Musician wannabes educate yourself please!

[Freematik]

When I was a live sound guy we used to have mics and cables for the guitar player, and DI's for the keyboard player. Guess times have changed..

Seriously though I have never seen a guitar player bring a mic stand and mic to a gig.

[Manfrensengensen]

I guess I should bring amps, drum sticks, drum heads, extra guitar and bass strings, guitar straps, batteries, picks, and throat lozenges too then. And charge more money to cover all the costs of things that walk away in someone elses gig bag.

I'm just saying at least learn what gear you need and what cables it requires to plug into a console. If you are a guitar player and you spend a lot of $$$ to have good gear cause you care about how you sound. wouldn't you want to experiment to know what mic and where to put it to get the most of your investment.

[bulley]

er.......what? why the hell would a guitarist need to bring PA equipment?

[Uncle Bob]

Sorry, Manfren; when I was gigging the house/sound company supplied everything required to get the sound off of the stage and into the PA system. I played everything from dive bars to HS auditoriums to Carnegie Hall to Nassau Coliseum to the Meadowlands and I never once had to supply XLR cables to get from my keyboard rig to the snake/box. My bass players never had to supply DIs, the guitar players and drummers never had to supply mics, stands and cables.

I did have a pair of 4-DIs rack-mounted in my kit to accommodate my keyboards and modules; it was more convenient for me. I got "Thank you! You're great! What do you need?" I also had a printed stage line-up for the FOH and Monitor mixers as well as set lists complete with who was singing lead (five singers, lead is always on the stage right mic) and which instrument had a solo and where. As a musical director it was my job to make life easy on the "stars" at the front of the stage. Being prepared, organized and doing all I could to assist the sound folks made my life easier and kept the "stars" happy. It's just a part of being a professional.

It's unfortunate if you are not working with professional folks, but that's a part of the gig. I've had to deal with unprofessional sound companies. It's the real world; instead of moaning why not try and educate your clients?

[Neenja]

Sound guy: Mics, cables, stands, power, speakers.
Band: Booze, drugs, hot chicks, the rock.
I hope you are now educated.

[WVUtubadude]

Band's job;

Originally Posted by Manfrensengensen

.... amps, drum sticks, drum heads, extra guitar and bass strings, guitar straps, batteries, picks, and throat lozenges too then....

Your job;

....learn what gear you need and what cables it requires to plug into a console....experiment to know what mic and where to put it to get the most of your investment.

Anyone paid to provide sound should more or less be expected to provide everything except instruments and talent. Amps are a bit of a grey area, too, since some companies have a few Ampegs and such to rent out.

[ivmike]

When I run electronic drum pads alongside my drum set, I would bring a stereo DI with me, just to make life easier for the sound man. When I sang backups, I brought my own mic (Beta 57).

A keyboard player that I've worked with will buss all of his keys into a small mixer and send L-R to the sound man.

[booob]

'Rock' Band music is still around? Oh my.

[Annex2]

Originally Posted by Freematik

When I was a live sound guy we used to have mics and cables for the guitar player, and DI's for the keyboard player. Guess times have changed..

+1


stike

[suedesound]

i'm confused by this one. the club should provide mics, stands, di's, xlr's, some extra instrument and speaker cables, power strips, adaptors and turnarounds, hell even a couple of guitar and music stands, iec cables etc.

i understand if they need some special random adaptor or power supply or something but i would never expect people to bring their own mics, di's and stands unless it's a touring band and it's their preference.

do you expect them to bring their own snake and monitors too?

[Neenja]

Originally Posted by suedesound

i'm confused by this one. the club should provide mics, stands, di's, xlr's, some extra instrument and speaker cables, power strips, adaptors and turnarounds, hell even a couple of guitar and music stands, iec cables etc.

i understand if they need some special random adaptor or power supply or something but i would never expect people to bring their own mics, di's and stands unless it's a touring band and it's their preference.

do you expect them to bring their own snake and monitors too?

I've always used my own vocal mics.

[suedesound]

as i said if it's their preference. i fully understand people not wanting to use the club's 58 that has 100 people's spit in it or finding a certain mic that suits them and isn't readily available at most clubs.

the engineer expecting the band to bring all of their own mics etc is just silly to me though. i've worked at some dive places when i was starting out and we still had mics stands di's and cables.

[deda]

Originally Posted by Neenja

Sound guy: Mics, cables, stands, power, speakers.
Band: Booze, drugs, hot chicks, the rock.
I hope you are now educated.

You nailed it.

Regards, ,,deda,,

[Manfrensengensen]

Most gigs I do are with the bands PA and snake. I bring my mixer and rack gear as I know my own equipment better. If I'm paid more to provide a complete system then I do have everything needed. Vocal Mic's are kinda personal IMO. Spit in your own or rent mine for a fee.

[maxpidge]

Originally Posted by Manfrensengensen

Most gigs I do are with the bands PA and snake. I bring my mixer and rack gear as I know my own equipment better. If I'm paid more to provide a complete system then I do have everything needed. Vocal Mic's are kinda personal IMO. Spit in your own or rent mine for a fee.

oh, now i get it... you don't work much, and have never run sound professionally....

[Manfrensengensen]

1. A professional is a person that is paid for what they do. Qualifications have little to do with being a professional as the world's "oldest profession" is strictly a monetary gain career. An amateur maybe more qualified than a professional but they are not paid, thus they are an amateur.

I get paid.........and work often, but what I charge for a fee is for mixing with their system. If the customer pays for self serve and wants full service that is my beef.

Hey It's the moan zone.

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Manfrensengensen

If you are a gigging musician, please educate yourself with what you need to plug into a house system. If you're a guitarist, bring a stand, mic and cable to plug into a snake if you want your amp mic'd (not a radioshack mic with 1/4" ts cable) keys players, please buy a DI box and mic cable, don't ever hand me a 1/4" ts cable again or you will be beaten with it.
Singers don't ask me for batteries for your wireless mic. Bring your own or a backup mic and cable.
If you bring your friends with you to the gig, please tell them if they stand over my shoulder and try to direct me in how the band likes to be mixed, that they better be the person paying me, otherwise they are risking personal injury.

.

Rant of the year. Excellent

Love your screen name, btw - one of the best movies of all time.
...haven't seen it in AGES.

Cheers.


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[Sqye]

Originally Posted by deda

You nailed it.

Regards, ,,deda,,

.

Hey Deda.

Great to see you here, man!

I hope you're well.

Cheers, dude.


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[AfterViewer]

WoW! Beating somebody with a cable and risking personal injury. Hmmm.... tutt Not proper SoundGuy behavior.

[Halloween]

Wait a sec... the sound guy does not have the equipment to run sound so he passes the buck off to the musicians? Thanks for the laugh.

[Chrisc_o]

The OP sounds like a rant about a very specific situation that does not apply in any general way to live sound at all. That should have been explained from the get go.

Since it wasn't, I'm in the camp of "the tech needs to think of everything needed to get the band's sound through the PA".He should also get the band's specs or rider beforehand and communicate with them or their crew to clear up any misunderstandings prior to the gig. That is the "professional" way to handle things whether or not money is exchanging hands. Not doing this is taking chances that something will go wrong. If I'm hired by a third party I get on his/her ass to get me the info I need rather than speaking directly to the band.

If something is going to go wrong when I'm at the controls you can bet your ass that 9 times out of 10 it's the fault of the band or promoter and anyone who matters will know it. I pack extra mics, DIs, cables, random adapters, even a small mic stand or 2 if I have room, and this is on top of whatever was supposed to be present and available. Stuff breaks, someone decides to throw in a kazoo solo at the last minute, stuff happens. My job is to make it happen smoothly and comfortably.

[AfterViewer]

Also make sure there's no black jelly beans in the mix bowl and plenty of Doritos's (including 3rd degree habanero) in the snack trays.

[T1M]

OP is hella mad. its funny.

[joeydego]

I always bring a stand, mic and cable because I will not use your 609 swinging in front of my amp. No way, no how.

[FarWestWrenchCo]

I've been a gigging musician for 20 years and I've never had to bring a mic, stand and cable for my cabinet. I bring my own vocal mic cause it's more hygienic, but that's a different story. With your current perspective I predict you're going to keep having these problems.
It's a bit sad when live sound guys come to hate musicians. Sure, we're an infuriating bunch of misinformed dreamers, but this is music after all. Perhaps you'd be happier servicing accountants or lawyers or the like...

[woodnote]

There's a difference between mixing for dive bars and mixing in a more professional venue. I think you might be confusing the terms "professional" with "working". Both are paid. But a "working" live sound guy running sound at some bar is a totally different game from a "professional" running sound at a professional level venue with professional bands. If the venue in any way labels itself professional, all you should ever expect from the bands to bring is their instruments and amps. Although I do like the bit about beating the bands friends about their "mix input"!

[Sqye]

.

These professional responsibilities are not mutually exclusive.

If you're a pro act, you have your own gear.

If you're a pro venue, you have your own gear.

If you're a pro sound guy, you have your own gear.

And if EVERYONE on the gig is truly professional -
there should be 3x the amount of gear needed for pretty much any situation.


In truly professional situations, the band's sound guy communicates with the house engineers through management, etc.

Best sound gig I was ever involved with was Disney Hall in LA. in 2007 (my band Luminous)
(2) million dollar 268-input consoles - one for FOH, one for monitoring,
and a crew and gear that put all others to shame.

Everything after that seems like a joke to me.



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[Manfrensengensen]

Hey I'm a musician also, We are talking bar gigs here, and the band owns the system. I'm just mixing not providing a system for halftime at the superbowl!

[organsymphony]

lol.