Is a backline when the club provides the equipment?

this seems creepy to me.

like...my equipment is my baby...I spent a lot of time and money developing my sound, so why would I play on a crapy Marshall Combo?

I don't get it.

do I understand Backlines correctly?

I don't like it cause I can't get to the drummer.
I also like it cause the wait time it smaller.

why can't you get to the drummer?

backlining (as far as I knew) meant that all the opening bands use the same-ish equipment which is stacked in front of the bigger bands equipment so you have a row 3 (or however many) deep of cabs on stage.
this blocks the drummer from me

A backline is when equipment is shared between bands, rev. It doesn't neccesarily mean that the headliner will be using different equipment than the other bands, but it can. Some clubs will simply provide drums and cabs, and require the bands to bring thier own heads. Others provide everything. Either way, it's usually more efficient for the club/soundguy, and all around gay for the bands.

and yes when some clubs refer to backlining that does mean..you can bring your own head and gtr but the amps will be provided.

backline is useful for events like festivals when bands are coming from all over. this way they don't have so much equipment to bring, and they usually end up only using the club's cabinets and they use their own heads.

I fucking HATE using other people's drums.

yeah using other people's drums seems like wearing someone else's underwear during your big game against the Broncos...

it's not bad using someone's else's cabs...I agree on the drumset thing but if the drummer is good enough he should be able to adapt pretty quickly on any drumset.

maybe to a certain extent, but some people have unusual kits and the set they're forced to play on doesn't have all of the drums and/or cymbals they usually use. Also, a lot of the times I had to use another guy's drumset it was a piece of shit and cymbal stands would fall over and shit.

duct tape should not ever be a cymbal stand accesry

triggers are lame

i have no problem using what ever cab is available and i do totally understand the drum kit thing however everynow and again ya gotta take one for the team if it is a worth while show

and bands who show up with not all their eqeptment with the intention to mooch off another band who had to lug thir shit there outta be not allowed to play

i see this happening more and more at shows

menstrual_sweatpants_disco said:

I hear that, usually at fest's they supply a pretty standard drumkit. I know what you're talking about though. Take the Vehemence show we played a few weeks ago. The first 3 bands including us had to use watchmakers drumkit. I could tell our drummer was going to have a hard time with it as soon as I saw only one tom, and the cymbals were rediculously high up in the air. Definetly not an effecient setup imo.

subjugate said:

there's nothing wrong with using triggers. If you're a good drummer, you're a good drummer. Triggers IMO are smart to use for smaller bands like us that don't usually get to do soundchecks. You can plug your shit in and have almost total control over the sound of your drumkit rather than relying on a gay soundguy or poor mic signals through the PA.

subjugate said:

I can sorta see your point, but I don't see a problem with lending bands my cab if they need it. I draw the line at letting people use my amp or guitars unless they are trustworthy friends of mine then it's fine.

Our bassist has been using other band's bass gear whenever we get a chance cause he's a poor college kid and can't afford a bigger amp yet. If we have to we'll use his tiny amp.

backlining sucks. remember sick as sin fest? that was a disaster.

backlining cabs = ok
backlining drumkits = eat a dick

RustedAngel said:

yeah if done right it can be ok. Like at the metalfest, they actually rented a good kit and had a guy who's sole purpose was to help adjust the kit and do sound and for it. The toms were placed a little differently than I'm used to but I adjusted. I just brought the couple of other little cymbals I use and clamped them on.

RustedAngel said:

i see your point, and i kind of agree but not really. if you're playing in a crappy club with crappy sound, than it actually sounds out if place for the drums to sound mint. this happened at the Vital Remains show. the acoustics in that place were horrible. everything was total mush, but BDM, cattle decap and vital used a triggered bass drum. i thought it sounded totally fake and out of place. a good drummer with a good kit can hit hard enough to be heard without being mic'ed. and yes, a good drummer is a good drummer, but it's too easy to cheat with triggers. you can mask uneven hits, and if you're a quiet player you can turn up the sensitivity. i know not everyone does this, but i personally think they just sound fake, even if the sensitivity and everything is set properly. i like to hear the light and way hard and off-center hits. maybe that's just me though.

diamond_dave said:

I thought the sound for you guys during that vital remains show was pretty bad, but once CD, BDM, and VR took the stage I thought the sound was the best I've heard in a club in a long time IMO. It pisses me off when people give drummers shit for using triggers, especially if they are clearly good drummers. It's a fact that due to human limitations that the faster you hit a drum, the less force you can put into hitting it therefor resulting in loss of volume. Some drummers play very lightly and some hit way too hard. It pisses me off when a drummer is playing something super fast and you can't hear it because obviously he can't hit the drums as hard. Then it sounds like mush. Good soundguys and soundsystems obviously can solve this issue most of the time, but for most small club instances I think using triggers is the smart thing to do.

anyway, concerning a back line, doesn't bother me, as long as no one minds me cranking my amp through thier cabs! i haven't noticed backlined drums to be a huge problem as long as it's a decent kit and not set up totally wierd. i think the inconvenience of playing someone else's kit is evened out by not having to lug so much gear around.

difference of opinion, no big deal.

RustedAngel said:

this is basically what i was talking about. i hate seeing a drummer that barely hits the drums and tries to make up for it by using triggers. i do agree that there are plenty of perfectly capable drummers that trigger. i just personally don't care for it.

RustedAngel said:

yeah I look for consistancy more than volume. It bothers me when people play blasts at super low volume and then when they get to the slow parts they start beating the shit out of their drums.