Members philw44 Posted May 15, 2010 Members Share Posted May 15, 2010 Amazing how quickly you can lose confidence in yourself / equipment. I've just had a run of doing sound for some fairly mediocre college bands. By the end of it i was really starting to doubt my ability because i could never get a decent mix. I even started messing with the crossover frequency between my mids and tops to see if it was right! And even though i know deep down inside that it sounded bad because: - The drums sound like dustbins - Guitars are fizzy pop - Bass is flab - The vocalist sings through his nose - Nothing is in time - The songs are forgettable I continue to crucify myself throughout the night. Then the next gig, a tight band with great gear comes along and all doubts are put to bed. Same Speakers, Same EQ's, Same desk and a million times better! Just wondering if anyone else goes through this? Or is just me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted May 15, 2010 Members Share Posted May 15, 2010 Philw44, it doesn't really matter if they play well or sound good,,,, they'll still be "stars",,,,,,,,, someday,,,,,,,,, maybe,,,,,,,,,if there's not too much work involved ,,,,,,,,,,,,and the pay is REALLY GOOD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stevie j Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 I know exactly wha you mean Phil Just wait until your next gig with a good band, think of the crap bands as being the breadwinning gigs and the good ones as paying better because you're looking better to potential employers. Eventually you'll be able to turn away the crap bands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 i hate it when people think you are doing a crappy job because the last band you did sounded so great and why are you making this band sound crappy. yes, i am making the band sound crappy. i want to sit though a crappy sounding band. this is my goal. it has nothing to do with the sound the band is making, it is all my fault. i asked the guitar player to set his amp on DIME. i asked the drummer to tune all his toms to the same pitch - in the key of flub. i am the reason the bass player is playing all three strings of his fancy bass at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 also, it is my fault your scratched cdrw wont play. also, you dont have to bring guitar cables. that is my job. oh yes, i did happen to bring 10 DI's. my analog mixwiz does in fact have scene recall, i am just too stupid to use it and enjoy wasting your time resetting the board. you are in fact the only band i ever mix, evar. i'm sorry you cant hear the vocals clearly. why dont you come closer than 300'. thank you for complaining about the poor sound quality while standing behind the stage. i will get right on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 happens all the time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MainEventSound Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 I really now what your saying. I got sub-contracted to do a gig for a band about a month ago. I did sound check, no problems. They get about 5 songs into the first set, and out of no where is feedback. The guitar player stepped on the wrong channel of his pedal and his amp went crazy. Everyone, even the rest of the band thought it was me. The bar owner was pissed, the promoter, and the guy who hired me. Because of that, I am no longer allowed to mix for that band or promoter, says the guy who sub contracted me. It's embarassing. I didn't do anything wrong, but no one will believe/listen to me. It's been a definite confidence bomb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 I did a gig last month in what was supposed to be a small community hall, according to the leader. It turned out to be a huge "barn" of a place, with the worst acoustics I've ever had to work with. Deal was I mixed the first band then I play and mix "my" nine piece band with only a scheduled fifteen minute changeover. The problem was, although the first musicians were a great bunch of people, the source sounds were hard to mix, especially in that room. The guitar player was great and sounded great, but everybody else had sound issues, and I didn't have time to undo my bands mix/soundcheck to try and correct the warm-up band's sonic shortcomings. I kinda felt bad, but I just had to accept defeat somewhat - it wasn't terrible, but it sure wasn't to my standards. At least when we went on it sounded great (relatively), but what a nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 I've mixed a lot of terrible bands, I know what you mean. When the band is way too loud or just plain sounds like {censored}, I cut my losses, put in my earplugs, hang on and try to ride out the show. I don't like mixing in damage control mode, but hey, the way I see it I don't really have to make every situation the best, but to make the best of every situation. Sometimes there's only so much you can do. The guitar player stepped on the wrong channel of his pedal and his amp went crazy. Everyone, even the rest of the band thought it was me. How the hell did you get blamed for guitar feedback? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 How the hell did you get blamed for guitar feedback? I got blamed for the beer being too warm one time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 You can usually mute the guitars and bass real quick to isolate something like that. Having them drop out of the mix isn't anywhere near as drastic as cutting the vocals - plus I generally have Sabine or DBX feedback suppressors on the monitor mixes so can be pretty sure it's not the vocal mics when something bad happens . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 I got blamed for the beer being too warm one time! ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scodiddly Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 I got blamed for the beer being too warm one time! I once had to go turn off the beer truck cooler at an outdoor gig - some genius parked it right by the stage. And I do mean right by the stage, it was practically a member of the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 i got blamed for knocking power out on the entire block, while the band was on break and no music coming out of the PA. never mind the pizza ovens, air conditioners and faulty power line transformer that blew up on the pole outside. it was in fact my fault they could not cook pizzas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stevie j Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 i got blamed for knocking power out on the entire block, while the band was on break and no music coming out of the PA. never mind the pizza ovens, air conditioners and faulty power line transformer that blew up on the pole outside. it was in fact my fault they could not cook pizzas. How selfish of you, I'm sure you left a lot of people hungry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 that episode shook my confidence in humans. how can anything be so dumb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 Hey, never underestimate the power of stupidity . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted May 16, 2010 Members Share Posted May 16, 2010 that episode shook my confidence in humans. how can anything be so dumb? I expect the worst, and in fact the best we can hope for usually is a glimmer of intelligence, even if only a minor and brief glimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CHIP ROBERTS Posted May 17, 2010 Members Share Posted May 17, 2010 Amazing how quickly you can lose confidence in yourself / equipment. I've just had a run of doing sound for some fairly mediocre college bands. By the end of it i was really starting to doubt my ability because i could never get a decent mix. I even started messing with the crossover frequency between my mids and tops to see if it was right! And even though i know deep down inside that it sounded bad because: - The drums sound like dustbins - Guitars are fizzy pop - Bass is flab - The vocalist sings through his nose - Nothing is in time - The songs are forgettable I continue to crucify myself throughout the night. Then the next gig, a tight band with great gear comes along and all doubts are put to bed. Same Speakers, Same EQ's, Same desk and a million times better! Just wondering if anyone else goes through this? Or is just me GREAT POST! Man, I know just how you feel. Been there a few times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CHIP ROBERTS Posted May 17, 2010 Members Share Posted May 17, 2010 also, it is my fault your scratched cdrw wont play.also, you dont have to bring guitar cables. that is my job.oh yes, i did happen to bring 10 DI's.my analog mixwiz does in fact have scene recall, i am just too stupid to use it and enjoy wasting your time resetting the board. you are in fact the only band i ever mix, evar.i'm sorry you cant hear the vocals clearly. why dont you come closer than 300'. thank you for complaining about the poor sound quality while standing behind the stage. i will get right on that. You got me crackin' up! That's some funny mess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 17, 2010 Members Share Posted May 17, 2010 You got me crackin' up! That's some funny mess! its not so funny when it happens. i dont really know how to respond to that kind of incompetence, and my blank stare as i try and figure out how to respond to these absolute morons often escalates the situation into ugly proportions. i have literally been screamed at during a corporate show in which a group of people dragged a table behind the stage and then complained to the PIC that they could not hear the vocals sitting at said table (band was IEM) PIC runs over demanding that i increase the level of the vocals (which were at "tear your face off" volume at the time) as the group behind the stage could not hear the vocals..... i look him square in the face with as serious of expression as i could muster, "can you hear the vocals?" a goofy few seconds as he calibrates his response. "yes, they are quite loud." "do you think i should turn them up louder than they are now?" i look at him a little while longer as i see a gear moving in his brain, just a little movement. a lightbulb didnt go off in his head, but a small spark did, kinda like a fluorescent light starting up and then turning off. "i'll tell them to move out here" i said "that would probably be best. the sound does come out of the front of the speakers" i wasnt hostile towards PIC, but i dont know how to deal with such a level of gross lack of understanding about how reality functions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bugzie Posted May 17, 2010 Members Share Posted May 17, 2010 Similar, situation, Frat house band. Everything is going "to well" I show up and they are waiting to help me load in. Right there I was a little "WTF?" The head honcho hands me cash as I walk in the door. Set up in a flash and they carry in their backline. Everything is top of the line. They even have their own mic's for their amps. all I have to do is run them lines. First set is nothing but a puddle of mud. By the third song I'm embarrassed as all get out. I can't find anything wrong. First set ends and here comes the lead guitarist and the vocalist. I'm all set to apologize and they say that its the best they've ever sounded. I'm dumbstruck. Hit the Ipod and it sounds great? Come to find out they had 5 bad mic's. All SM 57's and 58's. Run out to the truck and grab some mic's and its heaven. They help with load out and throw me a rather substantial tip. As I'm leaving I notice that the lot is packed with Lexus's. Mercedes, Infinities and Porsches. These kids were having a good time on their daddies dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members witesol Posted May 17, 2010 Members Share Posted May 17, 2010 been there before.. or public speakers with mic down at waste, people looking at you with the turn it up, we can't hear them look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted May 17, 2010 Members Share Posted May 17, 2010 been there before.. or public speakers with mic down at waste, people looking at you with the turn it up, we can't hear them look i had that saturday. excellent speaker, but he had a beta58 waist high. just imagine that sound for a minute. i ended up doing very bad things to that channel to get the sound in "tolerable mode". the only saving grace was that he talked very, very loudly and i was able to get signal in the mic. beta58 doesnt do waist high very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members witesol Posted May 18, 2010 Members Share Posted May 18, 2010 yea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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