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I happened to make conversation with the monitor mix guy. So I asked how did they get into sound? The FOH guy got made redundant from selling double glazing, bought a PA and undercut everyone locally on prices.
I had the misfortune of working with him a number of times and always took my biggest amp, agreed to turn down and turned it back up during the first song.
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
I feel this works best for the sorts of shows you typically get in small 50-200 capacity venues.
Getting a good sound is not all about the sound guy - the guitarist needs to do the right thing.
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
The problem with quiet stages is that even if you're using a modeller through a cab, the sound is markedly different when quiet compared to loud. I'm positive that it's not just the perception thing, it's the way the speakers (and everything else on stage) react to volume. Up to a point, louder is always going to sound better with distorted guitars (which are the only kind I care about). Once you hit that point - where you get the "THUNK" sound and feeling - there's little to be gained by going any louder. If an engineer insists that I be quieter than that...I'll probably get a little bit grumpy.
Still, it's their house, so...their rules. I'll just seethe quietly too.
However there were some who were abysmal. I had one situation in a rehearsal where the singer changed the key at the last moment. I grabbed a pen and wrote the changes whilst the drummer and pianist ran throughout it. When they finished the sound guy launched a rant at me how loud I was, turn it down...
The sound engineer is not necessarily being difficult if he asks someone to turn down on stage.
Musicians and the production staff need to work together, not lock horns.
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
The muso's that give me the most hassle working sound are the ones that aren't that confident in their own abilities or they aren't used to playing in different live environments. You can't get a realistic PFL off them until the whole band starts, they keep trying to tell you something but they actually don't really know what they want themselves and are basically asking you to fight volume with volume ... which is never the answer.
I guess one problem is bands are quite happy to spend 4K on 3 backline amps but seem loath to spend any money or give any brain power to working out good self monitoring if it's so important to them. It's not rocket science, you can be totally self monitoring sufficient for less than a grand
I used to do PAs in/around York in the late 80s/90s, and some bands were a joy to do because they were experienced pros and knew how to sound good - I just made them louder.
To be fair, the ones that were the biggest pain were not the inexperienced, but the egos who thought they knew it all, but didn't. I generally did OK because I'm not a dick (why are some sound engineers total dicks?).
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
As a guitarist, I totally understand the need to be loud enough on stage.
As a sound engineer, I totally understand the desire to keep stage volume down, especially on small stages.
The band and the engineer need to work together to get the best compromise.
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/