - A band with a minimal eight channel mixing board, a low powered amplifier, and minimal cord lengths will probably be limited to playing at coffee houses and other small venues. Pub bands need a lot more power and more sophisticated equipment.
When specifications are set for an Irish band, the power needed to do vocals tends to be underestimated. Inadequate power leads to a "muddy" sound that destroys much of the clarity many vocalists would require. (I am told that the vocal clarity sought by Arizona Irish bands may go beyond the norm sought by Irish music performers in other areas).
GET THE BEST EQUIPMENT YOU CAN AFFORD - The band should try to get the best speakers they can afford with a heavy emphasis on durability. Some equipment can handle a lot of abuse, but even small distortions in a speaker can make the band sound absolutely awful. Speaker size is a recurring problem due to the size limits of the venue and the carrying space of the truck or van. Most bands have speaker stands.
MIXING BOARD - The band should get a first rate mixing board. Many of the bands have gone to 24 channel boards. This might seem like overkill for a four piece band. After handling voice microphones instrument plug ins for each player, it might not look like they need more than eight channels. However, many bands have discovered that it is easier to plug in every instrument that might be used and set the sound levels during sound checks rather than readjusting for every instrument switch. Bands have also found that sometimes channels "break down", so it is easier to switch channels than to run to the shop every time this happens.
Most bands want to have "monitors" (special speakers that play back to the band so they know how they sound). Many bands like to have a separate monitor for each channel. It all adds up.
MICROPHONE STANDS - Some things like microphone stands can become a problem. Most bands get hinged microphone stands that can not only be adjusted up and down, but also provide room for a guitar or other instrument to be played while singing. I saw one band have serious vocal problems because their vocalist could not reach the microphone while playing the guitar. In certain cases, the microphone stand may be set on the floor in front of the stage, so it needs to be big enough to handle that extra requirement.
QUALITY MICROPHONES - The importance of buying quality microphones is generally self evident. Most vocalists use directional microphones so they can be set at higher level without feedback. However, vocalists who move around and try to sing across the mic rather than into the mic may need omnidirectional microphones.
PRE-AMPS - A number of bands use pre-amps. There are a variety of reasons for this, but the most obvious is that it reduces the length of the cords being used and ensures there is no loss of signal strength.
RADIO CONTROLLED PICKUPS - Radio controlled pickups are becoming common for instrumentalists that feel constrained by having to drag a cord around on stage. It is extremely important that this be a top of the line unit. I heard one band have sound distortions when his remote pickup was picking up a local radio station!
CARRY EXTRA CABLES AND REPLACEMENT ITEMS - Extra cables and long cables are extremely valuable. You never know where your are going to be set up, and some places impose a need for extra cable. It is a great idea to put identification tags on every cable to help in matching the cables to the channel on the board. ID's on the cables can also help to make sure other people don't walk off with them.
Many pickups require batteries and it is not always easy to find batteries at midnight during the last set. Extra items such as batteries, instrument strings, guitar picks, etc. should be carried at all times. Ask other bands what kinds of problems they have had so you can prepare.
It is not always necessary to buy everything "new" right at the start. Quality used equipment can often be obtained from other bands that are upgrading. Sometimes equipment can be borrowed for a few gigs. In any case, the band needs to make sure that part of the money received from every gig goes into getting the best equipment they can afford. The band will never sound any better than the equipment it is using.
[This is the seventh in the series "On Building an Irish Band in Arizona".]
This site hosted by FASTQ
Arizona Information on IrishAbroad.com
