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Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
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Backline Instruments should balance with the drums in front of the stage, PA should reinforce what it needs to - starting with vocals, acoustic instruments and things like keyboard that need help then kick drum, then rest of drums, then amps.
That way the band is producing an actual sonic event that already pretty much makes sense, and the PA helps reinforce and disperse it evenly through the room. It does mean guitarists need to think about beamy amps - I usually faced mine sideways.
Another advantage of the backline being balanced with the drums is the monitoring becomes easy - for most acts, just vocals will do. They can hear their instruments just fine, and the monitors are kept clear.
All the best soundmen I've had the pleasure of working with in clubs worked like this, and only intervened when the amps were too loud compared to the drums - and if they were great, they paid attention to the band through a run through to see what the dynamic was like - a guitarist that's very loud for 10 seconds while the drummer's pounding yet hardly plays at all at other times is no problem. If a guitarist plays block chords at that loud volume for the entire song, it might well be. So amp volume judged in isolation, outside of a musical context, is largely irrelevant.
Lesser soundmen try to get more control in situations where they shouldn't, working down through levels of incompetence to near-silent stages, the total destruction of natural interplay in the ensemble, forced reliance on the monitor mixing abilities of someone who's never heard you before, and a front of house mix that will almost always be too drum heavy because loud drums feels like a safe box to tick when you're having to re-create what you imagine the band's internal balance would be if you hadn't destroyed it.
Once a venue is big enough, good sound men can start to exhibit more control as the ratio of stage to PA sound shifts in their favour.
As opinionated as what I've written is, I should be clear - I'm never antagonistic with sound people, and almost always did as they requested; for the simple reason that they have the power to make you sound terrible if you annoy them, and if they're incompetent it won't matter anyway. And I always genuinely treasure the times the mixer is excellent.
Bandcamp
Spotify, Apple et al
And this...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Edit: To be clear, I mean if the engineer is not doing a good job.
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I don't know about facing the amp sidewards though. Generally if you do that at the back of the stage then the poor old drummer is gonna get it. If you have it further forward facing sidewards then surely you are beaming it into the vocalist.
I remember years ago the Eagles used to mic the amps off stage, that probably helped
I favour ZERO guitars in the monitors. Let the amp and cab do it's job.
Likewise the drums, I always have a fair bit of hi hat in a festival or big indoor stage otherwise you will naturally play behind the beat as you are hearing it late.
Live shows are a team sport and great ones take communication and compromise. I don't like being "that guy" and asking bands to turn down, but if I feel that's what needs to happen to make that band come across as best as possible, I'll ask.
Small venues of a few hundred cap are often tricky. Very few of them are acoustically favourable. They all pose unique challenges and all involve a degree of compromise to make it work as best it can for as many of the crowd as possible.
In those situations, I'll start my soundcheck with nothing but the vocals (and any unamplified instruments) in both FOH and monitors, and I'll listen to it. The most important thing at this point is that the band start to get a feel for the stage sound before flooding it with extra shite in the wedges, and that I can get an appropriate level of volume and clarity in the vocals.
If something on stage is stopping me from doing that, I'll address it in a positive and diplomatic way. If I'm asking you to change something, whether it's your stage level, your tone, or the positioning of the amp, it's because I believe it's the right thing to do to make the overall experience of listening to your performance the best it can be for your audience. I'm not there to do anything other than make the gig great - sound engineers want you to sound awesome because it's their pride in their work, and their reputation too. Believe it or not, I like to keep getting hired so I can actually pay my mortgage, so it's not in my interest to half-arse it!
Y'all must have quiet drummers!
I like a pretty quiet stage, it’s why I’ve gone full digital, I can give the front of house a direct feed and run my own little speaker for my sound, pointed away from the audience. I’d rather use IEM to be honest.
Granted, just my 2p and I am in a grumpy ass mood. Listen to your sound guys … they know what they are doing. Better than you. And if you’re not a dick will try to help you.