Basic Solo Acoustic Equipment Set Up (and Cost)

In this chapter I want to cover the basic equipment expectations of a corporate event or wedding client as well as a few tips and tricks that will help you out when putting your system together.

To make it easier to talk about I will assume you are a solo musician who plays acoustic guitar and sings. But a good portion of what I cover here will directly apply to a piano player/singer or any other sort of solo or duo instrumentalists or vocalists.

If you want to skip ahead and take a look at my own equipment checklist before reading through the literature, you can do that here Zach’s EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST. On the Checklist I have included the generic equipment items you should have to successfully play corporate gigs and weddings at a professional level. I have also included links to the specific make and model of the pieces of gear that I use on my gigs as well as the price of each item.

So let’s dive right in!

While there are some really great events out there that will have a Stage, Mic pack, Cables and a PA (or speaker) system set up for you to “Plug and Play” when you arrive, and of course a super friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, great smelling sound guy ready to cater to your every sonic whim (Ha!…DISCLAIMER: I only feel like I can make fun of sound guys because I was a sound guys for so many years! And some of my best friends are still the best in the business!), the majority of the events will want you to be completely self-contained with the exception of access to power and a clean, flat, reasonably sized performance area, both of which the event should provide.

PRO TIP: Access to power and the above mentioned performance area are both things you should specify in your “Performers Agreement”. For example I require power to be within 2 feet of my performance area (then I carry a 20’ extension cord just in case!). See my chapter on “Contracts” to see how best to word and include these kinds of requirements into your contract.

A self contained system means that as long as you are provided a place to plug in, you shouldn’t need anything else form the venue or events team to be able to provide quality sounding music for the duration of event. No extra lights after it gets dark (you should bring them), no additional cables (you should have them), no “hey do you guys have an extra mic stand I can use…” (cause you packed one). Your system should contain everything you need.

With that in mind, It is extremely important to consider what I call the 4 tenants of your Equipment set up; Portability, Durability, Affordability, and Performance. Or PDAP (“Pee-Dap”. Say it a couple times. Fun right?). You should try to keep these 4 tenants in mind when considering each piece of gear in your set up. We will return to this idea more than once in the remainder of the chapter.

But first… Can You hear me….?

PA System

While you may be billed as a solo “Acoustic” performer, this does not mean that it is you and your acoustic guitar just singing “acoustically” into the night sky.

To be able to provide music for 50 (or 500) people, you will obviously need to amplify guitar and vocals. So let’s start with your PA (Or, if you are over the age of 90, you may still call it a “Public Address” system). For our review of 5 of the top portable PA Systems for Corporate Events and Weddings see our chapter on portable PA Systems. For the purposes of this chapter, just know that you should have one. Know that your portable PA system is made up of 2 speakers and a mixer. Know that it should be at least a 150 Watt system. This should give you enough juice to cover a cocktail party of 50-100 people. I recommend (and use) the Fender Passport 300 (watt). The newer versions are the Fender Passport Event (375 Watt) ($699.99)and Fender Passport Event (600) Watt ($999.99).

The reasons I am partial to the Fender Passport series are pretty straightforward.

#1 I like the portability of the system. It clicks together into a little briefcase-like-state (with the speakers facing inward clicked into the mixer tower) for ease of carrying and transport. When you start playing 4, 5, 6 times a week, you will really appreciate conveniences like this. The fewer individual items you need to carry the better.

#2 I personally am a huge fan of the reverb in the Fender Passport system. I use just a tad of reverb (about 3.5 or so) on my voice and guitar at all times to smooth out the edges. For the majority of these gigs you are providing background music, so the smoother the sound the better. Clarity of words and notes definitely takes a back seat to providing a generally pleasant sounding sonic backdrop to whatever event is occurring.

#3 I am just a Fender fan. In my spare time and with my band, I play a fender Tele through a fender reverb twin. Fender is simply a maker of top quality stuff. And if you question the quality of the Reverb in the Passport System I mentioned in #2… just think about how long Fender has been making reverbs in their amps. These guys are Pros!

One last note on the PA; While events DO expect you to be self-contained and able to provide enough volume for 50-100 people, it is NOT uncommon to request that the venue provide supplementary equipment for anything greater than what your system will handle. 500 people spread out at “Dinner Rounds” (Round Dinner Tables) will take up about 6000 square feet. A portable PA System will simply not cover this kind of area (If you ever need to calculate how big an area you need to cover with speakers but your client only knows the # of people, there is a great tool to calculate square footage at Banquet Table Pros https://www.banquettablespro.com/space-and-capacity-calculator).

If the event IS calling for a much larger number of attendees than your PA will be able to cover, you have two options.

OPTION #1 You tell the client that you will take care of the additional rental, set up and operation of the additional speakers, stands and cables. The benefit here is that you can make a little money on the difference between what you pay to rent the stuff and what you charge the client. You’re essentially creating another job for yourself.

This is both good and bad. The good is that you have created more work for yourself (more $s). The bad is that you have created more work for yourself (more work).

I personally believe you that you should be focussed on doing what you are (or are trying to be) best at, which is being a self contained music provider for corporate events. I believe you should let a company that specializes in audio set-up and operation handle any additional audio needs and that you should concentrate on doing your job as a self contained performer.

Which leads us to option 2…

OPTION #2 You let the client take care of any needs beyond your set-up’s capabilities. This is not uncommon or unreasonable. The client will no doubt have a slew of Audio companies on whom to call. They will provide the rental set up and operation of additional speakers, stands, cables and mixer. What IS unreasonable is not clearly COMMUNICATING with the client so that everyone is crystal clear about who is providing what. Again, this is something that should be included in the contract.

If you show up on the evening of the event with your portable PA only to discover that your client thought you were bringing enough to cover a 1000 participant event, you should put the blame squarely on yourself for not asking enough of the right questions prior to the event.

Now if all pre event communications went to plan and the client has agreed to provide a third party company to bring and operate a larger PA system to cover a larger event. You should still plan to bring your entire set up.

If you are used to the settings on your own portable system (for example you really like the reverb on your Fender Passport..guilty! :)), the best thing to do is set your usual system up and run an output of your PA into the larger system so that you can control your own levels, reverb, EQ etc. The chances of the guy who sets up this additional system sticking around and manning his mixer when you need him are usually pretty low.

PRO TIP:

Remember that when the “program” (the audio you are creating and running through your mixer) is only made up of your guitar and your voice, there is no need to pan either signal to the left or right. That means that the left and right signal at the output of your mixer are identical (“dual-mono”), which in turn (stay with me) means that if you need to get a signal out of your mixer into a larger system it does NOT need to be in stereo. Sending a mono signal out of your mixer into a single channel of the larger systems mixer is perfectly fine and in some ways preferable.

Going back to the First “C” Communication, it is important that the number of guests and the format in which they will be gathering (ie standing cocktail hour vs seated at dinner rounds) is discussed prior to the event and included in your contract. Ask the questions!

Speaker Stands

It may seem like a speaker stand is a speaker stand is a speaker stand, and so what is there to discuss…?

But there are some things that can make your life much easier when you are hauling stuff around and setting it up yourself. It all goes back to PDAP (the 4 tenants of solo acoustic gigging equipment. Remember DPAP… Portability, Durability, Affordability and Performance).

So lets say you got yourself a Fender Passport PA (or similar system). Well, that takes care of your mixer and speaker requirement. Having your speakers on “Sticks” is the norm. And it is particularly necessary when dealing with a high density cocktail party where people are standing directly in front of you or with an event where people are seated at tables and you need that extra bit of sonic throw over the tops of their heads (but check out our INSIDER TIP about other speaker placement possibilities). We recommend the Ultimate Support TS-70 ($49.99).

The Universal Support TS-70 speaker stands have a particularly wide tripod base. When you raise your speaker up to the stand’s maximum height and you are on a beach or an uneven grassy field with a little bit of wind you will see just how precariously the speaker may sit atop that stick. Having those extra few inches of width at the base of the tripod keeps the whole thing from tumbling down. I have never had an Ultimate Support TS-70 fall over on me (KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCKING on wood! Get it? Cuz Heaven’s door…nevermind).

The Ultimate support speaker also has a textured, circular tightening and loosening mechanism to expand and collapse both the tripod and the upward extension. The bolts don’t seem to get stripped, the turning mechanism is extremely rugged and you don’t feel the frustration that you feel with some other designs that use what equates to a small plastic or metal wingnut to make adjustments. The Ultimate Support Stand also has a metal pin that is inserted into holes in the extension tube that ensure the stick and speaker stay put even if the tightening mechanism fails. This feature is not unique to Ultimate Support, but it is a must have for stands with speakers on them.

PRO TIP:

While the status quo is definitely to put speakers on stands. And a majority of the scenarios you will find yourself in will dictate that having the speaker up high is the best course of action, there are scenarios where it may be beneficial to leave them off the stand.

I once went to a little house party fundraiser where fellow San Diegan Gary Jules was playing. You may know Gary’s name for his amazing rendition of Mad World by Tears For Fears.

Gary was playing to a room of about 30 people who were nice and spread out in chairs scattered around a HUGE living room. There were no table clothes in front of him to eat up the sound. And the space between he and the closest guest was at least 15 or 20 feet. In short there was PLENTY of room for sound to get around. And behind him was a beautiful fireplace surrounded by a floor to ceiling wall mural. And Gary had placed his speaker down on the floor pointed slightly inward so that he could monitor himself without a speaker stand in sight to block any portion of that beautiful backdrop.

Now, Gary can play through a cardboard box and make it sound amazing, but I can attest to the fact that throwing those speakers on the ground had absolutely no negative impact on the sonics in that environment. If anything I think it may have improved them and it certainly improved the aesthetics!

Acoustic Guitar

Given the volumes and volumes of literature, video and audio dedicated to the discussion of Acoustic guitars it would be presumptuous for me to think I could make any real contribution to the discussion at large. But I may be able to say a few things about the use of the acoustic guitar for the specific purpose of music for corporate events and weddings.

The following may seem like a bit of an out of left field place to start, but bear with me. It concludes with a good lesson and it gives me a chance to do what precious little name dropping I can do!!

In my former life I was a recording engineer in Los Angeles and I was lucky enough to spend a year working with the band 311 and producer Ron St. Germain AKA “Saint”. These guys all opened so many doors for me and I am nothing but thankful for what I learned from each and every one of them. I am also thankful that when Taylor Guitars came up to visit Tim Mahoney (Lead Guitar) because they wanted to give him some custom acoustic guitars, that Tim and Taylor’s Bob Barbonous extended their Artist Deal to me! The lowly engineer! I was SO stoked. I ended up ordering a custom Blacked Out 614CE with mother of pearl inlays and a custom white pin stripe around the front edge of the guitar. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! I’ll be honest, I don’t remember what I paid for it, but it was about half of the $4000 that it would have cost me retail.

I loved that guitar. I played it at home. I recorded with it. I gigged with it (which during that time wasn’t all that often due to the rigorous schedule engineers must endure).

When I decided to leave LA and stop working as an engineer full time so that I could move back to my home town of San Diego, play more music, and be nearer to my family (and some of the best waves in the world!) that guitar was my livelihood. I started gigging non-stop. Bars, restaurants, weddings, bar mitzvahs, barbeques, you name it, I’d play it!

The only problem is that when you start gigging a bunch, the amount of time that your gear is in your car increases. That’s just a natural fact. I was traveling to do a string of dates up the west coast to Oregon. I had booked a combination of bars, corporate gigs, straight up music venues , a farmers market, a wine bar a couple coffee shops, basically anywhere that would pay me to play! (More on how to book your own “mini tours” in another post).

On my way into Portland I hit crazy traffic. I thought I’d pull off for a burger to wait it out. And you can probably guess what happened. I walk back out to find my car cleared out of gear. Including my custom Taylor!!!

I can’t believe it didn’t dawn on me until then, but I sure wondered how on earth I could have had a $4000 guitar sitting in my car in a parking lot outside of Portland out of eyesight. What a numbskull!

From that point forward I realized that when you are gigging a bunch, you don’t want your BEST pieces of gear. You want your most useful pieces of gear. The ones that do the necessary job and sound good, but that can take a beating and that aren’t valuable enough to bankrupt you (monetarily OR emotionally) if they happen to walk away with a stranger.

Finding that balance with working gear is absolutely key!

I now play a Taylor 114ce It’s a super solid guitar. It’s still a Taylor. It still has the Rupert Neve designed pick-ups. It sounds great and I have never had someone complain that they wish the guitar sounded just about $3500 more expensive! I keep a better eye on my stuff now, but there are always going to be times when your gear is susceptible to theft. If something happens to that 114CE, I’d be bummed, but I wouldn’t be devastated the way I was with that special (and expensive) Blacked Out momento I got from Tim and Taylor.

Read this quick story about Rupert Neve (may he rest in peace). A true master of his domain! ** Link to Rupert story.

Switchable Dynamic Microphones

Depending upon where you land on the Gear Geek spectrum you may know everything there is to know about Dynamic and Condenser microphones or you may know nothing at all, or you may be like most people and know just enough to be dangerous!

3 common just-enough-to be-dangerous misconceptions:

1) Condenser mics “sound better” than Dynamic mics therefor I should use a condenser.

Even if it were true that Condenser mics “sounded better”, we would still have to consider the other factors that make a piece of equipment wotk for your set up. In this case, portability and durability are of particular concern.

But truth is that just because a mic is a condenser, it is not necessarily of greater quality than any given dynamic mic. It is likely more sensitive and likely more expensive, but not in all cases. There are a number of higher quality dynamic mics like the RE-20 and SM7 and there are plenty of crappy condenser mics in the world.

2) Condenser mics are too fragile to us live.

Not really true. In fact the Shure KSM9 and Beta 87A are live condenser mics favored by all sorts of professional engineers and touring bands. But, those mics do need special care and handling. As a solo musician setting up and tearing down and transporting your own equipment you should really be using something that is significantly more robust, and and less expensive.

3) Condenser mics are louder than Dynamic mics.

This is sort of true. Most condensers when put through the exact same audio chain as a dynamic mic will end up being louder. But for the practical purpose of you being able to play a gig, this really doesn’t mean anything since you are able to simply turn up the preamp.

For the purposes of this project, I will just mention that Shure’s sm58 (a dynamic mic) has long been the industry standard for live vocal mics, atleast in your standard music venue. You have probably heard more vocal performances through that particular dynamic microphone than any other microphone in history.