Stoked to be playing my first all hardware gig tomorrow. I’ll be playing on A4, AR, MnM and most especially OT all put through Heat.
Any tips for a first timer ? I’ve been practicing my face off … tweaking things … re-writing. Going to make a checklist of things so I don’t forget anything hahaha
@IVAN_B my good buddy suggested bring extra cables and have some backup pre-recorded tracks just in case somethings goes horribly awry. I might put the whole set on my field recorder and have house tunes on the OT only so if the link goes down I could just toss out a DJ mix.
Put up a little gig poster a while back to advertise and now I booked a second show for march WEEEWT !
use tape to label the power adapters. with that many machines easy to accidentally use the wrong one and when you tear down you can just toss all the adapters into one bag instead of having to separate them by machine.
make an inventory list what all equipmnt you take, inlcude all, cables, adapters, etc. you have then also a checklist when leaving to your gig so you dont miss an adapter .
it shouldn’t damage it, but no sound will play. not worth taking a chance but i’ve done it accidentally using the OT adapter on the A4 and everything was fine
There is no such thing as taking too many cables and so on; it’s far too easy to suddenly find that the one power adapter/RCA>jack plug/kettle lead that you need is in fact sitting at home.
Also, consider labelling anything that someone else at the gig might bring along (power strips, jack cables etc) with an easily identifiable marking - coloured tape, your artist name - so that you’re sure what’s yours when you pack everything up again.
Good advice also - I’m bringing several different ways to hook into their PA just in case and several lengths and about 30ish shorter leads just for running audio between the machines
Maybe your looking for tech stuff but also there’s things like reading the vibe of the audience to choose which tracks your playing. If everybody’s sitting down you might not want to play your hottest dance track, but maybe not your mellowist either as then they won’t be encouraged to hit the dance floor, something in the middle to nudge them into it. Stuff like that…
Also this might be contrary to others advice, but I say feel free to experiment a little and have fun, instead of just sticking with a safe and secure flow, that way there’s room for some magic of the moment to happen that the audience and you weren’t expecting, just have an escape route back to secure if it’s not working out…
Most of all have a great time!
Thanks @Open_Mike awesome advice. I have a set path with my patterns, but late last night it occurred to me maybe I should deviate a bit - I’ve been practicing my songs in the same order for a while now, but there’s nothing wrong with switching things up and see what happens. If things go off the rails I can always fall back to my original order. Also I have a couple really fun things planned - if things go well and the vibe is good I plan to end both sets on a totally improvised pattern. Just throw down some kicks and build up a beat around it. I also have a solo in the middle of one of my funkier house tracks hahaha RAWR A4 Mini KB solo !!
Definitely guys ! Have a zoom h4n pro that I record all my jams with. I find its nice to have it nearby where I can see it the time on it gives me a reference of generally where I’m at in the set (ie: am I taking too long on transitions etc) I’m also going to ask a buddy to film lots of clips.
and when you tear down you can just toss all the adapters into one bag instead of having to separate them by machine.