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Recommend a Rehearsal Setup for New band?

DrowningBetty	Date: November 29, 2006 @ 12:53 AM anyone have a good style of setting up all the bandmembers during a rehearsal? DrowningBetty for the most part is a duo group of myself on guitars and a vocalist/acoustic player, and today we auditioned a drummer... no matter where i set my amp, i either couldnt hear myself...or i still couldnt hear myself but my vocalist definately could hear me...drummer claiming he cant hear anyone... any good spot i should place my half stack? basically i had my stack perpendicular to his set, but all i heard was his kick, and very little of me, and some of my singer. or is he just such a loud drummer im screwed
OneofFour	Date: November 29, 2006 @ 1:43 AM half stack!? that's rough, if you still can't hear yourself, it could be the drummers fault. I find smaller amps more suitable for practice, because you can position them better, but, depending on the room, I've found other tricks. I have never owned an amp with more than 100 watts solid state(12"), and I have played with very loud drummers. I wish we still had html, so i'll have to describe two good setups. 1. drummer in a corner. set half stack perpendicular with wall on drummer's left, tilted slightly towards the center of the room. vocalist is on the drummer's right, with his amp aimed directly betwen the drummer and guitarist (make sure all amps are elevated to height at or above the drums, this makes a huge difference, though it may cause feedback problems if the singer is in front of the speaker) I once used a 30w 10" amp with nu-metal drummer by placing on a TV, which was above my head, it worked well. that's a pretty simple circle setup, and the most important things to keep in mind are the drummer in a corner, and the amplifiers aimed at the drummers side, not directly into the drumset, sound waves do interfere with eachother, and they are easier to detect when they're coming from independent sources. the other one is meant for louder drummers 2. drummer in the middle of the room. guitar amp is put perpendicular(slightly towards drum throne) and placed about 3 feet from the high-hat. singer is next to guitarist, almost facing the drum set directly, facing slightly towards drummer as well. that way the singer can stand next to their speaker while directing most of their sound at the drummer and guitarist. I prefer the first one, even if I have to ask the drummer to quiet down, because it offers better eye contact. if your drummer has a problem with either of those things, then you should seriously consider if you're going to spend time making music, or catering to a jerk. i hope this helps, overly loud players suck.
GeneHilbert	Date: November 29, 2006 @ 2:00 AM Set up in a circle if possible. So everyone can see everyone else. I like this for a couple of reasons - I can watch everyone to make sure they are all on the same page. As well - everyone can hear and see problems faster and no one can fake not knowing their parts.... If you have a dedicated sound man and need to rehearse in a stage front posture. Then do it - but I recommend a face to face if possible. The standard rule of thumb is "If YOU can't hear everyone else, then YOU are too loud". So if everyone adheres to this simple rule - you should be fine. If not – just stick sheet music in front of the guitarist and drummer..... That will usually do the trick.
DrowningBetty	Date: November 29, 2006 @ 2:11 AM thanks guys, info helps
DrowningBetty	Date: November 29, 2006 @ 2:11 AM i mean "the info" helped
DeadraveN	Date: November 29, 2006 @ 7:51 AM if you don't have one already, a small cheap PA system will do you wonders. Sounds like all you really need is a pa with 2 or 4 channels and a couple good monitors. an all-in-one package from musician's friend would do well... just for practices of course...
evansorchid	Date: November 29, 2006 @ 10:22 AM ....just stick sheet music in front of the guitarist and drummer..... That will usually do the trick. But, seriously....for rehearsal purposes stick the (unamplified) drummer in an area that can absorb the sound like a corner with blankets or something up on the walls. Set the amps up in a circle pointing toward the drummer Have the guitarist, bass guitarist, acoustic guitarist, vocalist playing on separate amplifiers if possible. Placement of the vocalist's amp, mic and where the vocalist is standing needs to be considered or else you'll have problems with feedback. Our vocalist used to have to stand just barely behind the guitarist’s amp and the PA speakers to avoid feedback and to hear the other instruments. We use to stick the bass guitarist’s amp behind the drummer so that even if the drummer couldn’t hear the guitarist or vocalist that at the very least the rhythm section would stay in time. I hope some of that helps.