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Author Topic: complaints  (Read 18419 times)

David Parker

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complaints
« on: December 01, 2012, 04:28:56 AM »

I am so tired of people telling me they can't hear the singer in one of my bands. That's the money channel, I pay close attention to it, and it's always appropriately in the mix, leave me alone! So tonight one person was complaining the girl was too loud and some body else was complaining they couldn't hear her at all. It's a rock band in a room with bad acoustics. If you are sitting in the wrong place, you are going to hear a lot of stage wash. We don't get paid enough or have enough time to find every nook and cranny in the room with nulls and such and fix them. We're in a different venue every time.
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Ivan Beaver

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Re: complaints
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2012, 08:53:30 AM »

I am so tired of people telling me they can't hear the singer in one of my bands. That's the money channel, I pay close attention to it, and it's always appropriately in the mix, leave me alone! So tonight one person was complaining the girl was too loud and some body else was complaining they couldn't hear her at all. It's a rock band in a room with bad acoustics. If you are sitting in the wrong place, you are going to hear a lot of stage wash. We don't get paid enough or have enough time to find every nook and cranny in the room with nulls and such and fix them. We're in a different venue every time.
The lead singers husband can't here her, the guitarists girlfriend can't hear him, The drummers brother can't hear him and the bass players friend can't hear him.

So we have no vocal-no guitar-no bass and no drums.

WOW-I thought a band was playing on stage-but I guess i was wrong.

I tell people if they want to mix it the way they want-go invest the money and do it themselves.

Or you could take a chance and step away from the console and let them step up and "figure it out".
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Mark McFarlane

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Re: complaints
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2012, 09:20:25 AM »

David, I'm sure you already do the things below, but the help of some newbies here are a few ideas:

Kind of tongue-in-cheek, but try panning vocals/instruments.  Just tell the complainer to move to the other side of the room...   

Or cross-pan from where the instruments are on stage, guitar on left gets panned to right to balance for the audience.

EQ can also be used to help people hear all of the instruments and vocals, you just need to carve space so the banging-distorted guitars aren't drowning out the drums and bass,...  Lots of heavy cuts can open things up if the stage volume isn't overwhelming. 

If the stage volume is loud, of course, we are all SOL.  Tell the singers husband to go tell the guitar player to turn down :), grab some popcorn.
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Mark McFarlane

David Parker

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Re: complaints
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2012, 09:21:22 AM »

The lead singers husband can't here her, the guitarists girlfriend can't hear him, The drummers brother can't hear him and the bass players friend can't hear him.

So we have no vocal-no guitar-no bass and no drums.

WOW-I thought a band was playing on stage-but I guess i was wrong.

I tell people if they want to mix it the way they want-go invest the money and do it themselves.

Or you could take a chance and step away from the console and let them step up and "figure it out".

one gal didn't like the response she got from me with her complaints, so she went to the keyboard player in the band (who is the leader). Then she and her party left. He got a taste of my world because he fielded two people's complaints, and they were polar opposites. My ex played keys, and any time we listened to live music, the keys were never loud enough for her.
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David Parker

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Re: complaints
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2012, 09:24:29 AM »

David, I'm sure you already do the things below, but the help of some newbies here are a few ideas:

Kind of tongue-in-cheek, but try panning vocals/instruments.  Just tell the complainer to move to the other side of the room...   

Or cross-pan from where the instruments are on stage, guitar on left gets panned to right to balance for the audience.

EQ can also be used to help people hear all of the instruments and vocals, you just need to carve space so the banging-distorted guitars aren't drowning out the drums and bass,...  Lots of heavy cuts can open things up if the stage volume isn't overwhelming. 

If the stage volume is loud, of course, we are all SOL.  Tell the singers husband to go tell the guitar player to turn down :), grab some popcorn.

All good suggestions, but like you say. This band always has a lot coming off the stage, and it blends by the time it gets to me, but if someone is bent on sitting up close, there is no way I can fix that. Other than providing them my spare IEM bodypack and a set of headphones! I mean, if the guitarists amp is aimed at your head, and you're 30' from it, the main speakers are going to throw right over your head.
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John Halliburton

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Re: complaints
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2012, 09:32:57 AM »

All good suggestions, but like you say. This band always has a lot coming off the stage, and it blends by the time it gets to me, but if someone is bent on sitting up close, there is no way I can fix that. Other than providing them my spare IEM bodypack and a set of headphones! I mean, if the guitarists amp is aimed at your head, and you're 30' from it, the main speakers are going to throw right over your head.

Maybe a couple of front fills are needed?

John
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David Parker

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Re: complaints
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2012, 09:41:32 AM »

Maybe a couple of front fills are needed?

John

I'm sure front fills would help, but I think these folks were right in line with one of the guitarist's amp. With these small club gigs we're already overloaded with equipment we bring in, time involved, space available, electrical available, amount we're being paid, it's just not feasible to bring in more equipment. And, if someone is close and right in line with a guitar amp, I'm not sure that could be fixed. I could get the musicians to turn everything on stage down, but then they're not having a good time, so it's my job to make the best of a mess to begin with. Then someone takes all my joy away by complaining. There's not enough money in this to do it just for money. I got away from the big stuff with tech riders and bands road managers and engineers so I could do what I enjoy, set up the system and mix live audio. When it isn't fun anymore, I'll be out of it.
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g'bye, Dick Rees

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Re: complaints
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2012, 10:03:19 AM »

I'm sure front fills would help, but I think these folks were right in line with one of the guitarist's amp. With these small club gigs we're already overloaded with equipment we bring in, time involved, space available, electrical available, amount we're being paid, it's just not feasible to bring in more equipment. And, if someone is close and right in line with a guitar amp, I'm not sure that could be fixed. I could get the musicians to turn everything on stage down, but then they're not having a good time, so it's my job to make the best of a mess to begin with. Then someone takes all my joy away by complaining. There's not enough money in this to do it just for money. I got away from the big stuff with tech riders and bands road managers and engineers so I could do what I enjoy, set up the system and mix live audio. When it isn't fun anymore, I'll be out of it.

You allow your musicians to point their amps out into the house?????
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David Parker

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Re: complaints
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2012, 10:23:13 AM »

You allow your musicians to point their amps out into the house?????

this one was cross-firing and the complainers were up front over to the side, right in line with it.
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Timothy J. Trace

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Re: complaints
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2012, 10:33:26 AM »

You allow your musicians to point their amps out into the house?????
Why, oh why, is there not a "LIKE" function on the LAB?  :)

OP, it's good that your guitarist is pointing his cabinet or combo across the stage.  Is he also using a kickback stand?  There must be some merit to the technique if The Boss is doing it with his 1960a 4x12s on the world's largest stages.  Even the guys with Rect-o-verb combos do it, on the slightly smaller stage in the corner bar ;)


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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: complaints
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2012, 10:33:26 AM »


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