Confessions of a sound man

At a gig a few days ago, I was just starting to tell the sound guy my usual sermon ("line level, stereo, just set it as you would do with a sub mixer..."), but he only said, "oh, I see, you have a Fractal. Then it will be easy to set you up".
Once they experience it for one time, they will be converted to fans...
 
And there's Glenn, the SpectreSoundstudios guy saying that rarely will you find a local sound guy that knows how to deal with the axe fx....

On my last show, the audio result wasn't really that great...
Not sure whether the problem was with the soundguy not knowing how metal is EQ'ed, or that he has no idea how to deal with the axe....
It was an outside show, so I didn't know how it sounded from the PA, but the sound on stage, from the monitors, was ok.
After I played those few songs I had to with my band, some friends said - "The vocals are very loud, everything else sounded like "Batter""
If I had an amp, and I wouldn't have went direct, at least the sound guy wouldn't have the control over a loud cab that goes directly to the audience.
 
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FreeMind said:
And there's Glenn, the SpectreSoundstudios guy saying that rarely will you find a local sound guy that knows how to deal with the axe fx....

On my last show, the audio result wasn't really that great...
Not sure whether the problem was with the soundguy not knowing how metal is EQ'ed, or that he has no idea how to deal with the axe....
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I have used terrible sound guys and very very good sound guys. These guys can make or break a working band. If you are serious about getting that next gig and have a good sound man, keep him happy. PAY him well. It pays off in spades over the long run.
 
spikey said:
I have used terrible sound guys and very very good sound guys. These guys can make or break a working band. If you are serious about getting that next gig and have a good sound man, keep him happy. PAY him well. It pays off in spades over the long run.
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Yup. There are so many "sound guys" that know nothing about running sound. They don't understand anything more than pushing the sliders up or down. If you haven't read "The Sound Reinforcement Handbook" you shouldn't be running sound.
 
My Soundman loves the AXE FX II....when I bring it out he's all smiles.............problem is I'm OCD about the power in some of these places I play...even with a power conditioner I'm still OCD.....I couldn't bear the thought of my AXE getting F#cked up...............my soundman is waiting for me to get the AX8 and a monitor.....but I'm riding the fence between the FX8 and the AX8 errrrg can't decide...
 
quark said:
I'm kind of new to the FOH issues but aren't the XLR inputs on most boards mic level? Wouldn't the XLR outs be too hot for the XLR ins on the board? I've been using the 1/4" outs on the AXE and going to 1/4" line level inputs on the boards. Also, what about boards that have phantom power on their XLR in's, is that a potential problem for the AXE?
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This^

At the last outdoor show I played I finally realized the issue I was hitting.

The "city" ran the sound. A decent Yamaha pro level speaker system with pro JBL subs.

The mixer was pro-sumer at best.

The issue was the snake. They took a line level from the Fractal but the snake fan terminated in all XLR's and he ran the XLR for my channel into a mic input. The line inputs were 1/4" TRS. The snake didn't accommodate XLR at the stage box and TRS at the fan.

I just turned Out 1 on the front panel WAY down. Worked like a charm. No extra noise and didn't overload the mic input.
 
Regarding live sound connectivity ...............

Most digital desks now have single XLR inputs that accomodate any input signal level from mic to line, so no problem.

Most analog desks have XLR mic inputs and TRS line level inputs. Although you can turn your Axe output way down and go into the XLR mic input, that's not really the best way to do it. You can use a DI, but that will unbalance your signal between the Axe and the DI. My solution is to carry a short XLR-female-to-TRS adaptor and lend it to the soundman so he can plug your channel into a line input.
 
FractalAudio said:
Yup. There are so many "sound guys" that know nothing about running sound. They don't understand anything more than pushing the sliders up or down. If you haven't read "The Sound Reinforcement Handbook" you shouldn't be running sound.
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That is my go-to text when running courses for analogue sound. I also love "The Computer Music Tutorial" by Curtis Roads but it's a wee bit dated nowaday. Still good for the basic principles.
 
FractalAudio said:
Yup. There are so many "sound guys" that know nothing about running sound. They don't understand anything more than pushing the sliders up or down. If you haven't read "The Sound Reinforcement Handbook" you shouldn't be running sound.
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Do you have a link or ISBN for this, please?
 
TheOtherDave said:
I was a live audio engineer for years, and I really don't understand the stereotypical reluctance to go line-in on guitars. Any chance I got, I wanted to try the direct line first because it makes for a cleaner sound and it's one less thing that can feedback. I think I ended up deciding to mic a cab instead of taking the line-outs... once? Maybe twice? Although I will say that I never had the chance to compare the direct vs mic'd sound on any of the Line6 amps, and those are probably the most common rigs where there's an actual choice.

Line-in drums are... interesting. They've certainly gotten better since I first came across them 14ish years ago, but I never could get them to sound great. OTOH, if you've got a quiet vocalist or a loud drummer, there's something to be said for not having what amounts to 3rd, phasy-sounding overhead mic.
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My guess would be their lack of experience with direct guitar, coupled with the quality of early-generation modelers. I played in a band with a drummer who used a triggered kit using an amazing sample set under Gigastudio (before Tascam killed it). It blew away any "drum module" in existence and had virtually instantaneous response due to the awesome GSIF drivers. Best drum tone I've ever heard live, with no mic bleed whatsoever. Why Tascam killed this product has always puzzled me. It's as if they bought it to get it off the market. I have an electronic kit triggering Superior Drummer 2, and it's actually better than the vast majority of live drum tones I've heard. Latency is not really an issue with ASIO anymore since computers have gotten so fast. But a stock drum module, forget about it. I've never heard one that was even remotely realistic.
 
Robboman said:
Has it been revised and kept up to date?

I read it nearly 20 years ago as a young sound noob, as directed by my boss at my then-new job in a local music / pro audio store. He said to read it, cover to cover, and ask him or other senior staff questions until I understood everything in it. Wasn't easy at the time but has been invaluable ever since.
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This. I'll buy it if the information contained within is accurate and up to date.
 
RonnR said:
I'm the Broadcast Engineer for a very large church in Houston Tx. Several years ago Lincoln Brewster visited and led praise and worship with our team. He had the most amazing guitar sound I had heard at that time. I called down to FOH to ask FOH engineer what he was getting the same thing, He was exicited as well, but not being a player he wasn't as curious as I.
I then called the stage manager on radio to find out what he was using, all he could tell me was it was a line level unit started with an F.
Not much help but I had read about the Fractal unit and assumed that was it.

Well shortly after service Lincoln was being given the 50 cent tour, and they wanted to see Broadcast Audio, Well the first words out of my mouth were, 'what are you playing thru', and from that point on it was Fractal this, Fractal that, Where is Fractal, etc, etc.
He said he wished he had more time so he could show it to me in the studio, (so did I) but he was due at another date.
This changed my way of thinking about guitar sounds for ever.. And this was the Fractal Ultra.
I now have owned the Fractal FXII for several years. And it just keeps getting better....
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^^^ THIS ^^^^
I mostly play bass at my church, but I've sat in on guitar a few times. First time I took the Ultra up there, and send DI to FOH, the sound guy is going nuts over the tone... I've used the XL a couple times and he loves it also.
He also loves my bass DI's also.. with everything set flat. :eagerness:
 
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