Sound Guys Adjusting Your Amp

[Sam Cannon]

I was playing a gig last night in Foster City, Ca. When we were warming up the sound guy who is lost and misses the solos most of the time came up and started to adjust my Category Five Tempest. I turned to him and told him to keep his "Dick Skinners" off of my equipment and never touch any of my gear. He stomped off the stage and later I felt bad so talked to him before the show to ask him to forgive me for jumping all over him, but I realize that it is a pet peeve with me.

As it went the show went off just great.

I still feel a little guilty because I try to be kind and supportive of everyone involved.

Anyone else ever get sideways like that?

[MudPies]

Maybe you overreacted a bit, but I don't want anyone touching my amp either. I'll try to do whatever is asked of me, but let me do it.

[amigo30]

He probably would have gotten a bit miffed if you went of started messing with his gear as well. He should have known better. It was cool of you to apologize though.

[phoenix 7]

The "Dick Skinners" thing might have been a bit much, but he should have asked your permission before screwing with your amp settings.

[sovtekking]

Most soundguys are incapable of understanding the fact that it's sound reinforcement and not replication. Anytime you get past a volume that interferes with their pre-defined fader position they simply can't cope. Therefore the turning down of the amp.

[Teleplayer]

Only had one weird thing happen with a sound guy. Otherwise, I tried to work as closely with sound reinforcement dudes as possible - including providing them with complete set lists of the gig - and exactly where/when solos occurred in each tune. Oh yeah, and for house sound guys (as opposed to the sound company we worked with consistently), the band always tipped them $30-$40 after a gig. They were always appreciative and it worked wonders in the long run.

[shihanderek]

As a part time sound guy, I can't imagine doing something like this, unless a guy was totally clueless about his equipment and invited my help. The guy was being a jackass and needed to be called on it. I am with you though, and think the response was over the top, and the apology was appropriate.

Thing is, I bet he NEVER touches your amp again, and thinks twice about touching anyone else's.

[realityczech]

Thing is, I bet he NEVER touches your amp again, and thinks twice about touching anyone else's.

He's probably worried about touching his own "equipment" now.
Forever scarred and scared of the knob!

[scott757]

I would not have used that term but I would have conveyed the same message.

[Sam Cannon]

Only had one weird thing happen with a sound guy. Otherwise, I tried to work as closely with sound reinforcement dudes as possible - including providing them with complete set lists of the gig - and exactly where/when solos occurred in each tune. Oh yeah, and for house sound guys (as opposed to the sound company we worked with consistently), the band always tipped them $30-$40 after a gig. They were always appreciative and it worked wonders in the long run.

Great advice, best I've heard and will do that next time.......Thank you.

[mojojasons]

Wow...Never heard of a sound guy touching someones amp like that. I would of been pretty upset as well but then again I have a long standing hatred of most sound men.

[DiazDude]

What he did was unprofessional. Never happened to me but if it did I'd let my displeasure be known with the individual in question.

[jmbstudios]

I do a lot of sound gigs, and playing. I have never touched, nor had my amp touched.

I have asked guys to turn down, or turn their amps from stabbing the front of house with ice pick highs.

The guy was wrong to touch your stuff.

What if next time you listen to the mix and start tweeking his knobs? You think he would be fine with that??

[Austinrocks]

fiddling with a Mesa Mark IV is justifiable homocide, if a sound guy has with your amp, he should ask you to do something, like cut the bass or whatever his problem is in the mix.

[studiodunn]

touching a man's amp is going to far. not exactly inspiring for that nights sound.

[crosse79]

Have you ever wondered if there is an thread like this in a sound technichian's forum?

"The other day I was with this band & I touched his guitar amp and it was the gravest....."

:D

[Knuckles]

I can't wait for an opportunity to use the phrase "dick skinners" in a conversation.

[roomservice]

I would probably have done the same I think - let off steam instantly then almost as quickly felt a bit daft and apologised to the chap....but they must learn not to touch our things....ever.............:banana

[Blue Strat]

I think I would have asked him what was lacking in my tone and tried to reach a compromise. Most of you guys forget that HE hears what the crowd hears which is a lot more important (asbestos suit on) than what one guy on stage hears.

Contrary to guitar player opinion, live music is not all about the guitar player.

Flame away. :D

[glahnb]

What he did was unprofessional, but most guitarists have no clue what their stuff sounds like out front.

[Gradinger]

As a professional "sound guy", I'll offer my two cents.

The "sound guy" in question messed up badly. He should've waited until you were backstage to turn the treble down.

[phoenix 7]

I can't wait for an opportunity to use the phrase "dick skinners" in a conversation.

What exactly is a "dick skinner" anyway? On second thought, maybe I don't want to know.

[Jon Silberman]

He may well have been right on the tone but he should have asked first.

[CocoTone]

Its like somebody getting in your car, moving the mirrors, adjusting the seat all wrong, re-tilting the steering wheel.:jo WTF,,,but at the end of the day, just put it back to where it all was, and forget it.:NUTS

CT.

[offbeat]

As a professional "sound guy", I'll offer my two cents.

The "sound guy" in question messed up badly. He should've waited until you were backstage to turn the treble down.
Classic! :BEER

As a guy who works both sides of the board, I'll offer my two cents... your perfect tone on stage may sound like dog crap out in the room. If it's a bright-sounding room, you may have to roll off lots of treble to keep from ice-picking your audience. Conversely, if it's a boomy or muddy room, you may have to have a painfully thin, harsh sound on stage to get a good sound out front.
I don't agree that the sound guy should adjust your amp without asking you first, but if the sound guy makes a suggestion about your volume or tone or both, listen to him. His job is to make you sound good out front.
Secondly, if your amp is miked up, your amp is a STAGE MONITOR ONLY. The mains will handle the volume. If you're too loud on stage, you've effectively taken away any tonal options the sound guy has to compensate for the room acoustics. At this point, the only option he has is to ask you to turn down, or change your tone onstage.
It's tough to get over the adrenaline rush a cranked amp gives us guitar players, but the lower your stage volume, the better your chances of having a great out-front mix.
Offbeat

[splatt]

i respond extremely well to reason,
but very, very poorly to blatant micro-management
of my sound..... or anyone else's in the band,
for that matter.
otoh:
it's been an awfully long time since
anyone asked me to alter my sound.
dt / spltrcl

[retrobob]

Yeah, The sound guy should never mess with your amp. He should be able to adjust things on his end. Or at least ask you, as someone mentioned.

On the other hand, you don't want to be at odds with the sound guy.
You want the sound guy to be your friend, so he'll work on making the band sound as good as he can.

[Sam Cannon]

As a professional "sound guy", I'll offer my two cents.

The "sound guy" in question messed up badly. He should've waited until you were backstage to turn the treble down.


Great one, I'll second that and I started this thread:jo

[offbeat]

Having re-read my post, I realized I never responded to the OP's question.
As a guitar player, he has every right to be pissed that the sound guy messed with his amp without asking. I bet the sound guy doesn't make THAT mistake too many more times.
Offbeat

[Blue Strat]

Yeah, The sound guy should never mess with your amp. He should be able to adjust things on his end. Or at least ask you, as someone mentioned.

On the other hand, you don't want to be at odds with the sound guy.
You want the sound guy to be your friend, so he'll work on making the band sound as good as he can.

Right. Depending on your behavior and the sound guy's attitude, you could very easily find yourself completely out of the house mix.

[Teleplayer]

.... but most guitarists have no clue what their stuff sounds like out front.

Truer words have not been spoken. And experienced gigging musicians generally understand this, regardless of how expensive or booteeky their gear is.

[Mondoslug]

it's been an awfully long time since
anyone asked me to alter my sound.
dt / spltrcl


As far as you know. :)

Kidding man.

[re-animator]

Thank god for my "volume knob-only" guitar amp.


Also this sort of thing is what has made me such a tonal control freak from NOT touching the amp. Playing dynamics and guitar controls are my friend.

[loudboy]

Secondly, if your amp is miked up, your amp is a STAGE MONITOR ONLY. The mains will handle the volume. If you're too loud on stage, you've effectively taken away any tonal options the sound guy has to compensate for the room acoustics. At this point, the only option he has is to ask you to turn down, or change your tone onstage.


This is the truth.

Sound dude shouldn't have touched the amp, tho. A simple request to turn it down, or point the amp in a different direction is as far as I'll go.

[HoboMan]

An unknown sound guy touching your amp is not cool.
Years ago when I used to gig we had our regular sound guy and he adjusted my amp on a regular basis but he knew what he was doing and I trusted him to make sure we got a great sound out front.

[splatt]

As far as you know. :)

Kidding man.
ha!
well, yeah --- of course.
there's always guitarists,
and the critics at TGP.
:)

i meant:
onstage, from
a soundude or dudesse.

except to turn up.
or down.
aw, geez:
whatever.....
:love:
dt / spltrcl

[jimfog]

Doing a big outdoor gig once, and IN THE MIDDLE of a solo, the volume from my amp (vintage Fender TUBE amp, keep in mind) dies, then came back, but dropped in 1/2, and I heard this blast of screecy horribleness from the mains whenever I played a note.

I started the routine......checking/undoing pedals, cables, guitar, flipping amp on and off, checking that tubes were seated properly, etc, when I saw this Rube Goldberg device plugged into the speaker jack on my amp.
Sound Dude had taken it upon himself to plug this homemade THING (I'm assuming a direct/load box type contraption) into my amp, because "mic's cause feedback".

I'm not proud of the fact that I ripped the POS out, threw it off the stage, jumped after it and, in front of few hundred people, with my poor western swing band trying to soldier on, reamed the guy a new one, with much foul language, finger in face and threatening gestures.......then jumped back onstage, grabbed my vocal mic, shoved it in front of amp and said "see.......how hard was THAT!?!?!"

lol

Should have been nervous when dude showed up in an old VW bus that didn't carry the sound gear......it WAS the sound gear. He had rebuilt it as a Tapco mixer on wheels............Wally Heider, watch out!

[edgewound]

I use a plexiglass shield in front of my amp now. Most sound men now want you to be so quiet on stage that the amp can't even be felt. If he cant' work with that he shouldn't be doing sound.

The visceral feel of an amp is part of the fun of a gig.

Otherwise...might as well go direct with a modeler...which creates a whole set of other problems when the others on stage don't want you in the monitors,and the drummer never turns down his cymbals or snare.

I would tell the sound guy to take my stage tone and get it out front like he's supposed to....and getting paid for. Don't ever touch my amp, dude....move the mic.

[Sam Cannon]

I use a plexiglass shield in front of my amp now. Most sound men now want you to be so quiet on stage that the amp can't even be felt. If he cant' work with that he shouldn't be doing sound.

The visceral feel of an amp is part of the fun of a gig.

Otherwise...might as well go direct with a modeler...which creates a whole set of other problems when the others on stage don't want you in the monitors,and the drummer never turns down his cymbals or snare.

I would tell the sound guy to take my stage tone and get it out front like he's supposed to....and getting paid for. Don't ever touch my amp, dude....move the mic.

I'm 56 and I've got back to playing plexi, 4x12 and a LP. I was tired of the small amp thing and loss of mojo. I remember back when I was young and being in bands where promised each other we'd never sell out to the commercial thing (called it AM back then, or main stream). I guess when we get older we regress to our childhood, but I do know this, Playing good and being able to control volume with the hands and guitar is a very good thing that grabs the audience. After the confrontation with Sound Guy he came up to make sure we were good and I made sure to ask his forgiveness again in fronte of my band to intentionally eat the humble pie. As far as the gig went, it was off the hook and loud and I do play live a lot, this wasn't my first rodeo...............................:AOK

[Craig Walker]

I would have said something [prob not nice], and I play at church. :)

[re-animator]

I would tell the sound guy to take my stage tone and get it out front like he's supposed to....and getting paid for. Don't ever touch my amp, dude....move the mic.

Why the hell isn't this common knowledge for sound guys. :jo

[loudboy]

Why the hell isn't this common knowledge for sound guys. :jo

Because a lot of the time "your sound" is muddy and indistinct, or WAY too loud.

I don't get this adverserial thing that goes on here.

From 1000's of gigs on both ends of the snake, I'll say that I ALWAYS try to work with either the player, or the soundman to get the best possible sound, w/o killling the player's vibe.

One rule holds 100% true - the bands that can balance themselves for the room, both volume and tonally, ALWAYS sound the best.

If your amp is too loud, it's ruining the mix and both the audience and the clubowner (your boss) will respond negatively.

If you're so dead-set on cranking your amp that it overrides pleasing a paying audience and getting return bookings, have fun in your basement. <g>

[Sam Cannon]

I would have said something [prob not nice], and I play at church. :)


I thought it would never be said, this was a Church gig for rehab people and people looking for help. Not your normal sweet chuch crowd, real hard people with some major issues, that's why I don't do lightweight music. I love my church and the music, but I play in Prisons, Rehabs and sometimes for sunday service (they love the hard blues rock) but it's a little to edgey for most pastures and I'm under their leadership if you know what I mean............rock on Bro...:dude

[edgewound]

Because a lot of the time "your sound" is muddy and indistinct, or WAY too loud.

I don't get this adverserial thing that goes on here.

From 1000's of gigs on both ends of the snake, I'll say that I ALWAYS try to work with either the player, or the soundman to get the best possible sound, w/o killling the player's vibe.

One rule holds 100% true - the bands that can balance themselves for the room, both volume and tonally, ALWAYS sound the best.

If your amp is too loud, it's ruining the mix and both the audience and the clubowner (your boss) will respond negatively.

If you're so dead-set on cranking your amp that it overrides pleasing a paying audience and getting return bookings, have fun in your basement. <g>

The sound-man's job isn't to make the guitar player sound better...that's the guitar player's job. The FOH just makes it heard and hopefully mixed well.

If the guitar rig sounds like turd...not your fault as sound-man unless you're intentionally making it sound worse....which would be just mean, unless the guitar god is a righteous egotistical asshole. Then, it's your duty:eek:.

Look....all sound men have the greatest and most accurate sound system ever invented and can make any hack sound like Robben Ford. It's documented proof...just ask your sound-man.

It shouldn't be an adversarial relationship...But actually, the two can learn something from each other if they just keep..."An Open Mind".:AOK

[HeeHaw]

Sunday the sound guy came up to me and asked if I could turn my amp down a little. He said it was so loud that when he pulled the slider down in the P.A. that it made no difference.:D

I was running a hotplate so I kicked it back a few clicks.:RoCkIn

[Craig Walker]

Asking is one thing.....I'll be happy to oblige, so long as I'm not dealing with the "turn your amp off" dude.

Just don't touch 'my precious'. :p