Sound from ISGC

Bill Ferguson · Post by **Bill Ferguson** » 3 Sep 2001 3:00 pm

Ok guys, I am home and wanting some opinions.

Now what I am about to ask is ONLY about the sound (not computer problems) you received over the internet (NOT THE LIVE SHOW).

As many of you know, I handle the recording portion of the show for Scotty. This year I used my new Peavey SRC6034 mixer with 2 Addverbs for the reverb.

This is the mix that I sent to WKRP.FM for your signal. I actually mixed in stereo but this year WKRP only transmitted in Mono.

I and my assistants (and by the way my main man, Jim (Doc) Stewart, could not be there this year due to an ear infection "WE MISSED YOU JIM"), worked diligently to provide you with the best sound possible, while sitting in the midst of the live sound and monitoring through headphones.

By the way, Doc Stewart has been in charge of the recorded sound for 20+ years and we all want him well soon. We have "live" sound for the Choo Choo show soon.

I ran a cable from the sound booth out to the lobby and another one from the Peavey room to the lobby (for the Canadian show).

What I am asking is how was the mix over the internet. It is very difficult to overcome the "live" sound while listening through headphones, and sometimes we tend to lose some bass in our mix because of the room sound.

Now don't beat me up, but I would like to know your opinions.

"The only bad part about being at the convention was I could not listen over the internet"

I will have a chance to listen to what we recorded in stereo, but my ears have to rest for a while.

Thanks to all that listened and most of all thanks to Stan Gramacke and Graham Bland for their hard work helping with the mix and recorders.

Bill Ferguson (ISGC staff for 21 years)

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"Stop worrying about what makes a steel work and concentrate on how YOU make it sound"
[This message was edited by Bill Ferguson on 03 September 2001 at 04:03 PM.]

Mike Sigler · Post by **Mike Sigler** » 3 Sep 2001 5:08 pm

Bill
My family was listening back home, and said the mix was very good!
I know from the stage end it was fantastic.
You always do a great job! and we all thank the lord for very talented men such as yourself.
Friends
Mike Sigler

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 3 Sep 2001 5:47 pm

Bill, I don't think is would have been possible to improve the sound. It was great in my opinion.
Jerry

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 3 Sep 2001 5:54 pm

* [This message was edited by Gene Jones on 02 May 2002 at 04:22 AM.]

Walter Jones · Post by **Walter Jones** » 3 Sep 2001 6:56 pm

Bill, I couldn't ask for more, I think you guys did a really great job. I have been to the convention and heard it live, this was pretty nice not to hear all the distractions of whatever was going on around you. Sometimes people are meeting old friends and talking ,sometimes it makes it hard to get to hear really well when the guys are playing
You have set a very high standard, now expectations will be greater the next time. Thanks for makeing my weekend an enjoyable one although I didn't get to hear all of it due to previous commitments.

Rich Mounce · Post by **Rich Mounce** » 3 Sep 2001 6:58 pm

Hey Bill...We got several e-mails telling us how good the mix was! You guys did a great job. Wish we could have done stereo but just not an option at this point. Who knows what may happen one of these days! Really great working with you and your great staff. Look forward to doing it again.

Rich Mounce
Promotion Director http://steelradio.com http://countryupdate.net

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 3 Sep 2001 7:56 pm

The mix was really good, Bill. My only complaint is that the level changed a lot. I had to turn the volume way up in between songs to hear the talking, and the fast songs were usually louder than the slow ones. The interviews were louder than your mix, too.

At one point Joe Wright was doing his comedy routine between songs and the announcer thought there was dead air and talked right over it. The level dropped that low.

The balance between the instruments was really great most of the time, though. It was hard to tell that it wasn't a studio recording sometimes, it was that good!

Maybe a compressor would help the level problem.

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<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (E7, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

John P. Phillips · Post by **John P. Phillips** » 3 Sep 2001 7:59 pm

I was so flabbergasted by the sound that I didn't even realize it wasn't stereo. I'm an old radio man with a very critical ear and it sure beat the heck out of the old phone line remote connections we used to use. Great job guys.

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"Let's go STEEL something"
If it feels good, do it. If it feels COUNTRY, do it twice
jpp

Marco Schouten · Post by **Marco Schouten** » 3 Sep 2001 8:38 pm

In my opinion the sound was too thin, the biggest problem was the connection however. While the recorded stuff was pretty stable, the life broadcast was very frustrating.
I don't want to complain though, it was great to hear at least a few sounds from over there.

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Steelin' Greetings
Marco Schouten
Sho-Bud Pro III Custom

erik · Post by **erik** » 3 Sep 2001 11:16 pm

I also thought the mix was outstanding. I noticed level changes with the talking in between songs/sets as Bobby Lee mentioned. It almost sounded like someone was riding a noise gate.

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 4 Sep 2001 1:14 am

I thought the Piano was low in the mix; other than that it all was Ok.
Ricky

Bill Ferguson · Post by **Bill Ferguson** » 4 Sep 2001 3:44 am

Thanks for the kind words.

Concerning the differences in levels. Yes there were, just as it came off the stage was different, depending on the song and/or performer. As Herby calls it, Dynamics.

About the talking, many performers are very mic shy and would be far from the microphones, while a seasoned person like Stoney or Scotty would actually yell in the mic. Therefore we set a medium balance and let it ride.

I'm just glad most of you were happy and I also hope we get to do it again.

Bill

Roger Kelly · Post by **Roger Kelly** » 4 Sep 2001 7:00 am

Bill, I thought the sound was GREAT! I saved several tunes by different players and made me a CD. After listening to my CD later, it was very good quality. I would say overall your sound was a 9 or a 10 coming my way. Good Job!

Pat Jenkins · Post by **Pat Jenkins** » 4 Sep 2001 10:03 am

Bill,
I thought the sound was "EXCELLENT". I listened all weekend. It is very understandable about some folks speaking louder than others. But, to me, the main thing was to hear the rythm section and the steel. Working with sound on a regular basis, I would give everyone a grade A. Thanks for the great work...Pat

BobG · Post by **BobG** » 4 Sep 2001 10:03 am

I listened to the whole show with headphones and have to agree it was a great mix.

Doug Childress · Post by **Doug Childress** » 4 Sep 2001 10:38 am

I was somewhat disappointed in the live sound. As long as I was seated directly in front of the stage and got sound off the stage it was pretty decent. The first night when I came into the room Scotty was talking and I and others commented that we could not hear him. I first sat on the non-smoking side and could not hear any detectable drums in the house mix. That condition existed until the Canadians played their set Saturday Night. Sunday was back to the same condition. Overall I was disappointed with the Peavey Mix this year. I hope I'm not being too hard on you guys since I am a Peavey customer and have been for 25 years.

Wayne Baker · Post by **Wayne Baker** » 4 Sep 2001 12:22 pm

sir, the sound was awsome. you did a great job!!!

wayne

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Emmons Legrande d-10 w/8&5 Nashville 400, peavey ultraverb II.

Bill Ferguson · Post by **Bill Ferguson** » 4 Sep 2001 1:02 pm

Doug C.
As I stated in my original post, this is about the "internet" sound.

I have nothing to do with the live sound in the ballroom, but having been sitting right beside that engineer, I was very satisfied with the house sound. I don't think more than 1 or 2 people came up and expressed dissatisfaction with the house sound, but MANY came up and said how good it was.

BTW, there is NO way to make the sound perfect in every part of the hall. When a player is loud on stage, he will be low in the mix and vice-versa.

I do hope you enjoyed the show.

Bill

Doug Childress · Post by **Doug Childress** » 4 Sep 2001 1:16 pm

Bill F.

I understand mixing sound as I have done it for many years. I was merely stating my view and did enjoy the show. Thanks for your reply though.

Doug C.

Evelyn Whitney · Post by **Evelyn Whitney** » 4 Sep 2001 2:34 pm

Bill
The sound was just great!! Thanks for a job well done.
I was at home in Michigan this year, after being there in St Louis in person for the past 11 years so, what do you think it meant to me to be able to hear the show??
I emailed the station, probably way too many times, but they were real gracious about that. And as busy as they were they acted on some of the mail I sent. Thanks again, Evelyn

Allen · Post by **Allen** » 4 Sep 2001 2:54 pm

Bill,
Overall I thought it was great. I can only echo what Bobby Lee said as regards the variable audio levels.
As for Joe Wright, I don't think the announcer realized that "Theopholis = Joe". He mentioned several times that "we will go back to the stage as soon as Joe Wright comes on". Therefore we missed some of Joe's good comedy stuff.
On Sunday I had a lot of drop outs, but the sound was great when it was there.

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Allen Harry
Mullen D-10, 8 & 6
Nashville 1000

Russ · Post by **Russ** » 4 Sep 2001 7:03 pm

I Thought it was just Great. I could not Believe how good the sound was Thanks For doing such A Great Job

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Russ Kern

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 5 Sep 2001 3:16 am

Joe's comedy routine is about 75% "visual", so the announcer was probably just trying to cover the dead-air. If I had never seen it in person I would have been totally confused about what was going on also!

Tony Palmer · Post by **Tony Palmer** » 5 Sep 2001 4:37 am

Bill,
I didn't hear the internet sound because I was at the show, but I tripped over that &%@*#$ cable several times!

Bill Ferguson · Post by **Bill Ferguson** » 5 Sep 2001 2:29 pm

Tony, I doubt that it was my internet cable you tripped over. It was only 1/8" in diameter and run in an inconspicious way.

It was probably the power supply that ran the lighting. That cable was about 1" in diameter and had to come across the main entrance to the ballroom. Hotels, ugh!

Bill

PS: Now if there were some 100,000 hits, why have I heard from so few regarding the sound. Let me hear from you guys.