[Dixielandjazz] Sound

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/28/04 2:00:31 PM Pacific Standard Time, patcooke at cox.net 
writes:

> 
> 
> Steve said:
> >Guitar not hearing bass is the biggest problem
> >we have.
> 
>   I can believe that...you have the drummer right between them.  Easy
> problem to solve, or is someone telling you "it looks better that way"?
>    Pat Cooke
> 
> 
In the non defense of the sound guys who are really 747 wannabe pilots in 
most cases.
(All these knobs I just gotta twist em all) (If God had not wanted me to turn 
them he would not have invented this board.)  Whee!  What did that one do? oh 
I see it straightened the drummers hair through his headphones, too much 
treble you say mate, no problem I' ll  just turn up the Bass in the left ear to 
balance it out.

If you can't hear each other on stage one of two things is wrong folks,

#1.  Your Personally playing Too Loud

#2.   Your batteries are running low in your hearing aids.

Try playing with everyone softer but with more intensity and you can 
accomplish the same thing in a small setting.

Remember those old Hotel Ballrooms where we used to play dances, with only 
one vocal mic.  Hello It worked and the dance floor was always full too.  Those 
rooms were designed for acoustic music, and no one even though about any 
speaker system except the one mounted in the ceiling that made the singer sound 
like they were singing through a Megaphone.

With the popularization of the Electric Guitar and the electric Bass and 
electric keyboards, it became necessary to use Portable P.A. Systems to keep up 
with the volume levels which never came down but only continued to get louder 
with every gig.

Then the Horn players all wanted mics and the drummer wanted six or eight 
mics.

This is all well and good for open air venues and very large coliseum venues 
which we call SHEDS for a reason.  They are Basketball courts with a stage on 
the end not Acoustically tuned concert halls.

Try playing in theaters and Performing Arts centers guys and get out of the 
elks club or the local grocery store they just converted to a bar.


Life is too short to play Bad venues.  A Good Band leader or agent always 
scopes out the venue before taking the booking, ya gotta know when and where to 
play if ya wanna sound good.

I often play in 5000 capacity venues acoustically and with no Sound System, 
we don't have trouble hearing ourselves and neither does the audience.  HUH?  
They are usually too busy Dancing to care not to mention that they get a lot 
more music since we don't spend an hour trying to get a sound mix.

When was the last time you heard a hot New Orleans Brass Marching band taking 
a sound check on the corner before a parade?  I don't believe they had sound 
systems with all those knobs in 1910 did they?



Cheers,

Tom Wiggins