Stage plot examples.

01 4-piece rock band

4-piece rock band stage plot: the one most bands start from.

Each amp sits behind the player who uses it, bass stage right and guitar stage left, so everyone hears their own rig and the wedges only have to carry voices. The drums are on an 8 by 8 foot riser upstage center with their own wedge on Mix 4, and there are three power drops, one where each rig plugs in.

The riser is written as a preference, not a demand, because most small rooms do not have one. The input list runs to twelve channels in the order engineers patch: drums, bass, guitar, then the three vocals.

02 7-piece with keys and horns

7-piece band stage plot with keys and horns: more mixes, same page.

Seven people still fit on one page. The keys get their own corner stage left, with a backing vocal and Mix 5. The trumpet and sax stand together between the singer and the keys and share Mix 4. The notes set the floor: six mixes if the room has them, four minimum, with the horns and keys sharing.

The two-tier keys take four DI channels (two keyboards in stereo), which is why the input list runs to eighteen channels. With seven people on stage, the rider asks for a 30-minute sound check.

03 Singer-songwriter duo

Singer-songwriter duo stage plot: two people, two wedges.

Two performers, two vocal mics, two wedges on two mixes, and a power drop behind each of them. The keys sit stage right with their own vocal; the singer-guitarist is stage left of center with a stool beside them, and the acoustic goes through an active DI.

The notes say what to do if the room is short of DIs (keys in mono is fine) and that a line check is enough. That is the kind of line that gets a duo on stage on time.

04 Solo acoustic

Solo acoustic stage plot: one mic, one DI, one outlet.

It looks like almost nothing, and that is the point: one vocal mic on a boom, one DI for the guitar, one wedge, a stool, a music stand, and one outlet. Sent ahead, it tells the engineer there is no amp to mic and nothing to wait for.

The notes say a ten-minute line check is plenty and that the guitar can go straight into the desk. Two input channels, and the engineer knows it before you arrive.

05 Jazz trio

Jazz trio stage plot: drawn for a quiet stage.

The piano is stage right, the upright bass in the middle where both other players can see it, and the jazz kit upstage stage left with its own wedge on Mix 3. Power goes to the piano and to the bass, and nothing is needed at the drums.

The notes carry the useful detail: if the room has a real piano the trio will play it, a clip mic on the bass is nicer than the DI, and the monitors stay low. The input list shows every channel the kit can take; the notes say kick, snare and an overhead pair are enough.

06 DJ

DJ stage plot: the booth, from above.

The simplest plot on this page, and the one venues most often never receive. The table sits at center with the decks and mixer on it, the DJ and the laptop behind it, a booth monitor on each side, and one power drop with four outlets.

The notes give the table height (about 40 inches) and the two outputs to the house, the two things a booth most often gets wrong. The whole DJ rider, with the choice between a controller, house CDJs and vinyl, is on the DJ tech rider template.

07 Reading them

How to read a stage plot: four conventions.

• The audience is at the bottom. The drawing is the stage seen from above, with downstage, the edge nearest the crowd, at the bottom of the page.
• Stage left and right are the band's. Stage right is the performer's right as they face the crowd, which is the left side of the page. Every example above labels both sides.
• One grid square is 4 feet. The examples are drawn on a 32 by 20 foot stage and the gear is at true size, so you can see what fits.
• Wedges are numbered by mix. “Mix 4 (horns)” is one monitor mix; two wedges can share a mix, and the monitor list says what each one carries.

What belongs on a plot and what does not, the input list order, and how many monitor mixes a small act should ask for are all in the guide on the stage plot maker page.

08 Your own

Stage plot template: make yours from the closest example.

1. Open the example closest to your lineup in the free stage plot maker. Each one above has a link.
2. Rename the performers and delete what you do not use. The input list follows as mics and DIs come and go.
3. Drag the gear to where your band really stands. Stage left is your left.
4. Pick the stage size closest to the room, from a 16 by 12 foot bar corner to a 40 by 28 foot big room.
5. Add the venue, the date and a phone number, then download the PDF in Letter or A4, or copy a share link for the rest of the band.

No account at any step. The Tech rider tab turns the same plot into a two-page tech rider, and the hospitality rider template adds the page about food, rooms and parking.