This is genuinely my biggest pet peeve. I can’t stand it when people come to my booth to complain and tell me how to do my job, especially if I can hear the vocal (or whatever they’re complaining about) perfectly fine and I’m actively doing my job to dial in a balanced mix of the band on stage. It’s almost always parents of kids if I’m doing a School of Rock show or a band of younger kids playing their first couple of shows. I don’t acknowledge anyone. I just say “yeah”, and continue doing my job. If I give these people any sort of acknowledgment or have a conversation, they assume they can come to me even more, stand close to me, and backseat mix - now being on the verge of actually distracting me from my job. The biggest culprit I encounter - singers who don’t project well and guitar players refusing to lower their amps.
@@chrishammillaudio completely agree - parents of band members are often the worst offenders! I often find people will shoot me a glance or make a gesture for the vocal to go up when the singer is singing a quieter passage in a song. The vocal level is just as loud but the singer is literally singing quieter and not projecting as much. It's always going to not have the same perceived level of loudness, quite often that's literally the point too!
@chrishammillaudio I've thought about it before but I think I'd just be way too self conscious! Your videos are great though, I've watched a lot of them! I don't think I could pull it off like you do!
@ I don’t know how I pull them off sometimes tbh lol. Appreciate it. People love behind the scenes stuff. Happy the algorithm brought me to this video because I was about to make something very similar to this.
@chrishammillaudio no I don't either haha! But glad you do - it's great content. You've found a good format with those videos. Happy the algorithm brought you here too! Appreciate you checking the video out and always cool to touch base with fellow sound techs!
The biggest compliment as an engineer I often find is when you're not noticed. In short, creating an experience that is free from distractions that take you as an audience member out of the experience. Positive feedback is always a bonus as well 😄
@@tommih597 absolutely! There are definitely engineers out there that want people to be listening and think 'wow, the mix sounds great' (which almost no one going to a gig does that), so they have the kick drum super loud or go mad on the FX or something. But I've always had the mindset of being as invisible as possible - I want all the focus to be on the band/artist and my job is to facilitate that.
Same as with the power company. If it is flowing, no complaints. FoH engineers are basically utility-providers. Once in a while you may get a thumbs up or nod or thanks at the end of show, otherwise, you're looked at in a similar way as a bartender or doorman.
@@mainsailsound983 well yeah, there is that haha. I think that goes without saying. And in that scenario complaining to the engineer is not really going to help either!
tiny tip is if you have hot guitars and vocals want to punch through, you can duck the guitar bus a tad (1-2dB) side-chained from a vocal bus and nobody will miss the guitar dip while vocals are in the same frequency range. Similar to the kick ducks bass tricks.
@@johnmcvicker6728 yes tricks like this can certainly help, or just EQ some of the 2-4khz range out of the guitars. It's all a balancing act. Plus just taking stuff out of the PA if it's too loud on stage already!
I simplify this even further and just cut the guitar and boost vocals with the EQ in the 1-4kHz range. You could even go more complicated and sidechain a dynamic EQ to scoop the guitars when the singer sings (although this needs carefully setting up)
As a sound engineer myself, the only time I ever make a comment to another engineer is if something seems like its wrong and the person working likely doesn't realize it. For example, a PA speaker stopped working and the mix position is off to the opposite side.
@@GrandNebSmada yeah I think in that instance I would say something too, but generally speaking if it's just something to do with the mix I wouldn't say anything
The answer is always NO! That being said, if a band can't play to the room, there isn't much we can do. The amount of times I've mixed shows with only vocals, toms and kick in the PA because the band was so loud, and this was in a 250 cap room. 3000 watts a side for mains barely able to keep up with a 50 watt guitar amps. Just brutal. As most of us know, civilians don't know shit about sound. If anything, they only know 2 things. They like it, or they don't. If anyone ever comes up to you and says they do some engineering themselves, you know they don't, because not 1 single one of us would EVER do that to another tech.
@@StereoAnthony oh definitely, I've been there too many times. If it's less than 500 cap and especially if it's a lively room you've really got to dial those stage volumes in right otherwise you're gonna have trouble.
I think a lot of musicians don’t know how to get a balanced stage volume. Most of the time it’s inexperience or they just don’t understand it. I try to communicate with the musicians before a show and help them to get a better stage volume during soundcheck so that the PA can do its job. Whenever another engineer mixes a show I never tell them how to do it unless they have problems that they don’t know how to fix, then I will help them. Different genres need different approaches and that’s something that comes with experience and experience comes with doing it a lot.
I find this really difficult to navigate. I do a variety of different levels of shows. I recently did a show with a large audience. 1 person complained who said ‘it wasn’t loud enough, and everyone was saying the same’. I took this as gospel and it really spoilt my show. I very rarely get any comments of ‘that sounded great or thank you’ but forever get some critic. I worry it’s going to cost me. I don’t mind people having their opinion, but I wish they were polite.
@@jameswilkinson6530 I can relate! Interestingly on a touring level I find I get compliments more. Might just be a cultural thing in different countries perhaps. Doing local venue work in the UK it can often feel thankless - I don't need thanks or to feel validated but it is nice to know people appreciate your work. The thing I've found in doing this close to 15 years now is that people will always think it's not loud enough, but complain when it's too loud - if you try to keep everyone happy you can never win. You just have to use your own ears and decide for yourself what sounds good. After all, you're the one being paid to be behind the desk, not them. Try not to take any negativity to heart too much.
@ Do you think it’s because touring, you’re seen as access to the ‘famous’ ones? I feel a real responsibility to ensure the people who’ve paid the money are happy - The band are always fine, that’s the easy bit. I find working tribute shows are the worst for this type of interaction as people are familiar with the tracks and they all like something different. I’ve a real toxic trait of trying to find validation from social media comments or videos. I try live by the rule… If you think it’s enough vocal, turn them up another 3.
@jameswilkinson6530 yeah I'd say that's definitely part of it. So people maybe have a nicer attitude because of that sometimes. Even on my part I find it's a different mentality working for a band/artist as opposed to working for a venue. Very different headspace. With touring the artist is paramount, whereas venue work you're thinking of the bigger picture of the gig and making life as easy as possible. I purposefully try to ignore social media stuff from shows - last tour I was on almost every single show was filmed by someone and put on RUclips - I'd drive myself crazy. An event that went tits up that I worked last year (power distro kept tripping, RF issues etc) apparently there were lots of complaints on social media - I ignored it. The gig was done, time to move on.
@@daandoeleman1153 agreed! Similarly, when someone offers me a beer whilst I'm working, I'll say thanks but no, and sometimes they'll follow up with a 'go on!' or 'are you sure' - to which I'll ask them if they drink beer whilst they're working in the office.
Love this video, thanks mate. Unless I know the venue *and* the engineer personally, I wouldn't approach someone mid-show. There are so many factors that you just don't know unless you're working the show - how close are the mics to feedback? How close are they to the venue neibourhood noise limit? Have the drummer and guitarists turned themselves up to 11 after soundcheck, and are now drowning out the singer? What gear is busted today? Have mics moved? Are they fighting another issue and let some obvious balance issues slip? I think the only exception would be if they're obviously overloaded, to offer assistance my as an A2/extra pair of hands, but not with any judgement.
@@polhemic thanks for watching, appreciate it! It's definitely reassuring to see that other people get it - i'd like to think they're in the majority, and I think they are! I was at a gig a few years back now and the sound wasn't great. Not terrible, but not great. It was a local venue gig and I looked over to see the sound tech was a young guy, they looked like they were working hard and doing their best. They were probably also being paid sod all. I thought to myself, if I went over now and said something about the sound, what would it achieve?
@@TheBunkhouseStudios "what would it achieve?" Absolutely, the outcome that we all want is a great show and ranting as a poor 18 year old kid is not going to make that happen. If anything it's only going to make things worse. I had exactly this last week at my local Music Venue Trust venue (aka grassroots). Singers mic was cutting in and out as they moved. Obvious fix from the outside perspective- switch out the mic and cable for ones that are known good, but the young kid couldn't, or wouldn't, step away from the desk and troubleshoot. The only thing I can think was that management had told them as the solo engineer not to leave the desk mid set, and the last thing they need is someone else pointing out the bleeding obvious!
@polhemic definitely. It can be a bit of a weird thing with changing mic lines mid show - especially mid song - particularly with small venues where the musicians are probably less used to that sort of thing being dealt with properly. So it can create a bit of an awkward moment and be a bit embarrassing for the engineer. Being scared to leave the desk too is definitely a thing for some. So I understand someone not fixing the issue right away, but you kinda have to get over yourself really and sort it. I will always immediately go up to stage and fix the problem.
@polhemic and yeah if an engineer isn't doing something, some random person telling them to do the thing they're not doing, is unlikely to make them do the thing. They're not doing it for a reason, whatever the reason is and if it's right or wrong is another thing.
*AHHHHH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You should NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER ASK THE SOUND ENGINEER ANYTING! (((( YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR OWN AND YOUR OWN DIGITAL MIXER ))))* ..............You are a Musician, YOUR BUSINESS IS AUDIO/ SOUND. If your mix is crap then your band is crap and there is not a god damn thing SUBJECTIVE ABOUT IT. ITS BUSINESS!
@@officialpoa3171 I'm talking more in this video about audience interactions with the sound engineer, not the musicians themselves. Disagree that every band should have their own sound tech with their own desk too. There comes a point where that can definitely help, but it depends what level a band is at. If you get a good in house engineer at a venue that knows that venue really well, they'll likely make it sound great.
I could talk endlessly this with regards to sound engineering but more interesting I think, I used to be in a band where I was a samplist live sampling the other members of the band with an iPad and a wireless unit mangling the sounds into the music, so I would wander around the stage and sometimes around the venue sampling things I lost count of the times I was either told the vocals aren’t loud enough or that I was in the way and they can’t see or to stop interfering with the band 😂 it just goes to show how much people don’t understand about what’s going on.
@@hollownation haha, that's actually hilarious! It's funny that now though people do make that association seeing someone holding a tablet in a venue, that they must be controlling the sound.
Mix decisions are dictated by the artist. If you tell the engineer to turn up vocals you have no idea that the vocals are exactly where the artist wants them
@@markjastrzebski2065 yeah this can definitely be true. One band I tour with the vocals are not meant to be super prominent and have loads of reverb on them. To anyone that's heard their music would know this is part of their sound, and I don't think I've ever had anyone ask for vocals to be turned up with them, but yeah that's a case where I'm mixing things a certain way because it's part of their sound.
There was this one open air, where the vocal pre amp clipped. I decided to not go to the sound engineer, thinking he can't do anything about it, because the artist had an vocal fx processor on stage, which he most likely didn't had remote control of. I hoped that the sound engineer would use the break to talk to artist or fix it themselfs, but no, second half was shitty as well.
@@Zadagu was it audibly distorting or something? Most desk preamps these days are so clean that you'd really have to crank the gain before getting distortion, to the point where on vocal mics you'd likely be getting loads of feedback issues way before that. My guess is the problem was probably occurring somewhere before the desk.
@TheBunkhouseStudios yes, the voice was very distorted when the singer sung at her loudest level. There was also some feedback, but the engineer was not to blame for this, because it was a small round stage in the center of the audience with very little space between the performance and the main PA (point sources) and no delay line. Since it was a festival which lasted over multiple weeks, chances are low that he was the guy who was responsible for this PA choice.
Unless you are the one paying the guy, leave him alone. The only time anything approaching this is appropriate otherwise is if you've got an obvious case of novices running a powered PA head type situation where you can simply offer to help if they would like you to.
Just say yes to everthing and hope they go away, or change something on a channel or a bus that is not doing anything in the mix, ask if it's better now and if they say yes, go about your business and have a chuckle about what a gullible idiot the person is.
@@DjDennisRothman I do sometimes just say yes and give a thumbs up to make people go away, especially if it's too loud to talk without shouting and would take too long to explain (and they probably wouldn't understand anyway lol.) I used to work club nights in a music venue where the DJ would (very obviously) be on stage, but people would still come up to FOH to request songs from either me or the lighting engineer. At first I'd explain I wasn't the DJ, but eventually found it funnier just to say yes to all the song requests. One time the DJ just happened to play the song someone requested immediately after I said yes, which was hilarious 😆
@mirkomarkovic3438 generally most gigs I do soundchecks happen behind closed doors, but yes I've had it happen with line checks and soundchecks that happen whilst the public are about. One time with a string quartet playing with a band, we're line checking and the string players are just warming up (so not anything that resembles any kind of performance.) A guy comes up to me and asks for me to turn them up. It broke my brain a bit - I was like 'they haven't started performing yet and we've not even sound checked!' 😂
Hi man, you covered topic relly good, but who is this video for? I feel like most of the comments are written by other live sound engineers or other people in industry. Most of the people who came to me to complain are from HR, IT, corporates that sells skincare products or carpenters. We all understand that your PA never covers whole space, that there is sometimes more cymbals than vocal in vocal mic. I dont want to sound like iam complaining about video you made, it is great, I just feel like this kind of topic might have bigger impact if you (more like us as comunity) use language that is not limited to other sound engineers but is eazy enough To understand for construction worker who dont know what fader means. I like your channel, waiting for new videos 🙂
@@miklas12 thanks for watching and for the feedback! Funnily enough, I actually tried to keep my explanations very simple in this video so that you average person would hopefully be able to understand as well as sound engineers. It's tricky to explain technical stuff in a non technical way. And you'd be surprised how many people don't understand the things you mentioned - especially PA coverage. In my experience most people just assume that sound coverage will be equal in any part of a room.
@@stephanechevalier4363 exactly - although on balance, in most cases the audience are paying to see the show, and without them the show wouldn't be able to happen. I am always very aware that without the musicians and the audience I wouldn't have a job. *But* that doesn't mean I need to be told how to do said job haha
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
This is genuinely my biggest pet peeve. I can’t stand it when people come to my booth to complain and tell me how to do my job, especially if I can hear the vocal (or whatever they’re complaining about) perfectly fine and I’m actively doing my job to dial in a balanced mix of the band on stage.
It’s almost always parents of kids if I’m doing a School of Rock show or a band of younger kids playing their first couple of shows.
I don’t acknowledge anyone. I just say “yeah”, and continue doing my job. If I give these people any sort of acknowledgment or have a conversation, they assume they can come to me even more, stand close to me, and backseat mix - now being on the verge of actually distracting me from my job.
The biggest culprit I encounter - singers who don’t project well and guitar players refusing to lower their amps.
@@chrishammillaudio completely agree - parents of band members are often the worst offenders! I often find people will shoot me a glance or make a gesture for the vocal to go up when the singer is singing a quieter passage in a song. The vocal level is just as loud but the singer is literally singing quieter and not projecting as much. It's always going to not have the same perceived level of loudness, quite often that's literally the point too!
@ You should do what I do and film your shows. The people who actually do come to complain think twice when they see a camera 😂
@chrishammillaudio I've thought about it before but I think I'd just be way too self conscious! Your videos are great though, I've watched a lot of them! I don't think I could pull it off like you do!
@ I don’t know how I pull them off sometimes tbh lol. Appreciate it. People love behind the scenes stuff. Happy the algorithm brought me to this video because I was about to make something very similar to this.
@chrishammillaudio no I don't either haha! But glad you do - it's great content. You've found a good format with those videos. Happy the algorithm brought you here too! Appreciate you checking the video out and always cool to touch base with fellow sound techs!
The biggest compliment as an engineer I often find is when you're not noticed. In short, creating an experience that is free from distractions that take you as an audience member out of the experience. Positive feedback is always a bonus as well 😄
@@tommih597 absolutely! There are definitely engineers out there that want people to be listening and think 'wow, the mix sounds great' (which almost no one going to a gig does that), so they have the kick drum super loud or go mad on the FX or something. But I've always had the mindset of being as invisible as possible - I want all the focus to be on the band/artist and my job is to facilitate that.
Same as with the power company. If it is flowing, no complaints. FoH engineers are basically utility-providers. Once in a while you may get a thumbs up or nod or thanks at the end of show, otherwise, you're looked at in a similar way as a bartender or doorman.
@johnmcvicker6728 definitely!
You discuss every possible problematic scenario except those situations where the sound sucks simply because the engineer is deaf or incompetent
@@mainsailsound983 well yeah, there is that haha. I think that goes without saying. And in that scenario complaining to the engineer is not really going to help either!
As a professional live sound mix person for over 40 years, the answer to your title question is "NO!"
If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it.
@@keithbroughton4476 haha! Good on you 👍
tiny tip is if you have hot guitars and vocals want to punch through, you can duck the guitar bus a tad (1-2dB) side-chained from a vocal bus and nobody will miss the guitar dip while vocals are in the same frequency range. Similar to the kick ducks bass tricks.
@@johnmcvicker6728 yes tricks like this can certainly help, or just EQ some of the 2-4khz range out of the guitars. It's all a balancing act. Plus just taking stuff out of the PA if it's too loud on stage already!
I simplify this even further and just cut the guitar and boost vocals with the EQ in the 1-4kHz range. You could even go more complicated and sidechain a dynamic EQ to scoop the guitars when the singer sings (although this needs carefully setting up)
@@polhemic yeah, i like doing that when mixing tracks. Even plugins like Smart:EQ from Sonible do that for you.
"If i wanted feedback, i would have let you mix the show" 😀
Simpe. Effective.
@@TinoSchulz1990 haha, that's a great one!
As a sound engineer myself, the only time I ever make a comment to another engineer is if something seems like its wrong and the person working likely doesn't realize it. For example, a PA speaker stopped working and the mix position is off to the opposite side.
@@GrandNebSmada yeah I think in that instance I would say something too, but generally speaking if it's just something to do with the mix I wouldn't say anything
The band and the house can ask for changes everyone else should let us keep working
Everybody’s a fkn expert!
@@melhayes204 yep haha!
This might be the realest video ever lol, I despise doing live sound.
@@yochillsmith thank you! ❤️ Although sorry to hear you don't like doing live sound haha
The answer is always NO!
That being said, if a band can't play to the room, there isn't much we can do.
The amount of times I've mixed shows with only vocals, toms and kick in the PA because the band was so loud, and this was in a 250 cap room. 3000 watts a side for mains barely able to keep up with a 50 watt guitar amps. Just brutal.
As most of us know, civilians don't know shit about sound. If anything, they only know 2 things. They like it, or they don't. If anyone ever comes up to you and says they do some engineering themselves, you know they don't, because not 1 single one of us would EVER do that to another tech.
@@StereoAnthony oh definitely, I've been there too many times. If it's less than 500 cap and especially if it's a lively room you've really got to dial those stage volumes in right otherwise you're gonna have trouble.
Spot on.
Unless they are the ones writing the check they can piss off.
I think a lot of musicians don’t know how to get a balanced stage volume. Most of the time it’s inexperience or they just don’t understand it. I try to communicate with the musicians before a show and help them to get a better stage volume during soundcheck so that the PA can do its job. Whenever another engineer mixes a show I never tell them how to do it unless they have problems that they don’t know how to fix, then I will help them. Different genres need different approaches and that’s something that comes with experience and experience comes with doing it a lot.
@@Chaos-Dynamics yep, well said!
I find this really difficult to navigate. I do a variety of different levels of shows. I recently did a show with a large audience. 1 person complained who said ‘it wasn’t loud enough, and everyone was saying the same’. I took this as gospel and it really spoilt my show. I very rarely get any comments of ‘that sounded great or thank you’ but forever get some critic. I worry it’s going to cost me. I don’t mind people having their opinion, but I wish they were polite.
@@jameswilkinson6530 I can relate! Interestingly on a touring level I find I get compliments more. Might just be a cultural thing in different countries perhaps. Doing local venue work in the UK it can often feel thankless - I don't need thanks or to feel validated but it is nice to know people appreciate your work. The thing I've found in doing this close to 15 years now is that people will always think it's not loud enough, but complain when it's too loud - if you try to keep everyone happy you can never win. You just have to use your own ears and decide for yourself what sounds good. After all, you're the one being paid to be behind the desk, not them. Try not to take any negativity to heart too much.
@ Do you think it’s because touring, you’re seen as access to the ‘famous’ ones? I feel a real responsibility to ensure the people who’ve paid the money are happy - The band are always fine, that’s the easy bit. I find working tribute shows are the worst for this type of interaction as people are familiar with the tracks and they all like something different. I’ve a real toxic trait of trying to find validation from social media comments or videos. I try live by the rule… If you think it’s enough vocal, turn them up another 3.
@jameswilkinson6530 yeah I'd say that's definitely part of it. So people maybe have a nicer attitude because of that sometimes. Even on my part I find it's a different mentality working for a band/artist as opposed to working for a venue. Very different headspace. With touring the artist is paramount, whereas venue work you're thinking of the bigger picture of the gig and making life as easy as possible. I purposefully try to ignore social media stuff from shows - last tour I was on almost every single show was filmed by someone and put on RUclips - I'd drive myself crazy. An event that went tits up that I worked last year (power distro kept tripping, RF issues etc) apparently there were lots of complaints on social media - I ignored it. The gig was done, time to move on.
@ That’s great advice - ‘The gig is done, move on’.
Depends on the comment, i tell m sometimes "whats you job? I'll come by at 9am on Monday and complain about your job.
@@daandoeleman1153 agreed! Similarly, when someone offers me a beer whilst I'm working, I'll say thanks but no, and sometimes they'll follow up with a 'go on!' or 'are you sure' - to which I'll ask them if they drink beer whilst they're working in the office.
Love this video, thanks mate.
Unless I know the venue *and* the engineer personally, I wouldn't approach someone mid-show. There are so many factors that you just don't know unless you're working the show - how close are the mics to feedback? How close are they to the venue neibourhood noise limit? Have the drummer and guitarists turned themselves up to 11 after soundcheck, and are now drowning out the singer? What gear is busted today? Have mics moved? Are they fighting another issue and let some obvious balance issues slip?
I think the only exception would be if they're obviously overloaded, to offer assistance my as an A2/extra pair of hands, but not with any judgement.
@@polhemic thanks for watching, appreciate it! It's definitely reassuring to see that other people get it - i'd like to think they're in the majority, and I think they are! I was at a gig a few years back now and the sound wasn't great. Not terrible, but not great. It was a local venue gig and I looked over to see the sound tech was a young guy, they looked like they were working hard and doing their best. They were probably also being paid sod all. I thought to myself, if I went over now and said something about the sound, what would it achieve?
@@TheBunkhouseStudios "what would it achieve?" Absolutely, the outcome that we all want is a great show and ranting as a poor 18 year old kid is not going to make that happen. If anything it's only going to make things worse.
I had exactly this last week at my local Music Venue Trust venue (aka grassroots). Singers mic was cutting in and out as they moved. Obvious fix from the outside perspective- switch out the mic and cable for ones that are known good, but the young kid couldn't, or wouldn't, step away from the desk and troubleshoot. The only thing I can think was that management had told them as the solo engineer not to leave the desk mid set, and the last thing they need is someone else pointing out the bleeding obvious!
@polhemic definitely. It can be a bit of a weird thing with changing mic lines mid show - especially mid song - particularly with small venues where the musicians are probably less used to that sort of thing being dealt with properly. So it can create a bit of an awkward moment and be a bit embarrassing for the engineer. Being scared to leave the desk too is definitely a thing for some. So I understand someone not fixing the issue right away, but you kinda have to get over yourself really and sort it. I will always immediately go up to stage and fix the problem.
@polhemic and yeah if an engineer isn't doing something, some random person telling them to do the thing they're not doing, is unlikely to make them do the thing. They're not doing it for a reason, whatever the reason is and if it's right or wrong is another thing.
*AHHHHH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You should NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER ASK THE SOUND ENGINEER ANYTING! (((( YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR OWN AND YOUR OWN DIGITAL MIXER ))))*
..............You are a Musician, YOUR BUSINESS IS AUDIO/ SOUND. If your mix is crap then your band is crap and there is not a god damn thing SUBJECTIVE ABOUT IT. ITS BUSINESS!
@@officialpoa3171 I'm talking more in this video about audience interactions with the sound engineer, not the musicians themselves. Disagree that every band should have their own sound tech with their own desk too. There comes a point where that can definitely help, but it depends what level a band is at. If you get a good in house engineer at a venue that knows that venue really well, they'll likely make it sound great.
I could talk endlessly this with regards to sound engineering but more interesting I think, I used to be in a band where I was a samplist live sampling the other members of the band with an iPad and a wireless unit mangling the sounds into the music, so I would wander around the stage and sometimes around the venue sampling things I lost count of the times I was either told the vocals aren’t loud enough or that I was in the way and they can’t see or to stop interfering with the band 😂 it just goes to show how much people don’t understand about what’s going on.
@@hollownation haha, that's actually hilarious! It's funny that now though people do make that association seeing someone holding a tablet in a venue, that they must be controlling the sound.
Mix decisions are dictated by the artist. If you tell the engineer to turn up vocals you have no idea that the vocals are exactly where the artist wants them
@@markjastrzebski2065 yeah this can definitely be true. One band I tour with the vocals are not meant to be super prominent and have loads of reverb on them. To anyone that's heard their music would know this is part of their sound, and I don't think I've ever had anyone ask for vocals to be turned up with them, but yeah that's a case where I'm mixing things a certain way because it's part of their sound.
There was this one open air, where the vocal pre amp clipped. I decided to not go to the sound engineer, thinking he can't do anything about it, because the artist had an vocal fx processor on stage, which he most likely didn't had remote control of. I hoped that the sound engineer would use the break to talk to artist or fix it themselfs, but no, second half was shitty as well.
@@Zadagu was it audibly distorting or something? Most desk preamps these days are so clean that you'd really have to crank the gain before getting distortion, to the point where on vocal mics you'd likely be getting loads of feedback issues way before that. My guess is the problem was probably occurring somewhere before the desk.
@TheBunkhouseStudios yes, the voice was very distorted when the singer sung at her loudest level. There was also some feedback, but the engineer was not to blame for this, because it was a small round stage in the center of the audience with very little space between the performance and the main PA (point sources) and no delay line. Since it was a festival which lasted over multiple weeks, chances are low that he was the guy who was responsible for this PA choice.
As a DJ, also this, but re requests/direct criticism
Absolutely, I can see there being similar challenges as a DJ!
Unless you are the one paying the guy, leave him alone. The only time anything approaching this is appropriate otherwise is if you've got an obvious case of novices running a powered PA head type situation where you can simply offer to help if they would like you to.
@@rickfinsta2951 agreed!
Just say yes to everthing and hope they go away, or change something on a channel or a bus that is not doing anything in the mix, ask if it's better now and if they say yes, go about your business and have a chuckle about what a gullible idiot the person is.
@@DjDennisRothman I do sometimes just say yes and give a thumbs up to make people go away, especially if it's too loud to talk without shouting and would take too long to explain (and they probably wouldn't understand anyway lol.) I used to work club nights in a music venue where the DJ would (very obviously) be on stage, but people would still come up to FOH to request songs from either me or the lighting engineer. At first I'd explain I wasn't the DJ, but eventually found it funnier just to say yes to all the song requests. One time the DJ just happened to play the song someone requested immediately after I said yes, which was hilarious 😆
👌👌
I like to go to soundchecks and complain about the sound
@@mirkomarkovic3438 haha, sounds like a fun time 😂
@TheBunkhouseStudios some people seem to do exactly that though...
@mirkomarkovic3438 generally most gigs I do soundchecks happen behind closed doors, but yes I've had it happen with line checks and soundchecks that happen whilst the public are about. One time with a string quartet playing with a band, we're line checking and the string players are just warming up (so not anything that resembles any kind of performance.) A guy comes up to me and asks for me to turn them up. It broke my brain a bit - I was like 'they haven't started performing yet and we've not even sound checked!' 😂
Uh, the audio on your youtube video is too quiet, could you go ahead and turn that up for me please, do you think?
@@BillCoz haha 😆
Hi man, you covered topic relly good, but who is this video for? I feel like most of the comments are written by other live sound engineers or other people in industry. Most of the people who came to me to complain are from HR, IT, corporates that sells skincare products or carpenters. We all understand that your PA never covers whole space, that there is sometimes more cymbals than vocal in vocal mic.
I dont want to sound like iam complaining about video you made, it is great, I just feel like this kind of topic might have bigger impact if you (more like us as comunity) use language that is not limited to other sound engineers but is eazy enough To understand for construction worker who dont know what fader means.
I like your channel, waiting for new videos 🙂
@@miklas12 thanks for watching and for the feedback! Funnily enough, I actually tried to keep my explanations very simple in this video so that you average person would hopefully be able to understand as well as sound engineers. It's tricky to explain technical stuff in a non technical way. And you'd be surprised how many people don't understand the things you mentioned - especially PA coverage. In my experience most people just assume that sound coverage will be equal in any part of a room.
Excuse me, but is it you or me who's getting paid to mix this show?
@@stephanechevalier4363 exactly - although on balance, in most cases the audience are paying to see the show, and without them the show wouldn't be able to happen. I am always very aware that without the musicians and the audience I wouldn't have a job. *But* that doesn't mean I need to be told how to do said job haha