Too Loud?

skidrawk · #1 06-08-2009, 08:41 AM

Concert promoter is watching over souncheck for an outdoor "concert at the park" event. Our guitar and keyboard players go ampless with IEM's. I use a 2x10 combo. He mentions that the overall volume is too loud so we refer him to our soundman (who is quite a terrific person to work with BTW.) Conversation goes like this:

Promoter: Can you turn the sound down a bit it's way too loud.

Soundman: Sure. Sorry, I thought ya'll wanted a concert at the park.

5StringBlues · #2 06-08-2009, 08:46 AM

Friendswood?

Mo'Phat · #3 06-08-2009, 09:18 AM

Concert at the Park is code for "background music for picnics at the park".

Richland123 · #4 06-08-2009, 10:21 AM

We did an outdoor festival yesterday and the guy who owned and ran the sound system had it very loud if you stood right in front of the P.A. but the closest people sat in front of the band was under a tent about 25 to 50 yards away. The festival covered 4 square city blocks and they like the music to be heard throughout the grounds. They know they can't have it low and still be heard everywhere outside. If it is too loud for somebody, move back.

However, we do play lots of outdoor festivals and people will stand or sit a few feet in front of the P.A. and then complain it is too loud. When we politely tell them that of course it will be loud that close and suggest they move further back, they get upset and insist that they want to sit close to the band and think we should adjust the volume to suit their needs and heck with the people sitting way in the back. These people usually only go out once or twice a year and only to a festival and think everybody should cater to them.

skidrawk · #5 06-08-2009, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5StringBlues

Friendswood?

and BINGO was his NAME-O

Rattman · #6 06-08-2009, 11:55 AM

He he!! Great story.. That comeback from the soundguy in the OP is priceless. Some people are just never pleased it seems eh??

tank49 · #7 06-08-2009, 12:05 PM

If the person paying you says it's too loud then you are too loud. Other's opinions don't matter as much to me.

5StringBlues · #8 06-08-2009, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skidrawk

and BINGO was his NAME-O

Figured.It happened to us a few of years ago.I jokingly told my band leader we should have set up our own PA (a small vocals-only Peavey system) and got the sound company's money too.For this I got a dirty look from the park people,lol.

L

RustyAxe · #9 06-08-2009, 03:55 PM

The promoter may well have had contractual obligations to keep the sound below xxx dB. The town/city may also have noise restrictions in place. If the guy who runs the show says "too loud" then it's too loud. Period.

EricF · #10 06-08-2009, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tank49

If the person paying you says it's too loud then you are too loud. Other's opinions don't matter as much to me.

I gotta agree with this.

skidrawk · #11 06-08-2009, 07:25 PM

There are those who get the funny and some that do not. Of course I agree with the seriousness of some of the answers, the end of our practices end with funny stories, antecdotes, etc. This was one of many.

RustyAxe · #12 06-08-2009, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skidrawk

There are those who get the funny and some that do not.

Ah, I see ... it was funny. Yeah, I missed it. Still do ...

lunarpollen · #13 06-08-2009, 09:28 PM

Just because the guy running the event says it's too loud doesn't mean it is. He may be talking out of his arse. It may be impossible for the job to be done properly (i.e., for the hired band to provide musical entertainment to the audience) if the volume is too low for the crowd to hear.

Of course, there are occasions where the volume can be too loud, e.g., if the average A-weighted sound levels exceed a certain statutory limit at a certain distance from the source, or if it's too loud for the crowd to comfortably stand anywhere near, etc. But occasionally you get non-professional micromanagers who don't know anything about proper live sound who arbitrarily claim something is too loud when it definitely isn't. I suppose it's up to the band and/or the sound engineer to politely stand up for themselves, and even to decline to perform if they feel they won't be able to deliver the service they are hired to provide. Like if I hire a plumber to redo the pipes in my bathroom, I can't complain that his using a hammer is too loud, and that he has to find a quieter way to deliver the product and service I hired him to provide. Well actually, I can complain, but then he has the duty to inform me that he cannot do what he's hired to do if, by my arbitrary restrictions, I don't allow him to perform his job.

skidrawk · #14 06-09-2009, 01:02 AM

Its nice to have a group here that has a sense of humor. I am pretty sure the house mains were brought down to a level that made everyone happy. The stage volume/sound didn't change and was great. The soundman goes above and beyond to keep everyone happy. He's got a great sense of humor too which is one of his many attributes.

He will always be my first call when we need an outside sound source.

rfclef · #15 06-09-2009, 02:51 AM

Ahh... I remember Friendswood... Grew up in PAsadena, Deer Park... As a grownup, I lived over on Nasa 1...

modulusman · #16 06-09-2009, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lunarpollen

Just because the guy running the event says it's too loud doesn't mean it is. He may be talking out of his arse. It may be impossible for the job to be done properly (i.e., for the hired band to provide musical entertainment to the audience) if the volume is too low for the crowd to hear.

Of course, there are occasions where the volume can be too loud, e.g., if the average A-weighted sound levels exceed a certain statutory limit at a certain distance from the source, or if it's too loud for the crowd to comfortably stand anywhere near, etc. But occasionally you get non-professional micromanagers who don't know anything about proper live sound who arbitrarily claim something is too loud when it definitely isn't. I suppose it's up to the band and/or the sound engineer to politely stand up for themselves, and even to decline to perform if they feel they won't be able to deliver the service they are hired to provide. Like if I hire a plumber to redo the pipes in my bathroom, I can't complain that his using a hammer is too loud, and that he has to find a quieter way to deliver the product and service I hired him to provide. Well actually, I can complain, but then he has the duty to inform me that he cannot do what he's hired to do if, by my arbitrary restrictions, I don't allow him to perform his job.

Wrong,

If the guy running the event says you are to loud then you are. Being able to play softly is what seperates the men from the boys.

jaywa · #17 06-09-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by modulusman

Being able to play softly is what seperates the men from the boys.

Most definitely... except in this case the players had nothing to do with it. Read the OP, except for the tiny bass combo they were running a silent stage. Any volume issues in this case fall on the sound tech.

I don't have a lot of experience with gigs like this but I would assume there is some sort of contract and I would assume said contract specifies a dB limit and if the sound guy has a dB meter and the contract in hand and can show the promoter in real time that he is in compliance, then the soundman can pretty much tell the promoter to stick it.

jaywa · #18 06-09-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mo'Phat

Concert at the Park is code for "background music for picnics at the park".

Yes.