#556 - 07/25/01 01:05 PM
How 2 gig without a sound man?
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Frunobulax
Senior Member
Registered: 12/21/00
Posts: 151
Loc: Ottawa CANADA
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Partly thanks to some suggestions from this group, we have played out successfully 4 times (unpaid, at the same club). We're getting positive comments and people seem to enjoy us, but I know that at times our mix is bad. The club has a PA with a 16 channel mixer. We've just been setting it up as best we can, and then playing the set. We have nobody to adjust it on the fly for us.
The mixer is at the side of the stage, so one of us could move the sliders if we knew what needed tweaking. Trouble is, we can't tell from the wedge monitors what is wrong. How do you gigging musicians do this? Headphones?
To take it to the next level (and maybe start getting paid), we need to fix the mix. Should we be recruiting a sound person?
Dave
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#557 - 07/25/01 02:18 PM
Re: How 2 gig without a sound man?
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CraigLeyh@FrameBand.com
Senior Member
Registered: 10/11/00
Posts: 94
Loc: Lockport, NY, UNITED STATES
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Hi Dave
I play bass and used a wireless system. The first
few songs i would walk out front to hear what is
going on and make adjustments when i could. I do
think a sound man is the way to go though.
------------------
Thank you,
Craig S. Leyh
CraigLeyh@FrameBand.com
Keep It Low!
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#558 - 07/25/01 02:20 PM
Re: How 2 gig without a sound man?
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Botch.
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 08/17/00
Posts: 8149
Loc: Ogden, Utard
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Vopt, a sound man is the best route but not always affordable. To do it yourself, you need two things, a good soundcheck before the gig and a chainsaw. Have someone step out and listen as each singer checks their mic individually. Do NOT have one guy check all the mics, everyone has a louder/softer voice and sings a different distance from their mic. Do the same with the instruments; this will usually give you a good starting point. Now, after you start the second set, keep an eye on the lead guitarist; at some point he'll turn around to turn his amp up. At this time fire up the chainsaw and glare at him in a sinister manner. That will keep your balance going until sometime in the fourth set, he'll try it again and you may have to lunge at his wrists with the chainsaw; stand your ground!
Another technique our band uses: our bass player has a wireless on both his mic and his instrument, and he'll go strolling during a song to check the balance, this works nicely too if you can afford it. Good luck!
_________________________
Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will http://www.puddlestone.net
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#559 - 07/25/01 02:27 PM
Re: How 2 gig without a sound man?
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bvdd
Senior Member
Registered: 06/26/01
Posts: 483
Loc: ROCHESTER,NH,UNITED STATES
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And if you don't even have time for a real check or a wireless,
you or someone you trust with good ears and a LONG guitar cord
can jump out in front of one side of the PA for 10-15 seconds.
At least this will give you a very quick idea about vocal vs.
instrument balance, which is probably your first concern.
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#560 - 07/25/01 11:03 PM
Re: How 2 gig without a sound man?
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GZsound
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/17/01
Posts: 6074
Loc: Somewhere in Oregon
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Another trick we use is to keep the monitor sends at exactly the same position and use post fader sends. You can tell pretty quickly who is louder than the rest. Once you figure out the mix, write it down so you can set the mixer up properly the next time.
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Mark G.
_________________________
Mark G.
"A man may fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame others" -- John Burroughs
"I consider ethics, as well as religion, as supplements to law in the government of man." -- Thomas Jefferson
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#561 - 07/25/01 11:23 PM
Re: How 2 gig without a sound man?
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rold
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Registered: 02/10/01
Posts: 1493
Loc: supernatural BC CANADA
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One thing I used to do with one of the bands I worked with - I'd be in the crowd standing behind the engineer and the individual players would give me hand signals letting me know what their monitor mix was like. Rather than the usual "more vocals in my monitor" in the middle of a song, the musician or singer would point to the mic he wanted adjusted, point upwards or downwards and that would let me know to ask the engineer to adjust the artist's monitor mix accordingly.
In your case, just have someone in the crowd - preferably a musician, give you the hand signals - have him point to the singer/player, point upwards or downwards and make a motion as to how much.
Hope it helps,
Harold
_________________________
meh
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