Backline (stage)

To achieve venue-filling sound with their instruments, bands from the 1960s typically used large, powerful guitar "stacks" and big speaker enclosures.

An emerging group on small club tours will not usually have the negotiating leverage to request specific brands and models of backline gear.

However, top bands may have very specific backline requirements, including a list of amplifiers and instruments, and also the brand names and model numbers.

In music festivals with outdoor temporary stages, the backline equipment may have to be transported to a locked, climate-controlled storage area at the end of each day, to protect it from theft, vandalism and the weather.

Backline techs who travel with touring acts may also be called roadies, although the road crew's role typically is limited to transporting and positioning the instruments and gear.