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Soundperson questions


hi.flyer

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So, my uncle, he's a musician, trombonist to be precise. Apparently he is forming/joining a new coverband and wants to train me as the soundperson (note how PC I am :cop:). A friend of mine has recently started a similar gig w/ a different geezer-rock bar band. Basically what I want to know is, before I actually talk to my uncle and find out for real, what am I getting into here? Is it difficult? What am I gonna have to do, beyond, uh, plugging {censored} in and carrying it? Thanks in advance, ya'll.

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Prepare to be blamed for any and all problems that ever (and they always do!) arise. ;)

 

But knowing you, I'm sure they'd be founded... :cop::cop:

 

I would never do it. I'm way too picky about {censored}ty bar bands who usually hack a ridiculously simple set list.

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Prepare to be blamed for any and all problems that ever (and they always do!) arise.
;)

But knowing you, I'm sure they'd be founded...
:cop:
:cop:


I would never do it. I'm way too picky about {censored}ty bar bands who usually hack a ridiculously simple set list.

 

Well, his other band was good, so hopefully this one will be, too. I'll enjoy the beer and networking or whatever, I guess. Maybe this can be my foot in the door of the music biz, haha.

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If you have a good ear, you are valuable.

 

If you have blown your ears out with far-too-loud exposure, you'll be useless.

 

You have to know your frequencies. What EQ settings help the voice, as opposed to the bass guitar?

 

You have to know your gear. Ohms ratings, compressor settings, signal chain, crossover settings... you have to be a gear head as well as have a good ear.

 

You have to know the songs of the band, and know their performance. Be ready to boost signals of those instruments who don't have solo volume boosts (Which is a CRIME for any musician in a band! :mad: ) and know when to drop their signal.

 

You have to be able to kill feedback when it happens. Gotta find those frequencies or mic placements that keep feeding back, and fix them.

 

 

It's not easy. But it's a very satisfying job when you do it well.

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Well, his other band was good, so hopefully this one will be, too. I'll enjoy the beer and networking or whatever, I guess. Maybe this can be my foot in the door of the music biz, haha.

 

 

Lol I could do a decent job for most peeps around here. When you can run FOH sound from on-stage, it's not that tough...

 

However once you get into running lighting, IEM mixes, etc., that's a little different and a tad much for me.

 

Running a pair of mains, pair of subs, 2 monitor mixes, I'd be good w/ that.

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Dealing with musicians who expect you to work miracles with their "sound"....

...although it is a little bit easier when you're dealing with the same band all the time as opposed to dealing with different people every night. :idk:

 

Then the challenge becomes dealing with different enviornments every night. Some places will be problem places where no matter what you do you can't seem to get the monitors loud enough without feedback. :mad:

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a knowledgable, talented sound"person" is a rare commodity in my experience.

 

And in my OPINION, they are just as valuable as the musicians themselves.

 

You can be the best guitarist in the world, but that doesn't mean squat if the drums and bass are drowning you out.

 

A good sound tech can mean the difference between a great show, and a crappy show. Heck, a good sound tech can even make a crappy band sound good sometimes! :lol:

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So, my uncle, he's a musician, trombonist to be precise. Apparently he is forming/joining a new coverband and wants to train me as the sound
person
(note how PC I am
:cop:
). A friend of mine has recently started a similar gig w/ a different geezer-rock bar band. Basically what I want to know is, before I actually talk to my uncle and find out for real, what am I getting into here? Is it difficult? What am I gonna have to do, beyond, uh, plugging {censored} in and carrying it? Thanks in advance, ya'll.

 

 

Well, for starters, HC has a forum for this topic.:idea::D

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Well, for starters, HC has a forum for this topic.
:idea::D

 

Was gunna say... asking us this question I'm surprised hasn't resulted in a GTFO bastage! :mad::mad: yet! :D

 

We usually hate on teh lazy ass soundpeeps.

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Was gunna say... asking us this question I'm surprised hasn't resulted in a GTFO bastage!
:mad:
:mad: yet!
:D

We usually hate on teh lazy ass soundpeeps.

 

There's a politics forum too, that doesn't seem to stop that {censored} from being bandied about here. :poke::D

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lazy ass soundpeeps.

 

True. It must be laziness....I'm always the last guy out of a venue, typically an hour after closing. Must be lazy...why else would I show up 2 hours before showtime, if not to have more time to hang around doing nothing? And it's a well-known fact that 188lb subs and 114lb mains lift and move themselves, and there's nothing to it at all if a 100lb amp rack and 300lb cable trunk are sitting on the ground outside the truck. They have their own lifts!! Yup, nobody's got it easier than the sound guy! :lol::lol:

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True. It
must
be laziness....I'm always the last guy out of a venue, typically an hour after closing.
Must
be lazy...why else would I show up 2 hours before showtime, if not to have more time to hang around doing nothing? And it's a well-known fact that 188lb subs and 114lb mains lift and move themselves, and there's nothing to it at all if a 100lb amp rack and 300lb cable trunk are sitting on the ground outside the truck. They have their own lifts!! Yup, nobody's got it easier than the sound guy!
:lol:
:lol:

 

Our definition of "the soundguy" are freaking night and day difference, I hafta say! :D

 

I've never seen a soundguy move {censored} before, except in my country band where he was an actual "6th member" of the band.

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Our definition of "the soundguy" are freaking night and day difference, I hafta say!
:D

I've never seen a soundguy move {censored} before, except in my country band where he was an actual "6th member" of the band.

 

Ah, then you're seeing a "briefcase gig"...the sound guy only runs and maybe does a little setup work, but doesn't own the gear. They don't pay as much, obviously, until you get up to the regional/national touring band gigs. But those require.....touring. Ugh.

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