Worst Room you ever played?

reedo35 · #1 09-21-2006, 07:08 PM

I played a concert in a school gymnasium today..

It seemed like no matter what I did, the bass still sounded Like I was in a @#$%
Cavern! I was going through a PA, so I can blame the sound man a little bit...What is the worst room (acoustically) you guys have ever played in?
Anybody have any EQ tips for me if this situation ever occurs again?

nicoli · #2 09-21-2006, 07:21 PM

You're always going to have a tough time in a gymnasium, or any other big room with more reflective surface than people to mop up the sound. Really the best thing to do to improve your sound in that room is acoustic treatment to the walls (hanging curtains for example), not a change in EQ.

You can't really blame the soundman, for all you know the front of house mix sounded great. The problem is you're hearing it bouncing back to you off the back wall, off the ceiling, etc.

roger winkler · #3 09-21-2006, 07:43 PM

I played a new years eve gig in a national guard armory one time,and it was a total nightmare. It had concrete floors, concrete block walls, exposed steel I-beam rafters and a metal roof. The people having the party hung large plastic tarps from the rafters to act as a baffle but i didn't help. WE weren't playing very loud and by the end of the second set all we could hear was a loud roar. Avoid these kind of places like the plague if possible. But if the money is good enough, just give it your best shot because there's next to nothing you can do about your sound.

bassbully43 · #4 09-21-2006, 08:48 PM

The new chain or rest/bar we started playing last week. It was the first time i have not played on a stage inside...we play on the concrete floor. good size room all block walls high ceiling exposed metal girters etc and large glass front windows. I was as if you played a note and it was gone...like the wind no sustain or bottom it just took off and went somewhere..very hard to hear.

Folmeister · #5 09-22-2006, 12:51 AM

A local bar with a Mexican tile floor, a low stucco ceiling, and LOTS of buzzing beer signs. Everything is just a roar.

Matt Till · #6 09-22-2006, 01:15 AM

Worst I've ever heard, A little place down in Pittsburgh called Garfield Artworks. It's called that because it's an art gallery. Most art galleries, as you know, are tunnels. We listened to the first band, it sounded awful. It wasn't the bands fault, just an awful venue. We bailed, for other reasons as well (tour fatigue/fighting), but that was icing on the **** cake. I refuse to ever play that place though.

**jumbosilverette** · #7 09-22-2006, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reedo35

I played a concert in a school gymnasium today..

It seemed like no matter what I did, the bass still sounded Like I was in a @#$%
Cavern! I was going through a PA, so I can blame the sound man a little bit...What is the worst room (acoustically) you guys have ever played in?
Anybody have any EQ tips for me if this situation ever occurs again?

My uke group played a gymnasium (right under the backboard). We had a PA set up but the soundman knew nothing about mic placement -- not that it would've helped. We sounded not good. Fun show though. It was my first public bass performance and I was in serious jeapordy of being crushed by a dwarf.

Ed Fuqua · #8 09-22-2006, 09:44 AM

I get to repeat this experience quite a bit...

Bruce Lindfield · #9 09-22-2006, 10:08 AM

I've played in couple of converted churches and it was terrible - just a huge woofy sound - that seemed to be other feedback or nothing from the bass!!

guy n. cognito · #10 09-22-2006, 10:10 AM

My worst was a "farmer's market" building. Metal roof and structure, concrete floors, wood, metal and glass walls. The stage was also long and thin, putting me entirely too close to my own amp and too far away from everyone else. To make matters worse, it was a really BIG building, so everything just got lost.

dougjwray · #11 09-22-2006, 10:12 AM

For me, the worst had to be in an enormous fieldhouse (kind of like a big, big gymnasium) at a university somewhere in upstate New York, in the early '80s. We were opening for Huey Lewis & the News. During their soundcheck, I was standing around on the floor with a few people, including Huey. The News's drummer began with his kick drum, and each note lasted for about -- no exaggeration -- 4 seconds. Huey said, to no one in particular, "We're in big trouble."
During our opening set, I swear the guitarist and I thought we were in different keys, because the frequencies were getting so mutated and battered up there. Horrible.

dougjwray · #12 09-22-2006, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

I get to repeat this experience quite a bit...

Well, at least you've got nice ramps for loading in and out!

Ed Fuqua · #13 09-22-2006, 10:29 AM

I'm not saying the room was bad, but the last set started before we did...

tlwaps · #14 09-22-2006, 10:34 AM

My worst was in a gymnasium for a battle of the bands. Everything was terrible; the stage, mics, pa, lights...etc etc etc. Nothing had any type of clarity, my bass might as well have been turned off because if you weren't up next to me on the stage you couldn't hear it. I did backing vocals and my mic was 10x louder than the lead singers. Never do it again.

DaveDeVille · #15 09-22-2006, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

I'm not saying the room was bad, but the last set started before we did...

... so , you're saying that room has a bit of echo , eh ?

Bruce Lindfield · #16 09-22-2006, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

I'm not saying the room was bad, but the last set started before we did...

If it was a cathedral-like acoustic wouldn't it be a case of the last set not starting until after you'd packed up and gone home!!??

BassJunkie730 · #17 09-22-2006, 10:43 AM

The bathroom.

That's what I affect call the old C-note in alphabet city. I doesn't exist anymore - thank god.

dougjwray · #18 09-22-2006, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassJunkie730

The bathroom.

That's what I affect call the old C-note in alphabet city. I doesn't exist anymore - thank god.

No kidding... I played there once, too... a dump!

dougjwray · #19 09-22-2006, 10:58 AM

In most of the rooms we're talking about -- the cavernous, echo-infested kind -- all you can really do if you're a bassist is give up and be a good samaritan by turning your stage volume way down and leaving it in the soundperson's hands.
Years ago, I walked into the main room at Grand Central Terminal -- an enormous space, all marble and glass, approx. four-story-high ceiling -- and there was Carly Simon giving a free concert. The bassist was none other than the marvelous Doug Wimbish. Almost immediately, I gave up all hope of hearing him, because he was doing exactly what he had to do-- he had his amp's volume on about "1." Later, the concert was shown on TV and I got to hear the great stuff he had been playing.

Christopher · #20 09-22-2006, 11:01 AM

Don Hill's. Hands down.