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July 18, 2015 editorial: comments

  • 26 replies
  • 13 participants
  • 5,754 views
  • 13 followers
Topic July 18, 2015 editorial: comments

Live Sound Burnout Syndrome

I had an annoying experience at a gig recently. My band was playing at a music festival in which there was a very good sound system, and everything onstage was miked. As a result, I didn’t worry about turning up my guitar amp any louder than was necessary to hear myself. The front of house mixer had my back — or so I assumed.

After the set, I talked to friends who were in the audience, and discovered that my guitar was almost inaudible out front. WTF? Apparently, this sound guy was asleep at the switch. My assumption was that he just didn’t give a shit. We were just one of many bands playing over the course of the day, and he was too lazy to put in the effort to mix us correctly. Now, please if any of you out there are live sound mixers, don’t take this wrong, but I have noticed this attitude frequently among many (but not all) soundpeople — at clubs especially. I’ve also talked to musician friends of mine who’ve experienced the same thing.

There must be something about having to mix a lot of bands, day in and day out, that turns a lot of live sound engineers into grumpy old men who don’t give a damn. On some level, I sympathize, because, especially at clubs with multiple band bills (which are most clubs these days), the house sound person has to deal with many bands every night, some of whom play too loud or show very little respect and complain on the mic about the monitors. But still...If they’re going to do that job, why not try to do their best?

Sure, club sound engineers need a lot of patience to deal with so many musicians on a regular basis, some of whom are jerks or treat the microphones and other sound gear carelessly. But hey, we all have challenges in our jobs, but they don’t make us just stop caring. (At least I hope not.)

So what do you think? Have you had similar experiences with the sound personnel at the clubs and other venues you play? 

View this discussion’s subject
21
Quote:
In smaller (and larger) venues, having an overall mixed sound is also much more balanced than having a backline providing the sound

Wow, very interesting setup. Sounds cool. But if you're not using the backline, then all the instruments must be going DI into your onstage mixer, right? So you have electronic drums, I assume, and your own in-ear monitoring?
22
Hello, Mike,

In reponse, to give more detail, each instrument (whether electronic, keyboards, etc. or miked-up acoustic instruments, drums, acoustic guitars, saxophone, harmonica, etc.) go through their own dedicated effects units or direct into the on-stage mixer where more effects can be added as desired. In rehearsals, you can make non-permanent marks alongside each fader track on the mixing desk, so it’s quick and easy to reproduce the identical balance at every venue. (To date we haven't used an automated mixer in live situations.) Enough headroom should be left for the soloists to boost their volume during solos. Then, a single output with the mono mixed sound is fed out from the mixer to the P.A. system for the audience and into stage floor monitors in front of each artist (not in-ear monitoring). By using all the same effects as used in the studio, one can then reproduce the closest sound to a perfectly mixed studio recording, yet still retaining the feel of a live performance.

Note that giving a front-of-house mixing engineer in charge of the P.A. a single mono mix to amplify for the audience means he can only control the volume and EQ. Having checked our sound out of monitors and P.A., we then ask them specifically not to change the EQ and keep it as provided. In this way, engineers cannot miss solos and mess about with the individual components of your sound. We found this absolutely indispensable to stop ‘engineers’ fiddling about.

Everyone hears the same finished sound product which is refined to your taste. This makes the audio just as it should be for both the band and audience from small gigs to the large music festival concerts. Therefore a more enjoyable sound experience can be had all round!

There is another great advantage: apart from your own instruments, mixer, FX, monitors, and P.A. (for the smaller venues), you are not obliged in addition to transport and then carry in and out of the venue all the individual combos, heads, backline, etc. It makes for a clear stage and a professional looking and sounding performance. The set-up is quick. The sound check is swift, and you’re ready to rumble!

I hope this is all clearly explained and envisageable.

All the very best to you, Mike.
Astra.

Quote:
Wow, very interesting setup. Sounds cool. But if you're not using the backline, then all the instruments must be going DI into your onstage mixer, right? So you have electronic drums, I assume, and your own in-ear monitoring?

Astra: Lead Guitarist, Singer-Songwriter.

www.astramusic.org

23
Aha. Now I get it. It sounds like a excellent solution. Thanks for the additional detail, and good luck with the gigs! :bravo:
24
You're welcome, Mike. Let me know if you try it out one day!
We enjoyed listening to some clips of your outfit, Big Mamou. Let me know if you have a clip of Julie's Party too.
Cheers!
Astra.

Astra: Lead Guitarist, Singer-Songwriter.

www.astramusic.org

25
Quote:
We enjoyed listening to some clips of your outfit, Big Mamou. Let me know if you have a clip of Julie's Party too.

Thanks. I appreciate you taking the time out to listen. To answer your question, Julie's Party doesn't have any clips online at the moment. If you're interested, I have some of my own music (mostly acoustic instrumentals) online at www.mikelevine.com/songs. Continued good luck with your band, and I hope we hear from you on the forums again soon. :-)
26
Dear Mike,
Thanks for the link to your website which I’ve visited. You’ve got some really nice, intricately arranged instrumentals on there. From raunchy and bluesy to jazzy and bluegrass, they create a great ambience!
Much continued inspiration to you and see you around on the forum!
Cheers!
Astra.

Astra: Lead Guitarist, Singer-Songwriter.

www.astramusic.org

27
Quote:

Much continued inspiration to you and see you around on the forum!
Cheers!
Astra.

Thanks! I appreciate that a lot.