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Too much bass
- Thread starter 10cc
- Start date
I won't derail the thread anymore but I remember seeing your Quitting thread not so long ago
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Hey! Get thee gone!!!
You're supposed to be writing. No goofing off here at TB! Apply ass to seat and give me 1500 words, soldier!
I did write today!!!! Here again. Which is precisely why I have to get out of here. Any idea how much time this took?
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/re...onal-model-of-marriage.1224493/#post-18788127
Apologies for the derail in this thread, even though I didn't start it
. I have to come up with a quick 2 word response as it seems a lot of people misunderstood my post a couple of days ago. I'll be gone mid June.
I see it as the result of two issues:
-Dub step and other genres brought into the vernacular. PA system manufacturers and operators figure that's the trend, hence it must be installed and dialed in like that everywhere now. IOW, why all the extreme deep emphasis? Because we CAN!
-Pay. The good PA guys with technical chops, experience, and a sixth sense about how to create pleasing live sound are either retired, or have gotten out of the biz.
-Dub step and other genres brought into the vernacular. PA system manufacturers and operators figure that's the trend, hence it must be installed and dialed in like that everywhere now. IOW, why all the extreme deep emphasis? Because we CAN!
-Pay. The good PA guys with technical chops, experience, and a sixth sense about how to create pleasing live sound are either retired, or have gotten out of the biz.
Yeah! Everyone's a friggin professional sound man. But what are their actual credentials, other than just doing the same crap over and over again for years on end? In the same vein as the myth that a bass player is just someone who can't play guitar, (note my self deprecating avatar), the sound guy is someone who can't even play bass. Though clearly some bass background would help a lot of these Neanderthals who know nothing more than just crank the hell out of everything below 200 Hz, 'cause the bass doesn't go any higher than that.
ABSOLUTELY TRUE! Modern concerts are in general so bass heavy they are unpleasant. And it is boomy one-note bass, like car stereo subs. The sound guy must think that the people want it that way, and maybe they do, to feel that they are getting their money's worth? Anyway - Concert = earplugs.
Reason # 1,304,857 why I just buy the tour DVD and run the concerts here on a big screen with "big sound" that is controllable. Doing this lets one see what the folks are doing and HEAR what they are doing after they spent days, weeks, months getting the audio tracks "correct". We reserve the right to have a 10 band stereo EQ between the source(Playstation 3 or DVD player) and the amp/speakers.
Agree with the dub-crap and wooden-eared FOH guys comments as being the cause. The best recent shows seen were at smaller venues, Warehouse Live and Scout Bar, both Houston venues. I did use earplugs at both places as the bands were metal groups with lots of decibels. Sound was balanced but simply too loud for my liking and length of exposure would've put me way over the OSHA limit and my own limit. The market for deaf musicians is very small.
I hear you (barley any more)....but i remember it being like this for a long time
The cleanist bands I ever heard was Rush and Yes.....Kiss was the worst by far
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Lots of interesting replies on this one. As for me, I have been saying this for the last 30 years! Not so much for smaller venues, but larger indoor events, man ! Take the bass down a notch ! Between that and the stupid kick drum, it's rediculous!
In the last year or so:
Alan Jackson at Nokia Theatre in LA. Awful mix. I won't do that again.
Chicago in a 1500 seat theatre. It was fair. Some mud, but I could hear the notes.
Merle Haggard in the same venue. Excellent mix.
Avett Bros. in a 1000 seat theatre. Pretty good mix.
Zac Brown at Holywood Bowl. Wonderful mix. Everything live music should be.
Silversun Pickups in an arena (Sleeptrain in Sacramento). Mix wasn't terrible, but not great either. At least there was some definition and I enjoyed the show.
Bottom line is that I'll keep going to hear live music even though I know it might suck because of inept sound people.
Alan Jackson at Nokia Theatre in LA. Awful mix. I won't do that again.
Chicago in a 1500 seat theatre. It was fair. Some mud, but I could hear the notes.
Merle Haggard in the same venue. Excellent mix.
Avett Bros. in a 1000 seat theatre. Pretty good mix.
Zac Brown at Holywood Bowl. Wonderful mix. Everything live music should be.
Silversun Pickups in an arena (Sleeptrain in Sacramento). Mix wasn't terrible, but not great either. At least there was some definition and I enjoyed the show.
Bottom line is that I'll keep going to hear live music even though I know it might suck because of inept sound people.
It is interesting how you can go to the same venue, same kind of music, and one sounds horrible the other great. The only reason I can think of is that evidently, someone figured out that most people who show up for that band like it that way.
I must confess that I just don't get it. I've played shows where I thought our mix was terrible but people come up afterwards and say "you guys sounded awesome'. it's hard to believe, there must be something I'm missing.......
I must confess that I just don't get it. I've played shows where I thought our mix was terrible but people come up afterwards and say "you guys sounded awesome'. it's hard to believe, there must be something I'm missing.......
I'm watching a 6 piece group of high school kids right now and they have it mixed pretty well. Guitar isn't in the PA with the brass, which is an issue, but otherwise very solid. And they did a fun, if somewhat technical, rendition of "Mustang Sally" when I shouted that at them.
Better mix than many pro shows I've been to. Better chops than some too. Bassist kicks my butt.
Better mix than many pro shows I've been to. Better chops than some too. Bassist kicks my butt.
I work at Levi's stadium and we've had a handful of concerts here.
When Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan came the sound sucked.
When the Grateful Dead came the sound was pretty good.
When Christina Aguilera came for a secret Cisco company show the sound sucked terribly.
At the Super Bowl 50 the half time show was unbearable. Horrible sound.
Ironically the best sound I've heard there was when Taylor Swift came. The Kick and Bass were super tight and punchy. She had a guy playing a P bass for most the night.
The subs could have still been put down just a little bit, however it shows that good sound can still be had with a sold out stadium with 50,000+ people.
I just don't get it either. Sound is truly subjective.
When Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan came the sound sucked.
When the Grateful Dead came the sound was pretty good.
When Christina Aguilera came for a secret Cisco company show the sound sucked terribly.
At the Super Bowl 50 the half time show was unbearable. Horrible sound.
Ironically the best sound I've heard there was when Taylor Swift came. The Kick and Bass were super tight and punchy. She had a guy playing a P bass for most the night.
The subs could have still been put down just a little bit, however it shows that good sound can still be had with a sold out stadium with 50,000+ people.
I just don't get it either. Sound is truly subjective.
I believe a lot of bands are adding sub bass synth tracks. Everyone wants that big punch from concerts. I guess it defines the arena experience.
BIG +1.....
For the past couple of years the new country band I work with does a spring, summer, fall, 5-6 state tour thing where we do fairs, festivals, stage shows, ect. where the FOH and sound crew is always furnished.
With a very few exceptions, I'd call our out front low end as "mud" no matter who the sound company is and what type of equipment is in use.
A front mix where the bass drum is so dominant it's washing out things on stage.
We've tried befriending the sound crews.....we've tried threating the sound crews.....we've tried reasoning with the sound crews as to what sound out front we're trying for.....
We've pretty much given-up.
Now we roll in, try to put on the best show we can, load the bus at the end of the show, go down the road and hope for better at the next job.
.....
With a few exceptions, all of the sound folk I've known were jack wads.
They know everything and don't want you telling them how to do their job.
I had an annual run-in with this one guy who kept showing up "to help."
He did advertise himself as a sound professional but was not on the live sound crew for these events, who were good guys btw. I was the broadcast tech and we had our own guy doing the mix for the radio station. (He eventually went to work for Chip Davis/Manheim Steamroller.) But this other guy was the quintessential, I'm a sound guy, and you're not so you can't possibly know what you are doing. Funny thing was that I was not there in the capacity of mixing sound for stage or broadcast.
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