Well, you ordered it.....

Dick Rees

Dick Rees

Curmudgeonly Scandihoovian
Jan 11, 2011
1,551
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St Paul, MN
Just finished a four-day festival where the "pub tent" system was spec'd and agreed to by the only band who brought in their own "mix-person".

The venue ran smoothly the entire time.....when run by my operator or any of the bands other than the ones who spec'd the system. The kid who came with them was an ego-bound, clueless kid whose "Personal" digital console (as he claimed) turned out to be the one installed in his church.....not his at all. He walked up to FOH and immediately pulled the 3.15 sliders to the bottom of their travel without even listening to the system at all. When asked why he did that he replied, "that's the frequency that hurts peoples ears." Well, chum, it also contains sonic information critical to vocals. To continue the odyssey....


Upon sound checking the band he then proceeded to roll of the 3K on the vocal channels and boost it on the guitars. Can you say "bass-ackwards"? So after listening to (or suffering) his "mix" attempts for most of one set I asked him how he was doing.

"This system sucks. I can't get any vocals at all."

I felt like the "Old Soundman".

"Step aside, shut up and listen."

Two slider adjustments, a dozen knob twists and PRESTO!!!!!! Vocals in the mix.

When his band was on the main stage (V-dosc 12/side hang over ground positioned subs, D-show) later on he didn't do much better.......
 
Re: Well, you ordered it.....

It sounds like one problem was what he thought he knew (always cut 3K) that wasn't correct.

Hard to help people if they aren't open to advice.

JR
 
Re: Well, you ordered it.....

John O'brien said:
OK. I just have to say, it baffles me sometimes how people like that get gigs. I guess it goes back to the age old principle of "it's all who you know"? :?
Click to expand...

People tend to hang with people who tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. It's the sycophantic "shoot the messenger" syndrome.
 
Re: Well, you ordered it.....

I find a lot of "Bands" get Craigslist kids who say all this crud about knowing what to do with a system. Granted thats how I got my first "Pro" gigs but I also had quite a large resume of Educational gigs and read as much as I could about technique while also listening to the "Old Sound guy" who I still feel is probably the biggest influence in how I mix. Don't get me wrong I have very little knowledge compared to quite a few people on here, But I think its up to us young-ens to talk with the veterans and ask their input. My favorite was working for a band who had "been doing it themselves" for years, I had to almost change the whole board setup just to make it functioning and now have a permanent spot on any of their gigs.
 
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