"You're TOO LOUD !!!" "You guys are the GREATEST..."

[kcole4001]

Great.

I always assumed people told us we were the greatest because we were the greatest.

Thanks for the reality check.

You misunderstand: you guys are the greatest, everyone else is being lied to. Keep on rockin'!

 

[SteveHeissner]

Excellent thread. It demonstrates the upside to playing loud mediocre music for drunk chicks.

 

[Ironbar]

The crazy thing is that even when the band SUCKS, someone will still come up with "You guys are TERRIFIC" What does this all mean? It means you can (and SHOULD) completely ignore these comments.

I can't believe it have to lay this out for you: IT MEANS THEY ARE DRUNK.

 

[kcole4001]

I can't believe it have to lay this out for you: IT MEANS THEY ARE DRUNK.

Which also meas that, as a band, you have done your job.
Which is to sell booze, for anyone in doubt.

 

[brokencode]

Loud but Good. I got these last Friday. The manager was standing in front of the mains with a decibel meter. We turned down... ONE decibel.

After we turn it down

 

[Showdown]

Which also meas that, as a band, you have done your job.
Which is to sell booze, for anyone in doubt.

Yup.

 

[Showdown]

Loud but Good. I got these last Friday. Manager was standing in from of the mains with a decibel meter. We turned down... ONE decibel.

After we turn it down

At least he is nice about it, some managers aren't.

We were warned before a gig that we needed to keep it below 100 db, so we took a meter to rehearsal. The drummer alone was 105db. We made him use bundled sticks at the gig. It's always the drummer....

 

[azureblue]

I think that "too loud" means the mains are loud loud up close to them. I've payed with a PA that consists of a speaker and a horn on a pole and I have noticed that gets the most complaints, because you have to crank it to fill the room. The last bar band I was just went out and got another pair of the pole speakers, and we turned the four of them down, so the sound spread was more even. We filled the room without blasting to people up close. I think this is why, for most bar and smaller size rooms, vertical speaker arrays similar to the old Shure columns or the Bose poles, will give you more even sound without blaring.

PS to that - our drummer was really loud - great groove, pocket and chops, but he just played too loud. Big kit with a 22" kick. So we convinced him to go out and get a small kit that makes less sound so he can still beat the heck out of them... He went down to an 18" kick set, discovered they respond better and were punchier. Everyone happy.

 

[Groove Doctor]

At one gig - outdoor party - my sister, and sister-in-law, within five minutes of each other made comments on my band's sound. My sister-in-law said it sounded great, perfect volume, etc. My sister said we were too loud. I asked my sister if she could give more detail of what she was hearing, was it one instrument or another or what. She said the vocals were "too piercing." We adjusted the EQ on the PA, took out a lot of the highs and a little of the mids, but left the volume as it was. "That's great! Perfect!"

Very important point there....
Ask them "Which person is too loud... guitar, drums, singer, bass?" and adjust EQ for that player for just the freqs they're too loud.

Or just assume they're having a hard time speaking to friends, so cut EQ in the 1-5kHz range, vocals first then guitar, keys & bass.


I scoop a little bit of mids in my bass EQ when the guitarist swaps to acoustic guitar. Maintains the bass's energy but stops it masking the less punchy ac gtr sound. Easy fix.

 

[Moley13]

My take (for what it's worth in this big ol' internet).

"Too Loud" - what @Groove Doctor said. Ask them to be as specific as possible - it might help you improve. I used to get "too loud" in bands all the time. I haven't had it for AGES now. We learned, we fixed things. One big thing can be (similar to @azureblue 's point) getting decent "spread". If the tweeters of your mains are too low (close to the ears of the front row dancing) they will be WAY too loud for those poor folks. Their big heads will also soak up a lot of your tops, too! Always consider how to get the best acoustic performance out of your rig and the room. You might have to try a different position, and turn them UP in order to achieve a sound which is not ear-bleedingly loud in localised areas.

"You guys are awesome" - can't believe nobody's said it - don't just say "Thanks"! Don't just "dismiss them". Say "I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Hey, we're available for functions, weddings and whatever, if you liked us, give me a call!" and FORCE A BUSINESS CARD INTO THEIR HAND (/pocket). No matter how drunk they are, they'll remember that the night "felt great" and they'll have a (possibly mysterious) business card which holds the magical link to recapturing that feeling. They'll tell people they know who are getting married, they'll pass it on to their company's social club. Drunk and lame as these sorts may seem, EVERYBODY has a few links which bring in gigs!

 

[abbub]

I have a soundboard recording of a band I played in years ago, where after every song, the lead singer makes some crack about 102 decibels. I couldn't remember what that was all about, but the I ran into the guitar player and we were talking about it and he said that the (very old) manager was standing around directly in front of the PA speakers with a sound meter and announcing the decibels after every song.