Here at Onstage, one of the things we try to accomplish in our artist-related feature stories is to give you a breakdown of the stage gear that's used by the musicians we're covering. Not only is seeing all this equipment listed cool from a gear-lust standpoint, but it can also be informative, by showing what a particular player uses to get a certain sound.
To augment the stage-gear lists that we've been including all along, I wanted to officially introduce our new “Rig at a Glance” diagrams. They will appear in most of our artist feature stories and will consist of detailed graphics of the setups of selected musicians, depicting the type of equipment and instruments used as well as the signal flow (where applicable).
For example, in this issue you can find Rig at a Glance graphics showing the setups of Nickelback's lead singer-guitarist, Chad Kroeger, and Dream Theater's drummer, Mike Portnoy. Kroeger has a rig based around three amps (two Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifiers and a Fender Twin) that he switches between to get different distorted or clean tones. Meanwhile, Portnoy has a kit that must be seen to be believed. It has 3 kick drums, 2 snares, 6 toms, assorted percussion instruments, and 21 cymbals! (I don't envy his drum tech.)
Portnoy uses that monstrous kit for playing the band's complex music, which is not easy to play live. “Six Degrees of Preparation” (p. 22), our feature about Dream Theater, looks at what the band members go through in order to translate their recordings to the stage.
On the subject of preparation, you'll want to read “Getting It Down” (p. 32), which offers 25 tips for how you can make your rehearsals as productive as possible. Even though I've personally taken part in countless rehearsals, I still discovered plenty of useful advice when I read this piece. For example, it talks about the need to stay focused, even in between songs. I think this is really good advice; I can remember so many rehearsals where players noodled incessantly between songs — or while others were trying to work out parts or explain something — and it drove everybody nuts.
The story also talks about keeping your own personal volume under control at a rehearsal. This got me thinking about how loud rehearsals can become, especially in small spaces. It's critical to keep the overall volume down in these situations, not just because it's hard to hear the individual parts, but also because of the long-term potential for hearing damage. Many rehearsal spaces have large P.A.s in them, and you often can't avoid standing near the speakers. In those situations, the decibel levels are dangerously loud, sometimes even louder than they are onstage. So when you're at rehearsal, keep the volume at a reasonable level, and don't forget your earplugs.
Enjoy the issue.
