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Final solution to soundmen

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Drunk Heffalump

Drunk Heffalump

Tone that I have. Skill? Oh, that? Well....
Feb 28, 2009
551
15
Great White North
#1
I keep seeing these threads and here's what I do now


Not too long ago I had the misfortune of running into a series of sound men who were absolute I.K.E's ( I Know Everything) and the culmination of this was at a now defunct club were the posthole in question actually said

"I've met exactly 3 guys who knew what a bass should sound like, and you're not one of them"

Shockingly I was physically removed from the room by our drummer. Probably saved the guys life. You'd think that a 5 foot squirt of a sound guy would not endeavor to annoy a metal band where the smallest guy's 6 foot 1, however as you can't fix stupid.....
So here's the final solution, stop caring, you can't win. Most of these doofii are just failed musicians, chucked out of every band they've been in and they're just out for spite. The good ones don't work in dives, so as you approach the venue judge the facade and accept the inevitable. Just go out and play you henie off. And if in between sets a friend whose ear you trust says you sound like a 727 at takeoff power have him/her go over and b**ch, preferably with some of their friends. That way you don't end up taking a bad situation down and even uglier road.
You can try the beer, and other substances, route and it may work too, however be warned if the guys already crap getting him loaded will not be benificial.
Or as a last resort during sound check play the circus theme if you know it's a lost cause, at least you'll get that annoying riff jammed in his head for days...:D
 
#4
That soundman was right.

You didn't know enough that in order to get your bass sound out front, you need to bring your own quality soundman that you work with on a regular basis, one who knows your sound, your band's sound, and how they best interact.

You get a freebie soundman, you get what you pay for, and the bass is the first instrument to get the shaft.
 
#8
If I were a sound guy I'd make all us bass players sound like **** - on purpose - all the time.

Have you done it? I mean really done it. Do you know how to mix? Do you know that stage sound and FOH sound are very often COMPLETELY different? What do you know about EQ, setting different people in different parts of the spectrum, etc. I'm not saying that there are no bad ones, but if it bugs you, than do something about it. I get tired of all these threads bashing sound guys - who often have to work with ego-maniacal musicians.

The solution is simple - BRING YOUR OWN! Bring your own FOH engineer. For that matter, bring our own FOH system and bring your own monitor system. We do.

Your sound guy should also get an equal share for the gig. Ours does. They are working all night, just like you, and as instrumental to the sound of the band as any one individual.
 
#10
SteveC said:
Your sound guy should also get an equal share for the gig. Ours does. They are working all night, just like you, and as instrumental to the sound of the band as any one individual.
Click to expand...
Equal?!! NOT! For riding faders and punching effects?? Gimme a break... Well, okay, if you're making $100.00 or $200.00 a gig, maybe. After the sound check, how much does he actually do? I don't know about you, but I sing lead on about 35 songs a night, backups on the rest and play the entire thing.
 
#11
jmercer91 said:
due to my experience (as a tech) i make a point of it to show up early, talk to the sound guy and try to help him get the sound i want. if you hate the sound guy he'll probably hate you. you're at his mercy, be nice!
Click to expand...
screw that. i am so sick of soundmen who are on a big power trip because they run sound. but here's the funny thing...nobody ever pays to see a soundman run a board. without bands, a soundman has zero reason to exist, so instead of dictating terms, some soundmen ought to be a lot more humble and not say douchey things like "i'll ruin your sound if you annoy me" to the musicians. i'll ruin your paycheck if you say that to me on one of my gigs, you can bet your ass. and if i was the op, i would have been tempted to respond the exact same way. the club will eventually close...they all do, every single one of them. and the soundman is going to need a new job, and most musical circles are very small and tightly knit and everyone talks. i won't hesitate to throw a douchey soundman under the bus and cost him money.

HOWEVER...

i have worked with a lot of great soundmen who know a lot more than me and i have learned a lot from them. so try to learn from the good ones.
 
#15
JimmyM said:
i'll ruin your paycheck if you say that to me on one of my gigs, you can bet your ass.
Click to expand...

This actually happened to a band I played in. I was subbing for a bass player... and we were playing a hall that had their own sound man... and required that the band use him.

So apparently something happened between the rhythm guitarist and the sound guy (microphonic pickup on the guitar - but it sounded incredible) and the music director who was hired for the event paid the band but refused to pay the sound man because he essentially ruined a bunch of tunes by not properly balancing/controlling that jazz guitar player in the group.

Apparently it was in the contract! heavy stuff!
 
#18
joehaven said:
Really?!?! You titled your post "Final solution to soundmen"

I am going to assume you don't know the implications of that term and the meaning it has for many people, otherwise you wouldn't have used it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_solution
Click to expand...


Yah, I was kinda wondering about this too... seeing as how nearly all of my fathers aunts/uncles/ and parents relatives got wiped out during the war... can we get a title change please?
 
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