i didn't know band's still did that

[jb5150]

so anway's i go to aldo's on saturday to watch 3 bands play a show.. lies inc. the embalmed, chokin faith... so any way good show, good turn out but one thing the headliners (chokin faith) ran sound.. not bad but they seem to run the other band's at half volume and not really give them a proper soundcheck... then they came on an turned it up to eleven!!! i mean all the bands were great.. but i really think it's not cool at all to play that bullshit card on other band's..very un cool. to lies inc and the embalmed i guess bring ur own sound man when u play at aldos.. and good set fellas from all the bands.....

[bassist4life2004]

Thats the exact reason Echo Chamber has it's own PA and we pay someone to run the mixer all night. Basically before I was in the band the old members of Act 64 were playing somewhere and another band was running the sound for them and as mitch said, one minute you couldnt hear anything, and the next minute they were killing babies.

[MeYatch]

agreed, I like to know whats happening with sound, not just think I know what happening to the sound.

Obviously while I'm on stage I can't be 100% certain what jeremy is doing with the PA, but I've known him a long time and I trust him. I'd hate to have to get someone else actually.

Though I thought aldo's had in house sound?

[bassist4life2004]

Jeremy always makes us sound good. I've never had a complaint about the sound.

[SpellboundByMetal]

If I had started this thread, it would have been locked VERY FAST!!!

[Jim Price]

I arrived in time to catch most of The Embalmed's set and saw Choking Faith as well (both kicked ass; I missed Lies, Inc.'s set due to a Christmas party). At least for me, I didn't notice any significant difference in volume level between the two bands, and I was mostly seated in the middle of the room or up in front of the stage taking pictures. If Choking Faith had been too much louder, I probably would have felt it when I was up in front of the speakers and photographing them. Perhaps Dave's "One Voice" video footage might reveal if there was a disparity between sound levels...

[jb5150]

that was my thought's on the show!!!!!!! i think all three bands rocked i just noticed a diffrence in volume at the start of chokin faiths set... i never said it was a bad sound job just uneven!!!!!!!!!!all 3 band's did a bang up job so no disrespect in that area!!!1

[Heartless_Mockery_Records]

Actually since Aldo's house sound man (Dan Miller) is in the band Choking Faith i usually run sound for them (as of lately anyways, sometimes Wolfie does it instead). I ran sound for them during the night in question and was in the booth during the other bands, for the most part.. The main volume on the board did not change between bands.

In other words, Dan ran sound for Lies Inc. and The Embalmed and I ran sound for choking faith.

ONE THING THAT DID HAPPEN during the first band playing is that the equipment rack lost power and some of the gear in it was reset to default, so it took him awhile to try to get it back to where it was.

But like some people mentioned above - you are always free to hire your own sound guy, lots of people do it.

[WitchChic]

Yeah I didnt notice any change between the bands, just the stuff that happened with Lies, Inc. and that wasnt Dan's fault...

I actually think bands sound better at Aldo's and Im not just saying that cuz Dan is my friend...I really do, but then Im not in any of the bands that play there either nor a musican...Just a girl that loves live music...


Tho SOME bands should read the sound booth rules sometime, LMAO...

[bassist_25]

There are a lot of variables that may account for a volume difference, all the way from the way a band's running its stage volume to how many bodies are on a floor during a given set to psychoacoustics. It's tough to say why one band may have sounded louder than another.

[SuffrInLys]

i was there also and the only thing i noticed was everyone was playing great!

[bassist4life2004]

Yea, i know what you mean paul. Nothing like playing a packed room that is getting more crowded and you are already close to maxing out your equipment. lol

[Banned]

Isn't it an unwritten rule of rock and roll that bands get progressively louder from the bottom of the bill to the top? Not that it's always a bad thing. At arena shows, I usually like the sound of the opening act better than the headliners, since it's not as boomy at a lower volume.

As far as the Aldo's show, I noticed more of a difference between Lies Inc and The Embalmed. It may have been a stage volume thing, as I was sitting right up front. Lies had their amps in back behind the speaker towers, while Embalmed was set up more in front of the drums. But the mix sounded good for everybody.

[RobTheDrummer]

The thing I don't like about Aldo's is that it's always too fucking loud. I was just there on friday, and it was too loud. I think it hurts the band's sound when it's too loud. Maybe that is to combat the lack of a good mix...just crank it and it'll sound ok. On the other hand, I go to City where Zilly is the man. It's never too loud there and the mix is always great. Personally I thought 4 days dirty at Aldo's would have sounded much better with a good mix instead of being just loud. I've seen those boys when there is a good mix and I know what they can do. It was still good, but that's always been a problem in recent years at Aldo's. However, a band like Second Offense should be loud. That's their whole demeanor.

[Heartless_Mockery_Records]

I think that a big part of the problem with aldos sound is that the system is really old. Really old. Alot of you guys are probably used to playing on much newer more technically advanced systems... I'm not saying the sound person isn't somewhat responsible in whatever case... That and typically, most non-musicians perceive "louder" as "better" ... though we know thats not the case is it?

Also like Rob pointed out most metal bands want to be as loud as possible. Even to the point where volume takes presence over quality. Thats a part of the sound of those type of bands. Everyone likes their own flavor I guess, and theres nothing wrong with that.

As Jimi Hatt said there are many reasons that this may have happened that particular night. Its interesting to hear people point it out tho.

[tom]

There is nothing wrong with the PA System at Aldos that a little work wouldn't fix.
The main problem with Aldos PA system is the lack of maintenance the system has received since it was installed there.
Aldo has been given some BAD advice over the years... (your soundcraft console is well beyond repair, but you should buy this 20 year old Peavey console to replace it)...(these mics are just as good as the Sure mics you use, and they are a third of the price) (Hey lets lay one of the subs on its' side, stand the other sub on top of it, then put the mid/high box beside it and we can climb on the cabinets during the show)
I remember working with a band there a few years ago, and one of the OLD soundmen was picking thru the microphones to see which ones I would use, so he could take the rest of them to his freinds who were playing at another venue down the road. Several of those mics never made it back to the box.
Also, I remember walking into Aldos hearing the band playing & seeing the soundman sittting at the corner of the bar drinking, letting the sound booth empty... used to drive me nuts!
I AM glad to see that Aldo has kept the same people there for quite a while now.... helps to keep status quo

[bassist_25]

I've seen a number of bands at Aldo's, and I think that Dan does a good job. Of course some bands sound better than others. I wonder why that is? Oh wait, you already know what I'm going to say. I've said it on this page 10 million times before. BECAUSE A GOOD MIX ALWAYS STARTS ON STAGE. You have the bands who scoop out their mids and try to make Crates and Peaveys sound like Triple Rectifiers...then you have the bands who are smart and do the right thing: They actually play Triple Rectifiers. Who do you think sounds better? Probably the best sounding band I've ever seen at Aldo's was The Hoods. Can you guess what can of rig the guitarist was using? Its name starts with the letter M and the second part of its name ryhmes with "woogie." I've never seen Chocking Faith live, but I know the cats in both Lies and The Embalmed. They all understand what it takes to sound good (both gear-wise and musicianship), and I'm sure both bands sounded excellent.

I consider Zilly at City to be one of the best soundmen in Blair county, and I've seen bands make the same types of mistakes. There's nothing Zilly can do about it. You can have $40,000 worth of front of house gear amplifying you, but it won't make a Crate sound like a Soldano or a cheap drum kit sound like a DW.

[Banned]

Can you guess what can of rig the guitarist was using? Its name starts with the letter M and the second part of its name ryhmes with "woogie."

A Moogie?

[SpellboundByMetal]

Yeah ,gear does make a difference, but a mesa boogie isnt gonna make some turd sound great. I think thats also been covered on RP. From what youre saying, the bands that can afford better gear are just better. THATS JUST NOT TRUE. Ill never own a MB amp. Oh well. even if i could afford it, i still wouldnt buy it. Sure, i bet its great to have top notch gear, but that gear doesnt write songs. Ive seen bands with great gear and do piss poor songs.

[bassist_25]

Once again, I'm sick of these strawman arguments that people throw up when I say that better gear sounds better. An inferior guitarist will sound inferior through whatever piece of gear he's playing through. A good guitarist will sound like a good guitarist on a Squier through a Crate. He will sound even better on a PRS through a Diezel amp. Part of having a professional sound is pro-level gear. There's a reason why pro-touring bands don't run Beheringer gear. I never said anything about the ability of the musician. I'm talking about the quality of sound. If I hire a sound company, I expect them to know how to mix well. I also expect them to have pro-level gear (i.e. EAW, JBL, etc.). An EAW sub sounds objectively better than a cheap Peavy sub. That's the bottom-line.

I may come off as a gear snob, but I've played on shit gear. I believe that if one really cares about his or her craft, she will make it a point to upgrade to pro level equipment.

[SpellboundByMetal]

I understand what youre saying, and im not trying to fight with you.

[Heartless_Mockery_Records]

bassist_25:

I do completely agree with what you are saying. I think its being misinterpreted as "better gear makes you play better". I run into this often recording bands when they get pissed because I can't make their Crate sound like a MB or a 5150. "Why doesn't it sound right? Fix it." Knowing how to setup the equipment properly helps too.

Sure i don't own the best gear available by any means, but i know how use it and get what i need from it.

But cheers to you cuz i have always felt the same way about that shit.

[bassist_25]

I understand what youre saying, and im not trying to fight with you.

Haha, no prob man. I just thought that I was going to go through this whole argument again where I was trying to defend my position that better gear sound better, not better gear makes a person a better musician. LOL

bassist_25:

I do completely agree with what you are saying. I think its being misinterpreted as "better gear makes you play better". I run into this often recording bands when they get pissed because I can't make their Crate sound like a MB or a 5150. "Why doesn't it sound right? Fix it." Knowing how to setup the equipment properly helps too.

Sure i don't own the best gear available by any means, but i know how use it and get what i need from it.

But cheers to you cuz i have always felt the same way about that shit

Thank you!!! You get exactly what I'm talking about!

I also agree with what you say about trying to make whatever you have work. I can pretty much plug into any backline and make it sound playable (I believe that most of one's sound is in the hands), but I still prefer how I sound through my own equipment. Still, I'm lucky in being a bass player. As long as I have front of house support, I can still sound good as long as I have a pro-level bass. I can always just send a pre-EQ signal to the board. Guitarists and drummers aren't so lucky.

[limitsmeinside]

if you have shit equipment make friend's with people who have good equip!!

heartless mockery is a good person to know!

haha

[RobTheDrummer]

There are those of us that can make shit sound good too...