FoH EQ

Brian Coonan

Brian Coonan

Power User
Wasn’t really sure if this should go here or the lounge but tonight I had something interesting happen. We soundchecked and when I went out front I was like “yuck - I sound bad” but I KNEW my presets didn’t sound that way. We use the same sound guy all the time and I know I told him initially (thanks to a post I read out here) that I was sending a line level signal and that I’d handle my own EQ. Apparently he took it upon himself to add EQ to my signal and it sounded real bad - trebly, fizzy, just really awful. I politely asked him to set my channel flat and when he did - BAM - instantly I was hearing what I expected to hear. So I guess just a note for any new people that are playing live - touch base with the sound guy before you do and make sure he or she is on the same page with you.

Was a rockin night with the AX8!
 
Brian Coonan said:
Wasn’t really sure if this should go here or the lounge but tonight I had something interesting happen. We soundchecked and when I went out front I was like “yuck - I sound bad” but I KNEW my presets didn’t sound that way. We use the same sound guy all the time and I know I told him initially (thanks to a post I read out here) that I was sending a line level signal and that I’d handle my own EQ. Apparently he took it upon himself to add EQ to my signal and it sounded real bad - trebly, fizzy, just really awful. I politely asked him to set my channel flat and when he did - BAM - instantly I was hearing what I expected to hear. So I guess just a note for any new people that are playing live - touch base with the sound guy before you do and make sure he or she is on the same page with you.

Was a rockin night with the AX8!
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House EQ is Bad! I also do live sound. I work with a band called Zebra. Randy uses a Line 6 Pod 500 (Trying to get him to get a Fractal).....in any case, I rarely ever use eq on his rig. On rare ocassions I will use HP or Low Cut depending if the room is not tuned or eq'd improperly. But I 100% agree with you!
 
Keep in mind though that if your listening to the FOH mix in an empty venue during sound check that the tone will change when its filled up with a lot of bodies, which totally changes the acoustics of the venue. Not to mention what sounds good with isolated guitar verses what sounds good in a band mix.

Good point that you want to send a pretty good sounding signal to the board, and you don't want the house engineer just making a lot of adjustments to it because its what he normally does for mic'd cabs out of habit, BUT, a good engineer will know the system better than you do, and his (or her) job is to make you sound good through it, and be able to hear everyone in the band, in a full venue.

I've had more guys throw fits about how they hated their tone during sound check and how no one knew what they were doing etc, and then they'd hear a live recording of the gig, coming from like a little Zoom stereo microphone recorder just sitting on the counsel, and they'd love the tone and how great their guitar sounded and how you could hear every note etc.

House engineer doesn't really have any business telling a guitarist "no, no mate, you should be playing that in A" or anything like that, so I always think its odd when essentially every guitarist comes into a venue and thinks they know more about running live sound that someone who's job it is to do such things. I know, I know, there are some 'bad' sound guys, a bartender who just walks over and raises some faders, etc, but as a whole, most FOH engineers know what they are doing, they have a lot more experience with the respective system, and typically they are doing what they are doing because they love live music and want to make people sound good.
 
lqdsnddist said:
Keep in mind though that if your listening to the FOH mix in an empty venue during sound check that the tone will change when its filled up with a lot of bodies, which totally changes the acoustics of the venue. Not to mention what sounds good with isolated guitar verses what sounds good in a band mix.

Good point that you want to send a pretty good sounding signal to the board, and you don't want the house engineer just making a lot of adjustments to it because its what he normally does for mic'd cabs out of habit, BUT, a good engineer will know the system better than you do, and his (or her) job is to make you sound good through it, and be able to hear everyone in the band, in a full venue.

I've had more guys throw fits about how they hated their tone during sound check and how no one knew what they were doing etc, and then they'd hear a live recording of the gig, coming from like a little Zoom stereo microphone recorder just sitting on the counsel, and they'd love the tone and how great their guitar sounded and how you could hear every note etc.

House engineer doesn't really have any business telling a guitarist "no, no mate, you should be playing that in A" or anything like that, so I always think its odd when essentially every guitarist comes into a venue and thinks they know more about running live sound that someone who's job it is to do such things. I know, I know, there are some 'bad' sound guys, a bartender who just walks over and raises some faders, etc, but as a whole, most FOH engineers know what they are doing, they have a lot more experience with the respective system, and typically they are doing what they are doing because they love live music and want to make people sound good.
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Great post - and some excellent points. I wouldn’t want to give the impression that I know more about running sound than the people that actually do thst. I definitely rely on them to do the right thing and put me (frequency wise) where I need to be. Last night we were able to at least hear it together though and even he agreed that it was maybe a little too much in his side. Just having the conversation was the most important part. Thanks for your reply!
 
Brian Coonan said:
Great post - and some excellent points. I wouldn’t want to give the impression that I know more about running sound than the people that actually do that.
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Good post. The important thing is to let the FOH guy know what you have and suggest he start with you flat. Often, FOH people mixing many bands run the guitars into the same channels for every show because they have a "guitar EQ" dialed up on those channels already. It's a time saving thing, that actually works decently if you have to kick off without a proper sound check. Letting him know that a little more "developed" signal (and not coming through a SM57 or similar) is headed his way can be a helpful tip he will appreciate. After that, you have to trust the sound man... that's life from the stage side!
 
I usually tell I sound guy that my tones should be mix ready so I suggest he start me flat then mix me as needed. I also find so many guy screw up and set my channel to mix level when I am sending line. That always sounds bad
 
Rock Mixer said:
House EQ is Bad! I also do live sound. I work with a band called Zebra. Randy uses a Line 6 Pod 500 (Trying to get him to get a Fractal).....in any case, I rarely ever use eq on his rig. On rare ocassions I will use HP or Low Cut depending if the room is not tuned or eq'd improperly. But I 100% agree with you!
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Is this the band Zebra.... as in “Tell Me What You Want” ? From the 80’s
 
In a new venue, I always make a point of chatting with the sound tech before a performance. I too suggest they start with a flat eq on the channel strip. Unless the room has some pretty significant issues, a flat eq works pretty well.
 
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lqdsnddist said:
House engineer doesn't really have any business telling a guitarist "no, no mate, you should be playing that in A" or anything like that, so I always think its odd when essentially every guitarist comes into a venue and thinks they know more about running live sound that someone who's job it is to do such things. I know, I know, there are some 'bad' sound guys, a bartender who just walks over and raises some faders, etc, but as a whole, most FOH engineers know what they are doing, they have a lot more experience with the respective system, and typically they are doing what they are doing because they love live music and want to make people sound good.
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Overall, I agree. I don't want to get into telling the soundman how to do his job either, I usually just ask for an XLR, give the "start flat and go from there" request and we're good to go. But then there are the occasional guys who have no idea about things like modelers and insist on micing our FR cabs... and no amount of explanation helps. Oh well. Fortunately in my experience that's only happened a couple of times.

@Rock Mixer - "Who's Behind the Door" was a revelation when I first heard it back in the day. Glad to hear they're still makin' it happen!
 
jefferski said:
Overall, I agree. I don't want to get into telling the soundman how to do his job either, I usually just ask for an XLR, give the "start flat and go from there" request and we're good to go. But then there are the occasional guys who have no idea about things like modelers and insist on micing our FR cabs... and no amount of explanation helps. Oh well. Fortunately in my experience that's only happened a couple of times.

@Rock Mixer - "Who's Behind the Door" was a revelation when I first heard it back in the day. Glad to hear they're still makin' it happen!
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Here is a video from last summer. The mix is off the board. POD 500 :)
 
jefferski said:
Overall, I agree. I don't want to get into telling the soundman how to do his job either, I usually just ask for an XLR, give the "start flat and go from there" request and we're good to go.
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I don't give the FOH mixer any advice at our shows. I expect them to do their thing. Their job is to make the FOH mix the best they can.

If they don't have good ears or can't operate the gear, then no amount of schooling from a band member is gonna cure that ill.

I go through my rhythm and boost volume levels and that's it.
 
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