Quote Originally Posted by kingnat View Post
Updates: I got a gig! $500 and a free room at a place 2 1/2 hours away. Shiiiip!!!

So I am uber-new to this thing, I have a few questions from the sagely musicians here. I have a decent acoustic guitar (Taylor 210), and a Dean Markley insertable pickup (which i'm guessing is shitty but I don't know), and that's it. I've read various threads about using a pre-amp, but I don't understand what the purpose is. I don't know what to expect from playing at a place that I've never been too, and I don't really know the lingo to ask in an intelligent way. I'm guessing most places have their own PA, but do I need a pre-amp or some other kind of box thing?

One thing that I know I really like to have is a good monitor. I feel a lot more comfortable playing if I can hear the balance of my voice and the guitar. I don't know if most places have this, or if I should always bring a speaker with me and cords to hook it up in case they don't have one.
Never trust a venue to have a single piece of sound equipment of acceptable quality. They might have a SHITTY microphone and some terrible house speakers, they are just about never going to have stage monitors. Call and talk to the person who will be there the night of the performance and try to figure out as much as you can. Don't worry if you don't know the lingo; you will learn it quickly, especially if you ask questions when someone says something confusing.

Most venues' house PA is old, beat up, and has no bass response, so your voice will sound like someone is standing on your nuts. There will not be anyone there to run a mixing board (lol... to assume they have a mixing board) so you'll need to balance your microphones and instruments yourself, and you're on stage, not in the audience, so unless you have friends you can communicate about audio with, you'll never sound as good as you think you did.

I could go on and on. In short, if you didn't bring it, odds are it's not there. I'd say you need at least 1 good friend to help you out with hand signals to help with volume and tonal balance. If you have a back-up guitar, bring it. Strings break at the worst times. If you have extra microphones and cables, bring them.

Make sure that everything you intend to leave the venue with is clearly marked as yours. Also, if you bring any cases with you, have an inventory sheet taped to the inside of the lid. There will be a lot going on as you're packing up to leave, and you want to make sure to account for distractions.

Most guitarists use their own amp and speakers, then use a microphone on the speaker cabinet to run to the house PA. This preserves their tone, and allows them to play at the volume they want, even using their cab as their stage monitor. You will want your rig running as usual in this regard.

The pre-amp is likely for your vocal mic. If you take a house mic directly into house amp (a radio unit 1/2 the time) you will be very disappointed with the tone. Using a pre-amp on your vocals will do a huge amount to make sure you're not losing tone due to a weak signal.

I can't stress enough how vital it is to bring your own vocal mic. Any mic they offer you is going to smell like a hundred people's bad breath, and it's tonal characteristics are going to infuriate you. Also, bring a pop shield if you have one. Not all venues are properly electrically grounded and getting a shock on the lips when you are trying to sing can seriously make you yelp and ruin a song.

I could go on and on.