First Big Gig Axe II: Tips From FOH Guy

[scottburrow]

Maybe he should have flattened the EQ from the board. You don't need too EQ on the board if you are going direct, but I guess that would require effort on his part.

 

[javajunkie]

It's a shame, but there are still sound folks out there like that!
If the message hasn't already sunk in, that guy was/is clueless.

There's nothing wrong with using an SM57 or a 58 for that matter... the mics will handle 40Hz-15Khz happily. It's not that it's the wrong mic for the job, it's that a single mic won't fully capture the two outputs in a standard FRFR cab unless you set the mic up on a stand about a foot away. That does not generally work in a live setting - too much bleed from other sources.

Well since their probably was already a mic sim on the patch and the 57s are known for their midrange honk, it might not be the best.

 

[schlagdog]

So the guy stuck a 57 on your FRFR woofer and then said your sound was bass heavy? Gee wiz, I wonder why if that was the case.

 

[stratamania]

It's a shame, but there are still sound folks out there like that!
If the message hasn't already sunk in, that guy was/is clueless.

There's nothing wrong with using an SM57 or a 58 for that matter... the mics will handle 40Hz-15Khz happily. It's not that it's the wrong mic for the job, it's that a single mic won't fully capture the two outputs in a standard FRFR cab unless you set the mic up on a stand about a foot away. That does not generally work in a live setting - too much bleed from other sources.

My mention of wrong mike was my dry humour. Nothing wrong with an SM57 when used appropriately. In this case it wouldn't have mattered which mike the guy used...XLR to the desk makes more sense.

 

[schlagdog]

If a sound man would have walked up to my FRFR speakers and put a mic on it I would have laughed at him. Obviously the guy had no idea what he was doing.

 

[DarrenD]

I use a low cut in the amp section of 100-125 Hz.
I like bottom end in my patches too, but anything below 100 will step all over the Bass and Bass Drum.
So the 2% of the time when its just you, you'll have a tich less Bass, the other 98% of the time you'll sound awesome.

I'll try this. I completely understand this, however, I was under the impression that a sound tech should be able to do the same thing at his desk for his mix?

My stock EQ settings in the amp block of my high-gain presets are: Bass- 1.75-2.25, Mids - 5.0-6.25, Highs usually 5.0. Presence depends on the model, but usually set pretty low. The Gain is usually between 6.0-7.0. I mainly use the HBE model and the Basketweave 25 IR Cab. My RCF stage monitors produce a lot of bottom end, but sound awesome to me with these settings. The sound techs comments led me to wonder if it is neccessary to dial in my presets more for the FOH at the expense of my stage sound. I don't think I should have to do that? My rig sounds awesome through our small club PA and my EQ on the main board is usually flat.

As far as the "mojo" comment, I believe he what he was getting at is mic placement on a real speaker to accentuate highs etc. I'm not bashing the guy or anything, in fact I thought he did a pretty good job running sound for us based on the videotape I made, especially since he said he was a "Drummer". Ha! Ha! His comments just caught me off guard and being that I don't know that much about FOH gear/mixing I thought I'd ask here. Thanks to all for your replies and assistance! Happy Jammin'!

-D

 

[kelso1]

My RCF stage monitors produce a lot of bottom end, but sound awesome to me with these settings.

Since your tone sounds awesome to you, I wouldn't change anything.

The soundman can adjust the EQ at the mixing board, if needed.
Next time you might walk by the mixing board and check the EQ on your channel to see if it's relatively flat.

 

[s0c9]

My mention of wrong mike was my dry humour. Nothing wrong with an SM57 when used appropriately. In this case it wouldn't have mattered which mike the guy used...XLR to the desk makes more sense.

Sometimes the dry humor part doesn't come across real well in print
You are correct.. the type of mic used in this case was irrelevant.

 

[Thomas-Hawk]

... he said he was a "Drummer"....

^^ The smoking gun. :mrgreen

 

[DarrenD]

Here's a clip from the gig so you can kind of get an idea of the mix. The only complaint I really have is that the guitar solo should have maybe been turned up a little & the keys turned down. That and the band could stand to be a whole lot tighter. This is only like our fifth gig together....

Also if anybody has a patch they could post for me that you think would be a killer lead patch for live use for this kind of music I would greatly appreciate it! I love Neal Shon's live tone but this is about as close as I've been able to get. I'm not that educated in creating patches, and I usually just make a few simple ones and use them for pretty much everything! Thanks! -D

 

[chris]

sounds great to me! overall, sounds like the sound operator knows how to balance sounds well, so his interaction and comments with your guitar gig is a bit surprising.

i dance like that too

 

[Rex]

Sometimes the dry humor part doesn't come across real well in print

That's what smiles are for. They're trite, they're overused, and they're indispensable.

 

[groovenut]

He is full of ****.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forum Runner

Yeah, I agree with Scott on this one. That guy was full of asterisks!

 

[groovenut]

...

 

[Rex]

Also if anybody has a patch they could post for me that you think would be a killer lead patch for live use for this kind of music I would greatly appreciate it!

That sounded great. I don't think there's anything that needs to change on your lead tone, unless your own tastes require something different. It's a singing tone, which is what the song needs, and there's plenty of cut. I think the balance between your level and the keyboard is just where it needs to be—you rode above the keys at the right altitude.

 

[DarrenD]

Here's another clip of the same lead patch, different tune and perspective. You can hear my stage sound pretty good when the camera gets up close. It's kind of strange, the Zoom Q3 kind of makes all my guitar tones sound the same regardless of what rig I use? I've always wondered if it's because of the Auto Input Gain Reduction thing? Again, I'm all ears if anybody has any tips or tricks on how to tweak this kind of tone even better! Thanks again! -D

 

[DarrenD]

I probably should have mentioned that the Dude dancing in the video is our Lead Singers 45 year old Brother with Downs Syndrome. He loves 80's music & Rocks Out at all our gigs!

 

[chris]

i figured that much but i still dance like that too he's obviously having a good time and that's what matters!

lead tone is a bit bassy, but overall great and great playing too!

 

[jplebre]

Now keep in mind, at the beginning of the gig when I said that I needed one mono direct line for the guitar, he placed a '57 on my FRFR? That was also a first.

he did what?
after that I stopped reading this thread. Don't think there's much of a point. This guy clearly doesn't know anything behind the "engineering" in sound engineering.

Risking throwing more logs to the fire, micing a FR is not a solution. Most of them have x-over points way too low to get the full spectrum of the guitar (limited as it might be).

 

[chris]

I'm surprised how much low end there was on that stage actually. It sounded good from your vids, but if a zoom video recorder is catching all of that, I bet it was louder in person.

It kinda sounds like he used aux fed subs, so in that case it wouldn't really matter how much low end was in your guitar tone because he most likely would not have had the guitar in the sub aux. unless he did....