Entertainment For Lively Minds
Rotten Sound
Posted by Klaus Joynson on 30 March 2009 - 3:23am.
Went to see The Sound Collective the other night and they were awful, mostly because the sound was so terrible.
So how many gigs have been ruined by the following:
The sound guy, basically in charge of the whole listening experience, really wants the bass to be massive, at the expense of all other elements of the sound spectrum. I mean these guys were playing guitar (which couldn't be heard) and stand-up drums (which also couldn't be heard). But we could hear that bass/bass drum. That's pretty much all we could hear.
This is not the first time I've noticed this recently.
Am I alone?
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You're not alone
It baffles me that pop music has been played live now for about 60 years, yet still the sound at so many gigs is awful. I don't really go to them any more, mostly because of the sound.
Add to all that
the out of tune singing, the jostling, the drinks in plastic mugs, the fact that- whoever it is playing- you're probably bored with them after three tunes...oh, and all the idiots clapping and shouting next to you....and I'm sure you'll agree that gigs are things from hell. Stick to the records.
Indeed...
Why is pop music the only form where this is accepted as the norm - it doesn't happen at any other type of concert
Bad sound increasingly rare, shock...
There, I've said it, as a reponse to mainly Matthew, eddie clearly having tongue in cheek. I hope. By and large, sound is way better than in days of yore, perhaps, only perhaps, aided and abetted by the punter expecting better value for money and, sometimes, bands giving better professionalism than in the olden days. The Stones, as an example of a band that has been around, used to sound shocking live up until, probably, the Steel Wheels tour, when suddenly the sound became clear. I think this more to do with the emerging technology and equipment than a sudden greater musicianship, but I guess some emerging reduced reliance on drink'n'drugs, perhaps onstage and audience alike, may have facilitated likewise. In the 70s sound was usually crap, now it is an insult if it is so, sticking out like the sore thumb that was Mark Knopflers dismal mix at the NEC last year. And if I thought it was the venue, well Leonard Cohen proved that to to be untrue a month later.
I disagree
I know I don't get out much anymore, but in the last 15 years I've seen far too many gigs in big and small venues alike where the basic job of making the band sound good for all the audience has not been accomplished. I go further, I could count in single figures those events I've been to where the sound was up to much. Most of those were outside.
I go further still: I'm now boycotting indoor live events except at places where I'm guarenteed to be able to hear the singer above all else and the rest of the band are more than just an indistinguishable mush.
It's all about the money
I think depends a lot on how much they have been allowed to spend on hiring equipment and engineers and how much time they have to set up. Getting good sound in an unforgiving venue would be the most difficult thing to do on a tight budget both in terms of getting high quality equipment and hiring skilled engineers and crew to operate it. Getting money for that kind of thing could be tricky when you could have additional lights/ video screens/ moving sections of stage, and a slightly cheaper technical crew.
Whoever is doing the front-of-house mix for the current Leonard Cohen tour deserves some kind of award.
Bad form replying to myself, but...
My Leonard Cohen Live in London DVD arrived this morning and in the credits I saw that the FOH sound engineer was also the production manager for the whole tour, so make of that what you will.
Bad form?
I dunno, Doc, at least you can be sure of a half decent answer.
Not the money...
The place I went had clearly had a few bob spent on it, and that deep bass sound that dominated the mix must have cost a pretty penny. It was the guy operating the controls who must have messed up. In his mind it was, "get the bass right and don't worry about anything else." I saw a gig in a tiny club the next night and the sound was much better, mostly because there wasn't as much scope for the sound engineer to mess it up.
It can be the venue too
For example I have never heard a bad sound at Birmingham Symphony Hall. In another thread I talk about David Byrne but last night the sound was first class - you could hear all of the words and every instrument. When you can pick out the sound of Bongoes against drums with 2 percussionists on stage you know you have got it right.
I have seen bands and Elvis Costello and the Attractions/Imposters come into this category where the sound is awful for the first number or two and then quickly becomes good. What is the point of having a soundcheck for gods sake!!!
Venue half full
That's a little bit harsh. The sound of a hall changes a lot between empty an full. I would imagine that it's easier to get close to the sound of a full hall if you start off with an empty hall with cushioned seats rather than an empty hall with 4 cold walls.
Pointless soundcheck
In defence of the front-of-house sound person the sound in any room changes quite drastically when an audience arrive. Also the band tend to play their instruments differently in a gig-with-audience situation compared a soundcheck where there may be larking about or lacking The Fear.
Iron Maiden
I remember some comment from ages ago that Iron Maiden stopped soundchecking altogether, because the sound changed so much once it was full of people. They just relied on the sound engineer fixing it during the first song.
For the record, the best sound I can remember at a gig was James at Wembley Arena, when they were touring "Millionaires".
Black Crowes...
...Somewhere in Sheffield, I think - just too damn loud, meaning everything resolved into a feedback, howling mess. Oh, and any band heard from upstairs in Bristol's Colston Hall, too. Though I understand they are re-invigorating the place to improve its acoustics.