oh, and with all due respect to soundmen, if i need to turn up, i'm turning up, and if the soundman thinks it's too loud in the pa, he can move the fader down a little. but i'm not going to suffer because a soundman doesn't want to move a fader.
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Who's job is it?
- Thread starter DirtPoorRobins
- Start date
I normally run a Yamaha LS-9. It will save up to 300 'scenes' or 'pre-sets'. I don't use it to make a scene for each song, since the board routinely is used for other bands, different venues, by other engineers, etc. But I suppose you could do that.
Also, duderasta is correct, different rooms will respond differently. So I have a 'baseline' setting I normally recall then work from there. Obviously the same mix that works at an outdoor festival won't work for a small bar. Backline bleeding through the PA is the biggest culprit.
Which is why I'll respond to Jimmy (and others) that that is fine if you're in a big venue, but try to respect the soundguy (as I'm sure you do) if you're bass rig is blasting out a tiny bar. In the case of the band I work for, I often have to mute the guitar in the PA because his amp is still too loud without it.
Also, duderasta is correct, different rooms will respond differently. So I have a 'baseline' setting I normally recall then work from there. Obviously the same mix that works at an outdoor festival won't work for a small bar. Backline bleeding through the PA is the biggest culprit.
Which is why I'll respond to Jimmy (and others) that that is fine if you're in a big venue, but try to respect the soundguy (as I'm sure you do) if you're bass rig is blasting out a tiny bar. In the case of the band I work for, I often have to mute the guitar in the PA because his amp is still too loud without it.
It's probably like I said earlier , all the setup that goes on tour is setup in a big (or very big) room , both consoles and everything, and they all reherse the tour for a couple of days/week/months. So both FOH and monitor guys can make multiple presets even inside a single song to setup tone change , sound changes , level changes.
If you always use the same digital board as the FOH , your soundman can save his presets for each different songs.
He'll just have to tune the kit accordingly before soundcheck in each room you play.
sound engineers can't make it better, only louder.
i think the band should have it sound right before the pa is part of the equation.
i think the band should have it sound right before the pa is part of the equation.
couple of notes.
Is the sound engineer equipped for success (band member, has production notes on a set list etc)
it's 50/50... a really good interplaying band self-mixes.
Is the sound engineer equipped for success (band member, has production notes on a set list etc)
it's 50/50... a really good interplaying band self-mixes.
Absolutely. I have a DVD of Queen's '86 Wembley concert with rehearsals as a bonus feature. They rehearsed in a large room (possible a warehouse), with full stage equipment inc grand piano, huge drum riser, stacks of AC30s, huge lighting rig. So not only where the band rehearsing live renditions, but the sound guys where rehearsing mixes, the lighting guys where rehearsing sequences, the techs and roadies rehearsing instrument changes and off stage switches etc. Heck, the first night of the concert was also a rehearsal for the film crew, and they recorded the concert proper the second night.
Sure, most of us can't afford to do this, but if you have your own soundman, it really is useful to rehearse once with him before your first gig with them. We've had ours a number of years, but we still have the odd one or two rehearsals a year with him to keep him and us up date with new song and new gear.
Also, you should be used to setting your own volume levels in rehearsals. If you aim for consistency, and you don't have too many extreme changes or volume jumps, it should make live shows much easier on your soundman. Just because a song is more drum and bass focussed or keyboard focused doesn't mean the volume has to be cranked on those instruments. If anything, other instruments should reduce their volume with drums staying more or less level.
Unless drums are miked, it's difficult to change their volume, so use the drums as the constant and mix around them. If the drums are too quiet in a particular song, everyone else turn down! If you can, at least mic the kick and compress it. Then the the drummer can still play dynamically without losing too much volume.
