Advice on stage

[Larry F]

In your bands, do guys tell other guys how to dial in their sound?

[sir humphrey]

Not unless they want a punch in the face ;-)

[Terry O'Malley]

I think you need to tell lead singers how to dial in their guitar tone. They tend to have too much compression and overdrive in their guitars. Sure they have another job to do ie sing..... But no excuses I say!

Do they like being told?

No..... But with enough stirring they end up listening!

[nosuch]

When we setup we discuss positioning of speakers, balance of volumes etc. in a gentleman like way. Sometimes we talk about eq, like have some more bass in it. All in a very friendly way.

[brookdalebill]

Yeah, I love it when guys do that to me.
I'll never forget when it actually did.
I had joined a Canadian touring bar band, after quitting (amicably) the
American bar band I originally went to Canada with.
The leader insisted I use a compressor, which I have always hated/resisted.
He also got down on his knees, and started tweaking my effects at a sound check.
I couldn't believe it.
Really.
I quit at the end of the week.
I just love micromanaging control freaks!

[Carlsson]

No.

[String Tree]

All the time.

Everybody I play with knows I'm a sound guy too.

But I don't run it down Anybody's throat.
Most of the time I get asked what I think and what should be done about it.
If it isn't my PA and I didn't book the gig, I'll let stuff slide.

Except Feedback in the stage monitors. But I let that be known long before we get to the gig. :)

[poiureza]

Yeah I'm that guy

I prefer to risk a fight rather than getting embarrassed due to their egocentric guitar tones (I'm on keys). And yes, I sometimes get my hands on the amp/pedal knobs when they resist.
Quite funny, the bass player knows how to dial his tones according to the environment ...

And that comment about singers playing guitar with compression and overdrive was spot on.

[JCSouthpawtele]

Originally Posted by String Tree

All the time.

Everybody I play with knows I'm a sound guy too.

But I don't run it down Anybody's throat.
Most of the time I get asked what I think and what should be done about it.
If it isn't my PA and I didn't book the gig, I'll let stuff slide.

Except Feedback in the stage monitors. But I let that be known long before we get to the gig. :)

Same here.

Although at times I have gone up to guitarists and asked them to give me more mids as their overdrive, bassy tone is too muddy. Or asked a drummer to lighten up on his snare hit,the mic is on,it is in the PA.

In any band I've ever played with on stage or basement as a guitar player with a Co guitarist, I have discussions about which one is playing what part, tone choices to compliment each other etc.
For the betterment of the band,I'd hope during practice, rehearsal and or soundchecks each others valuable input to the overall sound would be of value.

I often have band members sit out at FOH during soundcheck. Wireless guitars head out to hear their sound through the PA often the drummer and singer are the only ones "stuck" on stage,unless the Singer uses a wireless mic as well. Then only the drummer is stuck up on stage. And you wonder why drummers act like they do.

[sir humphrey]

Originally Posted by String Tree

All the time.

Everybody I play with knows I'm a sound guy too.

But I don't run it down Anybody's throat.
Most of the time I get asked what I think and what should be done about it.
If it isn't my PA and I didn't book the gig, I'll let stuff slide.

Except Feedback in the stage monitors. But I let that be known long before we get to the gig. :)

That's different to being "told" though - one of our guys (strangely the drummer!) has an incredible ear for musical detail so will usually go out front in sound check while our regular rhythm player fills in in drums. He's mainly checking his drum sound but we also get him to check the overall sound. But we ask him to do that - if someone started tweaking my effects without asking they'd soon find out why they're called "stomp" boxes ;-)

[Norton72]

I always thought that a competent guitar player knows where he wants his settings. For someone else to tweak his settings I think would be akin to laying out which clothes he should wear.

[czgibson]

We all give the drummer advice pretty frequently.

[Durtdog]

Originally Posted by poiureza

Yeah I'm that guy

I prefer to risk a fight rather than getting embarrassed due to their egocentric guitar tones (I'm on keys). And yes, I sometimes get my hands on the amp/pedal knobs when they resist.

I think I played in a band with you years ago. You're the keyboard player who's arrogant enough to think he knows guitar tone better than anyone else.

How have you been? And how's your brother, the harmonica player who corrects the bands chord changes?

[Old Cane]

I'd say some of you are lucky you're still walking.

I haven't posted this in a week or two and some will never learn so here: working with professionals solves 99% of problems like you worry about.....and keep you from gettong knocked off the stage.

[Skub]

Originally Posted by Larry F

In your bands, do guys tell other guys how to dial in their sound?

To a certain degree,yes.I use a wireless,so I'm free to roam and check out the sound,as are the singers,very often we all agree on what needs addressing.

I've never had anyone lay a hand on my board or amp,that's a bit rude.

[dan1952]

Our drummer was the FOH guy for a really big club for several years, and has a great ear. Once in a while he'll ask me to dial out a little bit at 100hz on my bass rig to cut the rumble, but that's about it. Otherwise, no, we don't advise each other, but everyone has been playing for years, with a lot of time on stages with some big operators.
(I'll be in my trailer...)

[poiureza]

Originally Posted by Durtdog

I think I played in a band with you years ago. You're the keyboard player who's arrogant enough to think he knows guitar tone better than anyone else.

How have you been? And how's your brother, the harmonica player who corrects the bands chord changes?

Lol
I'm actually a guitar player for 30 years and I fill the keyb spot in this particular band. I'm the old guy in that band, the others are great players and great buddies but they're not listening to each other much. I'm sure that will come with time. Right now they don't give the slightest thought on how their "great" tone will get over when mixed with the rest through the PA.

And it really sounds worse than it is. Most of the time I actually ask them to turn their lead tones up because they're nice but not loud enough and merely argue about their rhythm tone to blend with the rest (basic low/mid/high EQ'ing).
Funny enough they usually agree with me when they hear the FOH recordings afterwards, yet they'll do the exact same mistakes at the very next gig.
Little stubborns I guess but I'm even more


PS : I happen to correct some chord changes too when they're wrong
The advantage in playing covers is you know how the chord changes are supposed to be done.

PS 2 : I wish I could play harmonica.
That's #2 on my "improve your skills" list. Gotta improve my drumming first

[D.S.John]

Generally I will never tell anyone how to dial in their sound, exceptions being extremes of bass muddying of treble ear bleeding and even then it is a quick "you might want to dial that off a touch" and leave it at that. If they choose to or not I won't interfere after that, under no circumstances would I touch their gear, that is out of order in my book.

It's different if I am asked to, I have jammed/played with all sorts of skill levels and some guys do need a hand sometimes adjusting their sound to compensate for playing in a larger space than they are used to if they havn't performed much outside their bedroom for example.

[sir humphrey]

Originally Posted by Old Cane

I'd say some of you are lucky you're still walking.

I haven't posted this in a week or two and some will never learn so here: working with professionals solves 99% of problems like you worry about.....and keep you from gettong knocked off the stage.

IME that really depends on the professional!

[voodooblues]

When I'm playing duo stuff, I'll sometimes ask the bass player to adjust something. We've been playing together for several years, so I feel comfortable doing that. Other than that, I only tell people when they're too loud, and am receptive when others tell me the same.