Bass levels at live shows
- Thread starter crouse
- Start date
Only by a pianist in the cocktail bar.
It's now a hotel,they have kept the frontage though and its very nice too,
Motorhead 1979 was my first gig there,it was a school night and I was about 15 years old,that turned a boy into a man.
I saw quite a few bands there,The Smiths was also another stand out show.
noogies
My Favorite Woofers.
I play drums, so that's definitely food for thought. Thanks for the post.
crouse
Poorly known member
All three of the shows were at the same venue, an auditorium that seats between 2000 and 2500. I sat in different areas for each show: close to the front and to the side for one, in the middle about 12 rows back for another and in the middle about 30 rows back for another. It could well be an issue with the space. I don't know. To give one example, the Sonics (great old screamers from the Northwest) opened for Robert Plant. They have a sax player and I couldn't hear his playing because of the bass levels.
My wife and I have experienced this also. We recently saw Def Leppard, Foreigner and Night Ranger last fall. While Foreigner sounded exactly like their albums, and we have seen them 3 times, Night Rangers sounds was bad. But what really upset me was Def Leppard. The guys running their boards had no clue. They had the bass turned up so far that I couldn't even guess what songs were playing half the time. You could not even hear Joe Elliot's vocals on 2/3's of the songs. Def Leppard is one of my favorite groups and I was so disappointed we left halfway through their show. I just couldn't take it anymore.
I don't believe that classic rock was meant to have hip hop/rap style of bass. At least not in my 40 years of going to concerts and seeing everyone from Zeppelin to Pink Floyd. They had good, hard CLEAN bass, not mindless thump and drone. Just my 2 cents.
I don't believe that classic rock was meant to have hip hop/rap style of bass. At least not in my 40 years of going to concerts and seeing everyone from Zeppelin to Pink Floyd. They had good, hard CLEAN bass, not mindless thump and drone. Just my 2 cents.
chadnliz
Addicted Member
Oddest music lover statement ever? Lol
fizzgig
Well-Known Member
I'm a musician, i play drums. Played on systems of all sizes. Been going to clubs and shows for 25years.
The largest improvement in live Sound recently is being able to save a sound pattern of a venue. Get the system set up, run a sine wave, use this to achieve best mix for the room, then SAVE. Next time you come to the venue with the same rig or band, just call up that preset and run.
Went to see The Cure at American Airlines Center in Dallas last week. I was in the floor seating, so I walked back to the sound board. I've never heard bass that sounded so good at AAC. Simons bass had depth, but also growl. The kick drum was perfect, and the vocals sat on top of the mix beautifully. So at the board it sounded great, no idea about the cheap seats though! I assume the sound engineer did a walk around beforehand.
He started off the night quiet, and then gradually pushed the volume through their set. It wasn't painfully loud by any stretch though, and I could hear fine afterwards.
The largest improvement in live Sound recently is being able to save a sound pattern of a venue. Get the system set up, run a sine wave, use this to achieve best mix for the room, then SAVE. Next time you come to the venue with the same rig or band, just call up that preset and run.
Went to see The Cure at American Airlines Center in Dallas last week. I was in the floor seating, so I walked back to the sound board. I've never heard bass that sounded so good at AAC. Simons bass had depth, but also growl. The kick drum was perfect, and the vocals sat on top of the mix beautifully. So at the board it sounded great, no idea about the cheap seats though! I assume the sound engineer did a walk around beforehand.
He started off the night quiet, and then gradually pushed the volume through their set. It wasn't painfully loud by any stretch though, and I could hear fine afterwards.
Attachments
SWL3600
Super Member
Pio1980
AK Member
Saw Buckethead in Atlanta last eve courtesy of a fellow AKer, sound level was really high but clear with the industrial earplugs provided at the door and my hearing aids out. Bass was the most intense I've ever heard or experienced, giving a satisfying compellingly hypnotic experience.
This guy must be experienced to appreciate how uniquely weirdly wonderfully otherworldly he is, a great evening for someone (me) who normally doesn't do loud or shred.
This guy must be experienced to appreciate how uniquely weirdly wonderfully otherworldly he is, a great evening for someone (me) who normally doesn't do loud or shred.
So glad I'm not the only one! I'm a big fan of Maiden (1st saw them in '81 on the Killers tour) but have given up going to see them live; it's always been a sonic mess. Bass (and Harris' ego) way too high and one guitarist too many. I love the records though, especially Bruce's solo work that he did with Adrian Smith.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
He says what I want to say, and explains the entire concept so much better than I can. The modern PA has ruined drummers, and their contributions to the overall sound picture and dynamics of an ensemble. Too much loudness and no dynamic contract or sense of ensemble and of interplay between performers. Too artificial as a result.
asilker
Super Member
Horton is a goofball but man what a player. Saw him at the Metro in Chicago a few years ago and smiled at me during every guitar solo. I was baby faced with a big pompadour
reydelaplaya
Super Member
I agree with you. As soon as I read the op's post, I was thinking that this might actually be what's occurring. I see I'm not alone.
It sounds like the OP was saying the opening act had a problem, but the headliners sound mix was better.
I have experienced too much bass during an opening act as well. I never thought I would say that as I love bass, love reggae, and I like it loud. I want my pant legs to flap. I want to feel the bass hitting me in the chest. However, I saw an Imagine Dragons show last summer at the Montreal Bell Center (my daughter won tickets and is too young to drive) and the bass during the two opening acts was punishing, and completely overwhelmed the rest of the music. Once Imagine Dragons played the mix was much more balanced and sounded great. It is too bad I have bad memories of the first two acts. Maybe they are good, but I sure couldn't tell from what I was hearing.
I have experienced too much bass during an opening act as well. I never thought I would say that as I love bass, love reggae, and I like it loud. I want my pant legs to flap. I want to feel the bass hitting me in the chest. However, I saw an Imagine Dragons show last summer at the Montreal Bell Center (my daughter won tickets and is too young to drive) and the bass during the two opening acts was punishing, and completely overwhelmed the rest of the music. Once Imagine Dragons played the mix was much more balanced and sounded great. It is too bad I have bad memories of the first two acts. Maybe they are good, but I sure couldn't tell from what I was hearing.
HTWillie
Super Member
Another down-vote for Iron Maiden's arena sound. I saw them in February at the BOK Center, a 20,000(?) seat arena in Tulsa Oklahoma. The bass was terrible. Not muddy, or overwhelming necessarily, just a constant crashing boom. I think the real problem might be a ceiling or limit to the loudness performances are held to, due to local regulations or maybe safety/best practices for hearing conservation.
The SPL meter on my phone would only momentarily hit 100dB, and remained in the high 90's during the musical parts. Music that's compressed to a <10dB dynamic range and limited to 100dB doesn't have much chance to sound good.
I had a similar experience with similar measurements 15 months earlier seeing Motley Crue in Omaha.
chef free
Super Member
Bass has gotten way out of control at concerts!
I've been seeing live music for 40 years, in the early seventies, most concerts sounded pretty bad, no bass and distorted vocals. Then I saw Yes "In The Round" and it sounded better than the best stereo I had ever heard. In the eighties I retreated from big venue rock shows back to smaller places seeing more blues, jazz, bluegrass and the sound was about perfect. Then in the late nineties, when digital amps came in, big power got cheap and bass got louder and I liked it!. But by the 21st century I started to notice that the bass was getting too loud, it was distorted by pure volume and started to totally overwhelm the rest of the music. It seems like a case of "because we can", also I've wondered if these guys running the soundboard are going deaf from the volume.
I've been seeing live music for 40 years, in the early seventies, most concerts sounded pretty bad, no bass and distorted vocals. Then I saw Yes "In The Round" and it sounded better than the best stereo I had ever heard. In the eighties I retreated from big venue rock shows back to smaller places seeing more blues, jazz, bluegrass and the sound was about perfect. Then in the late nineties, when digital amps came in, big power got cheap and bass got louder and I liked it!. But by the 21st century I started to notice that the bass was getting too loud, it was distorted by pure volume and started to totally overwhelm the rest of the music. It seems like a case of "because we can", also I've wondered if these guys running the soundboard are going deaf from the volume.