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Advice for gear settings in a large brewery
- Thread starter Archaeohippie
- Start date
Hi, I had a similar problem a while back, have a look at this thread (advice) and this one (gig report afterwards) for a summary of what worked for us. It includes pictures of our venue, it sounds quite comparable.
Good luck, it's not nearly as bad as it seems initially. And look out for the cat who has played in an aircraft carrier hangar to provide a worst case scenario
TLDR: Volume control for the whole band is your friend.
Good luck, it's not nearly as bad as it seems initially. And look out for the cat who has played in an aircraft carrier hangar to provide a worst case scenario
TLDR: Volume control for the whole band is your friend.
Post some videos afterwards - and show us how much fun you had!
FullumMusic
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- Oct 13, 2022
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- Audio/Music software developer, contracted with a company you've heard of and deving my own stuff.
It depends on the room. Every room is different. Size; shape; materials; temp & humidity; number of people; reflective and absorptive surfaces in the room... they all change how rooms sound, even the same room on different days. There's no universal "Use these settings for a brewery room."
If they have a sound engineer, just ask them if there's anything you need to adjust for the room to make their job easier. They'll (hopefully) know what's best for the room.
Judging from your description of the room, it's gonna be reflecting sounds all over the place, so don't overthink it and have fun with the set. Fighting it too much might be futile. If you hear certain frequencies BOOMING around the room, pull them back a bit. Try to avoid boosting frequencies, and just pull back on the ones that sound bad in the room. (Unless you find a certain frequency just disappears when you play it. Then give it a slight bump to even it out, "equalize" if you will, the response.)
I know a lot of musicians are very precious about their tone changes, but maybe just find a tone that works for the room and worry less about tweaking settings for each song. Nobody in the audience is gonna care or even notice that you've somehow managed to exactly replicate Krist Novoselic's tone with EQ on one tune and Mike Inez's on another. Most of the tone differences will get lost in the room, and the rest will get lost on drunk people. Find a basic tone that works; if you use FX pedals, make sure those sound alright enough when you turn them on; and then just roll with it.
Unfortunately, in my experience, it's a question of figuring it out once you get there and have your stuff. Every room has it's nuances.
One of the sound guys we work with has a device that creates feedback in soundcheck and then kills the high feedback frequencies once he finds them. Neat feature but not everyone has it.
I imagine you will just be louder than usual across the board.
I always bring a mat to put my amp on in case a floor is uneven and my amp wants to dance around.
One of the sound guys we work with has a device that creates feedback in soundcheck and then kills the high feedback frequencies once he finds them. Neat feature but not everyone has it.
I imagine you will just be louder than usual across the board.
I always bring a mat to put my amp on in case a floor is uneven and my amp wants to dance around.
When playing breweries with rooms like you describe I have found placing a block of foam underneath the strings back by the bridge to be very helpful. One place we played we used very small amps and it worked very well, we sounded great and we were not too loud. Of course at the next gig our guitar player brought a much bigger amp.
But I have exactly replicated kris' tone!!
Haha jk I'll up load some vids post performance.
These responses have been super helpful
After a few brewery warehouse festivals, I have settled on letting the sound guy do his thing and then playing to the drummer's motions rather than any audio cues.
Having been to exactly one brewery show, I'd say just turn down the volume to nearly zero, turn off any reverb effects, and do whatever you can to keep drummer in check. I had to go outside to actually hear the band at the one I went to, because the drummer was playing hard af (for absolutely no reason), and that alone was forcing the venue to sound like a cave of sonic destruction.
The following is just a guess, so YMMV. Rather than taking my word, it's best to discuss and negotiate these matters with the person who hired the band.
My guess is it will be extremely reverberant and everyone in the band will find it difficult to hear themself as well as they want. This will tempt everyone to turn up, which won't help and is probably the opposite of what is wanted.
These sort of gigs are often more about creating an environment for the patrons to socialize than a feature band performance. So the band is often intended as sort of window dressing/background music, I.E. the idea is to see you more than hear you. In a way, the band serves as sort of a status symbol, rather than functioning purely as entertainment. I have done many gigs where the band serves this role and it can feel degrading. However if you understand and accept your intended role, maybe you can still find a way to enjoy the experience.
There may be ways of mitigating the acoustics problem, so at least you can hear what you are playing better, but musicians are often inflexible in regards to how they set up and get a sound.
The solution I use to monitor at the lowest possible level is to elevate my cab and tilt it back to aim at my head. Using this approach helps my sound cut through significantly better. I use this approach more often than not, because I like the clearest possible sound. It the acoustics are truly awful, it will still be hard to hear, but it's probably most helpful thing you can do, other than use IEMs.
Guitar players can be particularly resistant to suggestions to aim their amp at their head, as many can't stand the sound that comes out the front of their amp. Instead, they prefer to pump the room and play off the indirect sound. This approach often means the guitar is too loud, and it's particularly problematic when the acoustics are bad.
If it was my band, I would front load the idea that it will be hard to hear, and try to get everyone to agree to keep the volume low. For the drummer this would mean damping the heads of the drums and using lighter sticks, or even using blast sticks or brushes. Also, it should go without saying, but everyone needs to agree that the vocals are the priority
If you do a good job and keep the volume relatively low, this may turn into a repeat event. If the band engages in a volume war and let's it get out of control, chances are you will be one and done.
Good luck!
My guess is it will be extremely reverberant and everyone in the band will find it difficult to hear themself as well as they want. This will tempt everyone to turn up, which won't help and is probably the opposite of what is wanted.
These sort of gigs are often more about creating an environment for the patrons to socialize than a feature band performance. So the band is often intended as sort of window dressing/background music, I.E. the idea is to see you more than hear you. In a way, the band serves as sort of a status symbol, rather than functioning purely as entertainment. I have done many gigs where the band serves this role and it can feel degrading. However if you understand and accept your intended role, maybe you can still find a way to enjoy the experience.
There may be ways of mitigating the acoustics problem, so at least you can hear what you are playing better, but musicians are often inflexible in regards to how they set up and get a sound.
The solution I use to monitor at the lowest possible level is to elevate my cab and tilt it back to aim at my head. Using this approach helps my sound cut through significantly better. I use this approach more often than not, because I like the clearest possible sound. It the acoustics are truly awful, it will still be hard to hear, but it's probably most helpful thing you can do, other than use IEMs.
Guitar players can be particularly resistant to suggestions to aim their amp at their head, as many can't stand the sound that comes out the front of their amp. Instead, they prefer to pump the room and play off the indirect sound. This approach often means the guitar is too loud, and it's particularly problematic when the acoustics are bad.
If it was my band, I would front load the idea that it will be hard to hear, and try to get everyone to agree to keep the volume low. For the drummer this would mean damping the heads of the drums and using lighter sticks, or even using blast sticks or brushes. Also, it should go without saying, but everyone needs to agree that the vocals are the priority
If you do a good job and keep the volume relatively low, this may turn into a repeat event. If the band engages in a volume war and let's it get out of control, chances are you will be one and done.
Good luck!
The venue I have played that is closest to what the OP is discussing is a @50-year-old firehouse that was converted to a brewpub. As mentioned above: cut the lows; see if you can find the standing wave or resonant frequency of the space and notch that frequency. Won't need much, if any, fx of any kind, especially reverb/delay/echo, etc., as it will just get muddy. Vocals will blur if not careful. I would run DI instead of either a mic'd or carry-the-house amp, and let the PA do the work.
On the up side, these are fun gigs! (for all the reasons alluded to)
On the up side, these are fun gigs! (for all the reasons alluded to)
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I recently played a room like this. Cover the tile floor with as much carpet as you can manage. If you have a band banner hang it on one of the metal walls. Like @Mike Caldwell said, aim the PA speakers towards the softest surfaces, we typically use the back socket to aim speakers slightly down, towards the crowd. That goes for amps as well. No rule says amps have to be pointed straight if straight is aiming at a metal wall. Hope for lots of bodies. Have fun.
I did one brewery gig where the walls of the temporary performance space were lined with stacks of empty beer boxes. The acoustics were quite nice, although in retrospect the fire marshal probably would not have approved
Is this a new venue or have they been having bands in there for some time?
If it's a new venue they may not know what they got themselves into with live music
in that room, if it's an older venue they may complain each night how loud the band is!
By chance is there another band playing in there before your show you can and check out?
If it's a new venue they may not know what they got themselves into with live music
in that room, if it's an older venue they may complain each night how loud the band is!
By chance is there another band playing in there before your show you can and check out?
Simply not possible, sir. Even the crispest, driest lager has COPIOUS amounts of hops in it. Been that way for centuries now. What you don’t like (I expect) are the specific bittering hops found in IPA’s.
this - loud volume will make for a terrible din (although that might be a good name for a band, but not the sound that you want). We play inside a brewery quite often and it is a loud, echo chamber. Best thing to do is play much quieter than you usually do, by alot.
