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Frampton at Wolf Trap

ronlitz

ronlitz

Apr 20, 2008
427
219
Northern Virginia
#1
I'm on the lawn at Wolf Trap in VA for Frampton as I write this. Anyone else see this show? The bass is non-existent. What the heck? Looks like the bassist is playing a Stingray at the moment, fingerstyle. The kick sound is HUGE - I'm sure that is part of the problem.
 
#2
I've been very disappointed with several shows' sound recently, especially outdoors. I saw Thievery Corporation at the DC waterfront a while back and the sound was atrocious. All kick drum, mud bass, and some vocals. And that was with earplugs. Without earplugs it was nothing but a distorted mess and a road to tinitus. Half the crowd was baked and the other half was just glad to be there. I was up by the stage, and even with plugs in it was deafening loud, and the kick drum was pounding my ribcage. Music? What music?

The last Rush show I went to was in Atlantic City, NJ, and unlike previous Rush shows with stellar sound, the AC show was all kick and reverb. I couldn't hear Geddy's bass in the mix, only when he played solo bass fills.

Awful. I don't know who is telling these sound guys that this is good.
 
#3
I was at the Wolf Trap show last night as well. Inside rear orchestra to the left of the sound board. The bass/kick was complete mush and Peter's vocals were unintelligble. My brother was sitting to the right side of the sound board and had the same compliants.

The BB King part of the "show" was also poor. The horn section was out of balance with the rest of the band. Everyone was adjusting volumes...just a mess.
 
#4
Spectrum said:
The last Rush show I went to was in Atlantic City, NJ, and unlike previous Rush shows with stellar sound, the AC show was all kick and reverb. I couldn't hear Geddy's bass in the mix, only when he played solo bass fills.
Click to expand...

Same deal for me at the Raleigh show. I just did not get quite enough of Geddy in the general mix. Overall it was a stellar show just that one issue. Keep in mind that a lot depends on where you sit in these arenas which have attrocious accoustics. And outdoors, that's another story.
 
#5
Runnerman said:
And outdoors, that's another story.
Click to expand...

You said it. My main band has used our own P.A. (run from the stage) for about a dozen outdoor gigs this summer and we have a pretty good sized rig with what I assume should be enough power but it has just been a bear to get consistently good sound out of it... especially that clear, punchy bottom end that IMO really sets a good mix apart. You get any farther than about 30 feet from the stage and the kick drum just completely goes away. Very frustrating.

You really don't appreciate how much an acoustically sound room can help out your P.A. until you're out there in the elements.
 
#10
ronlitz said:
Near the end of the show, Frampton introduced the bass player as "Stanley Sheldon, master of the fretless bass". IMO, a fretless is more likely to get lost in the mix in a rock band.
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It's no more likely to get lost than any other bass. And the way Stanley plays, it ain't him making it get lost.
 
#11
Last Friday in Louisville - 18,000 in Freedom Hall - two bands and one PA. First was Kip Moore. Bass had full Ampeg Heritage 8x10 rig. It absolutely ruled! It wasn't too loud at all. His PA mixer put plenty bass in the mix but didn't overdo it. It rocked. Loved it. BUT then comes the Toby Keith show. Clean stage as in no amps of any kind visible on the stage. Same PA but new mixer dude. Never heard the bass. Or the keyboard. Or two of the guitarists. If I hadn't seen the guy moving his fingers over his bass I'd never known there was a bass player. In this case the main mixer dude was the deciding factor. Same room and same accoustics but awful mix on the big act. Toby did have a nice light show though.
 
#12
I have been experiencing poor mixes at concerts for more than a decade. In my opinion, the biggest reason is that too many sound engineers are using headphones to set levels and continue to use them during the show while making adjustments. This makes it impossible to account for the acoustics of the venue resulting in a mix that is less than desirable.
 
#13
Doesnt surprise me at all that the band was buried for Toby Keith. Same deal on his studio recordings where his voice is routinely mixed too high vs the band. It's just how he rolls.

And yes, soundmen who mix thru headphones have my undying disdain. How anyone thinks they can give the audience a good sound without, you know, hearing what the audience is actually HEARING, is beyond me.
 

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