Gonna be an interesting day

R

Randy Pence

Freshman
Oct 25, 2011
93
0
6
Berlin, Germany
4 bands (thankfully sharing backline)
I managed to find music online for 3 of them, its the first show ever for the remaining one.
MIxer at the show advancement had supposedly at least 8 bad channels. Clearing it with one venue rep, I ordered a very modest digital mixer.

Mixer was sent back by someone else at the venue before I arrive.

At show advancement, there was no stage, no PA (although an SOS rig is there), absolutely no monitors, 20 year old 24 ch mixer, no siderack, a variety of mics were promised, etc.

first gig with these guys. it's a new venue, but despite this, the organizers are well experienced and connected in getting good stuff to listen to and enough people to make it worthwhile. make it through this and there is sure to be plenty of work in the coming months.

doors at 8
gonna be an interesting day
 
Re: Gonna be an interesting day

was a long day, but not as bad as i expected. after picking through cables and hearing that someone, somewhere "nearby" might have keys to all sorts of great gear, a sensible member of the venue drove me to said provider to pick up said mixer (ls9-16 - like i said, very modest), a few more mic stands, and enough cables that I could trust to patch the damn thing together.

We got back, the backline had been assembled, but one of the guitar amps was a marshall half stack aimed right at foh. While it sounded great, the room only held a possible 200 people, and aside from sound check, it was impossible for me or the promoter to get levels turned down, so out of hte mix it sat, and everythign else had to match its volume. Yes, the fucking night was loud as shit. I had enough tops, but not enough sub on hand. Vocals were a real challenge to get on top of the mix.

The new bands needed more rehearsals. "Safeing" the dj/changeover inputs did not work, so i had to reassign them each time I recalled the next bands settings. It was not well enough attended, and what I took home was about a third of what I demand for babysitting djs. None of the music was something I'd choose to hear myself. All of the musicians and their friends were good and nice to me - no attitudes or divas, unless one counted the loud guitars.

Still, it was an important experience for me to go through. I've been working in audio for almost 13 years, but only behind a mixer for the last 5. I've mixed more shows this year than all previous combined, but never 4 bands in one night. Battling it out at this level is exposing me to situations which I had been sheltered from for many years. All of the bands and venue people were completely happy with my work. The band I had the most problems with asked for my contact info. The opportunity to work with 2 bands whose music I do enjoy is now secured.

did it sound good? lol, it had moments. The gear was all acceptable, no crap, everything worked, but aside from a thin curtain behind the stage, it was a concrete shoebox. rock and roll i guess
 
Re: Gonna be an interesting day

Randy Pence said:
did it sound good? lol, it had moments. The gear was all acceptable, no crap, everything worked, but aside from a thin curtain behind the stage, it was a concrete shoebox. rock and roll i guess
Click to expand...

Randy....

It doesn't get any better than this. Seriously...........
 
Re: Gonna be an interesting day

Dick Rees said:
Randy....

It doesn't get any better than this. Seriously...........
Click to expand...

sure it can! fire safe broad band absorber panels are cheap and easy enough to install. Flying the tops helps aim the sound better. The stage was too tight for other placement of the amps. my mixes have always been better when less amp sound makes it out to foh

was it par for the course for bar gigs, certainly. however, it felt like a god rite of passage experience. everyone was happy, nobody got hurt, although my ears need a rest. i popped in my ear plugs every chance i could.
 
Re: Gonna be an interesting day

Randy Pence said:
... but one of the guitar amps was a marshall half stack aimed right at foh. While it sounded great, the room only held a possible 200 people, and aside from sound check, it was impossible for me or the promoter to get levels turned down, so out of hte mix it sat, and everythign else had to match its volume. Yes, the fucking night was loud as shit.
Click to expand...

yeah, the problem there is the guitar is loud as fuck at the mix position, but missing in 75% of the room.

Randy Pence said:
did it sound good? lol, it had moments. The gear was all acceptable, no crap, everything worked, but aside from a thin curtain behind the stage, it was a concrete shoebox. rock and roll i guess
Click to expand...

Dick Rees said:
It doesn't get any better than this. Seriously...........
Click to expand...

Very much agreed. Trust me when I say in decades to come it'll be gigs like this you remember. With the right band, the right gear, in the right venue, anyone can make it happen. It's when the going gets tough you earn your stripes...
 
Re: Gonna be an interesting day

Randy Pence said:
"Safeing" the dj/changeover inputs did not work
Click to expand...

The trick is to safe the DJ channels BEFORE you save the first soundcheck. If not you have to recall each scene, safe the DJ channels, and resave the scenes, before the show starts.

Also, remember to enable recall safe and enable those parameters you wish to safe (all?).

One workaround that may save some time is to store the DJ channels in the channel library and recall the DJ channels from there.

If the actual recall safe worked but you had to repatch inputs each time you probably did not store the input patch and link it to the scenes.

PS: Good job on making things work. I have had quite a few experiences like this. I believe it builds character :)
 
Re: Gonna be an interesting day

Pat Latimer said:
Oh, come on now, Randy. Four bands in one night is a cake walk! :razz:

Try sixteen in one night, no sharing of equipment, first band on @ 4:00pm.

Now, THAT, makes for an interesting night! :uhoh:
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ive done a walk on for 8, where nothing needed more than 6 channels, but the PA reflected back into vocal mics and i had nothing but some basic analog strip eq to try to tame it. however, im not a masochist and hopefully wont find myself in your shoes any time soon!
 
Re: Gonna be an interesting day

kristianjohnsen said:
The trick is to safe the DJ channels BEFORE you save the first soundcheck. If not you have to recall each scene, safe the DJ channels, and resave the scenes, before the show starts.

Also, remember to enable recall safe and enable those parameters you wish to safe (all?).

One workaround that may save some time is to store the DJ channels in the channel library and recall the DJ channels from there.

If the actual recall safe worked but you had to repatch inputs each time you probably did not store the input patch and link it to the scenes.

PS: Good job on making things work. I have had quite a few experiences like this. I believe it builds character :)
Click to expand...

it was my first time trying to safe an ls9, and yes, the dj was an afterthought after hte last soundcheck was saved. i had figured that recalling a scene would keep whatever had been safe-assigned. character indeed! This "combat-audio" has been a lot easier after reading the community experiences over hte years
 
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