You mean you weren't willing to mix loud enough for the band's few half-deaf fans? Dontcha know that those 3 burnouts are MUCH more important than the rest of the audience (who don't stick around because it's too loud). LOL
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Too much bass
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You can't fix stoopid LOLThis one time at sound camp...
I had our "certified" sound guy complain once about noise in one of the studios.
He had a mic channel open, with mic levels pushed to max and the headphone monitor turned up all the way.
And yes there was some hiss and yes, room noise.
So I took the mic off and put on a tone generator and had the sound guy adjust for 0VU on the console and a comfortable listening level in his headphones. Then I removed the tone and put the mic back in. I asked him how it sounded. He said fine. Then he said, but here is the problem. He then cranked everything to max again.
I certainly didn't see the need to compromise sound quality just to make people's ears ring for a week. There's an expectation that things will be loud, and it does have psychological effects, but I've felt the need to wear earplugs at gigs for 20 years. Whilst the ones I have a reasonable they are not fitted as I lose them sometimes, so they aren't quite totally flat filters which his sometimes advantageous.
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The issue of more modern music is not one I'd considered. I've heard indistinct, muddy, absent or scratchy bass (as well as good) over two decades so had just ascribed to lack of understanding of the instrument. But it has got worse and I'd just put that down to the lack of understanding and the ubiquity of a subs now whereas 20 years ago it was just bigger venues.
Saw REM in a stadium 20 years ago. We sat next to the mixing desk. Perfect sound. Not even too loud.
Saw REM in a stadium 20 years ago. We sat next to the mixing desk. Perfect sound. Not even too loud.
Someone say Talking Heads? Prime example of what it should sound like. From the board 1980
And that's with two basses in the mix....
I try to make it a point to watch this whole concert every couple of months or so as a reminder of what "groove" means.
Matter of fact this goes against many "so called no no's"
1. Two keyboard players. So now you've got two of the dreaded left hands
2. Nobody is dressed like "We are the band"
3. Two bass players
4. Under some kind of influence during performance.
5. Cowbell
1. Two keyboard players. So now you've got two of the dreaded left hands
2. Nobody is dressed like "We are the band"
3. Two bass players
4. Under some kind of influence during performance.
5. Cowbell
And yet.... it is the epitome of "groove." As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter how they accomplish that, only that they do.
I've been fortunate to work with sound guys that seem to know what they're doing.
And many live shows I've been to weren't bass heavy--unless the song was supposed to be that way.
When I hear too much bass it's typically a young guy who spent way more on the sound system than the vehicle he's playing the music in.
And many live shows I've been to weren't bass heavy--unless the song was supposed to be that way.
When I hear too much bass it's typically a young guy who spent way more on the sound system than the vehicle he's playing the music in.
Hip-Hop.
It's all Hip-Hops fault.
That deep bassy sub-woofer nonsense thumping from cars.
Now everyone thinks that evryone likes it.
It's all Hip-Hops fault.
That deep bassy sub-woofer nonsense thumping from cars.
Now everyone thinks that evryone likes it.
My wife used to go to concerts with me but she has pretty much ruled out ever going again. We've definitely noticed over time that the sound at shows is increasingly awful, that sound men seem to mix everything as if they're DJ'ing in a dance club when it's simply not appropriate for the band that's performing. I'm even going to fewer large concerts than I used to simply for this reason, which sucks because I've always loved seeing live music. But the awful mixes make it less and less enjoyable.
FWIW, the volume level is NOT the issue, for me anyway. I still like volume, but I want to be able to actually hear what the performers are playing - that's the whole point of being there!
I can see how it's easy to blame the performers themselves, assuming that's they're ultimately paying for that kind of service. But there have also been times when I've wondered if the venue actually provided the sound man, even if the band paid the bill, perhaps as part of the contract for playing a particular venue. It would be hard for me to believe that bands that are known for their musical ability would consciously decide to hire a sound man that makes it impossible to hear the nuances of what they're playing.
So where does the actual fault lie? Is it the bands themselves? Is it the venues? Is it a lack of skilled sound men? It is a varied mix of all of the above, depending on the situation ? Does it lie somewhere else?
FWIW, the volume level is NOT the issue, for me anyway. I still like volume, but I want to be able to actually hear what the performers are playing - that's the whole point of being there!
I can see how it's easy to blame the performers themselves, assuming that's they're ultimately paying for that kind of service. But there have also been times when I've wondered if the venue actually provided the sound man, even if the band paid the bill, perhaps as part of the contract for playing a particular venue. It would be hard for me to believe that bands that are known for their musical ability would consciously decide to hire a sound man that makes it impossible to hear the nuances of what they're playing.
So where does the actual fault lie? Is it the bands themselves? Is it the venues? Is it a lack of skilled sound men? It is a varied mix of all of the above, depending on the situation ? Does it lie somewhere else?
Yep still agree. So I'll blame it entirely on Body Count. I can only imagine how a modern country show sounds live.
The modern country shows I've seen over the past couple of years (Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert) have all had great mixes. On the other hand, just saw Gregg Allman a couple of weeks ago and the bass was a muddy mess. Never could hear any note definition and it was in a nice theater with good acoustic treatments so they obviously wanted it to be mud.
Even Family Man has definition in his tone. Every time I've heard him play, his tone although slanted towards the low end was clear as a bell. I agree with the too much bass thing. It seems it's gotten crazy over the years.
I've seen a TON of country shows over the years, and have yet to hear a bad mix. If you throw the Eagles "History of the Eagles" tour into the country genre, it even better. The worst mix I've heard lately, was Iron Maiden's tour last month.
You could hear Bruce's voice, but everything else was an indescipherable mess.
Mötley Crüe's last tour wasn't terrible, but Tommy's cymbals couldn't be heard.
Ditto my experience seeing Blake Shelton and Joe Nichols. Plus, those guys played every song in their catalogue. Great shows both.
.And..........So it begins.
Our first big stage show of this year was yesterday, with a sound company we'd not worked with before.
The usual mud from the subs was there, the usual mash between the overbearing bass drum and a blurred bass guitar was there, the overbearing of the bass drum washing out the stage monitors was there.....
Atleast it was only a 1-1/2 hour show that paid GREAT!
