My band wasn't allowed to use amps for a gig..!

[Kylemcgregor96]

So I played a gig the other night at a 500 capacity venue and the sound engineer told the band members that we aren't allowed amps in this venue as he does not like loud stage volume. Here's the funny part! the drum kit was behind a block of clear plastic curtains. i've never heard of something so ridiculous in my life! We're usually very sensible with stage volume, we just turn our amps loud enough just to hear ourselves! Even the guitarists played straight through the p.a. Which i've never seen or heard of. I was pretty annoyed but part of me thought it was hilarious how he could get away with it. Of course it did sound terrible. All we could hear was the drums as we didn't have amps. We were coming out of the stage monitors but it still was not loud enough. We asked for more but the sound guy was annoyed as he couldn't turn us up any more. Of course the bass sounded terrible without any lows or highs. The end of the gig came and people told us that the sound was great which surprised me! Maybe it was a good idea for some bands but my band personally like the good sound of tube amps getting mic'd.

Any other crazy stories like this?

[Mike Goodbar]

I've been pretty lucky on the few occasions I have to deal with sound techs that they've been very accommodating and knowledgeable about how a jazz group with upright bass should sound.

But then there's that contingent who feels that what I really want my double bass to sound like is a Fender Precision and who spend a half-hour getting a freaking kick-drum sound (gotta get it right since it will be the loudest thing in the mix).

[Ed Fuqua]

Originally Posted by Kylemcgregor96

Any other crazy stories like this?

Yeah, once some Scottish guy came and posted in the wrong forum...

[3l3phantstomp]

The sound party on the stage is always going to be different than the sound party on the floor. Some bands need it as strong if not stronger on the stage, some don't. I trusted the "don't bring your amps" thing once, and ended up playing "air bass" due to no bass in the monitors due to bad monitors. It was just me and a guitarist who I was beyond used to playing with, so it was on point, but the only bass I got was after it bounced off the back wall. Living Hell.

I'd investigate some DI boxes that allow tonal control. That way you can meet them halfway. Behringer makes a great cheapie for bass that's just as good for guitar: Behringer BDI21 V-Tone Bass Amp Modeler.

[Kylemcgregor96]

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

Yeah, once some Scottish guy came and posted in the wrong forum...

The Yanks take things way to seriously sometimes..

[RSBBass]

Not to come across as a jerk, but why did you put up with it. The sound guys job is to get you a good sound with the equipment you use. If he told you you couldn't use your bass, would you have listened? I would have found who ever was running the show and had him talk to the sound guy.

[TroyK]

Originally Posted by Kylemcgregor96

The Yanks take things way to seriously sometimes..

Yeah, I know things like posting about a bass guitar gig in a forum full of double bassists? We're all up-tight that way. In your defense, though, you did post it in the "Bass Humor (DB)" sub-forum, so at least we've got that going for us.

To be dry about my answer, no I've never showed up on a piano trio gig and had our drummer put into a plexiglass sound booth. I have played plenty of them unamplified, though.

In all sincerity, you're lost. Happens all the time. If you want discussion on "the sound of tube amps", you'll have better luck yonder way:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f45/

And for the record, "yanks" are not nearly as up-tight as TB Double Bassists.

[josiah goldfish]

Originally Posted by TroyK

And for the record, "yanks" are not nearly as up-tight as TB Double Bassists.

Amen to that.

I'm neither, I'm a broke British kid who occasionally visits the DB side to ask questions and offer advice. I certainly wouldn't count myself as an up-tight TB double bassist

EDIT: though actually, I'm quite fond of the yanks, and some of the nicest guys i've ever come across have been on this forum

[Turxile]

So the sound was terrible on stage but was great for the audience..much better than the other way round. as long as you can hear the instruments in a balanced way it doesn't have to sound great on stage.