From normpeterson@earthlink.net Sat Nov 11 08:36:45 2006
Subject:Re: OT: Setting volumes in a band

All great advice! Another helper is if the drummer uses those bamboo(?)
drumsticks. Not sure what they are called, but he can still hit hard but
volume levels are much lower.
Norm

> [Original Message]
> From: Bruce Wahler
> To:
> Date: 11/11/2006 7:47:24 AM
> Subject: Re: [CWSG] OT: Setting volumes in a band
>
> Hi All,
>
> >Put your amplifier up on a stand right behind your head. Not on the floor
> >shooting underneath you. Have the guitar and bass do the same. If the
> >drummer plays too loud, build some sound deadening panels to put around
him
> >as mentioned earlier. Make sure the guitar player is disciplined enough
not
> >to turn up loud just to get his tone, same for the bass player.
>
> Moe has excellent suggestions. I have my keyboard monitor sitting on top
of my lowboy Leslie, which puts it right about at ear level, and only 2-3
feet from my ears. In this situation -- which rarely happens on stage -- I
can turn the volume down from 12:00 to 9:30 or 10:00 and still get plenty
of "me" in the mix.
>
> Also, if you can't get the guitar or bass amps off the floor, then have
the guitarist/bassist stand *directly* across the room from his/her
instrument amp. Our bass player was obnoxiously loud due to his standing
off to the side from his rig. We turned the rig about 45 degrees in his
direction, and it's made all the difference in the world. I remember
reading that the Doobie Bros. used to place all of their stage amps next to
the monitors, facing towards the individual players. Makes sense to me!
>
> And finally, make a rule that if ANYONE in the band thinks the sound
level is too loud, then everyone immediately turns down -- and not just a
token adjustment, more like 20-25%. (Believe it or not, a good drummer can
"turn down," too. Ours does.) Sometimes, the combined sound level can
make it difficult to hear individual sounds in the mix. This approach has
an added benefit in that listening to the band at lower volumes helps to
hear missed licks, bad harmonies, etc. that get lost when a nice thick coat
of "loud" is applied to everything.
>
> Regards,
>
> -BW
>
> --
> Bruce Wahler
> Online Music Sales
> AshbySolutions.com™ http://music.ashbysolutions.com
> 978.386.7389 voice/fax
> bruce@ashbysolutions.com
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> To unsubscribe, send email to: CloneWheel-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>