clauster Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 I used to do a lot of live sound engineering - mostly on the monitor desk, but I was still involved in running the set-up. Vocals and drums need mics obviously. Guitars are next priority for mics because a large part of the tone comes from the speaker. If the bass was running through a rig that obviously coloured the tone (vintage fender, marshall, vox ac-50, etc) then we'd stick a mic on one of the cones and take a DI from a box before the amp - mainly run the DI through the PA, but with some mic to add the "flavour" back in. Mostly we saw Peavey and Trace Elliot stuff so we'd DI from the amp head because we knew they were acceptable DIs. Any probs during the soundcheck and we could stick one of our DI's in instead. I only remember one arrogant bassist who came on for the gig, unplugged from the DI box and went straight into the amp so we only had the mic signal. Because of the venue acoustics I couldn't let much of his signal go through the monitors without feedback (the FOH guy had the same problem too). He spent the whole gig moaning at me that he couldn't hear himself in the monitors, I think he'd have been even more upset that there wasn't much of him in the FOH mix either. If you wanna get listened to buy sound-guys (or gals) learn to speak their language and learn a bit about acoustics. Secondly, as soon as you've got the gig, find out who's doing the sound and send them a cd/tape/mp3 - that gives them a bit of time to think about how to represent the sound of the band. The other option is do what we've done and get a sound guy to join your band - he gets a cut of any income, but in return has to come to rehearsals so he knows our set as well as the onstage members and can also discuss problems that he foresees as they arise. Works well for us. Final tip is don't forget its not your sound once its in his PA its HIS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s_u_y_* Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 [quote name='clauster' post='232276' date='Jul 3 2008, 08:43 PM']Final tip is don't forget its not your sound once its in his PA its HIS![/quote] Good point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 QUOTE (clauster @ Jul 3 2008, 08:43 PM) Final tip is don't forget its not your sound once its in his PA its HIS! [quote name='s_u_y_*' post='232292' date='Jul 3 2008, 09:25 PM']Good point![/quote] Seconded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretlessguy Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Mark- I think that the variable here is that the performance was being recorded. I can tell you from the three hats I wear (I am a bassist, soundman, and recording engineer) that what settings and sound you use in a live situation and what is used in recording are two different animals. The bass guitar is one of the most difficult to record instruments. It is generally easier to work with a clean signal, although I have recorded with a bassist who had rows of effects, it's just easier to do it that way. What is necessarily good sounding live does not always translate well to recording. It is hard for me to imagine trying to play, record, and run the sound at the same time, so my hat is off to him. I cannot read his mind as to understand why he did it that way, but chances are he had enough faith in your tone to use your amp for the room you were playing. You would be amazed how many "live" CDs are recorded with signal sent to seperate enclosed speakercabs with mics underneath or behind the stage for the actual recording, to have the effects added later. It allows the musician to overdub in case of mistakes. An entire Jethro Tull live album was recorded this way around 20 years ago. The last few times I saw Rush, they had even dispensed with having amps onstage. I hope it all works out for all of you, and that the gig sound and the recording sound turns out really great. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Can anyone explain to me what FoH means? I've seen it being used a few times and i have no idea what it means! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 [quote name='budget bassist' post='232753' date='Jul 4 2008, 03:37 PM']Can anyone explain to me what FoH means? I've seen it being used a few times and i have no idea what it means![/quote] Front of house. Where the audience is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 ahhh thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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