Joined working band. No set lists!

  • So I recently left my classic rock band and joined a popular local band. Tonight is my first gig with them, I think I have enough of their tunes down to get through a couple sets. I asked for a set list(s) as I have created Performances for all the tunes but apparently they don't use them, which kind of defeats the purpose of gigging with the Kemper. Best I did was arrange the performances in alphabetical order, at least I can tap dance through the night. If they continue without set lists I'll most likely have to go back to amp and pedal boards. How many of you don't use set lists? Is this a new trend and am I just old school? I prefer an organized performance.

  • Well, I find it best to have "go to" general performances, i.e. clean, crunch, lead, etc. that would suffice in most any situation, then if I settle into a situation, depending on whether or not I need something more specific for a given song, I can make more specialty patches. In my one man band performances, I never had a set list that I followed, as I would read the crowd, take requests, etc., and I had over 12 hours of backing tracks to choose from. Normally, I would have a set of favorites, that I gravitated to each gig, and I would basically memorize what I used successfully in the past.

  • Hardly ever used setlists unless it was an important gig. It really depends on your own competency.


    In rehearsal we play our songs deliberately in a random order so we can play any song at any time. However, its a full amp and pedalboard setup. Although I can do most stuff just using a Valeton GP100 in Stomp mode and 2 patches.

  • I played in a band that had a (very) loose set list. A couple songs in and it was whatever got called.


    Best to have a go-to performance or two with a handful of sounds and tap-tempo at the ready.


    With 4 or 5 core sounds….not a lot you can’t do.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • Really depends on your needs.


    I use to make a performance per song but get really tired of switching 22 times if someone decided to play that specific songs lol.
    and generally it’s like « hey next one is blabla -1second- and you hear the drummer or the click goes 1-2-3-4 lol.


    So despite the wonderfull possibilities of kemper performances I decided to do as if I had a tube amp and a pedalboard.


    I create 5 presets :

    clean - breakup- crunch- distortion-lead

    Each one have a morph to instantly get lead tones versions of them

    Then some overdrive and effects I can had on top.


    Way easier lol.


    I had to make some compromises but it’s better that way on stage.


    And if a song requires really specific effect I create a specific rig for it.


    My 2 cents

  • I’m currently using six performances to play around 60 songs. Our set list can change at a moment’s notice. My main sounds are in a performance that has three performances below it, and two above. If I need to get to a song-specific performance slot, I can get there within a four count.


    In addition to the four FX switches, using Tap Tempo and Morph can make each Performance Slot very versatile.

  • I think it’s cool for the audience to not see a setlist so it appears the band have a plan. Maybe have it hidden?

    Therefore you need a plan and structure to deliver a show where you don’t get the musicians turning towards each other in between songs saying “so, what’s next?” Is good to know what the next song is before the previous one ends.


    i guess more “casual bands” (and i’ve sent some high quality credible bands do this) may have the ability to communicate discretely. Maybe a musical director instructing the band via iem so, again, the audience are unaware of the plan.


    i got a handful of “generic” sounds that i can tackle most songs with, many songs using the same rigs/ presets/performances/whatever you want to call them

  • I have about 20 performances , set up for 2 Classic rock bands. I use Set List Maker (using IPad)to choose songs.
    1 band uses set lists and 1 doesn’t . I can call up songs really quickly

    I have a basic 5 tone first performance for about 70 percent of the songs and the rest individual songs with my Gr55

  • I much prefer playing with a set list (in a 10 piece band with horns reading charts etc just calling songs is a nightmare and looks unprofessional) but I joined a new band shortly after getting The Kemper. They had a setlist of about 100 potential songs to draw from. I was so excited with all the possibilities that I tried making performances for each song. We did the first gig and they didn’t use a setlist. The singer jusr read the crowd and called songs on the fly. Needless to say it was a disaster for me. I crashed and burned trying to find the right performance while the drummer counted the intro. I very quickly adopted the mindset of “how few performances can I get away with”.

  • If you are playing in front of thousands of people you better have a setlist and a plan and a backup. Pepto Bismol in the gig bag might help too.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • If you are playing in front of thousands of people you better have a setlist and a plan and a backup. Pepto Bismol in the gig bag might help too.

    LOL! Agreed. We always work from a setlist, so the show can flow at a fast pace. The sizes of our audiences can range from several thousand to a couple hundred. But, the setlist can change, especially at the smaller shows, because requests can happen more often than at large venues.

  • Maybe it's a "popular local band" but the organization is not very professional.
    Also FOH / Light and Organisation needs to know what's goin on.
    For party events we alway organize songs in blocks to about 5 songs.
    The keyboard player needs to know what's going on, because we are also using additional backing tracks.
    Anyway I'm using Setlist Maker and OnSong the songs are organized in folders.
    I have about 15 standard performances and some crazy sounds.
    So i reuse the performances if possible.

    Be the force with you ;)

  • Stupid question - why are you better off with one amp and pedalboard than the Kemper (and maybe a pedalboard, if you need more than 4 pre and 4 post effects?) Couldn't you conceivably just use a profile of the amp you would use anyway?

    Nothing stupid about that question. That was the very first thing that crossed my mind when O read it. Even if I just use one performance the convenience of having just a Toaster and a Remote far outweighs the hassle of lugging around a Mesa and a pedal board that weighs about double the amplifier.

  • Yeah - the Kemper can be whatever the situation requires.


    In the simplest form this is taking a great lead sound on your favourite profile and using the volume, pickups, and tone control for everything.


    This is where the idea of enabling Scenes would add incredible flexibility. Without changing the Rig, any of the assignable buttons on the remote would recall a combination of effects. Different thread though... ?

  • LOL! Agreed. We always work from a setlist, so the show can flow at a fast pace. The sizes of our audiences can range from several thousand to a couple hundred. But, the setlist can change, especially at the smaller shows, because requests can happen more often than at large venues.

    My audience has ranged from only 5 to 100,000 depending on if it was a good dream or a bad dream. ;( One day a reality maybe. ;) And hopefully, I won't be playing naked like in my dreams. :P

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.