Quitting a band sucks

[lfmn16]

In this particular case, the sound guy is the band's EMPLOYEE. He does not have the right to dictate what pedals you use. He does have the right to work with you to get the pedals sounding good in the mix. I don't use effects, but if I did, no sound person that the band hired would tell me what or what not to use.

The band should have a vision of what they want to sound like. The sound person's job is to get that vision to the audience. It's not their job to CHANGE that vision.

 

[One_Dude]

I agree that maybe the sound man was good friends with the previous bass player and is still angry that he was fired. But understanding that possibility exists, there may be other reasons for his attitude. I am both a sound man and a bass/guitar/mandolin player. As a player, I always want to provide the best component to the overall sound that I can.

As a sound man, my goal is to blend the output of each player into a final product that together becomes something that is better than just the sum of the individual parts. If any one of the players is constantly changing the signal they are sending to the mix, I have to react to their change to make sure the mix is still balanced and sounds good at the FOH. If all the band members are changing their signal from one song to the next, it becomes very difficult to maintain a good final product at the FOH. If the band has a dedicated sound man that always works with them, those kind of challenges can be overcome. A band meeting to iron out these issues can go a long way to making sure that everyone understands what the final goal is and agrees to buy into that goal.

With regard to there being more demand for bass players than there are players to meet it, my experience is that it may depend on location. The BL of the last band I played in for 5 years pulled the plug 5 months ago and I am still trying to find a new band to join. I have done some sub jobs on both bass and mandolin since then, but nothing semi permanent. I realize that I have become more selective in what I want, so that narrows the field of choices. It is also possible that I just suck as a player and don't know it.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Thump on,

One_Dude

 

[two fingers]

Admittedly I had never been in a band with a sound guy before so I didn't know how to set everything correctly. The push back from me came from him telling me which pedals I was 'allowed' and 'not allowed' to use. Basically no overdrive or anything like that. I was told that all distortion comes from the guitar and that bass has to be clean. So I did remove that from my chain. Then I was told I couldn't use compression so I just disabled that, then no more chorus, etc..

No, I don't think so. They're mostly confrontation adverse and not aware of their surroundings. He's been with them far longer than me so I kinda get why they wouldn't say anything about his attitude. Personally, he just seemed to suck all the fun out of playing music and that's why I quit.

I'm gathering that you are as confrontation averse as they are. This could have been handled any number of ways other than quitting. At some point you could have even said "I like you guys. But if you don't get him off my back I'm out."

I'm just not sure why you didn't give the band a chance to step in and handle this.

 

[Raw N Low]

I've been in a band for almost a year now. They had fired their old bassist and brought me on to replace him for a show two weeks after they fired him. I filled in and it was good so I stayed on since then. It was fun, I was having a good time and was able to overlook little things. No biggie.

Their sound guy clearly didn't like me, I think because I pushed back a little at his suggestions? Not sure, but after that, after every show he always had a problem with my setup. Noisy, too much bass, too much treble, too much compression, etc... He pushed me too far and now I've resigned. I'm very sad about it because it was fun and music is my passion but I told myself I'd quit as soon as it wasn't fun. I'm mad at them, too, for ruining something I love.

I know it's best for my mental health but I'm still sad and mad about it. I just needed to vent this out to others that can hopefully relate. Thanks for listening.

Tell Jim from Kasual six to screw off!!! That bastard tried to do sound for one of our shows and did nothing but complain about my bass. He even made the silly comment that he would mix all the bass out of the mix to make everything sound palpable.

Trust me, your better off and their are way better bands in the Denver area. I often think he's one of those dudes that wants to have something complain about for the sake of...complaining.

 

[HolmeBass]

Admittedly I had never been in a band with a sound guy before so I didn't know how to set everything correctly. The push back from me came from him telling me which pedals I was 'allowed' and 'not allowed' to use. Basically no overdrive or anything like that. I was told that all distortion comes from the guitar and that bass has to be clean. So I did remove that from my chain. Then I was told I couldn't use compression so I just disabled that, then no more chorus, etc..

No, I don't think so. They're mostly confrontation adverse and not aware of their surroundings. He's been with them far longer than me so I kinda get why they wouldn't say anything about his attitude. Personally, he just seemed to suck all the fun out of playing music and that's why I quit.

Sound like a real control freak @$$ to me. Bullet dodged. Find a new band.

 

[SLO Surfer]

For many musicians criticism is often taken as an assessment of our being. It’s not.

We finally fired our violinist because he took every critique or idea as a personal attack when writing/arranging new material. “Hey, why don’t you try this note here or that lick there or laying out then or jumping back in on the third chorus instead of the the pre chorus?” He would feel attacked and lash back at any of these types of communications, while the rest of us were bouncing ideas all over the room and trying things out to se how they sounded. We are much more productive, tight, and happy now.

 

[rtslinger]

I've been in a band for almost a year now. They had fired their old bassist and brought me on to replace him for a show two weeks after they fired him. I filled in and it was good so I stayed on since then. It was fun, I was having a good time and was able to overlook little things. No biggie.

Their sound guy clearly didn't like me, I think because I pushed back a little at his suggestions? Not sure, but after that, after every show he always had a problem with my setup. Noisy, too much bass, too much treble, too much compression, etc... He pushed me too far and now I've resigned. I'm very sad about it because it was fun and music is my passion but I told myself I'd quit as soon as it wasn't fun. I'm mad at them, too, for ruining something I love.

I know it's best for my mental health but I'm still sad and mad about it. I just needed to vent this out to others that can hopefully relate. Thanks for listening.

I send a clean signal to front of house and my stage tone that I like to hear is coming from my amp at a low volume or through my IEM it keeps everyone happy you should try it.

Bass is the hardest tone to fit into a full band mix, what you love may not work in FOH bringing in consideration many factors, room acoustics, body count, type of stage the list goes on and on. Sometimes your role as the bass player is you need to take a step back and make sure the people who paid to hear you are getting their moneys worth. And usually = your tone doesn't fit the total band mix and it is better off left at home

 

[p12bassnut]

In this particular case, the sound guy is the band's EMPLOYEE. He does not have the right to dictate what pedals you use. He does have the right to work with you to get the pedals sounding good in the mix. I don't use effects, but if I did, no sound person that the band hired would tell me what or what not to use.

The band should have a vision of what they want to sound like. The sound person's job is to get that vision to the audience. It's not their job to CHANGE that vision.

I agree with this.

You as a player have the absolute right to tailor your tone the way you see fit and it's the sound engineers job to make it all work together.
Perhaps you could voice your concerns to the rest of the band including the sound guy and see what happens.
It would be a real shame if you quit because of this one issue and come to find out it could have been easily worked out. Regrets are a bitch to deal with.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

The push back from me came from him telling me which pedals I was 'allowed' and 'not allowed' to use. Basically no overdrive or anything like that. I was told that all distortion comes from the guitar and that bass has to be clean. So I did remove that from my chain. Then I was told I couldn't use compression so I just disabled that, then no more chorus, etc..

the sound guy is wrong, plain and simple. state your case, if they side with him that band isnt for you and good riddance.

 

[ToneMonkey]

Did you work with the sound man on your sound? Did you at least try his suggestions before rejecting them? Or were you constantly pushing back without at least attempting a win-win solution?

IME, sound guys really really know what works at FOH. Too much bass, too much treble, too compressed are legit issues. Especially the too much bass thing. A lot of players use a fat tubby low end like a security blanket. The next level in a lot of cases is learning to use the proper amount of midrange to give the bass definition and percussiveness in the mix, while dialing back the low end so you don't create a tsunami which drowns out everything else. Ask me how I know? I learned this the hard way from yup... the sound man.

 

[ToneMonkey]

Bass is a delicate signal. I'm a professional sound man and bassist. When I receive a bass signal, i try and make it the best sounding bass signal i can work with that allows it to sit in the mix.

Chorus pedals, compression, distortion... all those pedals will kill the signal i've just mastered. If the music doesn't need them, then they are not needed.

Unless you have a quality compressor... i've always run compression at the board. The sound guy was probably just used to a clean signal and your pedals muddied the sound.

But..... if its the same sound guy... everytime... then he should work with you to get those pedals sounding ok in the mix, or a wet/dry signal. Both of you all need to work together.

Exactly. A lot of bassists use boomy muddy tone as a security blanket. Not saying OP did. But that certainly might be the case. It's a point of personal growth as a musician to let go of the security blanket. It's uncomfortable at first.

 

[Sgt007]

Exactly. A lot of bassists use boomy muddy tone as a security blanket. Not saying OP did. But that certainly might be the case. It's a point of personal growth as a musician to let go of the security blanket. It's uncomfortable at first.

I really hate to admit that I was once this bassist, who used the 'warmth' of a dark heavy tone as a security blanket. I'll raise my hand to that for sure. Man, I hate to admit that...ugh. Since, I have lightened my low tone and brought in more mids, the bass 'sits' better in the mix and my notes are more articulate. It actually tightens up the overall sound of the band. I'm not saying I sound like a guitar, my tone is punchy with balanced lows and mids/highs...not just a heavy load of lows. Letting go of this type of tone is very difficult... Most of us rise up when we hear this, but it's pretty common...good word man.

 

[City]

Yeah I must say I am a bit confused about the situation, and some of the posters comments about just giving him a clean signal. If I assume that he isn't playing a blues or jazz group (where I would run straight to my amp, don't know don't do blues), the use of some pedals in moderation is required. My line out comes from my SansAmp. Through the SansAmp I model my sound to fit my style and my needs to the music. Then aside from that I don't use a SVT and a fidge, so I add some grit feel from the SansAmp. Nirvana and Bush, I add some distortion (pedal)....and oh forbid forbid I employ a High Pass Filter to clean my sound. Honestly I have never had complaint and perhaps I use my effects with caution. I also employ a compressor (I use a pick) and it keeps those inadvertent peaks to a minimum. If a sound man told me to turn off my compressor, I would comply. If he told me to not use my SansAmp....well I would have problems. Let's talk about my synth pedal......nah another post perhaps. jeesh (edit here....This soundman reminds me of the old Ron Popeil commercial about the mini counter top roaster....set it and forget it!!, when you do a variety of song and styles, don't the soundman have to work the board as well?)

 

[lfmn16]

Yeah I must say I am a bit confused about the situation, and some of the posters comments about just giving him a clean signal.

Some people don't like effects and don't want anyone else to use them.

Presumably the band heard him play and noticed his pedal board and use of effects before they asked him to join.

 

[ColonelZulu]

After the fact, I realize...

We are all conscious of how we think we sound to the audience. If you’re in a band with a dedicated sound engineer (not just using the venue’s dude), you’re probably going to have to let him do his job.

As long as what I’m hearing on stage or in the monitors works for me, I would have to let him do his job.

One thing to do is record the FOH mix at shows and review it as a band. Or, have someone in the crowd recording it for you.

He needs to be open to constructive feedback as much as anyone else in the band.

Then again, you should consider that his analysis of the signal you’re sending him may be 100% correct. Send him a direct line and let him mix it the way he wants. The mix is his job...not your job.

The above DOES NOT apply when the house sound guy is running the board. Nor when it’s your guitarist.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Without knowing the exact situation, it's hard to say, but rather than quit, I think OP should have had a discussion with the band. This just seems like a situation where level headed adults could have reached a solution. Working bands (to the point where they have a full time soundperson) don't grow on trees.

I also don't get how "my sound" is so important in a cover band. Part of the reason to have someone running the board is that they hear what is coming out of FOH, and frankly, probably know better than a bassist on stage knows what is working. This isn't some drunk guy behind the board at a club...

 

[BwanaDust]

Did you try ignoring the sound tech? Did you try telling him to go fornicate himself when he informed you what you should use. Personally, I use nothing but a wire from bass to amp (there is a bit of a compressor on it), but your sound is what you use. I run sound professionally and deal with tons of bassists. I would never tell one how to set up their gear or what not to use.

 

[Ric5]

I usually enjoy quitting bands

 

[City]

Some people don't like effects and don't want anyone else to use them.

Presumably the band heard him play and noticed his pedal board and use of effects before they asked him to join.

A very valid point!!!!

 

[boombloom]

Someone much wiser and more experienced than I am once confided "This is the nature of bands." I am a better person for knowing that.