# Cab vs Front of House



## Pedro6 (Nov 3, 2019)

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to know what is your opinion in regards to going front of house vs using a stage cab with your digital interface.
I use a Helix and I have noticed a huge difference in lack of power in comparison to when I used a real amp with a cab.
I play mostly small venues and again, this could all be related to the actual acoustic of the venue, the sound guy or even the actual PA sistem. But have you also noticed any difference?

When I’m watching a band playing a bigger venue with a good PA, I can’t notice much loss in power, but in small venues I can as I can’t barely hear the guitars.

Let me know your thoughts.


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## Winspear (Nov 3, 2019)

I'm inclined to think just bad soundguy - I can't really see why there's any reason a guitar DI shouldn't be brought up level with the drums etc when it's coming all through the PA. Really no stage sound should be the ideal and easiest to work with. 
But you may have the issue of acoustics coming in to play making the guitars quiet (for example standing in a bass trap relative to the PA) - something that may otherwise be helped by a little stage sound coming out of a cab. 

I'd generally want to have a stage rig even if just for backup in the event that on stage monitoring is poor, or you dont trust the FOH mix


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## budda (Nov 3, 2019)

Im gonna run a loud 412 regardless of what's feeding it. Ive gotten used to hearing myself 95% of the time haha.


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## Cynicanal (Nov 3, 2019)

Most small clubs have either weak PAs or terrible soundmen; if you're an opening band, even if neither of these apply, the soundman doesn't care about your band, so it's the same overall effect. If you're the headliner and none of these apply, the first couple of rows -- that is, the people who are your fans and who actually care about your performance instead of just being there to drink beers and wonder where the music is coming from -- hear more of your stage sound than they do the PA. As such, you 100% need your amp + cab to be able to carry the room.


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## Lozek (Nov 4, 2019)

Yep, as said above, most small club PA's don't have enough headroom to take everything at line level. My previous band was running two Kempers, bass in line and drums all mic'd into an X32, then passing a stereo signal direct into the Crossovers, so basically bypassing everything club had so that our soundguy could get maximum headroom. We ended up having to carry two 2x12's and a power amp to make sure we always had enough volume to balance everything up.


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## sleewell (Nov 4, 2019)

i found my helix works best in my rig in 4cm with my 5153 half stack. 

we just don't get a long enough sound check or good enough sound guys to be able to go direct w/o cabs.


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## GunpointMetal (Nov 4, 2019)

I run my Helix DI, but in places without front fills or high-power FOH, I always bring one of two powered wedges for my on-stage "amp" to project into the room. Even in places with loud front PAs and good sound guys, if the speakers are 12' above the stage, or arrayed slightly wrong for the room, there will be places in the room where the FOH isn't as loud, and its nice to still be putting a live "band" mix into the room along with the PA. On the occasion we're playing a place with a really, really nice system, I'm totally fine leaving my speakers in the car and just going DI. Guitarists always forget that the sound we hear 10' out in front of our cabs and 3' off-axis from a speaker is entirely different than what the sound guy is pumping into the room, or what anyone in the venue outside the beam of the speaker cab is hearing.


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## thrashinbatman (Nov 4, 2019)

I personally have to have a cab onstage. At the places I normally play the FOH mix is acceptable enough, and bands that use modelers straight to FOH always sound good. I use a Kemper and send the Main Out to FOH, but not having a 4x12 (or more) pushing air behind me as well doesn't feel right. The cab, I find, is a big part in creating the energy I need to get into it. My last gig I was asked to turn the cab down as much as I could, and the level they liked was almost non-existent. I sounded great but didn't feel right.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Nov 6, 2019)

I just get what I need in my "in ears", my digitech FreqOut pedal lets me simulate the minimal feedback sustain that I would otherwise get from a cab.


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