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The one good thing about being a self-contained band (I play weddings) is that I have full control of my own monitor mix and can make sure there is enough guitar in it!
(The big downside, however, of doing the mix myself is that I can't be out front AND onstage at the same time, and so it's hard to know what needs a little tweak mid-set.)
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I did a gig in Camden a few years ago which was probably the worst gig sound wise I've ever had. House engineer had a quick word and said 'we run a very quiet stage here guys' and as we sound checked he asked me to turn my amp down to pretty much zero. He came over as a complete twat in terms of his communication/interaction. I complied as I'm a collaborative type of guy (don't want to piss the sound guy off) expecting some guitars in the monitors. You can guess the rest and I pretty much played the gig blind. I went out to listen to the band on after us and couldn't believe the SPL he was pushing FOH. It was so painful I put plugs in and then gave up eventually.
The amount of gigs I've been too that have been ruined by just being tooooo f'kin loud for the space or completely inappropriate for the audience/venue..
Si
They think you're full of shit and they know best. That's it really.
A percentage of the audience *will* notice, that percentage being directly proportional to the shitiness of the sound.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
Sounds like more justification for removing the soundman and FOH altogether!!!
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
Needless to say, the sound on stage was loud and crap, but weirdly, out front it was actually surprisingly good. The PA was forward of the stage and probably about 2m further forward of the amps. As only singers were going through them the vocals were crystal clear and way louder (probably too loud) in the mix than usual (not a bad thing live as usually they're swamped). The kick and possibly snare definitely needed micing, but it was nice to not have the PA just washed out with overly loud cymbals. Also, the small bass amp alone was sufficient. For once the mix wasn't full of sub harmonics and low end rumble from too much bass, as is often the case.
It all got me thinking that in essence, most of my "theories" regarding stage volume and sound guys are true. You can have loud guitars on stage, so long as they're matching the drums and also angled away from crowd (both ours were on amp stands angled toward our heads). The PA can serve to balance and reinforce the sound that's there, not simply completely alter it.
I also wondered if any PA setups consist of some of the speakers being dedicated solely to the vocals, to give them more clarity? Almost like a wet/dry rig does with guitar?
I mic everything, but bring the vocals up first then only bring anything else into the PA if it's needed.
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/