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Author Topic: Unprofessionalism rant(long)  (Read 3403 times)

StephenG.

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Unprofessionalism rant(long)
« on: April 26, 2004, 05:23:22 PM »

I just gotta rant about the gig i went on this weekend. I am a BE for a freinds band. They rent a system for a gig from a guy down the street who supposedly has a real nice system. they rent it for $400. Well I was skeptical at first that a $400 system could cover an outside gig for 600-1000 people. So the day of the gig gets here and its raining so the gig has been moved into the high school gym from the football stadium. Well we all know how much fun a gym is!!  So we get there to meet the guy bringing the system. The high school setup the portable stage facing long ways down the gym. We don't have enough time to move the stage so we just deal with it. The sound system shows up and here is what the guy has brought, remember he didn't know that we had moved inside yet, it was sun shinny where he was.

2 A&H Gl2200's 1 FOH/1 Mon
4 Sonic double 15 cabs EV loaded
2 sonic 18" horn loaded subs
2 sonic 18" horn loaded subs, not quite the same as the other 2 above.
2 AB amplifiers powering the subs
2 QSC PLX 3002's for tops

Well needless to say the bottom end sounded like crap cause of mismatched subs. He sets the tops on top of the subs, which puts the horns at just an inch or so above head level. I ask him if he thinks that that will cause a throw issue with the highs, cause I thought there would be, he says "nah, its a gym." WTF does that have to do with it. So i'm finishing micing the guitar cabs and such like I like and just making sure everything on stage is neat and tidy and the guy starts my soundcheck for me. Didn't ask just up and started to soundcheck, and he started setting eq's for everything. I got pissed at the lack of respect shown by this. I have been doing this type of work for 6 years, and never hava i been disrespected like that. I thought anyone who has ever worked sound in a gym realized that trying to eq the instruments and everything before the people fill it up would be a waste of time.  

All this guy was supposed to do was set up the system and tear it down again. He wasn't even gonna be there for the gig, left his young apprentice to make sure I didn't blow anything up. So during the show the highs almost dissapear at the mix position because of all the heads blocking the horns and the bottom end sounded like crap cause of the subs not being synced up. The guy actually set up a reverb on the effects processor for the vocals, before I got back to the board. I couldn't believe that anyone would use a Reverb on vocals in a gym, am I wrong here? Thank god the band uses all in-ears so that we didn't have any floor wedges adding to the mud in the room.

I understand his setting up the system and testing it. He didn't really tune the system at all. In fact he set the house eq on a driverack pa by playing a George Strait Cd, the band i mix for plays rock!? This is what they paid $400 for and it was originally supposed to cover 600-1000 people outside? Not on my life would it have done that. Am I wrong in thinking that they didn't get their moneys worth out of the system. I just let the guy finish HIS soundcheck and then i reset the eq's when he left and used the first song to re-eq and I never used the verb that he was using, in fact i used no effects on vocals that night, it was hard enough to make them intelligible as it was.

Thanks for the chance to vent.

Stephen "I Hate Gyms" Greene

P.s. The guy who brought the system has "been doing this for 20 years!"
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Alan Hamilton

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Re: Unprofessionalism rant(long)
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2004, 08:20:39 PM »

What did you expect for $400?


-AlanH
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Baron Gray

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Re: Unprofessionalism rant(long)
« Reply #2 on: April 26, 2004, 09:08:39 PM »

Hi Stephen
In through the nose and out through the mouth.....relax.

Your deep in the low end market and the guy is probably used to having a "mate" of the bands, that rent his gear, play BE. He does the basic settings, albiet not what you want, to give these "BE"s a starting point. I had a similar experience but by the time we used the dudes gear a few times he caught on and let me set my own. Sounds like good value for $400 and if you use him again you will know to bring your laptop so you can Smaart the system to get those subs happening and some cases(or whatever) to get the tops up higher.
As far as the outdoor thing goes, did he have any gear left in the truck?

When you pay peanuts.........

Baron
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StephenG.

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Re: Unprofessionalism rant(long)
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2004, 12:19:18 AM »

Well Alan I guess I expected some of what we call common sense. I really can't be all that pissed with the guy providing, which is one reason I purposely avoided any names other than mine in the post, cause I made a few mistakes going into this:

Mistake No.1: I listened to the band leader when he said that he had heard the system and that it could sound good. Don't get me wrong he does know a little bit about basid system set up so I figured if there were any basic fundamental flaws he would be able to tell me.

Mistake No.2: Believing that a highschool gym can sound good.

Mistake No.3: I set myself up for a fall by thinking that Murphy's law wouldn't apply and that we'd be outside like was originally scheduled.

I didn't mean to sound like I know it all in my post when I stated that "i've been doing this kind of work for 6 years and never been disrespected like that." I was just trying to say that respect is a  2 way street and I didn't really have a whole lot of respect for the guy after he didn't show up with all the gear he said: 2 more tops and 2 more subs, and some mics he said he had that didn't make it either with no good explanation; and his just jumping in on soundcheck just added to it.

Lesson's learned: Never trust the band. Advance the gig yourself!!

I just wished they had sprung for the extra $800 it would have cost to get that Nexo GeoT system, even though that wouldn't have solved all the problems in a gym.

To Baron: I don't have a laptop with Smaart, can't afford Smaart yet. Anytime I get close something happens and that money has to go for some emergency
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Baron Gray

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Re: Unprofessionalism rant(long)
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2004, 02:21:18 AM »

Hi Stephen

Damn them bills!!!!

To be honest, even all Smaarted up doesn't make a gym a great room and the only way I have been able to get a reasonable sound in these situations is with a whole load of cabs, appropriatly delayed, around the room. Kinda the lower spl, multiple source, approach. Don't knock yourself out about the quality of your sound as even with the $1200 system you might have got nothing but crap, at any kind of spl.
At this end of the PA hire market you never know what your going to get.
A mates band was doing a big backyard party for us and he found a guy with a huuuge 4 way system and lights for 1/4 of the normal rate. Dude sets up. Soundcheck and first song (Dude at FOH) sounds great. By the end of the first set the sound sucks big time. Mate asks me if I mind mixing so I ask dude if he minds and he says go for it. So I ask, as I can't find any mark ups, what's on what channel and he says red with blue on one, red with yellow on two etc. Dude won money and bought the system with absolutly no idea(was guitar player) but the vendor marked it all up with colored tape from the mics to the mains. The vendor also tipexed his "normal" channel strip settings and crossover etc. Monkey see monkey do....mix by numbers!!

The washup? Borrowed mates stereo headphones, much PFLing, lotsa gain adjusting and eq etc, etc and got it back on track. Really nice sounding rig which I then dry hired for several months at 1/4 of real value and gave dude some free lessons. Dude now runs a midsize production company.

I could have burnt the bridge here by having a go at him but a wise old sound guy once told me that "the idiot you work with one day will probably be your prospective boss at a later time". Bloody Murphy!


Baron  
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See, you can't rewrite, 'cause to rewrite is to deceive and lie, and you betray your own thoughts. To rethink the flow and the rhythm, the tumbling out of the words, is a betrayal, and it's a sin, Martin, it's a sin.

Hank from the 'Naked Lunch'

dwstojan

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Re: Unprofessionalism rant(long)
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2004, 03:10:08 PM »

Sounds like a lack of communication - don't take the actions as an insult. $400 for what was delivered, set up, baby-sat and carted off isn't the deal of the century but it's not out of line by any stretch. That's probably how the guy could stay in business for 20 years - charging what it takes instead of what people would rather pay. BTW did he include cables, stands, mics, racks, distro, outboard, etc?

I've heard a number of bands sound great in a gymnasium (played in some too!). You can fight 'em or go with the "arena" sound and use it to your advantage. Remembering back to my own high school years I recall the bonus "light show" the score board would put on as its relay contacts would resonate with various bass frequencies!

If your feelings get hurt so easily I strongly recommend you avoid the real audio world. There's some cruel SOB's out there that will eat you up and spit you out without a second thought. Grow tougher skin and try to communicate better!

All the best -Dave
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