soundchecking and FX

Low Sound Love · #1 06-24-2010, 05:51 AM

It seems that a lot of TB'ers in these parts of the forums have some experience as soundman too. I would like to ask those folks a question.

When soundchecking for a gig, is it important to go through the settings and effects you're going to use, or is the basic tone you're going to use all the soundman needs to do his work?
My basic tone comes from a VTBass, going for the slightly driven SVT tone there. Then I have a handful of OD/dist/fuzz FX, with some delay and modulation to end with. For some songs I need a completely clean tone too, that's when I bypass the VTbass.

So do I need to soundcheck clean, driven, and full-FX thunder or just the driven tone I'm using for most of the set? (Assuming that levels are set appropriately in relation to the basic tone.)

kaputsport · #2 06-24-2010, 06:13 AM

As long as you do not have any wild pedals with huge volume spkies, a few should suffice.

varunkapahi · #3 06-24-2010, 06:17 AM

it a pain often, sometimes you need to readjust a few things because the pa sounds different than your amp unless you are micing your own rig. i go through my effects to make sure some knobs havent gone around the world

theunknowndude · #4 06-24-2010, 07:20 AM

last gig I did I just did a quick check that everything was at unity (as I was going effects into DI then my amp), sounded ok,...

not sure if he took off the DI at one stage where I did my bass solo with effects (ie no drums or guitars) but video was taken and it sounded good both solo and in the mix so didn't mind either way!

The Lurker · #5 06-24-2010, 07:57 AM

If you run a separate signal for your effects, that might either help things or complicate things.

It may also have no impact at all.

What do I know?

eyecandy · #6 06-24-2010, 08:08 AM

its better to do sound checking esp when playing in different places also the room dictates your tone

megadan · #7 06-24-2010, 10:51 AM

I generally start clean, then start turning on my effects, so the sound guy knows that distortion is going to be coming down the pipe (maybe he'll reconsider and give me a mic? Not likely).

JimmyM · #8 06-24-2010, 12:48 PM

i would definitely sound check everything, and if you use any boosts, let the soundman know so he can plan accordingly.

bigchiefbc · #9 06-24-2010, 03:29 PM

I basically just tell the soundguy that the I'm gonna run through my pedals and to let me know if any of the levels are crazy off (some I have set for a slight boost, though). Then I just keep hammering a simple line while clicking through all the pedals one by one. Takes like 30 seconds.

4-string · #10 06-24-2010, 03:37 PM

With the 5 seconds I usually get, there's no time for fx. Let's spend 15 minutes on each drum instead.

As long as the volume is under control, no huge spikes as mentioned, it seems to work out alright.

Low Sound Love · #11 06-25-2010, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4-string

With the 5 seconds I usually get, there's no time for fx. Let's spend 15 minutes on each drum instead.

alas, so true

I usually play some riffs with open E's and A's, then some noodling higher on the neck. Then the soundmen usually syas "ok, guitar please".
Sometimes I bump in again and say that I've got some effects going on too, followed by a puzzled look from behind the board, sometimes I just leave it at that and surprise everyone with a heavyly distorted first note, followed by a puzzled look from behind the board ... Hence my question here.

So I guess next time I'll warn the soundguy that I'll be using effects before I start soundchecking.
Thanks for the input!

Eric! · #12 06-25-2010, 12:25 AM

Not related, but I was playing at a Battle of the Bands at the Orbit Room in Grand Rapids, and the sound guy gave me the MOST PERPLEXED look when I was looking for an outlet for my board, since we had to use house amps.
"And you're playing...bass?" "yeah!" "uh..hold on.."

JimmyM · #13 06-25-2010, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ebennetts

Not related, but I was playing at a Battle of the Bands at the Orbit Room in Grand Rapids, and the sound guy gave me the MOST PERPLEXED look when I was looking for an outlet for my board, since we had to use house amps.
"And you're playing...bass?" "yeah!" "uh..hold on.."

soundmen can be such a-holes sometimes. but the good ones will roll with anything you give them. i do believe, however, it's a good thing to warn them what you use, especially if you do any boosting from your normal tone. that way you don't run the risk of blowing their pa and coming after you to pay for it.

Eric! · #14 06-25-2010, 12:43 AM

Very good point.
But they sucked as soundmen. We got recordings, direct from the board and in the crowd, and the mixes were AWFUL! And we're not difficult to mix, drums, lead guitar, rhythm guitar + vocals + harmonica, then me with bass (I used a good amount of tremolo that show, he was warned) and it was just...ew. No time to sound check, they just pushed us on stage, before we got all the levels or figured the amps out we had to go.
*back on topic* still, good point Jimmy

JimmyM · #15 06-25-2010, 12:48 AM

i probably wasn't addressing you so much about warning them, e. just tossing that out in general since a couple other people mentioned it.

Eric! · #16 06-25-2010, 12:52 AM

Mhm, like I said, very good idea!

4-string · #17 06-25-2010, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

soundmen can be such a-holes sometimes. but the good ones will roll with anything you give them. i do believe, however, it's a good thing to warn them what you use, especially if you do any boosting from your normal tone. that way you don't run the risk of blowing their pa and coming after you to pay for it.

+1. I always do. I try my best to keep volume spikes to a minimum, but that octave/filter combo is probably good to be warned about. Still, never had a soundman that actually cared enough to hear it during soundcheck though.

Low Sound Love · #18 06-25-2010, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

i do believe, however, it's a good thing to warn them what you use, especially if you do any boosting from your normal tone. that way you don't run the risk of blowing their pa and coming after you to pay for it.

Could you elaborate on how it would be possible to blow up the pa and what the soundguy will typically do to prevent it? I've done some crazy noisy stuff at the end of sets with a distorted signal going into a polychorus set to high feedback. It makes the lightbuld fuse in my svt410hlf light up, I guess that's means it's getting pretty loud?

JimmyM · #19 06-25-2010, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Low Sound Love

Could you elaborate on how it would be possible to blow up the pa and what the soundguy will typically do to prevent it? I've done some crazy noisy stuff at the end of sets with a distorted signal going into a polychorus set to high feedback. It makes the lightbuld fuse in my svt410hlf light up, I guess that's means it's getting pretty loud?

if the soundman sets your level at your normal level, and then all of a sudden you increase it drastically, you run the risk of making the bass put too much volume through the pa and blowing speakers. most good soundmen will have a limiter and a pa that can take way more power than normal to prevent things like that from happening, but let's face it...some places, even with great soundmen, provide shoddy pa that's barely keeping up, and they may or may not have a limiter to prevent accidents.

so if you're going to slam your rig into hyperspace at some point, the right thing to do is inform them that will happen, and then they can check your volume at its loudest and set your level accordingly.

bassophil · #20 06-25-2010, 03:15 AM

The biggest problem with higher volumes than your "normal-in-the-mix-sound" is that the sound guy needs to set the gain on the board with enough headroom, because clipping sounds (i.e. brick-like wave forms) are not so healthy for PA's.

So when you start with your loudest setting the soundguy can level the gain according to that and then set your actual volume with your lines fader during the band sound check/the first song etc.

EDIT: I just realized that Jimmy wrote nearly the same....must be something to it then :P