Crappy Monitors
Well, i just got back from testing my Mesa/Boogie Formula Pre at New Hope. This has been my first time testing the preamp extensively with our PA. I also used my digitech S100 rackmount effects unit, which is decent quality. I'll probably only use it for a little bit of reverb though, as I don't have a midi controller for it.
Anyways.
I placed the 2 units stacked on top of eachother on top of a small stool, sat on the floor, and began tweaking. I couldn't get around how muddy it was...so i sat there for an hour trying to coax even *a little bit* of tone out of it, no luck. I was only coming through one monitor strongly, but later when I walked around the stage i heard a very faint signal coming out of another monitor, and it sounded about a million and four times better....Clayton had warned me that the monitor i was using wasn't great, but i didn't think it would make a huge difference. He said i could try listening through various monitors before he left, but i couldn't figure out which channel my guitar was going into as nothing is labelled :S
So i ended up unplugging clayton's direct box that he leaves on stage, and using the XLR cable for his channel, because i knew it would come through all of the monitors. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! I had a cool tone dialed in seconds....and then i rocked out solitaire-style for like an hour.
So for months i have been severely disappointed in the tones i've been using, and all this time it was those crappy monitors (there is two of them, they are some make i have never heard of) that have been throwing me off. The whole time i was compensating for a very muffled sounding monitor, I can just imagine what it sounded like in mains. This monitor doesn't sound anything like the mains...or even the other monitors. Hahaha...Oh well =D. Word on the street is we're going in-ear soon anyways.
Anyways.
I placed the 2 units stacked on top of eachother on top of a small stool, sat on the floor, and began tweaking. I couldn't get around how muddy it was...so i sat there for an hour trying to coax even *a little bit* of tone out of it, no luck. I was only coming through one monitor strongly, but later when I walked around the stage i heard a very faint signal coming out of another monitor, and it sounded about a million and four times better....Clayton had warned me that the monitor i was using wasn't great, but i didn't think it would make a huge difference. He said i could try listening through various monitors before he left, but i couldn't figure out which channel my guitar was going into as nothing is labelled :S
So i ended up unplugging clayton's direct box that he leaves on stage, and using the XLR cable for his channel, because i knew it would come through all of the monitors. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! I had a cool tone dialed in seconds....and then i rocked out solitaire-style for like an hour.
So for months i have been severely disappointed in the tones i've been using, and all this time it was those crappy monitors (there is two of them, they are some make i have never heard of) that have been throwing me off. The whole time i was compensating for a very muffled sounding monitor, I can just imagine what it sounded like in mains. This monitor doesn't sound anything like the mains...or even the other monitors. Hahaha...Oh well =D. Word on the street is we're going in-ear soon anyways.
posted by Anonymous at
7:31 PM
2 Comments:
Hey MAtto - yeah those monitors are just 12" paper cones man - no high end drivers at all!!! I can't believe the church invested in those - anyway, went to music shop in Kitchener with Clayton today and looks like we'll be solving those monitor issues shortly - picked up some gear.
You think that's bad: on Sunday I had to assume the mix was sounding sweet at the FOH 'cause my monitor mix was killin' me - and it wasn't sound tech issues. I had the chance to walk around the auditorium with my wireless and play some tones -yeah, thankfully it did sound pretty sweet in the house. I find it REALLY hard to get into a groove with the band when my mix aint happening - Clayton's hoggin those dual driver monitors (lol)...no sweat IEM's are commin' in weeks... muwhahahahahahahahaahaha...
By
Andy, at 4/15/2005
yes and now they're here boys! matt, what'd you think of the IEM's at practice?
i'm gonna suggest to Clayton about sitting down with the musicians one on one for an hour session each, just tweaking the in-ears. once everyone has what they need, i don't see why we'd need to play with the levels and EQ's much.
speaking of tone at New Hope, i was fiddling on the sound board at thursdays practice. i managed to get an 'alive' tone out of Gary T's bass. i know it's been a struggle to get any character to the listeners ear from his 25yr old vantage, but i found the problem. it was just a matter of EQ.
an all too common myth about bass is that you need to get rid of the mid. true, from the GUITAR you need to boost the lows for groove and the highs for accentuation. Therefore (escpecially with active pickups) the mids need to be held back otherwise the sound is "boomy", BUT the mid and high mid is where almost all of a bass's character is. the best signal to send to the effects (if any) and board is a relativly flat one, with the mids lightly scooped, pushing the lows.
when Gary started playing the other night, his bass sounded how it usually does, dead. after listening with the 'cans' (see, i'm down with the lingo) i noticed there definately was more tone there, it just needed to be brought out. so i checked the EQ..da-da-da-DAAA! ALL the mid was rolled WAY off. i flattened it out then started pushing the mids, two minutes later and it was sounding great. it actually reminded me of some of the more lively p-basses i've heard. his bass naturally has tonnes of bass, so i didn't need to add any. on a graph, the EQ would pretty much be shaped like a rainbow.
we'll see if it still sounds ok on sunday.....
By
Martin, at 4/23/2005
Post a Comment
<< Home