Komet Constellation or K60 for an arena gig?

[Young Angus]

So, I never thought I'd be asking this question but damn now that I can ask it I'm going to do it with a smile on my face....

....will my Komet Constellation be enough amp for an arena gig, or should I step it up with my K60??? HA! I ASKED IT

My band My Dynamite have been fortunate enough to land support gig for Lynyrd Skynyrd which will be in Sydney's Entertainment Centre, so that's a bit awesome, and it's a decent arena and I've never played an arena show before so I thought I'd just ask if it's actually any different to any other gig or is it pretty much the same?

I've got a Connie and a Komet 60, and I want to use the Connie just because it's a great simple live amp but if people with "big gig" experience think I'll need a bit more grunt then I might use the K60. Connie is plenty loud though!

I'm assuming you get your sound however you like and mics and PA will do the rest...is that about right?

Any advice would be lovely cheers

 

[VaughnC]

Probably will depend on how much clean headroom you'll need...and the K60 will probably win in that regard.

 

[effectsman]

I looked at Komet's a few years ago but just don't have that kind of money for an amp. If I had that much amp I'd buy a good attenuator and then you can use the K60 no matter how big or small the gig!

I feel that big iron amps and the larger power tubes give a broader sonic footprint which I prefer in comparison to small wattage amps. Attenuators allow you to tame these amps to make them useable at any size gig.

 

[amphog]

You may want to inquire about what your monitor situation will be. The support act may not get the same treatment as the headliner. Also, if it is a union facility, you may not be allowed to handle your gear until it is on stage, road cases are highly recommended. I would bring both heads, a spare is a good thing on a big gig, and you can make your choice at the soundcheck.

 

[cnardone]

You may want to inquire about what your monitor situation will be. The support act may not get the same treatment as the headliner. Also, if it is a union facility, you may not be allowed to handle your gear until it is on stage, road cases are highly recommended. I would bring both heads, a spare is a good thing on a big gig, and you can make your choice at the soundcheck.

good advice.

 

[Sirloin]

What cab/speakers are you running the Connie through?

 

[wrxplayer]

I don't know the answer to your question but do want to give you a virtual high five. Sounds like you're going to have a lot of fun

Amphog's advice above, though, does seem like excellent advice:

 

[Heady Jam Fan]

I don't know the answer to your question but do want to give you a virtual high five. Sounds like you're going to have a lot of fun

Amphog's advice above, though, does seem like excellent advice:

^Yep!

I'd personally go in intending to use whichever amp I'm more comfortable with so I could just focus on playing. Your gonna be miced either way.

 

[drbob1]

There are two considerations, and the sheer volume of the amp isn't one of them! You're not going to be heard direct by more than a few people in the first row with either amp.

1. Do you jump around a lot? If not, your stage volume should be reasonable and you should be able to stand in front of the Connie and hear yourself. The other guys will hear thru the monitors. Should be fine. If you DO, then you need to increase the size of the sweet spot where you can hear yourself, which would suggest the K60 and an extension speaker.

2. How comfortable are you with getting your "feedback" about how you sound from monitors? They'll have a killer monitor setup with in-ear rigs available, so if you're OK with that, just use the Connie and the monitors.

 

[davebc]

I have Connie,
True, not a tremendous amount of headroom.
Bring and try both of them.
It would great to be in an environment
where you can open up that K60.

Make sure you post a video of your band,
love hearing how the Komets sit in the mix!

 

[stratovarius]

How many chances do you get to bring out the big guns?

 

[Sirloin]

I would have your cab onstage and stack the two heads on top. Use whichever works best. Leave the other one right there...

1. It will look cool
2. Instant backup if you have a tube go down

 

[fenderbender4]

One request....PICS of the rig when it's setup, regardless!

Congrats!

 

[EastCoastRocker]

Congratulations! Have fun with that gig, that is what is most important!
If you feel comfortable and have fun, you'll perform your best, and the audience will be able to notice that.

In order to help you have fun, I have a few statements/questions:

Lynyrd Skynyrd are a real nice bunch. Do what ever the headliner's and venue's production people expect from you, it will make your day go well.

First and foremost, Have you or your production people spoken to the venue's production people? Nothing will muck things up faster than to just show up hoping that everything will be ok. Think like a boy scout and be prepared ! Communication is your friend.

Get all essential phone numbers for the venue's production staff and charge your cell phones! Be early and be patient.

Yes, road cases are essential ! If it's a foreign gig, make sure that your gear Is power complient.

Are you carrying an FOH and or monitor guy, and are you carrying your own
Monitor rig? Does the venue know that?

Do you know how many inputs you are being allocated? Do you have an accurate stage plot, input list, and monitor wish list? If so, did you advance it? The easier you make it for the running crew, the happier you'll all be.

I personally would use the amp that I'm most comfortable with, and maybe preset the other amp as a back up. It is very unlikely that you will have the time play with both for any length of time. The more comfortable that you are, the better you'll play, so with that said, are you equally experienced in a band situation with both amps ?

Congradulations and have fun,
ECR

 

[Young Angus]

Awesome everyone thanks so much for the replies...I just got back from a busy day at work and I've cracked open a Fosters tinny and I'm going to reply to some of your posts

First off thanks so much for the congrats etc. this is all so exciting for me and the rest of my band, I don't even care if there aren't many people there yet it's still going to be an arena show and there will be plenty up front securing their spots, and since we're very influenced by bands exactly like Skynyrd, Crowes, Aerosmith, Stones, Humble Pie etc. I think we will go down a treat with Skynyrd fans...maybe even Skynyrd themselves Our problem is we don't have a proper booking agent because we're all around 30 years old and don't have the time to just go "out on the road" and do all the gigs that a booker would do for you so getting a good support like this has been hard, but finally a friend of ours has come through with this great little opportunity so we all can't wait and we're going to enjoy every minute of it!!

So I used my K60 for ages before getting my Connie, so I have heaps of experience with it and I probably would rather play it for most gigs, but the Connie is so great too and the beauty about it is that it has the footswitchable second volume which for live use basically turns it into a 2 channel amp so I can have my rhythm sound just by cranking volume 1 up half way, then mix in a quarter of volume 2 with the footswitch (which also gives a great real volume boost so long as you haven't got volume 1 completely cranked already) for solos and it works really well without having to worry about what pedal to use for solos etc...it's just extremely easy with the Connie, for rhythm and solos in the live situation. The only time I ever use a dirt pedal with that amp is when I want a tiny bit more grit on my rhythm sound if I'm using low output pickups maybe, in which case I have a Baby Pink Booster set at about 10 o'clock which I kick in to very slightly thicken it up. With the K60 it's harder getting that mix between a great rhythm sound and then having enough headroom to kick something in for a good solo boost when you play a solo and have to get it above the rest of your loud band...when I used the K60 I ran it in gradual mode making sure there was some headroom left and got my rhythm sound, then kicked in a clean boost pedal for solos and it worked great too...still, nothing beats the fast mode K60...maybe I could use it in fast mode and just do the volume knob thing and really open it up which would be amazing!! I've got a gig tomorrow night and then we'll probably have two rehearsals before this big gig so maybe I'll at least try the K60 using it like that and see how it goes.

My main cab now is a 212 with two Scumback M75s in it (one regular, one PVC)...amazing speakers and they really lower the volume that little bit more than Celestions which make amps like Komets much more usable...but now that I'm thinking about a much bigger gig I'm hoping I won't miss that extra efficiency of the Celestions.

We have very little information from the production staff right now, still waiting on a worksheet, it's all happened fairly quickly, but we're a really easy going band anyway who are all very comfortable with our gear and have simple setups that don't require much...we're not used to having long to set up a show hence we aren't too fussy with sound checks. That sure would be nice if we could use an in ear system, I'd be more than happy to just mic up and go for it...we don't "jump" around but we try and move around a bit...we don't have wireless rigs though so we won't be moving that far which is a bit of a shame

I don't have a road case but I do have a great padded cover. We will definitely gladly do whatever the headliners ask we are just so happy to be able to play with such a great band in a great venue...still can't believe it hahaha I mean we toured Europe last year which was great but this is something else.

Who knows, we might get there and they might make us play through some hired backline of Marshall quads but I very much doubt it now that I think of it.

I've been writing so long my Fosters is getting warm...

We don't have a FOH or anything like that, like I said we're not fussy we can adapt to mostly any situation pretty well, I do hope we have our own monitor guy though that'd be nice...our drummer's brother is a great sound engineer maybe he can do it for us.

Oh and I've always used a Komet Airbrake with my Komets, I wouldn't have been able to use them much without one. Having got the Scumbacks though has made a huge difference in volume and now I find I can totally bypass the Airbrake with the Connie and it's still a good volume that's not blowing anyone's head clean off like before with the Celestions...gotta try it with the K60!

So yeah, not sure about much of it yet but some great advice thank you so much for that, I'll put it on the list and make sure I cross all those points somewhere between now and the gig. Very much appreciate it, and glad I can share this moment with so many people who really appreciate what a big deal it is

By the way, my band is My Dynamite...www.mydynamite.net

We've got an album, working on album number two right now and there should be some stuff on our Facebook page too www.facebook.com/mydynamite

 

[scott]

I'd use both at the same time and run them wide open. I've done this before with two Marshall's at outdoor gigs and it was awesome. Y don't get many opportunities to do that so take advantage of it!

 

[mesa/kramer]

Uuummm......... a 5 watt combo is enough for an arena sized gig.

This ain't the 60's any more more.

Amps are Mic'd and ran through P'A.s even at most all professional small club gigs let alone arena gigs.

Thats what Monitors are for, wether wedges, side fills or in ears they will feed your guitar and any other band member you need to hear through them.

You have 100% nothing to worry about and congradulations!

Make sure (if you do get a sound check) that each band member has enough of each other in thier own monitor mix to hear what is going on (Ex: Drummer can hear enough Guitar, bass vocals loud enough etc, cause you are not going to be able to hear each other at all through your personal rigs on a stage that big)

 

[Young Angus]

Hmmm maybe I'll use my little Matamp Spirit...that's been my favorite tone lately haha that's be pretty funny rocking up to a big gig like that with a little 5 watt 8" combo !!

 

[Young Angus]

I found out yesterday that we've only got a 30 minute set according to the worksheet...not very long, but still enough to squeeze in six or seven songs if we're lucky. I was hoping for longer being a big support and seeing as we're the ONLY support but oh well, still can't wait

 

[EastCoastRocker]

I found out yesterday that we've only got a 30 minute set according to the worksheet...not very long, but still enough to squeeze in six or seven songs if we're lucky. I was hoping for longer being a big support and seeing as we're the ONLY support but oh well, still can't wait

30 minutes is not really bad. Make the most of it by playing a tight, well rehearsed set with the songs that have the most energy/impact and that define your band's character.

Have fun!