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[Justice C. Bigler]

We don't get complaints with our theater shows, some of the dance shows we do...

We aren't big enough to get real Broadway tours, and if we did, I would more than trust them to make appropriate judgements. 

The other important factor in this is that the theatre shows, while they can and do get quite loud, at times, they have a much wider dynamic range. You can go from whisper quiet in one scene to 100+ dB in the next. But the loud moments usually only last for a few minutes and they they go back to a more average level 85-90 usually.


With rock and roll and hip hop shows, they're slamming the dBs up to 105-110(+) for the whole show, non stop.


It's one of the reasons that I don't work in clubs and don't seek out rock and roll work.

[Justice C. Bigler]

my question, which might not be clearly stated, is what do you say to people who complain?

All of the shows in our venue that run into the upper limits of what's comfortable have traveling engineers who mix the shows. So when I get complaints about the levels, I can just say "hey, I'm not mixing the show. It's not my job to dictate their artistic decisions." Which is in fact a policy of our building. We facilitate the technical needs of the groups coming in, but are supposed to let them make their own artistic decisions.

[Cailen Waddell]

Justice - I like that, thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lee Douglas]

Why are old people at a hip hop show? (Asked with the upmost respect for the older population)

Well, hip hop is approaching forty years old if not over.  You know that thought we've all had about eventually old folks listening to Too Live Crew and Beastie Boys in the old folks home?  It's not that far off!

[Steve M Smith]

You need two signs:

---->
Queue here to complain
that it's too loud

<---
Queue here to complain
that it's not loud enough


Steve.

[Kevin McDonough]

hey

yeah I feel your pain, as has been stated most of the time the problem isn't too loud, its 'I don't like the music'. It's an all to regular observation that people are happy to listen to a noticeably higher level if they like the music/show, but if they don't like it it'll suddenly be come too loud even at a lower level. An often stated phrase is...

If they like the music, it can never be too loud. If they don't like it, it'll always be too loud.

Now the problem with your position is that you're trying to address their surface concern about volume, but for a large group of them no matter what you say they still won't be happy as it doesn't address they're actual concern of I just don't want to be listening to this.

Offloading the responsibility to the production can sometimes help. If its a local show with lots of family attending, they may not be as willing to complain to their relatives/friends etc and hurt anyone's feelings. But you then may also just end up with a queue of people bugging the sound engineer and he may not appreciate that.

I think a variation of Justice's answer is probably the way to try and find a middle ground.

You could decide exactly how you word it yourself, but mentioning that you monitor the sound levels to make sure they're acceptable from a legal stand point (noise control to neighbours etc), but at the end of the day it's the act/artists choice and this is how they've said they want their show performed, you don't really have any say in that.

Maybe adding in (the white lie) that you will speak to someone at interval/halftime and see if they mind turning it down a touch could help to alleviate some concerns and make them feel as if their opinion is being considered.




k

[Matthew Knischewsky]

The music is mostly electronic/hip hop and we are only hitting about 83 DB A weighted in the rear of the house, maybe 86 or so down front, but there is lots of low bass, the old people are complaining...

I think your overall volume is good, 83-86 dBa is right in the ballpark for audiences that contain all ages. It's probably the bass that your older patrons are complaining about. What sounds correct at the club isn't necessarily what works for other applications…I've had to EQ out LF, introduce high pass filters, or otherwise "de-tune" the bass response of a system to make electronic/hip hop "work" with different audiences.

Matt

[Mark McFarlane]

You need two signs:

---->
Queue here to complain
that it's too loud

<---
Queue here to complain
that it's not loud enough


Steve.

+1.  I usually do what Jay suggested, and suggest softer or louder locations in the room.  Or I politely tell them that the table they are sitting at is 3' in front of the main speakers, and it will be much softer if they move back even one table. Sometimes it works and they move and are happy.

[John L Nobile]

Years ago someone told me that when an older person says that the music is too loud,  what they really mean is that they can't hear the vocals. When I have an older crowd I've been bringing the band back and having the vocals a little too loud for my taste. Haven't had a complaint from an older crowd since.
For others,  I've recommended that we keep a supply of earplugs available. No answer back but I'm hoping to get that for our next rock act at the end of May.

[Darin Ulmer]

For an annual women's conference I do I printed a couple of pastel signs with cursive writing stating that the sound will be loudest the closer you sit to the speakers and attached them to the bottom of the tops/top of the subs.  As it is general admission seating this helped since many wanted to be at a table up front then wondered why it had to be so loud.

This past summer, at one outdoor blues show, when a person came up and asked the proverbial question, "does it have to be this loud?"  I simply, but politely, replied, "yes."  And that was then end of the conversation.

[ProSoundWeb Community]