I haven't played a live gig in several decades. The last band I was in was a house band gig that lasted 2.5 years. So dragging gear around isn't something I've done in a long long time. The last road band I was with had a road crew of 2 dedicated guys who could set up and tear down on their own. They'd occasionally have a friend or two with them. So the gear we had was not a big concern. I had a pair of 4x12 cabinets and a smallish combo amp to run them. Our PA was on the large side. As a 3 piece band, there was a fair amount of stage volume. Nothing crazy, but we did, out of necessity, need to fill the stage to a certain point. A number of the clubs we played actually had a dB meter at the bar and if the band exceeded a certain level, they had 2 warnings and then they got fined. We had a dB meter and we told our FOH guy that any fines were coming out of his salary. He always kept the band within the club's limits and communicated that to us.

Now days, I don't play out. I'm totally in studio for my grins and giggles. I use a few very small, low powered amps. My Mesa can get pretty dang loud, even with only 22 watts. IIRC, I used the Mesa in the house band and generally the master out was set to about 4.5 max, and that was sufficient. The players in that band were all seasoned players and knew how to control the stage volume. In the studio, I rarely turn it up much past 3 on the master. Same for the other amps I use. My POD2 has no speakers so it doesn't count.

Through the years since the house band, I have jammed and played backyard events a few times. I can count them all on the fingers of one hand. Wait.... I did put a band together that was a Christian music band to play one event. We played that event and the band disbanded after that. The event was a rally for the NC chapters of the Christian Motorcyclists Association. We played about 30 minutes of music on one of the nights.

My days of dragging gear and amps are over. Unless someone with a tour bus and a big budget pulls up in my driveway with a deal I can't refuse. Not holding my breath.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.