[Dixielandjazz] Acoustic music.

[John Wilder]

My take on the use or misuse of amplification systems is that a sound system
is not inherently bad or good - it depends on the equipment used and the
abilities of the person running the system.  Someone mentioned that he would
get up and leave a performance if there was an amplification system set up.
Should I get up and leave if there is a drum set up onstage?  After all,
drummers always play too loud and drown out the band, don't they?  Neither
idea makes sense to me.  A good drummer helps the sound, a bad one hurts it.
Same with sound systems (and especially the sound system operators.)  Even a
great sound system is only as good as the person operating it.

 

It has always amazed me that so many [otherwise] professional musicians
(especially in OKOM) know so little about setting a sound system to enhance
the band's sound, rather than detract from it.  Are you not in the very
business of creating glorious sound???  I mean, hey!  That's what we all do
- we create sound!!!  Does it make sense then to devote years upon years to
perfecting the acoustic sound you get from your instrument, only then to
play through a sound system that is the cheapest one you could find, and
which you have maybe spent at most 15 minutes learning how to operate?  Your
playing quality AND the settings on the sound system BOTH contribute to
having a great sound for the audience, and a deficiency on either side will
diminish the whole effect.

 

A chain is only as strong as its' weakest link.  Suppose you wanted to buy a
car from me.  I tell you, "This car has the best engine I've ever seen!
It'll go from zero to 60 in 4 seconds flat!  Of course, the brakes are made
of cardboard, and aren't even close to adequate to stop the car, but Hey -
they had to skimp somewhere to put in that great engine!"  Would you buy the
car?  Not likely, because a car that is great in one area, but lousy in
another is still a lousy car!  Accordingly, a band that has great players,
but a terrible sound system setup is still a lousy sounding band!

 

My wife sings beautifully, and one band leader for which I play asked her to
come and sing with us.  I brought extra sound equipment to hook in with his
system so we could control the mix better, and so that the band could hear
each other.  I spent about an extra hour setting up, and used lots of my
knowledge of sound reinforcement to create a natural sounding, evenly
balanced and well defined sound for the band.  The gig went awesome, and
many patrons commented to us that our band's sound quality was considerably
better that day than it had ever been in the past.  (Our tips were also
about double that night.)   However, next time I played for that leader, he
complained to me, saying, "You changed the knobs on my PA last time, and I
didn't know how to reset them for the next gig!"

 

Can you imagine going on a gig as a keyboard player, only to find out that
you couldn't play the gig because someone had changed the sound on the
keyboard from piano to gargoyle cries, and you didn't know how to get the
piano sound back?  I would never even consider taking a keyboard to a gig
until I knew it well enough to get it set back to usable condition if it got
changed.  However, this exact same thing happens hundreds of times each day
around the world with people taking their sound systems on gigs with
absolutely no idea of how to set the thing for enhancing the sound.

 

At least half (mostly the older half, but not exclusively) of my musical
friends set their sound equipment with two questions: 1. Can you hear me?
2. Is it too loud?  Few or no questions about the quality and tone of the
sound.  It's no wonder these people sound better without amplification!
Hey, why don't you get yourself a French Horn - I'll give you one 15 minute
lesson, and I'll teach you two things: 1. How to play a "C" note and 2. How
to play an "F" note.  Now go out and play a gig.  How well would you do?
Surely, you would sound just terrible because you don't know the instrument
well enough to get music out of it.  (I know, don't call you Shirley!)

 

BTW, I'm not a trumpet player, and playing a C or F is just about all I
could teach you about playing the French Horn.  As the owner of a sound
system, could you teach someone much more about it than how to turn it on
and how to set the volume?  Sadly, many musicians would have to honestly
answer, "No".

 

Band leaders love to make fun of singers!  After all, musicians had to
practice and study for years to be able to play their music with artistry,
and singers - well, they might have just learned their song by singing it at
a karaoke bar last week!  Many singers don't even know how to read music, or
to tell you in musical terms what they'd like for their arrangements.  Well,
my friend, YOU are in the same position as the singer is when you go out on
a gig with a cheap, inadequate sound system - and further, having no
knowledge of how to use it to best enhance the performance.

 

Many community colleges have courses on sound reinforcement, recording
techniques, microphone techniques, etc.  Those of you that don't bother to
learn how to enhance your sound with your sound systems are part of the
reason that recorded music is taking over more gigs!  A good sounding live
band is far better and more exciting than recorded music, but a poorly mixed
band might just be worse!!!  I've probably spend the equivalent of 4-5
college courses studying how to enhance the sound of live music using good
equipment, and how to set that equipment for maximum benefit.  I am truly
amazed and quite sad that so many otherwise professional musicians don't
take the time or interest to do the same.  When your band sounds bad to an
audience, it hurts all live musicians as an industry.