The Milner Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 because they use the same backline at every gig einstein and bands get a line check to guage levels. the moorings does not have the monopoly on the best sound in aberdeen. though it's certainly no slouch.this is all a bit silly. soundchecks are a great tool to make a gig go smoother. of course you can still play an awesome gig with a shit or non-existent soundcheck but why give yourself that hassle? i'm sure everyone can agree that being able to hear your bandmates helps you to give a better performance. i don't think everyone in the bands i've played in would agree that being able to hear me helps them though einstein?The moorings does consitantly have the best sound in aberdeen, i havent been there in the last three years where ive heard a poor front of house sound or had any problems with the moniter set up on stage.Yes i agree having a good moniter set up is great for a band, BUT like ive said heaps of times now, it is not essential to a band being able to perform their songs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 einstein?The moorings does consitantly have the best sound in aberdeen, i havent been there in the last three years where ive heard a poor front of house sound or had any problems with the moniter set up on stage.Yes i agree having a good moniter set up is great for a band, BUT like ive said heaps of times now, it is not essential to a band being able to perform their songs.the einstein bit was meant to be sarcastic because i felt it was pretty obvious how the moorings got a consistent good sound without soundchecks. please just ignore my shitness. i don't think anyones arguing that it's essential. just that it's pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 the einstein bit was meant to be sarcastic because i felt it was pretty obvious how the moorings got a consistent good sound without soundchecks. please just ignore my shitness. i don't think anyones arguing that it's essential. just that it's pretty good.unelss you have played there you wouldnt know they always used the same backline but fair enough.So we can agree then, soundchecks are nice if you can be assed but not completely essential, as is a good moniter mix on stage, yes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 unelss you have played there you wouldnt know they always used the same backline but fair enough.So we can agree then, soundchecks are nice if you can be assed but not completely essential, as is a good moniter mix on stage, yes?well, all bands should be assed doing a soundcheck but yes let's move onto other areas of gig etiquette now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incredibledisc Posted March 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 well, all bands should be assed doing a soundcheck but yes let's move onto other areas of gig etiquette now.Agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Rocker Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 A silent tuner is the best 60 any guitar player can spend. Lethal Dosage, anyone?!!!Write a setlist, rehearse and time your set, don't get pissed/stoned (esp the latter!!) before you play. You'll think you sound great, but you won't!!Never either start or finish with a cover unless you are in a tribute band.Be on time!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
givemeasmile Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 don't get pissed/stoned (esp the latter!!) before you play. You'll think you sound great, but you won't!!Speak for yourself mate, but it's not the end of the world if you have a few tipples before playing!For me soundchecking is a bitch, played the Lemon Tree in the summer for the international festival and it ended up being a good gigOne band took a whole hour to soundcheck and clearly didnt give a fuck about anybody else, they thought they were the most important act there and sulked when they found out Edgar Prais were playing last claiming "they had never heard of them". They really got on my nerves, we ended up with a linecheck before playing to quite a busy crowd......i dont generally like line checking when a venue is full of people as i think it looks unprofessional and disorganisedto make it worse that leeds band ate our pizza rider!!! gutted!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tam o' Shantie Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 A silent tuner is the best 60 any guitar player can spend. Lethal Dosage, anyone?!!!HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Deathnail Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 I like it when bands actually bother to turn up for soundcheck...or even the gig! Band called Adam Bomb were supposed to be the last act on at Snafu last night. They didn't show up or inform anyone of their whereabouts. They were bringing the entire backline for the other two bands. Kudos to Bloodnut for pulling it together at the last minute. We gave Adam Bomb till 8.15 before Bloodnut dashed off to get gear. Sidestepping the issue of bands providing their own amps yada yada yada... If you've been told that a band are more than happy to share their backline with you and then don't show - how prickish is that?Work with the sound tech - The old trick of turning your guitar amp up just before you play ruins a mix in a smaller venue drastically. Talk to them if you're not happy. This does assume the sound tech is an approachable type of person! It's been awhile since I've worked with an utter grump though. Kartta played a date in belfast last year and we had the most useless engineer. He just seemed a little clueless and awkward.Idol Wild Phil is really good at getting in touch with bands we're sharing a bill with beforehand just to introduce yourselves, suss any logstical/gear problems, and try and smooth out any possible problems. This is a positive approach. Have more than a competant understanding of the gear you are using and how your group work together musically. If you can sort decent amp levels between on stage, you'll all be happier about how you hear each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbroken Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 to echo a lot of the things said on this thread...I would never let anyone use my bass amp, NEVER. I worked hard to get that amp and their is absolutely no reason why some little cretin should be able to use it. And increase the chances of it blowing up. I have had my fair share of problems with it, and thats why no one uses it but me.As for the whole soundcheck thing, personally I can agree with Milner, I don't really need a soundcheck, as long as I can hear Dan, which I always can and as long as I can hear Nick, again, which i always can.Speaking from an engineers point of view, I can see why people would be mad that soundchecks run late etc, but at the end of the day, it is a job, regardless of how much we like it or whatever, if we get paid to be there from 6, we will not be coming earlier. It really pisses me off when I can have a room full of bands waiting, tapping their feet and complaining about the amount of time I'm taking to set up, when I'm single handedly setting up their drum kit, all the stands to go with that, the bass amp and the guitar amps, THEN I have to mic them all up and then cable it all up. Soundchecks could have started a long time a go if any one of those lazy cunts just lent a hand to the setting up of the stage.I had a gig recently, Mumford and Sons, they were a great band, but they took AGES to soundcheck, so long so that Stanley never got one, they got a quick 5 minute line check, enough time to let me do a rough mix...truth be told, they had the best sound of the night. Sometimes a wee line check can work in your favour, especially if you are a tight, professional band like them who KNOW what your a guitar should sound like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 to echo a lot of the things said on this thread...I would never let anyone use my bass amp, NEVER. I worked hard to get that amp and their is absolutely no reason why some little cretin should be able to use it. And increase the chances of it blowing up. I have had my fair share of problems with it, and thats why no one uses it but me.As for the whole soundcheck thing, personally I can agree with Milner, I don't really need a soundcheck, as long as I can hear Dan, which I always can and as long as I can hear Nick, again, which i always can.Speaking from an engineers point of view, I can see why people would be mad that soundchecks run late etc, but at the end of the day, it is a job, regardless of how much we like it or whatever, if we get paid to be there from 6, we will not be coming earlier. It really pisses me off when I can have a room full of bands waiting, tapping their feet and complaining about the amount of time I'm taking to set up, when I'm single handedly setting up their drum kit, all the stands to go with that, the bass amp and the guitar amps, THEN I have to mic them all up and then cable it all up. Soundchecks could have started a long time a go if any one of those lazy cunts just lent a hand to the setting up of the stage.I had a gig recently, Mumford and Sons, they were a great band, but they took AGES to soundcheck, so long so that Stanley never got one, they got a quick 5 minute line check, enough time to let me do a rough mix...truth be told, they had the best sound of the night. Sometimes a wee line check can work in your favour, especially if you are a tight, professional band like them who KNOW what your a guitar should sound like.thank you scott, you've backed up my point nicely, and no dobut you wont be picked apart for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest idol_wild Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 thank you scott, you've backed up my point nicely, and no dobut you wont be picked apart for it Not at all, because Scott is eloquent and articulate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Exposure @ Lemon Tree Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 to echo a lot of the things said on this thread...I would never let anyone use my bass amp, NEVER. I worked hard to get that amp and their is absolutely no reason why some little cretin should be able to use it. And increase the chances of it blowing up. I have had my fair share of problems with it, and thats why no one uses it but me.As for the whole soundcheck thing, personally I can agree with Milner, I don't really need a soundcheck, as long as I can hear Dan, which I always can and as long as I can hear Nick, again, which i always can.Speaking from an engineers point of view, I can see why people would be mad that soundchecks run late etc, but at the end of the day, it is a job, regardless of how much we like it or whatever, if we get paid to be there from 6, we will not be coming earlier. It really pisses me off when I can have a room full of bands waiting, tapping their feet and complaining about the amount of time I'm taking to set up, when I'm single handedly setting up their drum kit, all the stands to go with that, the bass amp and the guitar amps, THEN I have to mic them all up and then cable it all up. Soundchecks could have started a long time a go if any one of those lazy cunts just lent a hand to the setting up of the stage.I had a gig recently, Mumford and Sons, they were a great band, but they took AGES to soundcheck, so long so that Stanley never got one, they got a quick 5 minute line check, enough time to let me do a rough mix...truth be told, they had the best sound of the night. Sometimes a wee line check can work in your favour, especially if you are a tight, professional band like them who KNOW what your a guitar should sound like.Totally agree with pretty much everything said here. I will let folk use my bass amp though - it didn't cost thousands of pounds though. If it did, I'd probably be the same as you!As for soundcheck times - I've already said that I'm not blaming the actual engineer - I have no doubt that you're paid from 6pm, but it's whoever tells the bands to be there at 6 that is in the wrong, especially if it's all the bands of the night. That's just pointless. We always help putting the kit together and getting the amps etc in place too. There's no point sitting watching if there is actually something we could help with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tam o' Shantie Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Not at all, because Scott is eloquent and articulate. And to the best part of my knowledge doesn't have to co-ordinate his contribution to tri-vocal harmonies throughout his entire set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundian Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 I had a gig recently, Mumford and Sons, they were a great band, but they took AGES to soundcheck, so long so that Stanley never got one, they got a quick 5 minute line check, enough time to let me do a rough mix...truth be told, they had the best sound of the night. Sometimes a wee line check can work in your favour, especially if you are a tight, professional band like them who KNOW what your a guitar should sound like. As far as I'm concerned after the first song or two soundchecks are purely for the bands benefit, sort out monitors and set backline levels. So, was the sound on stage the best sound of the night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbroken Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 As far as I'm concerned after the first song or two soundchecks are purely for the bands benefit, sort out monitors and set backline levels. So, was the sound on stage the best sound of the night?not sure about the on stage sound I never actually asked them how it was, but there were no complaints but FOH sounded great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundian Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 not sure about the on stage sound I never actually asked them how it was, but there were no complaints but FOH sounded great. After working with me for so long they realise complaining gets them nowhere. Kudos for getting FOH sorted for them with just a line-check. They ain't easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 There's not enough bands in Aberdeen with tri-vocal harmonies really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 We had a gig at the Tunnels a few months ago and we were the only band out of 4 who bothered to turn up on time to soundcheck before the gig. We were on third of four bands, and we turned up at half past 6 like we were asked and soundchecked. The headliner turned up about half 7 and the other 2 both turned up half an hour before they were due on stage and expected to get a full soundcheck before they went on. Which they actually got! This obviously extended the handover/set up time considerably, so by the time we went onstage everything was running an hour behind schedule and the sound guy told US we had to cut our set down to THREE fucking songs because everything was running so late! Absolute shambles. We were the only cunts who bothered to fucking turn up on time and we were the only ones cut short, the bands who were on before us should have been told to sling their bastard hook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 If you cant hear what you play, then its impossible to play well. I dont know if you've played a lot of shows, and I'm by no means an expert, but I've performed on stage a few times and can assure you if you cant hear what you're playing it makes it very hard to play in sync and well.As a lead singer, I really need to be able to hear both the guitar and my own voice clearly or I tend to go off key. You can't always hear the key from the bass, especially as our bassist tends to use effects and distortion. It's maybe because I'm quite a shit singer though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tam o' Shantie Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 There's not enough bands in Aberdeen with tri-vocal harmonies really.there is one, and one is enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 there is one, and one is enoughOne is never enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 One is never enough.Girls girls girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Girls girls girls.thats not the point tho......is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runcie Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Hmm, it was myself doing sound for Zed machine that night and remember things going down a little bit different. Just saying if you have a time to be on stage, make sure you're whole band are on the stage at that time. You guys had a slot from 11, until 11:30, and I had DJ's to set up at half 11. The wonderlands did NOT run over time and I could have put you lot on a good 10 minutes early if all were present. I remember standing around, waiting at 11 and your bassist was nowhere to be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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