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i hate sound guys

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Fretless925

Aug 3, 2009
33
1
#1
So it was my band's first gig and i was excited to play. I get up on stage during a short intermission for the band to get our equipment on and to let the other band get theirs off. i was borrowing a '65 fender bassman but the sound guy wouldnt let me use it because he was to lazy to mic it or something so i ended up playing straight into the PA. He kept turning me down during the songs until i had to check multiple times if my cable was still plugged into my bass or not. Has this ever happened to you? If so wat do you do about it?
 
#3
Most soundmen on gigs like that just want the set change to be quick. That was his way of doing it. And soundmen can be pretty whiny about bass players wanting to do things other than plain vanilla DI, so be forewarned. You should have used your amp at least, even if you DI'd straight into the board. But if you don't have any pull on these gigs where you can order soundmen around, there's not a whole lot you can do. Just realize it's not the end of the world and you probably sounded fine out front. And maybe next time be sure to let the soundman know ahead of time that you like a mic and see if he can deal with it. Some soundmen actually welcome opportunities like that to use something different. Others are just lazy. You got a lazy one but there are good ones out there.
 
#5
Hi.

Welcome to the wonderful world of gigging.

IMHO it's not too wise to start making accusations based on one experience, just like above posters said.

While the sound persons may be irritating as hell sometimes, they're the last link in delivering the product to the paying audience. Don't piss them off.

It's not just bass players that annoy sound persons, it's unprofessionalism in general.

If the requirements of Your band wasn't on the ryder, or if there was no stage map, how the hell you suppose that the sound person to be willing to satisfy every whim of every musician on the spot? If You're young, playing a short set among multiple bands, and perhaps playing music that the sound person is "forced" to listen, the odds of a good experience aren't that great. It's not supposed to be like that, but that's the hard reality.

The only way to ensure a good mix, both on stage and on FOH is to have Your own sound man. Then that person has to be competent enough to make the said sound person of the venue (who often owns the PA) to trust them enough to use their gear. Usually they won't. I sure wouldn't.

Also if You break something, you have to be prepared to pay for it. A sub recone can run up to a $500€, are You willing to risk that?

Let's hope that Your next experience is better.

Regards
Sam
 
#6
Not letting you use an amp at all... got to say, that's pretty weak. :eyebrow:

Hopefully that will be an isolated occurrence. I don't think I've ever encountered that. And I would definitely hate it.

Couple things to help not abuse the "privilege".

1) If you're hauling your own gear up, you need to be *FAST*. Every second counts on those quick turnarounds. Some extra thing that might take "just a minute", that adds up to a lot of seconds. If you get your rig set up & powered up before they even have a chance to talk to you, then it will be quicker to use it than to not use it. ;)

2) Watch your stage volume. If sound crews have it out for us bass players it is in part because a bass amp set too loud is a *major* pain in the butt for them. It bleeds in to other microphones and/or royally screws with the mix out front. A good rule of thumb IME is to start at a level that seems a little soft but tolerable to me. 9 times out of 10, they won't ask me to turn down any farther.

Google "I hate bass players" and chances are you'll find a few threads in Sound Reinforcement forums. Don't be "that" guy and you'll get the best possible treatment from whoever you're obliged to work with. And bass players who work with him/her after you will have cause to thank you as well.

Better luck on future gigs! :bassist:
 
#7
I am the 'sound man'' at my church, and let me tell you sometihing , I have to deal with singers with very bad microphone technic , with a keyboard player than doesnt matter what you do, the level in his monitor is never loud enough, with a drummer that thinks that drums are the king of this world so they should be over every thing, forget the guitarrist, he insist to turn the volume knob passed 12 o'clock, I also play bass in the band and I am the only one worry about doesnt be listen too loud, in other hand if the gig is big enough to need a PA then you rig should be primary use as YOUR monitor, is freaking hard for a sound man to reproduce the sound that is only in your head, since you are not steve harris so the people knows ''your sound'' or you cant paid your own SOUND TECHNICIAN ( and not a junkie without better thing to do in life) you need to learn to live with it, the chances are that if you grovee, the people will feel you, and trust me they dont care if you are playing a squire jazz or a ritter.
 
#11
it's ok, they hate you too, but probably more.
not playing with your amp is a bad idea,
i would have just set it up and ran in and out of the di....
the whole scenario sounds really wrong.
it would take what, 2-3 minutes tops to bring the amp on stage and plug it in?
i will say though, anyone who has such a broad opinion should
probably go run sound themselves some time.
i do it for a living, and it's a funny thing...
a good 80% of the folks out there i've met doing sound and production work (no exaggeration) are bass players.
 
#12
I'd even back up a bit...

MOST sound guys want a Bass DI signal...

for the multiple band scnearios.. you're not on long enough or paying enough for them to care.

IF you used their DI.. you're kind of stuck..



Questions
1-How portable is your amp
2-How long did it take your band to setup
3-Do you know how to pass through a highz signal to your amp?

We all go through this .. chances are you sounded great to your paying audience..

Welcome to your long journey of learning about live sound.
 
#16
pedroims said:
I am the 'sound man'' at my church, and let me tell you sometihing , I have to deal with singers with very bad microphone technic , with a keyboard player than doesnt matter what you do, the level in his monitor is never loud enough, with a drummer that thinks that drums are the king of this world so they should be over every thing, forget the guitarrist, he insist to turn the volume knob passed 12 o'clock, I also play bass in the band and I am the only one worry about doesnt be listen too loud, in other hand if the gig is big enough to need a PA then you rig should be primary use as YOUR monitor, is freaking hard for a sound man to reproduce the sound that is only in your head, since you are not steve harris so the people knows ''your sound'' or you cant paid your own SOUND TECHNICIAN ( and not a junkie without better thing to do in life) you need to learn to live with it, the chances are that if you grovee, the people will feel you, and trust me they dont care if you are playing a squire jazz or a ritter.
Click to expand...

I hope you are better at running sound than you are at writing. :hmm:
 
#17
How I do it...
amps are a necessary evil for me...I'd go in-ear, but not there, yet....
I bring an amp and plunk it right next to my head so I can hear and I turn it only loud enough so I can hear...
sound goes from my zoom's DI to the sound man...

from there, he can do whatever he likes, I can hear me, and that's enough :)
 
#19
For whatever reason soundmen for the most part don't seem to want to hear from bassists, your handed a DI and that's about it. While the guitar player is swooned over, asked if the 57 is ok, which cab do you want miked, is there particular speaker you want the mike in front of, and how is the mike placement ? etc. etc. I don't tolerate it. The bass in our group is 1/3 the sound, on most gigs we hire in the sound and if it is someone we have not worked with in the past I make my needs CLEAR. If I am not happy their pay will be adjusted. I know exactly what I want I make sure I get it.
 
#20
This doesn't exactly fit your situation, but it's worth saying. We play a number of outdoor festivals during the summer and almost always are working with a sound company contracted by the event. I'm seldom satisfied with the sound.

At one gig this summer a band that was on before us acknowledged the sound guy to the audience and a light went on in my head. We've worked with this company and sound man before. Not terrible, but certainly lacking in quality, and not friendly or willing to work with us. So, when we were on, I asked the audience to give a big hand to the sound guy and his company..."they always do a great job and make us sound fantastic".

Fast forward to a gig this fall with the same guy. He was real friendly and chatty. Took extra time to get things set up the way it worked best for both us and him. He did an extended sound check unlike the earlier "plug in and go". Probably the best sound we've had with a contract company.

Could be we just caught him on a good day, but I think the acknowledgement from the prior gig made him want to do a better job for us the next time.
 
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