Good sound man ???

David LeBlanc · From: New Brunswick, Canada

Well I went to see Travis Tritt last night here in Moncton N.B. Canada. I was exited to finally see a top notch artist and band. I`v seen him 2 other times ( 1 with a band, 1 acoustic) . I`m not complaining on the show or the musicians ( steeler was Mike Daly) . The problem was the sound man made Mike`s steel sound like a high pitch synthesizer. Mike`s dobro sound was good, but the steel sounded awful. I was behind the sound man (about 10 - 15 feet) . My brother was front-right and said the same thing. What a shame to have a great steeler like Mike and not enjoy it.

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

The few I've experienced were terrible.

None had any musical training and didn't play any instrument.

Most usually set their board whereby all instruments were equal in volume and they'd walk away to dance or simply drink. Their swagger far out did any of the REAL musicians.

We used to do quite well with a single mike and amp volumes monitored by the 'picker' him or herself.

Paul Norman · From: Washington, North Carolina, USA

When a Sound man turns the volume down on a amp
for a pedal steel he hurts your sustain with the volume pedal because you need that reserve volume of the amp. They don't realize this A Steel amp shouldn't be turned down.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

I always give him what I think my maximum volume will be. I tell him I will control my volume from the stage with my volume pedal and he should leave my channel alone. Sometimes that works.

What's funny is, the band I played with last night has a sound dude. They always want to mic me because they can't hear me on the other side of the stage. They don't realize that they are at almost a 90 degree angle from my speaker. Add in a drummer, guitar player, rhythm guitar player in between, and it's no wonder they can't hear me. But I am as loud as the guitar player. So, if the crowd can hear him (they don't mic him), they should be able to hear me. To prove I play as loud as the rest of the band, I took my hand held recorder and recorded us as it sounds on stage. This should prove to them that I am playing as loud as I should be.

What really pisses me off is, this and other bands have the guitar player on the other side of the stage (we actually have 2 guitar players, plus a rhythm guitar player) and they play over me because they can't hear me. My response to them is, if the point in the song is the steel guitar part, trust me that I will be playing my parts. If you are a pro player, you should be able to just play your parts and trust that the other instruments will do the same, even if you can't hear them. As soon as I hear another instrument start playing over me, I immediately back my volume down so as to not have both playing at the same time.
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John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

I always took a cd like Panther Hall or John Hughey for them to listen to the sound. Never tell a soundman or recording engineer that you have a volume pedal! They want to control the volume. If asked, tell them it's an "Expression Pedal" like on a Hammond organ, and hope for the best! You get a guy who does 99% Rock bands? Good luck!
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Damir Besic · From: Nashville,TN.

if I was playing big job like that, i wouldn't even use an amp...it is pointless, at the end, sound man is the one who controls everything, and he will decide what you sound like..it is pointless spending big bucks on good amps, just to have a sound man control your tone .... years ago when I was in the band, every time people would come to me complaining about the tone or volume of my steel, I would point to the guy who was doing the sound, and tell them to go talk to him, never cared much about it, or got stressed out....
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Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Telling them it is a volume pedal has never bitten me in the butt. Besides, anyone that has the slightest amount of musical knowledge will know it's a volume pedal. Oh wait. That counts the sound men out. Laughing

The sound man for this band is not really a "sound man". He is just a good friend of the leader.
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Walter Bowden · From: Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

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David LeBlanc · From: New Brunswick, Canada

Thanks for all the replies. I thought I was alone in thinking that at the end of the day, it all falls on the guy behind the board. No disrespect to Mike or the other guys in the band. When Travis was introducing the band he had nothing but praise for Mike.

T. C. Furlong · From: Lake County, Illinois, USA

Who is the most important person in the band? The sound mixer... I've always wondered why a band doesn't audition the sound mixer and make him a member of the band with the same pay, hours, etc. Instead, the sound mixer is the guy who is willing to be the first there, make sure the PA is set up correctly and the last to leave... after the band is off in a dressing room somewhere or on the bus or on their way home while the sound guy is packing up cables, mics, and sometimes the PA.
I've run a sound company for more than 40 years. Every sound mixer who works at my company must play an instrument reasonably well or be taking music lessons. The guys who are just into sound gear don't usually cut it. They also must have the people skills to deal with uncooperative musicians and singers who refuse to sound check.
It seems to be a dying art...that of the skilled sound mixer - unless you are talking about the high level artists like Tom Petty who has a great sound mixer.
I recently provided a sound system for an artist named Jason Isbell. His FOH sound mixer nailed it...better than a record!

Rex Thomas · From: Thompson's Station, TN

Spot on, T.C.

Frank James Pracher · From: Michigan, USA

Yep. T.C nailed it

I've been pretty lucky with the sound guys since I've been playing steel guitar. When I was singing and playing guitar in a band a few years ago I had some terrible experiences.

...but a local guy was trying to get his start running sound and he owed the drummer a favor so he offered to run sound for us for free. It was amazing. The audience loved it, we could all hear each other. We all pitched in and paid him like he was a band member and wouldn't let him take no for answer. It didn't hurt that he was a musician (heavy metal....but still....the guy knew sound)
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Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

It's an elite group of people ( many times) that know more about what you are playing than you do...and know how you should sound..why ?

because they are SOUND MEN , thats their job and title. I'm just a SIDEMAN, not a SOUND MAN

Some of my favorite gigs are the ones on Dobro ( live mic ) where we do a full sound check ahead of the gig, then when we play, NO DOBRO in the monitors or MAINS. Thats always fun Sad

Then the people in the front tell me to turn up the Dobro ! I said last time.."I can't , my arms are too short, the mixing BD is way back there"...
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Charlie McDonald · From: out of the blue

I know a good one, directed Philip Glass' sound for three decades; last gig at Lincoln Center, there were 97 open mics.

I saw Dan Dryden get his start on 6th Street in Austin. We walked in for Bobby Blue Bland. No sound man, somebody asked him to take the board.
He drew down all the faders but Bland's; knew how to make it simple.

I always thought him to be rare in that field.
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Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

I will add and agree that there are many great sound guys/gals out there...
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Mike Archer · From: church hill tn

ive seen good ones and not so good as fare as
soundman goes

if you can keep your volume down on stage your chances of getting heard out front are much greater
I never point my amp at the front of stage or at the singer if possible but at me....
and keep it out of the monitors

if your nice to um they will help you.... Very Happy

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ken collins · From: Oklahoma City, OK.

I agree with everything that's been said. He can definitely ruin your sound if he wants or can do it out of not knowing. I think most are taught "sound" or audio but not music. They learn decibals , hook-ups, and other thingies, but not mixing. Kinda like most camera people on who's playing on tv shows. I also usually ask for a set volume and then let me work the pedal. Sometimes works. Ken

Godfrey Arthur · From: 3rd Rock

When you're a major and you don't have your own sound man, who knows the band's repertoire, then it's open season on what it will sound like.

Sounds like perhaps the sound man wasn't used to hearing steel or maybe he couldn't hear the steel parts at all in the mix. Some people can listen to music and not hear everything at once as soon as the sound occurs.

I've seen a show where they brought their own sound guy and he pushed a few buttons and the entire FOH went away for 15 seconds.

Meanwhile Michael McDonald was up there and they had no clue they lost the audience for those 15 seconds.

Sound guy will make or break you.

Lately pro tour FOH is digital boards like Avids with non-pirated plugins to where the sound guy can load in his show presets to get the same consistent show night after night. Reason why riders call for certain boards and array systems to ascertain this consistency.

Most complicated show I worked with was an American Idol tour where there were several of the Idols on stage (Scotty McCreery era) with pre recorded backing vocal tracks as well as LED wall synced visuals that were not only separate screens on the wall behind the stage, but on the stage as well covering the risers.

Computers are the only way.

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Dustin Rhodes · From: Owasso OK

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

well i'm not as smart as justin and so many others on the forum, but i think the best way to assess a band is to put them in a honky tonk with just vocal mics!
can they play?
do they employ dynamics?
is the chick singer hot?
can you dance to it?

Floyd Lowery · From: Deland, Florida, USA

Rick Campbell · From: Sneedville, TN, USA

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

right! i always say my responsibility ends at the grillcloth of my amp.

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

Richard, if you don't mind the bummer of carrying an extension cabinet, then place one on the other side of the stage. This way, you bypass the soundman, the monitors, and the band hears clearly what you are hearing.

I have the same problem, at certain venues in my band.I don't carry an extra speaker cabinet because we travel in my brother's SUV and don't have room for one.
Sometimes I have to angle my speaker cabinet towards the other side of the stage, but it is bummer for my ears to be off axis to my speaker.

Jim Park · From: Carson City, Nv

In defense of sound men, (which I am on occasion) there are just as many crappy bands, players, venues and et cetera..... as there are sound techs. Many players don't know how to conduct themselves during a sound check, and are too busy playing all the riffs they know during SOMEONE ELSES turn. they don't listen for their turn, and don't pay attention when they are being addressed thru the monitors. they bring equipment on stage that should be in a repair shop, or the trash can, singers that don't have good microphone technique, or ears and so on and so forth.........and rhythm guitar players that need the guitar stuffed up their ....... so my saying is "Garbage in .....Garbage out" and to players that complain about sound men, make sure YOU aren't the problem before offering to place blame, but on the other hand I have left venues because the sound just plain sucked and the band was good

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