Sound Checks....or lack of!

[theplumber]

I played a private party last night in a golf club. Decent size room,the guests sat mainly at long tables,either side of the room,which had a large window at the end of it. The DJ for the evening set up to the right of the window,we set up,with the drummer in the middle,directly in the middle of the window,facing the room. When the DJ was doing his first set....well,playing some background sh*te before the buffet,which was pretty poor I might add!....our guitarist noticed the sound seemed pretty muffled from the djs speakers. I pointed out that the guy was using a laptop and his downloads may have been pretty bad anyway soundwise. We never got a chance to sound check and did a short 1 hour set as it was a birhday bash for the drummers wife!
I was driving and had a fair distance to get there,the others got lifts in or taxis! So no drink for me! We started of well enough,so I thought,with a decent sound balance. It was a high ceiling,but no kick back from the back wall as there were plenty of bodies in the room,plus curtains on the side walls. Also curtain behind the band and a carpet below our gear,just in front of the dance floor. The monitor didnt seem to be working at all,so the singer started messing around with the mixing desk....cue vast feed back,as the drummer had a mike in his bass drum....anyway that got sorted. Then the guitarist found out his vocal mike was off..more messing around and still no mike! We shared mine for the rest of the set! Another song down and the singers wife comes up and speaks to him.....''Right guy's we all need to turn down!!'' So we did....this went on for the next 3 songs! At one point I stopped playing and no one noticed! I started to get a bit pissed off and let the singer know.....there was a short heated exchange lets say! The guitar played was the same.He could hardly hear himself. I carried on,but found I had to stand more or less over the top of my amp to hear it. It spoiled the night for me,plus I really don't want to fall out with the singer,but it seems as long as his mike is really loud,which I suppose on reflection is fair enough..the rest of the band should sound like a backing track. Ok,this is just a rant,but maybe we could have got a sound check earlier,which wouldnt really have helped as the room would have been empty,plus it was a free gig and I didnt fancy hanging around for hours before it. The usual pub gig sound check for us is the band playing a bit of blues,whilst the singer stands about 4 feet away from us and tells everyone its too loud!...I take it this is the norm elsewhere....oh and aye,bass players can moan a bit,specially after a really hard graft at work all week!

[Truckstop]

So you actually had a row on stage in front of the guests?

[TimR]

Sounds like your bass drum mic might have been picking up loads of spill and chucking it all out the front in one huge mess.

Surely you at least did a line check on all the mikes.

Some rooms are just impossible.

Edited March 6, 2016 by TimR

[theplumber]

It wasn't so much of a row,more an exchange of words along the lines of..its too loud,turn it down...aye you said! well why dont you?..cause I dont think it is,but I'll turn down anyway,but I cant hear myself,etc...then a few swear words..lol. Handbags at dawn,petty stuff! As I said,I wasn't really up for it as,it was a freebie and I was tired....so,my bad as the youngsters say!

[Bilbo]

Messing with the sound whilst playing a gig is never going to end well. 35 years gigging and it still happens. Happened to me last Sunday, actually. Soundtracks are more and more important the louder you get. The louder you get, the harder it is to fix anything on the fly.

[theplumber]

As far as I know,the mikes were checked before I arrived,mine was set up when I arrived,but I never checked it,only plugged it in, The singer then switched everything on before we started. He had had a few beers by that point,but wasn't pissed. Maybe it affected his judgement,I don't know,but it seems we had a bad balance to start with.As for the bass drum mike,the monitor was very,very close to it...we had the same troubles in a small venue weeks ago,I was being as to turn down as the sound was booming. I turned off at one point then we noticed it was from the bass drum mike.Maybe the drummer should not mike up,which would force us to come down in volume to his level.

[theplumber]

I came away feeling pretty bad about the whole thing,we had a brilliant gig the night before in a pub. Great sound,playing and the punters loved it. I came away on a high! Then the next night I question the whole idea of me going out playing when I really should be in the house resting! Anyway,I still love playing,so.....onwards!

[TimR]

Alcohol seriously affects your high frequency hearing. Even one pint. I had big problems at one dinner and dance where the singer's mum got wasted during the meal and complained all night she couldn't hear her daughter singing. She got quite angry at one point.

We used to have the same problem at gigs whenever the drummer got picked up in the van. He could never hear the vocals properly. When he drove to gigs everything was fine. Then we worked out what the problem was.

Everyone else said it was fine.

[TimR]

Sounds like the booming was from the bass drum mic. For PA you should only be boosting around 120hz to emphasise the 'kick' of the drum. Don't try amplifying the bass sound of it, that'll cause all sorts of problems.

[bertbass]

Go wireless and have a wander and hear the sound for yourself.

[discreet]

We have an unspoken rule that no-one drinks until after the gig. If you rehearse sober then drink before a gig there's a good chance you're going to have some kind of problem, either with hearing or with memory loss! Everyone has to be on the same page.

[Roger2611]

Some rooms are acoustically dire, it doesn't matter what you are doing the sound will be awful onstage, however that doesn't mean it's awful out front, some of the gigs where I have struggled most with onstage sound has had audience members commenting on how good the sound is.

I will always do a mic check before the band goes onstage, no point in starting if the singers mic isn't working.

[Japhet]

Our singer is a total knob when it comes to adjusting the desk. Unfortunately he's the only one with spare hands but he has no idea whatsoever how the thing works and no interest in learning. We often have a guy come to see us who's very good though and he fiddles with the desk and sends us hand signals. We record a few gigs and the ones he contributes to sound pretty decent.

[mep]

If you have to use the first song as a sound check then explain that to everyone. Sometimes there is no other option. Never just launch into a set and hope for the best.

[taunton-hobbit]

Room acoustics change as the evening goes on. People generate heat and humidity - this can affect not only the room, but the cones of loudspeakers. It's never a bad idea to have one member whose job is to adjust (gently) on the fly.
As for the comment about the dj sound, laptops are a lazy and rubbish way of attempting the job.
Modern compression is wonderful, but comes unseamed at anything like a decent function volume.

[CHW]

I spent 10 years or so playing in a ceilidh band, and there were plenty of occasions when we arrived at a venue, and had to set up with the room full of guests and no opportunity to do a sound check. In the end we came up with a solution that worked really well. We'd get everyone plugged in to the PA and check all of the signals, then start off with the squeezeboxes, bringing them up to the right level, I'd then introduce the acoustic guitar, drums and bass, one by one, ensuring that I got the mix right. The bass player would be out at the back of the room and we'd communicate through some simple hand gestures. When the bass player would come in, I'd go out to the back of the room and he would adjust himself as needed in the PA. Finally I'd pick up my electric guitar and the bass player would fade me up through the PA, as I joined in from the back of the room (Wireless). The whole process took about 3-4 mins. There were times that we actually used this method for the first dance, managing it with a floor full of people

It worked very well and numerous customers commented on how professional it seemed. The most pleasing comments were from staff at venues, who would often comment on how well it worked in comparison to other bands setting up.

Edited March 6, 2016 by CHW

[theplumber]

Great replies as always....

[EmmettC]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1457265128' post='2996798']
We have an unspoken rule that no-one drinks until after the gig. If you rehearse sober then drink before a gig there's a good chance you're going to have some kind of problem, either with hearing or with memory loss! Everyone has to be on the same page.
[/quote]
I know myself I can't play with any more than one or two drinks, so I just don't have any. Generally we take turns driving the van, but I usually have my car at the lockup anyway so I don't usually drink at any gigs.

I do like to hear myself properly though, I need to be able to adjust the tone for different songs and know it sounds right.

[colgraff]

I drink steadily all evening through a gig. Waitrose Apple and Blackcurrant Squash mixed very dilute and, if I'm feeling daring, a pint or two of lager-shandy. Keith Richards has nothing on me, the lightweight.

[Rich]

[quote name='CHW' timestamp='1457272183' post='2996887']
I spent 10 years or so playing in a ceilidh band, and there were plenty of occasions when we arrived at a venue, and had to set up with the room full of guests and no opportunity to do a sound check. In the end we came up with a solution that worked really well. <snip>
[/quote]
Nice solution. I like it.

[sykilz]

We never soundcheck, just adjust to the drummers volume, much as I'd like to, but it usually works out o.k.....I wear substantial ear plugs so don't get the actual sound anyway as we're far too loud for me......sometimes a muso friend will help out pointing and gesturing, other gigs when I'm sure the sound is not good, the punters couldn't care less, they're all out to get pissed and jump about a bit. Know your audience!

[fleabag]

[quote name='sykilz' timestamp='1457284345' post='2997031']
I wear substantial ear plugs so don't get the actual sound anyway as we're far too loud for me
[/quote]

From another Essex chap no less !

This is a copy of us. Its our Les Paul wielding maniac that cant seem to turn down. I wear ear plugs mostly because of him, but i've had problems from the cymbals before now making my right ear go fuzz fuzz, as i stand right next to the tubbist

So , between the LP maniac and the Tubbist - i'm between a rock and a hard place

We did manage a sound check at last nights gig, but we dont always get one

[discreet]

There can be disadvantages... yesterday (Sunday) we were obliged to turn up at 4:30pm for a soundcheck, which would have been fine but for the fact we weren't on stage until 9:00pm. So at least 4 hours hanging around.

Mind you we sounded bloody brilliant and got loads of positive comments about the sound. What was I complaining about again..?

Edited March 7, 2016 by discreet

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1457309347' post='2997327']
There can be disadvantages... yesterday (Sunday) we were obliged to turn up at 4:30pm for a soundcheck, which would have been fine but for the fact we weren't on stage until 9:00pm. So at least 4 hours hanging around.

Mind you we sounded bloody brilliant and got loads of positive comments about the sound. What was I complaining about again..?
[/quote]sounds like a nightmare, I hate hanging around between sound checks and the gig, plus band members get bored and drink to much

[discreet]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1457310102' post='2997330']
sounds like a nightmare, I hate hanging around between sound checks and the gig, plus band members get bored and drink to much
[/quote]

We don't get pissed, it's not allowed. I was annoyed about it, but the sound on stage and out front was amazing. So in retrospect it was worth it.