Reply posted by Doug Fowler on August 24, 2002
Noise Boy turns to graphic EQ throughout the show and makes tiny,
tiny, imperceptible adjustments after staring at it for a long time.
Reply posted by Mark Okern on August 24, 2002
Did a show a few weeks ago where the hire company supplied separate
FOH rig for the openers including aVaricurve EQ... but they wouldn't
show any BE's where they had stashed the remote (2 racks away under
its own storage bag) until they were convinced no picket fence or
below mentioned adjustment was going to take place. Needless to
say, most BE's didn't ever see the remote. ;-)
-Mark
Reply posted by Bruce Burke on August 23, 2002
Many years ago I went to the EJ/BJ world tour concert when it was
in town. As the night wore on the guy at the console kept adding
more and more highs.....by half-way through the gig, I would have
rather stood behind a jet engine at full throttle.
By the same token, there are groups who don't have a clue about
how they really sound. I mixed for one like that once.
The drummer had this nasty sounding crash symbol that he rode like
an old nag(actually, I'm not sure he even used anything else on
his set). The lead singer/guitarist put a plug in his guitar hole
which raised its timbre right into the same range as the crash symbol.
The keyboardist played in the same range too.....
End result. It was all noise. There was absolutely no way to seperate
out the instruments from one another. Too bad because they had some
pretty decent talent otherwise.
-Bruce
Reply posted by Robby W. on August 23, 2002
Kevin - You are right on target. Last summer, I went to see Styx
at the Viejas Casino, a venue here in San Diego that holds about
2500 seats outdoors. Sound Image supplied the rig, with a Midas
XL board, so they weren't hurting for decent equipment. I don't
know who the clown was that was mixing the show, but he must have
been stone deaf.
Even in the back row, the kick drum was so loud it felt like a punch
in the chest. I couldn't hear the bass guitar at all, the kick overwhelmed
the entire low end. The overall volume was so loud that even with
good foam earplugs stuffed all the way down my ear canal, it hurt.
Everything just sounded like jet roar.
I ended up with permanent hearing damage in my left ear. I should
have left, but wanted to hear them. I was really disappointed, as
I was looking forward to this concert and my family bought the tickets
for my birthday.
Reply posted by Jim S on August 23, 2002
You know, it's like these guys are from a world where they could
never get enough low end out of their PA in the early days, and
now that there is a great abundance, they can't stop over-compensating
for it. Like a starving man at the all-you-can-eat buffet!! Yeah-yeah,
we're all impressed, but does it sound anything like the recording?!
Maybe that would be a good way to gauge your mix. Just a thought.
I also believe that musicians tend to make the best sound men. Music
is art, and not every one is capable of understanding the subtle
nuances. A sound man needs to have a delicate balance of artistic
comprehension, and technical knowledge of the gear. The physics
of sound is also a good thing to understand when venues test your
ability to cope with adversity.
You are right about anyone with enough money to buy a sound system
thinking that makes him a sound man. It indeed does not.
Yours truly,
Jim (Mr. agreeable) Schwenzer
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