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Best soundman ever!

lfmn16

lfmn16

Inactive
Sep 21, 2011
15,462
35,794
charles town, wv
#1
Played over the weekend. The soundman came up and actually talked to me before the gig, mentioned the specific issues that we would cause if we were too loud (in a non confrontational, non condescending way), asked if I was OK with going direct instead of just plugging into my amp. What a great experience. After the soundcheck I told him if I was too loud to just give me a signal and he said he didn't think there would be a problem.

The band sounded great, everyone could hear each other and it was a good experience. We'll be working with him again in the future.

I wish all soundmen were this professional.
 
#2
Much like with other musicians, my best experiences with sound men have been when I was able to trust their judgment as an artist enough to accept their "gifts". The best sound guys are artists too! My band's sound guy is always on point, and if he tells me to turn down, I LISTEN because I know he knows what he's talking about.
 
#6
Because most soundguys are biased (or maybe a bit egocentrical?) toward their own instruments. Stereotyped:

Drummer soundguy; "... Drumz ar awsom... Moar drumz in mix..."

Guitard soundguy; "... Guitarz ar awsom... Distortion... Solo... Moar guitarz in mix..."

Bassist soundguy; "Let's create a well balanced mix. Everyone will know who's doing what and can really feel the groove. Everyone will think that the bass player did a good job, 'cause he's responsible for the groove!"
 
#8
I just had a talk with my guitarist on why bass players make better sound men and it came down to the same points and reasoning.

I deal with one sound Guy who is a little over the top with his drum mix ( he's a drummer) but in the end it sounds so good we all deal with the hour long drum sound check. And the front of house is always perfect. Now he just need to work on the monitor mix.....
 
#9
Drums should take longer. I generally run anywhere from eight to twelve mics on drums and have eight channels of gating available as opposed to one channel for guitar and maybe two channels (mic and DI) on bass. If I can get a clean drum sound with no over-rings and rumbles that are ready to take off, I'll have a much easier time carving out a sonic spot for the other instruments and vocal and end up with a less fatiguing mix over all.
 
#10
I'm not saying its a bad thing to take time on the drums. There's just been gigs in small bars and we are going full out studio mic job on drums.

I've never been one to complain on long sound checks. I prefer them. Its just funny to watch two drummers set up a bunch of mics and twist knobs for an hour.
 
#11
Some people go way overboard on the drum mics. For loud rock gigs in larger venues it may be appropriate to close mic each and every drum and use multiple overheads, but in smaller places with moderate stage volume it's mostly a waste. I generally use no more than 3 mics on drums, and we play some pretty big clubs. I've done casino gigs with a kick mic and one overhead, and it sounded great.
 

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