|  | 
09-04-2004, 05:50 AM
|  | Supporting Member | | Join Date: May 2004 Location: kcmo | |  At the mercy of the soundman
Sign in to disble this ad
Our local art galleries sponser "First Friday" each month which is when all the galleries have their openings. A generally festive atmosphere with live music of various styles and ambitions on the street.
Last night we happened upon a free concert of a professional touring band from out of state. Large professional P.A., lighting, etc. We hung around to check them out.
The bass player played a Music Man (sorry, don't know the model) through an Aquilar rig. From what I've read here, this should have sounded great, but it was just a big blob of mud. Not only was there absolutely no tone, I couldn't even distinguish individual notes most of the time. Oddly enough, the mix on the rest of the band wasn't too bad.
So here's this guy, thousands of dollars tied up in his equipment, probably thinks he sounds great, at the mercy of the soundman. Too bad. |
09-04-2004, 10:56 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Pacific Northwest USA | | | Bass and kick drum can be the most difficult instruments to deal with in the PA. Especially with (ok, let's pick a number here) large 20kW and higher PA systems.
There is hope.... I just attended a local outdoor show, in which my friends were opening for a KISS tribute band. The PA stacks were 4x EAW subs and 6x EAW tops per side, with umpteen kilowatts and the soundman coaxed a decent tone out of both bass players. My friend Kyle in the opening band was playing a bass that I used to own, and the tone through the PA was decent. Not really faithful to the tonal character of that particular bass, but decent.
Some sound men insisit on making every bass sound like a Fender Precision. Not that there's anything bad about the sound of a P-bass, but soundguys should let a bass sound like 'itself'. Hope that makes sense.
__________________
Dig contemporary jazz. My latest favorite: artist- Frank Gambale, disc- Best of Smooth Jazz, song- Nunzio's Near
|
09-04-2004, 11:01 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Los Angeles | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by emor From what I've read here, this should have sounded great, but it was just a big blob of mud. Not only was there absolutely no tone, I couldn't even distinguish individual notes most of the time. Oddly enough, the mix on the rest of the band wasn't too bad.
So here's this guy, thousands of dollars tied up in his equipment, probably thinks he sounds great, at the mercy of the soundman. Too bad. |
FOH techs are just like players. There are great ones, mediocre ones and absolute hacks. Based on some of my experiences, I suspect there are even several deaf ones. |
09-04-2004, 11:23 AM
| | The emperor has no clothes! | | Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Burbank CA USA | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by Davehenning FOH techs are just like players. There are great ones, mediocre ones and absolute hacks. Based on some of my experiences, I suspect there are even several deaf ones. |
What? 
__________________
"When all other possibilities are eliminated, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
|
09-04-2004, 11:47 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Pacific Northwest USA | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by nonsqtr What? |
__________________
Dig contemporary jazz. My latest favorite: artist- Frank Gambale, disc- Best of Smooth Jazz, song- Nunzio's Near
| | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | |
