Playing out

[Johnny M]

There's a little cafe on the island that I live on that has decided to open on Friday and Saturday nights from now on (they were just open during the day time).  With them open during the evening, they have decided to have an open stage every week and tonight was the first night.  I got to play a few songs between sets of the guy who was headlining the first evening open and I had a blast.  I decided to use his Taylor as it was already plugged in and I didn't have my soundhole pickup (Baggs M1) in my guitar.  I hardly ever play with a pickup and I didn't really like the sound of the Taylor plugged in - maybe I wasn't used to hearing myself so loud, but everything just seemed to jump out in the wrong places.  For you guys that play out amplified, does it take some getting used to and do you have to adjust your attack, or was it just a case of not being used to the particular guitar?

Anyways, I'm stoked that I'll have place to play out regularly from now on.  I had my 5 year old son with me and he was falling asleep so I had to leave just when the guy headlining was finishing up and a jam was starting up with some of the other people there. 

Thanks for listening to me after an exciting evening play out and I look forward to hearing your comments.

John

[GA-ME]

John, I just started playing out live last April and it does take some getting used to. Its often hard to remember what you as a player are hearing isn't the same as what the house is hearing. Most small venues concentrate on the house mix without so much emphasis on the performers monitor mix. Keep at it. It is LOTS of fun and I have met some incredible musicians in the last several months from frequenting good, established, clique free open Mic's. Glad ya jumped in there and shared your music! peace

[Denis]

I started playing out again in Jan of 2007 after an 8 year hiatus.  It was awkward at first but after a few weeks, I started settling down.  Now I have regular gigs, opening for friends (tonight actually) and still play a regular open mic every Monday night that I love.  Once you get the right mix, and you can hear yourself, then it's easier.

I love playing live, it can become an addiction though!  I get a real rush from it.

Congrats Johnny M, go every week, get known then you can start going to more of them in other venues...maybe get some gigs...lots of fun.

[AtlasHeating]

I love to play live performances. The amplified sound of your guitar, is as much of a tool as the guitar it's self. When you play electric guitar, the amp is an important part of your overall sound. Wrong amp, wrong sound. With acoustic guitar you will have sounds and effects in your signal chain that you can use to your advantage. Different effects, direct boxes and preamps, monitor speakers and the sound technician all contribute to that "stage" sound. It will never be like playing in your living room.

[dberch]

For you guys that play out amplified, does it take some getting used to and do you have to adjust your attack,

Good question, and for many pickups, the answer is varying degrees of Yes. That's another reason, though seldom mentioned, that I love K&K pickups so much. Not only do they accurately reproduce the sound of your guitar, they accurately reproduce the WAY YOU PLAY.  You don't have to treat the pickup like another piece of technology that you need to learn how to use.  You just play.

[flatlander]

For you guys that play out amplified, does it take some getting used to and do you have to adjust your attack, or was it just a case of not being used to the particular guitar?

Unless you really have good sound set-up, yes. Playing someone elses guitar doesn't help either. Practice with amp at home.

[Johnny M]

Thanks guys for your responses.

I've been playing out every Friday for about a month and am having a blast!  There are 5 of us that have become "regular" at the coffeehouse and we've been playing together, 3 acoustic guitars, an acoustic bass and a woman that sings and taps on things.  Everyone takes the stool and plays a couple of songs and the others join in, after that people just start calling out tunes and off we go.  This is what my goal was when I first started playing guitar 3 and a half years ago.  I've been playing/practicing fingerstyle pieces in my living room most of the time, and now I am venturing out towards more strumming/singing songs (I need a LOT of work on my singing, but everyone is so encouraging, so I'll have to figure something out ... Gordon Lightfoot?) 

Larrivee note:  One of the guys I am playing with has an old Victoria era Larrivee that he bought brand new and has about 10 repaired top cracks, an area below the strings where it's worn through the finish, nicks and dings ... just full of mojo and sounds so nice.  No model number inside, but it's a rosewood/sitka with full gloss, beautiful old style rosette, and headstock  is interesting as it is the JCL script that is on the 40th anniversary L-09 - maybe one of the original L-09's??

My advice is to get out and try to find something near you.  It took me about 9 months of asking around, meeting people, talking before this coffeehouse opportunity arose.  I knew that the owner of the coffeehouse liked to play, and he has an old guitar out for anyone who wishes to pick it up, so he knew I played, along with the others who played on the island.  I guess some of use were thinking the same and over the course of time had mentioned it to Sheldon (the owner), so about a month ago, he decided to open Friday nights and have an open mic night.  We've been back every week since.  Playing with people and in front of people is so different that playing in the comfort of your living room.  I'm watching for the changes, chords, timing, strum patterns, rhythm, adjusting attack, and doing backup singing when I can - a lot of things I haven't been exposed to when playing in my living room.  My playing has really taken off from these experiences ... and its been so much fun to boot.

I think I'll bring down my OM-03-12 next week 

John

[flatlander]

Congrats bud, that's what it's all about, and nothing will improve your playing like playing with others. sounds good.

[Johnny M]

Got to play out Friday and Saturday night this past weekend and had a blast.  Friday night was pretty quiet and I got to play a few fingerstyle instrumentals, while Saturday night was a lot busier and there were about 5 of us playing together (2 guitars, an acoustic bass, a hand drum and my OM-03-12).  It was great and we played a lot of songs that the audience knew and were able to sing along to.  It was such a fun night.

The Larrivee held up fine and I was playing mostly rhythm and filling in where I could.  It really added another element to the songs with a 12 string in there. 

The only downside of the night was that people were asking me to lead and I don't have any singing songs in my song list (all fingerstyle pieces), so I gotta learn some songs that have singing in them (then I have to be able to sing them, which will probably end the calls to lead songs  )

It was a great weekend and just wanted to share with you guys.

John

[bluewyatt]

Before I play out I always play through an amp for a while to adjust the touch differential.  When playing through an amp or PA systrm you must remember that you don't have to fill the room all by yourself.  It helps if you have a small acoustic amp with a line out that you can use as a guitar monitor onstage.