Going stereo for gigs?

[DanRad]

I've been thinking about starting to send stereo to FOH, and I think the impending arrival of the Stadium XL may finally trigger me to do it.

Any advice from folks doing that now? I'm not thinking anything crazy with it, but it seems like it could be good for some rotary and modulation effects. The keyboard player and other guitar player are running stereo.

I have typically created patches in mono, but I love a good stereo patch.

 

[EOengineer]

I've been thinking about starting to send stereo to FOH, and I think the impending arrival of the Stadium XL may finally trigger me to do it.

Any advice from folks doing that now? I'm not thinking anything crazy with it, but it seems like it could be good for some rotary and modulation effects. The keyboard player and other guitar player are running stereo.

I have typically created patches in mono, but I love a good stereo patch.

If you’re always going direct to FOH then it can work if you’re careful not to step on your other guitarist. I’d probably start with the main guitar tone in its usual place in the stereo field and then spread stereo fx in the other direction. You def run the risk of clobbering your other guitarist if those fx get too expansive though. Plan tones carefully so you guys are occupying different parts of the spectrum.

 

[BahamaDada]

Could be cool, could be a total mess (especially with a 2nd guitar and keys).

So your 2nd is stereo, your keys are stereon and you? Gonna need some detailed dialed in sounds for that or otherwise you'll get sonic mud.

You'll gonna need a damn good sound guy for that, too. One, that knows your sounds and songs.

But then it could be hella cool especially for that mod/rotary you talked about.

 

[EOengineer]

Could be cool, could be a total mess (especially with a 2nd guitar and keys).

So your 2nd is stereo, your keys are stereon and you? Gonna need some detailed dialed in sounds for that or otherwise you'll get sonic mud.

You'll gonna need a damn good sound guy for that, too. One, that knows your sounds and songs.

But then it could be hella cool especially for that mod/rotary you talked about.

Largely the same concerns I have. Maybe it’s just the shitholes I’m playing, but it’s been a minute since I’ve played a venue where I’d even have confidence the stereo signal would be apparent…particularly because the stereo fx I might use (delay and verb) often get murky live anyway.

 

[DanRad]

Largely the same concerns I have. Maybe it’s just the shitholes I’m playing, but it’s been a minute since I’ve played a venue where I’d even have confidence the stereo signal would be apparent…particularly because the stereo fx I might use (delay and verb) often get murky live anyway.

We generally bring our own PA, and it's a decent one. Our sound guy is also pretty good.

 

[BahamaDada]

Largely the same concerns I have. Maybe it’s just the shitholes I’m playing, but it’s been a minute since I’ve played a venue where I’d even have confidence the stereo signal would be apparent…particularly because the stereo fx I might use (delay and verb) often get murky live anyway.

10+ years I was in a powertrio. Went stereo out of my HD500. Some parts had a hamonizer on (3rd up in E minor for example). After the gig I asked my gf how it was. "Okay, but some parts were sounding horrible!" "Which?" *She tells me and it were those harmonized parts* I look for the sound guy "Hey man, did you pan me left and right stereo like I told you in sound check?" "What? I don't know how to do that, I mix hiphop axts mostly"

That was my one evening journey in and out of "going direct stereo".

 

[TravisG406]

I had what I thought was a really cool idea going with my last band - I had routed his FM3 through my III and could control the panning. When we were playing basically the same parts I would pan us hard left and right. When he was rhythm and I was doing leads or secondary parts I would pan him center and me stereo.

 

[DrewJD82]

I meant to make a thread on stereo rigs after Micheal made this video-



My live rig currently can do stereo, but only the cabs onstage while a mono DI is what would get sent to FOH if they wanted it.

90% of the venues down here have mono PA’s and/or rooms that won’t be great for stereo guitar stuff. I absolutely love how it sounds, but when that sound won’t translate to a room it can turn into a big ole mess.

 

[EOengineer]

10+ years I was in a powertrio. Went stereo out of my HD500. Some parts had a hamonizer on (3rd up in E minor for example). After the gig I asked my gf how it was. "Okay, but some parts were sounding horrible!" "Which?" *She tells me and it were those harmonized parts* I look for the sound guy "Hey man, did you pan me left and right stereo like I told you in sound check?" "What? I don't know how to do that, I mix hiphop axts mostly"

That was my one evening journey in and out of "going direct stereo".

This is 100% the scenario I was imagining when trying to predict the pain points. I've had similar thoughts as OP but we don't carry our own PA/sound guy so I know a bad outcome is probably unavoidable for now. I'd love to do some faux doubling and that sort of thing for the "wall of guitars" thing, or even trigger a pre-recorded guitar out of another output for a section of a song, but there are just too many variables outside the modeler in my world.

 

[dk_ace]

I use stereo live for in ears gigs. It makes IEMs suck less. I don’t go crazy with the stereo stuff, no ping pong delays or stuff like that just stereo reverb and subtle stereo delay stuff. I test it to make sure that it doesn’t sound bad if/when it gets summed to mono somewhere downstream from me (pa, broadcast, recording, etc).

If I play a gig where they need mono, I put a dummy plug in one output and send the other to them so than it’s just one channel and no summing.

If you have consistent control of a stereo PA and want to be more adventurous, work it out with your band mates on when and where you’ll do big stereo stuff and then go really big with it. Something subtle won’t be heard by the audience, if you’re gonna do it - hit them over the head with it.

D