Who told cover bands that zero stage volume is a good idea?

[GtrWiz]

I have had the unfortunate displeasure of hearing three cover bands all going direct recently, including electronic drums. All three had serious money in gear, they probably had more gear than a traditional band, were just as loud out front if not louder than most, and they all sounded terrible. Not their ability, but the overall sound was sterile and lifeless.

When did this trend start and why? Set up/tear down doesn't seem like it would be any easier. Audiences don't seem to care either way...

These are high paid bands, I would think the overall sound quality would be very important to them.

[ripoffriffs]

Maybe they just don't realize it cause they never go out into the audience and hear how it sounds from that point of view. They just know what's on their ear monitors.

[Tonedef]

All those bands must never get outside of the "digital, modeling" section of TGP!! ;-)

[dohootowl]

It SHOULD be easier to get great sound with this type of set up, provided you've got good gear to send into the board. Sounds like the sound guy doesn't have a handle on it, or the guitar players haven't got a good sound dialed in with their rig.

[strangec]

This made me want to hit the "Like" button.

[GtrWiz]

Originally Posted by dohootowl

It SHOULD be easier to get great sound with this type of set up, provided you've got good gear to send into the board. Sounds like the sound guy doesn't have a handle on it, or the guitar players haven't got a good sound dialed in with their rig.

Yeah, but it wasn't just the guitars. The overall sound just didn't seem to translate. I would blame it on the sound guy, but out of 3 bands who were all solid players, you would think they would know a quality sound guy...

[GtrWiz]

Originally Posted by ripoffriffs

Maybe they just don't realize it cause they never go out into the audience and hear how it sounds from that point of view. They just know what's on their ear monitors.

could be.

[twoheadedboy]

Bands do this because it gives complete control of the FoH levels to the manager/owner. If you are trying to book dinners, weddings, corporate gigs or other events where the band is not the main event, this makes you a very attractive option. Some of the best live sound I've heard recently came from bands that were going direct. However, sounding really good this way usually requires a really nice PA and a talented live sound engineer.

[JoeB63]

I play in cover bands, but we always use real amps and drums and NO backing tracks. However, I do recognize the advantage of using digital 'amps' and E-drums. For one, you don't need to carry an amp; and if everyone has in-ears, you don't need to carry big stage monitors. I would love that. The second advantage is that you can keep the stage volume very low and preserve your hearing. That's huge. If I was gigging almost every night (instead of just 2 - 4 times per month), I'd definitely want that sort of set-up. We try to keep the stage volume as low as possible, and our drummer isn't a basher-type, but even still, it's usually pretty loud on stage (for me, at least).

I once saw a band with that type of set-up and like you, I thought their sound was flat. It didn't sound good to me (though they were clearly a very good band). But it was the kind of thing that an audience wouldn't notice. They also used backing tracks, and no one (other than me) seemed to care about that either.

Joe

[blackba]

So did these bands have a dedicated sound engineer, were they mixing from the stage, how were they doing it?

I personally would rather not go direct, but my guess is going all direct is a reaction from people complaining that the bands are too loud.

[twoheadedboy]

Cover bands do this because it gives complete control of the FoH levels to the manager/owner. If you are trying to book dinners, weddings, corporate gigs or other events where the band is not the main event, this makes you a very attractive option. Some of the best live sound I've heard recently came from bands that were going direct, or almost completely direct. However, sounding really good this way usually requires a really nice PA and a talented live sound engineer.

There are no amps on stage here:

[Marty s Horne]

Most of the gigs I play fortunately are with standard equipment set ups ie, amps, acoustic drums, etc. There are 2 venues where because of volume and space considerations, we use electronic drums and plug straight into a small PA. These are not my favorite gigs to play but it is a management rule so we do it. I would still rather play my guitar and get paid for it than sit home and watch TV. In addition playing low volume, clean tone gigs is great for making sure your chops are in shape; no volume/distortion to lean on.

[Balok]

A friends band did this 20 years ago. They had THE best live sound of any club band I've ever heard. Killer, punchy kick drum, phat snare with verb, warm full bass, all at a good volume and mixed like a live concert record. They were great at keeping the crowd all night because no one's ears were hurting.

Most club bands sound awful with bashing un-miked drums, directional guitar cabs blaring, weak low end, bad mixes, inaudible guitar solos and ear splitting volume. People get bored or get ear fatigue and leave.

[GCDEF]

I play in a cover band, but we're a rock band and a relatively loud one. Personally, I have no interest in giving control to the owner/manager or pleasing old ladies at weddings. We just don't book places that require those kinds of restrictions. I have no problem with those that do, but for me I like to hear the amps roaring behind me and the drums and bass thumping.

[twoheadedboy]

Originally Posted by GCDEF

I play in a cover band, but we're a rock band and a relatively loud one. Personally, I have no interest in giving control to the owner/manager or pleasing old ladies at weddings. We just don't book places that require those kinds of restrictions. I have no problem with those that do, but for me I like to hear the amps roaring behind me and the drums and bass thumping.

You are absolutely free to make that choice, but it isn't necessarily about requirements or restrictions. Given the choice of booking a band with controllable levels versus a similar one with levels that they can control, a lot of managers/owners will choose the latter. The manager/owner already has control anyway. If you are too loud, they can tell you to turn down or get out, or worse, they can tell the sound engineer to make you as quiet as possible, which generally results in a terrible mix. I guess it comes down to how much you want to work, and how much competition you have.