We could all do with remembering that even jazz has its share of 'entertainers' and that often, during its heyday, there were bigbands that relied more on showmanship and 'antics' than on sheer musicianship and introspection.

For every genre I can think of, there are giants and midgets, and everything in between. It isn't really fair to put ANY particular style or genre down because the majority of who we have seen may not compare favorably with our favorites..!

I think everyone missed my point (above). Arrangers have come a long way. You can program them now to put instruments at your fingertaps, and the means to instantly change the instrument you're playing......do a variation or two or three, or even four of the rhythm......use a vocal harmonizer.....pan the instruments.....run the bass out to it's own amp.

So the point was.....I'm wondering what my PA3x would sound like if I had it going through gargantuan speakers? Have arrangers progressed now so far that a really good one-man-band/vocalist, with a big, I mean BIG, sound compete with your average every-day band? Like Vagro's "Scissors Cut".....if I didn't know he was playing a PA3x and a Yamaha, I'd swear that was a small group playing.

You know I just might go down to SA with my keyboard and ask him to run it through the biggest system they have ready to go and see what it sounds like at max power?

Mark

Sam Ash in Edison had a pa3x on display a few days ago- you dont' have to bring yours. I'm probably going there later today. My friend's T-2 sounds awesome through the his pa system.

Mark

I posted before about a Jersey Shore Legend who's still around, Al Rando. I'll just describe the setup he used in the past at a place called PJ Ruggles where I would go see him all the time.
Yamaha TOL organ and two midi controller keyboards. Rack of modules and power amps behind a wall in the coat room. 8 -- JBL 3 way cabinets with 18" woofers in them. Yes that's 8 !!! And because he let people sing with him he had 8 home stereo type speakers on top of the JBL's just for 1 mic. The sound was incredible but under control so I guess back to your question, yes, in the right hands power can work.

used to see Al at the White Sands in Pp.........is he still around ?

Oh yea, the heyday at the White Sands. B3, 4 leslies, baby grand, conn theatre organ, two mini-moogs --run for cover !!

I believe he's still doing some nights at Brennn's Steakhouse on Rt. 35 in Neptune. Saw him there some years ago. He's down to 1 Yamaha keyboard but makes it sound great. Fran tipped me off recently and they're still adverstising him

http://brennensnj.com/

Used to see him a Savanahas in spring lake also.......great player

Just as arrangers have improved dramatically, so have sound systems. It is no longer necessary to have huge, multiple amps and speakers to sound great.
You can take a Bose system, or two, and sound just as incredible. You can use a small, lightweight digital mixer to run the separate outs if you wish.
All this can easily be transported without using a Uhaul!
A few years ago, there was a guy here who did much as you described. For every sound he had a dedicated source--keyboards, a rack of modules, etc. For every source he had a dedicated amp and speaker. The setup took half the room and there were very few venues hiring a one-man band that had room to accommodate his setup. Must say he did sound incredible, but I was getting most of the jobs because his setup took so much room. Also, unless you were in a really big venue, it was hard to hear that the sounds weren't coming from one speaker.
DonM

I agree with my very intelligent, southern gentleman counterpart. We had a couple guys here with similar setups, they played some large weddings and other venues, but the setup time took hours and much of the entire stage. The halls eventually decided that it was overkill, and during the time it took to set up their gear they could book another, smaller event in the same hall prior to the larger job.

Cheers,

Gary

Sonically I don’t see why a OMB couldn’t be in the same league as a live band (at least volume wise)
But of course a band will most likely be more visually appealing (exciting to watch) than a OMB. It’s always a pleasure to witness the “magical” musical chemistry that happens with a live band.