Sunday 24th May, and a relatively short journey from my home in East Bristol over to the picture-perfect village of Castle Combe. This little gem in the Cotswolds has been described as "The prettiest village in England" - and as you arrive it's hard not to pull over and take a few photos! Which, of course, I did!
An incredible place to get married, and as you enter the Manor House Castle Combe the grounds of the venue are just as stunning...
So a beautiful setting for Chris and Laura's big day. The happy couple booked me for the wedding ceremony + reception package. The morning brought some light rain, so I set up inside ready to play at the ceremony. After playing some background music as guests assembled, Laura made her entrance to an instrumental version of "Let Her Go" by Passenger.
Playing during the wedding ceremony
During the signing of the register I played "Won't Let You Go" by James Morrison, and an instrumental version of "The Woman I Love" by Jason Mraz. The happy couple exited the ceremony to the ever-popular "Higher & Higher" by Jackie Wilson.
The weather cheered up in the afternoon - so a quick change of plan, and I did some rushing around to move my equipment out to the front of the building where the drinks reception took place.
Thumbs up from the bride!
All in all, a beautiful day and I had a great time. Congratulations to Chris and Laura, who travelled down from Newcastle for the big day - hope everything was absolutely perfect for you both, and that everyone had a great evening as well!
Their acoustic playlist from the day:
Sixpence None the Richer - Kiss Me
Paolo Nutini - Last request
Michael Buble - Crazy Love
The Lumineers - Ho Hey
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
Ben Howard - Only Love
Ed Sheeran - Thinking out Loud
Passenger - Let Her Go (instrumental)
James Morrison - Won't Let You Go
Jason Mraz - The Woman I Love (instrumental)
Jackie Wilson - Higher & Higher
Eagle eye cherry - Save Tonight
George Ezra - Budapest
Jack Johnson - Better together
David Gray - Babylon
Ben Howard - Only Love
Frank Sinatra - Fly me to the moon
Jason Mraz - I’m Yours
Passenger - Let her go
Lumineers - Ho Hey
Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me
Avicii - Wake me up
Mumford and Sons - Lover of the Light
Ed Sheeran - Bloodstream
Mumford and Sons - The cave
George Ezra - Blame it on Me
Paolo Nutini - Last Request
Michael Buble – Crazy Love
Jack Johnson - Good People
Lighthouse Family - Lifted
Train - Drops of Jupiter
Lionel Richie - Dancing on the Ceiling
Jackson 5 - I want you back
Van Morrison - Brown eyed Girl
Tracy Chapman - Fast car
Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
Saturday, 23rd May 2015 - a trip down to the incredible Coombe Lodge for Vicky and Scott's big day. Summer so far in Britain has been a bit of a let-down, but thankfully we were blessed with incredible weather - hot and sunny!
Views over Blagdon Lake from Coombe Lodge
Thank to the lovely weather, the wedding ceremony took place outside, and I set up my gear near the front entrance to the venue - ready to play some acoustic music at the ceremony and following drinks reception.
There was ice cream, cold beer, warm sunshine and chilled acoustic music. A perfect afternoon! The tunes went down a treat.... here was Vicky & Scott's playlist:
Adele - Make you Feel my Love
Joshua Radin - I’d Rather Be With You
Lifehouse - You and Me
Jack Johnson - Banana Pancakes
Beatles - Here Comes The Sun
Sinatra - Fly Me To The Moon
Elvis - Can't Help Falling In Love (bridal entrance)
All 4 One - I Swear
Jack Johnson - Better Together (signing of the register)
Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered (exit song)
Bruno Mars – Marry You
George Ezra – Budapest
Ed Sheeran – Lego House
Ben Howard – Only Love
Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
Otis R – Dock of the Bay
Bob Marley – Stir It Up
Al Green – Let’s Stay Together
Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffanys
Daft Punk – Get Lucky
Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
Train – Drive By
George Ezra – Blame It On Me
Christina Perri – A Thousand Years
Lumineers – Ho Hey
Ed Sheeran – Sing
Michael Jackson – Man In The Mirror
The Jam – Town Called Malice
Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl
Ben E King – Stand By Me
Beatles – Hey Jude
Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
Tracey Chapman - Fast Car
Green Day - Time of your life
Killers - Mr. Brightside
Huge congratulations to the happy couple! It was a pleasure and a privilege to play at your beautiful big day :-)
I met with Sally and James a few months back at the fantastic Charlton House - a stunning venue and one of Duncan Bannatyne's hotels, of Dragon's Den fame. Back then it was a dark Winter's evening, but thankfully it was a completely different day for the happy couple's big day!
There was rain around in the morning but thankfully the clouds cleared and the sun even made a brief appearance in the afternoon. I set up outside and played some acoustic music as guests arrived and mingled for the drinks reception. Sally & James chose an eclectic playlist, and the live music went down a treat!
Here was the afternoon playlist:
Bruno Mars - Marry You (as bride & groom arrived)
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
Ben Howard - Only Love
Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
Beatles - Here Comes The Sun
Bob Marley - Three Little Birds
Ed Sheeran - The A-Team
Joshua Radin - I'd Rather Be With You
Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah
Christina Perri - A Thousand Years
Counting Crows - Accidentally In Love
Jack Johnson - Better Together
Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Kodaline - The One
Lumineers - Ho Hey
Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffanys
Later on, I played a second set inside as the main room was turned around for the evening reception. Here was the second playlist:
Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight
George Ezra - Budapest
OneRepublic - Counting Stars
James Blunt - Bonfire Heart
Coldplay - Yellow
Mumford & Sons - The Cave
Amy Winehouse - Valerie
The Kooks - Naive
The Killers - Mr. Brightside
Tracey Chapman - Fast Car
Jackson Five - I Want You Back
Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
Bryan Adams - Summer of '69
Ben E King - Stand By Me
And just before I left for the evening, I played the happy couple's first dance acoustically - the incredible "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran. What an amazing song!
After yesterday's road trip to Cornwall, today's wedding was a much more local affair! A short 20 minute journey North to The Mercure Grange Hotel in Winterbourne, Bristol for Nicola and Ryan's big day. The happy couple booked me to play during the break between the ceremony and the wedding breakfast.
Set up and ready to play at the drinks reception
Despite a chilly wind (good old British Summer!), we managed to hold the drinks reception outdoors in the beautiful grounds of the hotel. The rain held off thankfully, and the photographer made the most of the beautiful surroundings, getting some great group shots and pictures of the happy couple. Meanwhile, I serenaded the wedding party with some acoustic covers picked by the newlyweds.
Playing at the drinks reception
Nicola & Ryan picked a bang up-to-date playlist, including songs from Ed Sheeran, George Ezra, One Direction and John Legend. This was mixed in with some classics such as Fast Car by Tracey Chapman and Higher & Higher by Jackie Wilson. I captured some of the set on film so will get this onto the YouTube page soon!
Guitar selfie!
A great afternoon and the music seemed to go down well! I spotted the bride dancing away to "What Makes You Beautiful" while having photographs taken :-) And I managed to squeeze in a request for the lads. Massive congratulations to the happy couple - thanks for inviting me to be a part of your big day. Hope you had a fantastic day and that married life is everything you hoped for! Nicola & Ryan's acoustic playlist
Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight
Jack Johnson - Better Together
George Ezra – Budapest
Alex Clare - Too Close
Ed Sheeran - The A Team
Bob Marley - Three Little Birds
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
Bryan Adams – Heaven
The Lumineers - Ho Hey
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer
The Calling - Wherever You Will Go
Bruno Mars - Marry You
Pharrell – Happy
John Legend - All Of Me
Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger
The Killers - Mr Brightside
The Kooks - Naive
Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire
One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
Daft Punk - Get Lucky
Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk
?Jackie Wilson - Higher & Higher
Jackson Five - I Want You Back?
Tracey Chapman - Fast Car
?Green Day - Time Of Your Life
Bob Marley - No Woman, No Cry
Oasis - Wonderwall (request)
An early start this morning for Claire & Mike's wedding at the amazing Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall. Just North of Newquay, Watergate Bay is a new destination for me, and I'm so glad I got to play at this incredible venue! The views as you walk into the hotel restaurant are just breathtaking - the restaurant looks out over the beautiful sandy beach, and fortunately we had a lovely sunny day.
Stunning beach views from the restaurant
I set off just after 7am this morning and made it to the venue before 10am - plenty of time to get set up and ready for Claire & Mike's 1pm ceremony. The events space is small, intimate and beautiful - and the styling looked fantastic for the ceremony. There was around 60 guests at the ceremony, which apparently is one of the larger weddings hosted at this venue.
My guitar getting cosy!
Guests started to filter in at about 12.30pm, at which point I began playing some acoustic songs. Claire & Mike selected today's playlist (see set list below) with some lovely choices, from The Beatles right through to Kodaline. The bride entered the ceremony to the traditional wedding march "Here Comes The Bride", played on acoustic guitar. For the signing of the register they chose "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis and "Only Love" by Ben Howard - and they exited the ceremony to rapturous applause as I played "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles.
Love is... a Gibson acoustic guitar!
Canapés were served and guests had an afternoon drink while I played some acoustic tunes at the drinks reception. I had an absolutely fantastic day - I'd like to extend my congratulations to Claire & Mike and thank them for inviting me to play on their big day! Hope the evening was just as fantastic as the daytime... I wonder if anyone got carried away and decided to go for a swim!!
Stunning beach views at Watergate Bay
Today's wedding set lists:
Better Together – Jack Johnson
Rude – Magic!
Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles
Marry You - Bruno Mars
The One – Kodaline
Fly Me To The Moon - Frank Sinatra
Blame It On Me – George Ezra
Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran
The Bridal March "Here Comes The Bride"
Ben Howard - Only Love
Elvis - Can't Help Falling In Love
Beatles - All You Need Is Love
Save Tonight – Eagle Eye Cherry
Three Little Birds – Bob Marley
Mash up – Get Lucky / Counting Stars
Budapest - George Ezra
Hey Ho – The Lumineers
Let Her Go - Passenger
The Cave - Mumford & Sons
Love Machine (acoustic version) – Girls Aloud
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys
Uptown Funk – Bruno Mars
Sing – Ed Sheeran
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding
The weddings season is in full flow now, so I thought it would be nice to document as many events as I can on my blog!
Well, May kicked off with a bang as I had a great night playing a private birthday party at The Station Kitchen, Bristol. Didn't manage to get any photos of the event unfortunately, but it was a great evening with an eclectic mix of songs, from the Jackson Five right through to George Ezra!
The second weekend of the month involved a typically loud Friday night gig at my resident venue Illusions Magic Bar, followed by Matt & Laura's spectacular wedding at the beautiful Nailsea Tithe Barn.
The stage is set!
I play at a lot of wedding ceremonies & drinks receptions, so it was nice to play an evening set! Matt and Laura picked all the tunes on the night, with quite an indie/rock feel to the set list. I kicked off the night with their first dance - a song I'd actually never heard before "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede. Stripped back, it worked brilliantly on acoustic guitar, and it was a lovely moment. I captured quite a bit of the evening on film - so when I get a chance to sync the audio/video, splice together the footage and make it look a bit prettier, I'll upload some videos.
Later on, Laura & I surprised the wedding guests with a rendition of "Valerie" by Amy Winehouse! The bride joined me on stage to sing, and was absolutely brilliant! Maybe slightly too brilliant ;-) but if anyone's allowed to outshine me, surely it's the bride!!
The bride showing me how it's done!
It was an absolutely brilliant evening, I loved every minute. We had a full dance floor all evening, despite the hog roast, cheese board and LOADS of cake!! So thank you to everyone who danced, sang along, and made it an evening to remember. And massive congratulations to Matt & Laura... I'm sure we'll see each other soon as we live 5 minutes down the road from one another! Here's last night's set list:
Blue Swede - Hooked on a Feeling (first dance)
Jack Johnson - Better Together
Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger
Olly Murs - Dance With Me Tonight
Amy Winehouse - Valerie (sung by the bride!)
Lumineers - Ho Hey
Train - Drive By
Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum
Jake Bugg - Lightning Bolt
Kooks - She Moves In Her Own Way
Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
Marvin Gaye - Heard It Through The Grapevine
Avicii - Wake Me Up
The Calling - Wherever You Will Go
Pharrell - Happy
Stevie Wonder - Superstition
Killers - Mr Brightside
Arctic Monkeys - I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Fratellis - Whistle For The Choir
Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire
Lady GaGa/Eurythmics medley - Bad Romance/Sweet Dreams
Rihanna - Umbrella
Maroon 5 - Payphone
White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
Razorlight - Before I Fall To Pieces
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Dani California
Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
As a follow-on from my last blog piece about live wedding music, I've also put together a few thoughts on what tends to work less effectively, in my experience:
Too much music! I've had plenty of emails in the past along the lines of "we'd like you to play at the church, then the drinks reception for a couple of hours, then we want you to play background music during the meal, then if you could do a couple of hours before the DJ starts". When you're booking a musician, you want value for money for sure - but as a solo performer, this is physically impossible! It would amount to 5 or 6 hours of almost constant singing/playing - and if I had any voice left by that point, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to feel my fingers!
The wedding breakfast. Now this is my personal opinion, but I don't think there's any need to have a live musician during the wedding breakfast. A pianist or classical guitarist may provide some nice atmosphere, but an iPod or playlist will do the same job. During the meal people want to chat to one another, and of course there's usually speeches, so I don't think having a live player adds anything in this instance. That's not to say that it can't be a lovely addition to the big day - I've just found that personally, when I've played during the wedding breakfast, it's been less effective. You could always order one of my CDs if you wanted customised music to play in the background! (had to sneak some self-promotion in there!!)
Beware of a tight schedule. Now this affects the live music for sure, but also applies to the whole day. If you're the control freak type who wants your day planned to the minute, unfortunately you do have to prepare yourself for unexpected situations which could delay the day. Try not to cram too much into a short space of time. You may have to look really closely at your timings, and allow for some leeway, especially if your ceremony is starting later in the day. Speeches usually take longer than you expect... the bride is often not on time for the ceremony... the photographs invariably take longer than you'd imagine. Your venue or wedding co-ordinator, if you have one, will usually guide you. If they take a sharp intake of breath and say "ooh, it's a bit tight", they're probably right. It only takes one of the waiting staff to go off sick, or a problem in the kitchen, and all of a sudden you're behind schedule, which can be a huge problem if you're left no wiggle room. I'd say at least 80% of the weddings I play at run behind schedule! One wedding I played at ran 3 hours behind schedule due to one thing and another - yikes!
Try to avoid live music playing while food is served in the evening. This follows on from the last point, in a way. If the schedule is very tight and something runs late, this may be unavoidable. However, this is something I always try to advise people when booking for the evening. If you have a buffet, hog roast, pizza oven - whatever - arriving in the evening, try to make sure the band or live musician isn't playing because of course, the dance floor will empty as soon as food arrives. If I'm booked for an evening, I'll usually play my 2 x 1 hour sets after the evening food is done - or, I'll play one set before the food arrives, have a break during, and then resume after people have eaten. There's nothing worse for the bride & groom than booking a band (or someone like me) and having them play to an empty room!
Does the layout of your venue lend itself to live music? The wedding couple book their dream venue, and fork out on their choice of band or musician, then find that they end up having a largely empty dance floor in the evening. Fortunately this doesn't happen often, but there have been times where I've felt so sorry for the wedding couple because people are just not up on the dance floor in the evening. This is rarely the fault of the band or musician, so how can you avoid this happening? Often the layout of the venue can be a factor. Is the bar in a separate room, away from the area where the musician or band is performing? Often people will gravitate towards the bar (especially the men - come on men - up your game, get on that dance floor!!) and in some cases that's where they'll stay all night. If your venue has multiple rooms or large grounds, that can also be a factor. Just something to bear in mind that I think is often overlooked.
It's too loud!! In some ways this is part of the previous point. If your venue is on the smaller side, a band may not be suitable. As soon as you introduce live drums and electric guitars, things start getting LOUD. Bear in mind that this may be overwhelming, especially if you have more elderly guests. Of course, at this point I'm going to say that a singer and guitarist like myself is a fantastic alternative! Some venues have sound limiters which will cut the electric supply when the music reaches a certain volume level.
In the evening, try to pick songs that will appeal to all. As a wedding musician, my repertoire is large and varied because at a wedding you have all tastes and ages. I always let my wedding couples choose the songs they want played, but it's always worth throwing in as many songs as possible that are well-known and will appeal to the majority. It's your day, and of course you should definitely have the final say on what is played, but also have a think about who will be attending. You won't ever be able to please everyone, but as long as the majority are having a good time, you're onto a winner!
It's mid-April and things are starting to hot up here in Bristol... and I'm not just talking about the weather. Us folks in the wedding industry are readying ourselves for the Summer season. I've had a few beautiful Spring weddings already, but the real fun starts next month!
With a couple of weeks before my next wedding, I was doing a bit of admin and chatting with brides-to-be, and it occurred to me that many of the same questions come up time and time again. So I thought I'd put together a little blog post about booking a live musician such as myself. I'm getting married myself next year, so I can completely empathise with brides and grooms-to-be who are planning their big day! If there's one thing I can definitely help with, it's music... so, from my personal experiences, here's my hints & tips - and things to avoid - when booking a live musician for your wedding.
Pre-booking: Finding a musician
When arranging your wedding entertainment, finding the right musician is undoubtedly the hardest bit. Everyone's wedding planning experience is different. Some people will know exactly what they want, some have a rough idea of how the day will pan out, and some don't know where to start! There's a bewildering choice of wedding suppliers, and music is no exception.
Budget
Yes, it's a dull and practical place to start, but the first thing you should do is set a limit for how much you can afford on entertainment. I've read bridal magazines that suggest you should set by at least £2000 for entertainment - but then I've read blogs and articles that put the figure nearer £650. Although us wedding musicians don't like to admit it, we are usually one of the later considerations when it comes to budget. Essentials such as the dress, the venue, flowers and photography are always going to take priority - so I don't ever take offence when people say my prices are over their budget, because I know how quickly costs can add up!
I would take advice from magazines and websites with a pinch of salt - your budget is as much as you can afford. Set a figure you're happy with - if you come in under budget, brilliant, but also be prepared to go a little over budget if you find a band or musician you really love.
What time of day is best for live music?
This is another factor which will affect what type of musician you choose. An obvious time for music is during the evening - I'll look at this in a moment, but there's lots of options for the daytime too. I'll approach this question purely from my position as a singer and guitarist - I get bookings for all parts of the wedding day, so this is just my personal opinion on what works best.
Every wedding schedule is different, but most commonly I'm booked to play at the wedding ceremony and following drinks reception. This always works well in my experience - as guests arrive I'll play 20 minutes or so of music to set a relaxed atmosphere, then I'll play during the ceremony and for an hour or so afterwards, before guests head in for the wedding breakfast.
Cheers!
If you hadn't thought about the time following the ceremony, you may well want to consider booking someone like myself to entertain guests while you're having photos taken, and people are having refreshments. It can be a great way to fill the gap between the ceremony and wedding breakfast. This is especially true if you're lucky enough to hold your wedding outdoors with good weather. Something about acoustic guitar and sunshine just works!
Another increasingly popular option which works really well at weddings is afternoon tea. What's better than sitting outdoors on a warm British Summer day with a cup of Earl Grey and a slice of cake, or a lovely cream tea?! Live acoustic music is a perfect accompaniment for this kind of setup.
Live wedding ceremony music - tips
most live musicians will take requests, so if you have a particular song in mind for the walk down the aisle, and/or the exit of the married couple, ask if they can play your song. I send the bride and groom an mp3 version of their song at their request, so that they can hear how my acoustic version will sound.
bear in mind that the walk down the aisle often doesn't take very long! Most songs are 3-4 minutes long, and the walk is often less than a minute. In this case, I would adapt the length of the song to suit, so that it ends at an appropriate moment.
the signing of the register is another nice time to have a couple of songs - in my experience this usually takes about 5 minutes, so time to have a couple of songs played. Again, for my weddings I welcome song requests.
Evening entertainment
I think many people would love to have a great band play at their wedding - but it can be difficult to pick one. The internet is great for finding people, but you really need to see them live to get a flavour of what they do. This can be a bit tricky for dedicated wedding bands - because they're always at weddings!
One of the best ways of finding a band is by word-of-mouth recommendation. Maybe you saw a band at a friend's wedding, or people were raving about a band they saw at someone else's event. If you've found someone on the internet, see if they have any public performances you can go to. For a good function band, you should realistically be expecting to pay in the region of £1000-£1500+
DJ's again are a tricky one - there's many out there of varying quality (I have a couple of recommendations on my site for DJs) and unfortunately you don't really have the option of seeing them do their thing before the big day (unless you've seen them at a friend's wedding). So again, word-of-mouth is your friend here, and if you are booking someone you found on the internet, try to meet up with them to get an idea of their personality. You can usually expect to pay around £400 for a good DJ. Make sure they have good quality equipment which is PAT tested yearly, and bear in mind that some venues will require public liability insurance. These two points apply to bands and musicians as well.
*sales pitch* You may not associate an acoustic guitarist with the evening party, but my acoustic guitar/vocal style works really well if you're after some high quality live evening entertainment which won't break the bank. I regularly play at a couple of late-night venues in Bristol, so I know which tunes to play to get everyone up on the dance floor! *sales pitch over!*
I hope that some of this blog is helpful if you're planning your wedding and looking for live music. Good luck with your search for the perfect musician, and of course please do get in touch if you're considering my acoustic guitar/singing for your wedding day!
It was wild, wet and windy here in Bristol this morning. Combine that with the fact that I was out gigging until midnight, and that British Summer Time had the nerve to steal an hour of sleep from us, and I must be honest - I didn't fancy getting out of bed when my 8.30am alarm sounded this morning!
However, drag myself from my pit I did, and I had a great day playing acoustic songs for the Bristol Vintage Wedding Fayre at Freemason's Hall. It was lovely to meet lots of brides and grooms-to-be and chat all things wedding music. Lovely to see lots of friendly faces and mingle with fellow wedding suppliers too!
That's my last wedding fair of the year (unless I book in any last-minute) - so if you want to catch me singing live, keep an eye on the gigs page :)
Along with Aldwick Court Farm & Vineyard, I've now added Wick Farm Bath and Portland House, Cardiff Bay to my Preferred Venues list. Anyone booking a wedding guitar package through these venue's suppliers lists will receive a 10% discount on their overall quote. You can read more here:
Tonight I played some live acoustic music at Goldbrick House, Bristol for the Bristol Wedding Tweet Up. The Tweet Up is an informal get-together arranged by Kirsten aka The Little Wedding Helper for people in the wedding industry. It's a good excuse for us all to get together, have a glass of bubbly, some canapés and a good chinwag!
Goldbrick House is a lovely venue on Park Street in the centre of Bristol. I've played a couple of weddings there before, but never been up on the top level before (the Orangery). It's absolutely beautiful with some great views.
Here's my set lists from tonight:
Bob Marley - Three Little Birds
Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight
George Ezra - Budapest
Zutons/Amy Winehouse - Valerie
Jack Johnson - Better Together
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
Tom Odell - Grow Old With Me
Beatles - Here Comes The Sun
Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
Blackstreet - No Diggity
Ed Sheeran - Don't
Bastille - Pompeii
Avicii - Wake Me Up
Pharrell - Happy
Stevie Wonder - Superstition
Killers - Mr Brightside
George Ezra - Blame It On Me
Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You
Daft Punk - Get Lucky
Lumineers - Ho Hey
Bob Marley - Stir It Up
Jackson Five - I Want You Back
Oasis - Wonderwall
Tracey Chapman - Fast Car
Van Morrisson - Brown Eyed Girl
Ben E King - Stand By Me
As you will know if you've seen me live or watched some of my YouTube vids, I do a lot of looping. Performing with a loop pedal gives another dimension to my solo performances and I wouldn't be without the looper now!
For about 5 years I've been using the Boss RC-20XL, but I've finally upgraded to the newer RC-30. When I was choosing my pedal, I watched a few YouTube videos to help me decide - some of which were helpful, and some of which were less helpful. So I thought I'd do my own video, concentrating more on live performance, and adding my own thoughts. Hopefully it's helpful for someone in a similar position to me, looking to upgrade their looper. Here's my "out-of-the-box" first impressions video, and a longer review of the pedal is below:
I've now used the RC-30 out on the road a couple of times, and it's already improved my live performances massively! A huge thumbs up for this piece of kit - even after just two shows I feel like I couldn't do without it. It's very easy to use - you can use it as a simple one track looper, or get a bit more in depth with the dual tracks for some more advanced looping.
Here's a few thoughts on the pedal from my personal perspective as a performing solo guitarist/singer.
Which loop pedal to choose?
Loop stations are massively popular these days, and pretty much everyone knows about looping now, largely thanks to Ed Sheeran! I started using a looper about 8 years ago after watching this performance and went through a couple of pedals before sticking with the Boss RC-20XL. At the time, the Boss unit was the most solid and reliable unit I tried, and it had the bonus of a microphone input.
Loopers come in all shapes and sizes now, from the super simple one-pedal variety like the TC Electronic Ditto, through to multi-functional units like the Boss RC-300. There's software loopers too, which connect to your laptop or iPad. For me, a software looper is a no-no because a/ I need my setup to be fairly portable and quick to set up and b/ some of the venues I play get pretty rowdy, so I don't really want to bring expensive equipment along to these types of places! Plus, introducing a laptop/tablet introduces more potential reliability problems - best to stick with one pedal which does the job, in my opinion.
Which loop pedal to choose really depends on what you want out of it. These are my main requirements from a looper:
- reliability/build quality - ease of use - functionality - sound quality
The first point in particular was my main reason for getting the RC-30. I've spoken to some fellow guitarists and read a few reviews, and the reliability of some other loopers seemed to be an issue. The one thing that everyone seemed to agree on was that the Boss gear is built to last - and if my old RC-20XL was anything to go by, that's definitely true. I gigged that thing into the ground, and it never failed on me - I really need to be able to rely on my loop pedal, so I went ahead and ordered the RC-30. The RC-30 - Out of the box
Before I get to the unboxing, a quick shout out for woodbrass.com. Since I'm in the UK, the pound is very strong against the Euro at the moment so it's much cheaper to order gear from Europe. I'd never tried Woodbrass before, but their prices seemed good - and they included a free Boss PSU for the pedal. I've ordered gear from thomann.de before which has arrived with a European plug, so I checked with Woodbrass, and they send out a UK adapter with their orders. My order was delivered within a week of ordering - well packaged, with free delivery - and yes there was a UK adapter for the PSU. Brilliant service!
Going loopy
So - out of the box I'm instantly reassured by the same solid build quality as the older pedal. I find the pedals on these units really easy to use and accurate for looping. I've never been convinced by the small button-style stompboxes - I'm sure some of them are great, but the ones I've tried haven't always been easy to time loops accurately.
No one bothers reading instructions, so let's plug it in and see what happens. My first thought was "damn, they've sent me a faulty unit" because I couldn't get any life out of it. It turns out that you have to insert a jack into the output on the back of the pedal before it will fire up. I guess they've done this to preserve battery life if using batteries.
Sounds good
The first thing I notice is the improvement in sound quality over the RC-20. The instrument input is clear and crisp and on recording my first loop, the playback sounds identical to the signal. There was always a slight degradation with the old pedal, so I'm really pleased they've improved the preamps.
Plugging a microphone into the RC-30 doesn't fill you with dread in the way that the RC-20 did. An XLR input is now added, rather than a jack. Recording a vocal loop is much better than the old pedal - but let's qualify that by saying that that the RC-20's mic preamp was barely useable. I did used to use it, but it was always muffled and pretty awful.
Shure SM58 plugged into the RC-30
The sound quality of a dynamic mic direct into the XLR input is decent (I'm using an SM58). However, I really wish they'd added some kind of on-board EQ for the mic input, even if it was just a high-pass filter. When you build up multiple vocal loops, it's easy to get a build up of unwanted low frequencies - and anyone who's worked with audio knows that low frequencies can quickly dominate everything.
I've not tried a condenser mic into the pedal, as I will only be using a dynamic mic in live situations. However, the RC-30 includes phantom power should you require it, which is a nice touch.
Overall - sound quality is vastly improved over the RC-20. I've been using it live to build guitar and vocal loops and it's good - gives me much more confidence than the older pedal. Like I say though, I really wish they'd included a simple 3-band EQ on that mic input, or just a low cut button would've been better than nothing.
Usability
It's easy to get up and running quickly with the RC-30. Plug in, hit the left pedal to record a loop and hit it again to playback. The first thing you'll notice if you're used to the RC-20 like me is that the loop instantly starts overdubbing when you start playback. It took me a few goes to get used to this, but it will be second nature before long. It's a better way of looping because you can instantly start building your loop up - great in live situations.
Testify!
A little note/advice on looping in general here, and this is just personal opinion based on many years of performing solo with a loop pedal. If you've just got a looper and are going to play live with it - use it sparingly. It should add to your performance rather than detract from it. Don't sit there building up a loop for 3 minutes before actually getting into the song - your audience will most likely get bored, no matter how incredible your looping technique is. There's so many videos on YouTube of people building up loops and turning a 3 minute song into an 8 minute song. AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT! Look, your job as a performer is to entertain people - for the most part they want to hear a song they love and sing along with a drink in their hand. In a typical gig, I'll play for 2 hours and use the looper on maybe 25% of songs, usually for a bit of percussion or a simple vocal loop. I'll build my loop as quickly as I possibly can so that I can get straight into the song and ensure that the crowd stay engaged.
Anyway, back to the RC-30...
So, yep, nice and easy to use straight out of the box, and the second thing I notice is that the pedal is lovely and responsive. The old RC-20XL had a really annoying trait whereby there was a tiny delay after hitting the playback button when you record your first loop. I'm very pleased to report that the RC-30 eliminates this problem, and the loop starts exactly when you expect it to. It's amazing how off-putting that little delay was, it's probably a matter of milliseconds but can throw your entire timing out. The RC-30 is spot on, and it's instantly improved my looping - now I have 100% confidence in my loops and I know that if there's any timing issues then that's my fault not the pedal's.
Dual track attack
From the RC-20XL which was a basic one track looper, the RC-30 brings in a second track to record on. Fun! But a little complicated at first if you've only ever used a single track looper before, like me. I didn't explain it as well as I could've in the YouTube video, but it's actually very simple to explain how to use dual tracks on this pedal:
- firstly, you select which track you record on (as standard you will start on track 1)
- use left pedal to record/overdub your loop (pressing the right pedal will stop playback)
- hold the right pedal down for 2 seconds to switch to track two
- the pedal functions remain exactly the same: record/overdub with the left pedal and stop playback with the right pedal. However now you are recording/overdubbing/stopping playback on track 2 while track 1 continues playing the loop you've already recorded.
- to switch back to track 1, hold down the right pedal for 2 seconds again
- now you're back on track 1. Your left and right pedal functions remain the same but apply to track 1. So you can continue to overdub or stop track 1 and if you've recorded a loop on track two, it will continue playing regardless of what you do on track 1
Simple? Yeah, pretty much - once you get the hang of it it's a doddle. However I do stand by what I said in my video review - this pedal will be much easier to use with the optional footswitch - either the Boss FS-5U single pedal or better, the FS-6 dual switch. This will eliminate that annoying 2 second delay when holding down the right hand pedal to switch tracks. If you're singing while looping, which I do, I think the footswitch is pretty much essential.
Compatible footswitches
The other thing to mention quickly with dual tracks on the RC-30 is that double-tapping the right hand pedal stops playback of both tracks. Then, when you want to kick playback in again, it will start playing whichever track(s) you have selected at the time. Holding the right hand pedal down will toggle between track 1, track 2, or both tracks together.
Now this is where it gets fiddly if playing live. For example, I sometimes want to drop everything out momentarily, then bring the whole loop back in. This is nigh-on impossible without the extra footswitch because you have to double tap the right pedal, then toggle tracks by holding down the right pedal until both tracks are active - then hit left to playback. If you only have a second or two to do this, it's not possible! I have a couple of songs where this is what I want to do, so I'll need to get the footswitch to do this in live situations.
I was kind of hoping the footswitch functions would be customisable - but from what I've read it seems that their functions are fixed. This is a little annoying - if anyone knows any different, please comment below and let me know.
Other features
So that's the main guts of it covered. It's worth quickly mentioning some of the other stuff this pedal can do. There's a selection of onboard FX which I've had a quick play around with, and they're pretty useable. I like the sweep filter, and the downward pitch bend would be a pretty cool and unexpected way of ending a song in a live situation. The lo-fi effect sounds pretty cool too. Saying that, I've not actually figured out how I'm going to get any of these FX into my live show yet - but I may start sneaking the odd effect in soon!
Onboard FX
It has a complement of rhythm tracks, similar to the RC-20 pedal. I occasionally used the simple bassdrum track on the old pedal, but in all honesty I can't see myself using any of these pre-recorded rhythm tracks. Does anyone actually ever use these? Boss say it can be used for "jamming at home" or whatever - I just can't really imagine anyone actually doing this - but maybe it's handy for a hobby guitarist or something. Personally, I build all my loops live so I probably won't ever use the memory function.
You can import loops from your computer too - I might explore this soon for some of my more complex loops. Could be pretty useful.
In conclusion
Overall then, I'm really pleased that I chose the RC-30. If I was to give it a score, based on my main criteria of value-for-money, build quality, usability, features and sound quality, I'd give it 9 out of 10. I've not tried any of the other loopers on the market at the moment so can't do a comparison. All I can say is that it's a dramatic improvement on the old RC-20XL pedal - much more useable and flexible, with much better sonic quality.
There's just a couple of little niggles that I've explained above, but I think you have to compromise a little, unless you go all-out and get one of the giant loop stations which make you a cup of tea and shine your shoes as you loop.
I'll look forward to a number of years of happy looping with this pedal! If you have any comments or suggestions, please post them in the comments below.
Pat
