[Dixielandjazz] Marek's comments re: Acoustic vs Amplified

[John Wilder]

Hi Marek, and thanks for the reply!

A very big thanks also, by the way, to all others who replied both on and
off list to my last post.  I appreciate your interest and encouragement.

Marek, you said you prefer acoustic over amplified for reasons of reasonable
volume.  To this, I would say two things:

First, I hope you only go to very small, intimate venues with great natural
acoustics to hear the acoustic music, because in most cases the attributes
of the hall in which the band plays (if it's bigger than say 30-40 people)
terribly distorts the music - a problem which can be overcome by a good
sound system (of course, with a good sound engineer as well - a sound system
is only as good as its' operator!).  I love acoustic music if it's played by
a smaller combo very evenly balanced in a acoustically well-tuned hall.
Know of one?  I don't, unless you count concert halls.  Even in concert
halls where the symphonies play without benefit of amplification someone
paid big bucks to have a sound engineer design the hall for optimum
acoustics.

Second, As I mentioned in my post, most bands do not use sound systems to
best advantage.  Many, in fact, use sound systems to their detriment!  Their
idea is frequently that the system is there to make any quiet instrument in
the band loud enough for the venue, and many of them judge wrong on the side
of too loud, rather than too quiet.  Certain instruments (trumpet and drums,
for example) are sometimes deemed to already be loud enough, so they are not
mic'ed at all.  Others, such as clarinet and vocalist are mic'ed, but with
out benefit of compression, so when the clarinet plays low you still can't
hear him, but when he plays loud the audience holds their ears.

One big advantage that live musicians have over DJ's is that without
exception, a live musician has dedicated months, years, or even decades to
learning the craft and art of playing his instrument before playing the
gigs, where a DJ could just go out and buy some DJ equipment and be in
business playing gigs tomorrow.  However, you won't find many long time live
band leaders who know as much about sound systems as a typical working DJ -
especially OKOM leaders.  DJ's worry about the sound that comes out of their
system.  Musicians frequently worry only about the sound that comes out of
their instrument, and if they can be heard.  Often, however, when playing
through a poorly set up sound system, the answer would be, "Yes, I can hear
you, but you sound like nails scratching on a chalk board!"

What do you produce by playing this instrument that you worked so hard to
learn?  Sound!!!  Quality sound's the thing!  Why then do most band leaders
work for years on improving their tone, and then go out and buy the
cheapest, junky sound system they can find to play gigs?  Most have no
monitor system, use cheap mic's and even cheaper speakers.  They rarely go
into the hall to see how the sound is blending for the audience.  The sound
of a band is (and often should be) very different when heard from the stage
behind the main speakers than when heard out in the audience.

I would say that most of these guys who have spent years learning to perfect
their tone on the instrument have spent probably less than an hour learning
to use their sound system.  Have they even read the manual?  No, because
they bought the system used (and abused), and it didn't come with a manual!

Many are still using old systems built back in the 60's or 70's.

Several great books on setting up and mixing live sound are available from
most any big music store for about $20.  Band leaders: Have you ever bought
one?  Have you read it?

I had a band leader ball me out once because I changed the tone settings on
his PA.  He said it was set all wrong for his next gig and he didn't know
how to fix it.  To me, this is somewhat akin to taking a keyboard out on a
job and saying, "Oops, sorry, I can't play.  Someone changed the sound
setting from piano to organ, and I don't know how to set it back."  Are
there any guitar players out there who would send a student out to play a
gig before the student knew how to tune the guitar or change a string?  I
think not!  You should ALWAYS learn your equipment before you use it.  That
goes for sound equipment as well.

Also, When some instruments come through a speaker system and others are
acoustic, the audience perceives the sound as being louder than if all
elements of it come through the speakers.  Having to listen through the
speakers and to several live acoustic musicians on stage requires more focus
on the part of the audience.  This takes more of their attention, and is
perceived by them as more overpowering without actually being louder.  This
is why I frequently mic the drummers, even though they tell me they're
already loud enough.  A thin, screechy tone or a dull, thuddy one also
forces the audience to focus more to understand the music, thereby creating
the feeling that the band is way too loud!

Easy listening music is "Easy" to listen to because it's mixed, adjusted for
tone and balanced to make all of the parts flow as one sound.  Several
sounds coming at you - some amplified and full-bodied, some acoustically
thin and screechy, some booming and obnoxious - does not make for an "Easy"
listen.

When I set up my system, the sound I'm looking for is for the audience to
feel like we are playing extremely quietly just for them, and they're
sitting right next to all of us, hearing full rich and lush tones from all
of the instruments surrounding them.  I want them to hear every nuance in
perfect balance.  I'd almost bet that if you heard my band (even in a larger
hall) through my state-of-the-art sound system you wouldn't say it was too
loud.  I would hope you'd say that we sound glorious, just like we're
playing acoustically in a grand concert hall!


John Wilder
JohnWilder at Comcast.net






-----Original Message-----
From: Marek Boym [mailto:marekboym at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 3:45 PM
To: JohnWilder at comcast.net; Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Some Thoughts on Adding More Recent Music to
OKOM Bands - was Igor's Question

In general, I agree.
I come from the other side - the listener.  I like to hear things I do
NOT recognize, which means - songs of today.  The only Beatles song I
know from the Beatles is "Yellow Submarine" - I took my son to see the
film.  All the other Beatles songs I know I've heard played by jazz
bands - Kenny Ball, Basie, etc.
There is one point on which I beg to disagree - amplification.  I do
not remember the pre-amplification days - in the mid-fifties
everything woa amplified (but not overly so) .  Still, the shows I
remember as best were acoustic; I much prefer it that way, not for
nostalgia reason, but for reasons of reasonable volume.
Cheers