Robben Ford Discussion

[masque]

[Daved]

Hmmmm.... interesting.
I tried several times thru out my tenure with Robben to get him to let me do the plexiglass thing, but he would never even consider it much less try it out.

Just must take some new blood in the ranks to finally get him to try some new stuff.
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B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)

[JohnnyZ]

Why the plexiglass?
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Soul on Eleven

[Bad Juju]

[frank0936]

Daved, I've had the same experience in my band. I tried for years to talk one of the guys into doing something and he was dead set against it. Then I missed a gig and he brought in a sub. The sub suggested the same thing I had and suddenly it was a wonderful idea!
Who knows?
Frank

[Daved]

LOL, Frank.

Yes, I, too, have brought to the table permanent changes with some artists I have temporarily subbed for in the past.

It's one of those quirks, I guess, that artists resist trying something new or different, no matter how logical or beneficial that change could prove to be, unless it's a new or temporary tech who suggests it.

Similar to acoustic gobos in a recording studio, plexiglass is a viable and transparent solution to the problem of controlling loud music sources on stage, but must often be tweaked to the situation and/or playing styles. There are both pros and cons to their use, but the cons often do have acceptable solutions if you play around with them.

You'll most often see plexiglass surrounding drummers on stage, for obvious very loud performance reasons, especially if it is a hard-hitter in a band that plays close together or on small stages.

In the Allman Brothers Band, drummer Jaimoe uses plexi shields to isolate his ears and monitors from the ambient sounds of the other two drummers onstage.
Gregg Allman does not use any plexiglass with his "Friends" band, but I do have a plexiglass setup for him with ABB.
It serves two purposes.
I have carefully arranged the number and placement of panels to (1) protect his ears by reducing the painful volume of drums coming at him from the three drummers behind him and (2) to isolate the Leslie speaker microphones from the drums for more effective mixing by the monitor & FOH audio engineers.

(BTW... I have found through actual use that an added benefit of the large plexi panels for Gregory, is that they can be quickly dragged around to make great emergency rain sheilds when the clouds open up in the middle of an outdoor performance allowing Gregg to continue to play while the audience can continue to see him!)

In the case of guitar amps, guitarists seem to resist the plexi shields because they are concerned that it will impede the sonic interaction of their guitars with the amps. This can be true to some extent, but I find that if the guitar player will allow you to experiment with the size and positioning, you can usually make it work fine. The shields don't need to be big to be effective.

When Val McCullum was playing guitar for GA&F, he had no problems with my use of small plexi panels in front of his amp and actually encouraged it.

Robben has long been concerned with the volume he plays at and the Dumble's distructive nature to patrons sitting directly in front of the amp. I have long refered to fans who want to sit or stand directly in front of his rig ("...to hear every wonderful nuance") as putting their heads down the barrel of the canon. FOH engineers at the sound board in the back of the room, constantly complain that Robben is killing them and is there anything that can be done to drop the volume.

Robben has long been well aware of this and tries to accomodate but, as he says, there is a certain point in turning down where the amp no longer responds the way he needs it to. I try to carry a stock of earplugs for patrons directly in front of the amps (especially with young children), but you can only pass out so many in an evening.

With Robben's concern, knowing this, you would think he would have allowed me to test run some plexi configurations when I brought it up but, no way... till now, apparently, that someone else is setting up the stage... LOL.

With the GA&F tour Robben did, there was a lot of complaint about his volume from front line band members, especially Willy Weeks, and we tried moving around the positioning of the players, the positioning of the amps, even tried a variety of different speakers at Robben's suggestion and expense, but none of that was particularly effective.
The one thing I feel actually would have helped (and both I and others in the band and crew suggested it) would have been Plexi shields... but there was absolutely no way that Robben was going to allow it.

Oh well, I'm just glad to see him finally trying it out and I hope it is working for him.
_________________
B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)

[mudboneblue]

I just wanted to kick in my two cents on the Plexi barrier idea. No disrespect to anyone, but as a 23 year fan of Robben Ford, and having seen him god knows how many times all over this country during the 23 years, the plexiglass setup must go!! I pay money to HEAR my hereos play the amplifiers the way they were designed.

I personally do not want to hear the guitar through some cheap PA system/soundman that is outfitted in many of todays clubs. I heard a couple of people joking " whats up with the Super in the Pope mobile." I WANT to hear the Super Reverb, the Twin Reverb, the Dumble, WITHOUT a "sound blocking" wall in front of quality amplifiers. The BB King NYC show was a prime example "PA only" guitar sound!! If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen and stand back 30 ft. or plug up.... Robben, please revert back to your pure tone projection and rip my head off with your Tele in the future!!! Get rid of that thing. Just my view.......

[mike789]

All of the amps has a plexi-barrier in front. Yet the drummer didn't had he was heavy hand. Does anyone where to get them of such size for an amp? Thanks.

[Bad Juju]

[frank0936]

I was just reading an interview with Joe Bonamassa and he weighed in on the plexi barriers. He said he has used them for a long time, but he prefers that they be set up in an M shape. He thinks a straight barrier gives a harsh sound.
Frank

[mike789]