Robben Ford Discussion

[Cal]

Daved,

I was reading in the Robben Discussion section about the live sound of the bass rig on the England tour. I was just wondering about your opinion on live bass mixes. I so often end up confused by what the mixing crew is trying to do. There's this huge muddled bottom end that seems to be trying to batter me -- bass, kick, keys all thumping away down there with no definition. What's going on? Can't they hear that at the board? I recently saw the Todd Rundgren tour and the sound was really a mess and this from a guy who's all about hearing the parts.

I'm also curious how after doing a sound check it seems like the first three songs are just a mess as they find the sound. I know people in the theatre make a difference but is that the only reason?

What's Robben's approach to sound check/live sound?

Thanks,

Cal

[ffp_01]

[Daved]

Cal,

Sorry, somehow missed this question when it was initially posted.

As I said in another post somewhere, the artists stage sound is often at the mercy of the venue, the sound system, and whoever is mixing out front. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's not so good.

There are many factors involved for which the band mainly has to rely on the expertise of the "sound team".
With onstage sound, the band and crew has a lot of 'real time' input as the monitors are there for their use and benefit and if they don't like something they can immediately inform the monitor engineer what they desire so he can correct it.

Front of house, however, is a very different, very complicated story. Just a FEW of the things to consider:

What I, as crew, and the band hears onstage can be (and often IS) a whole different thing from what the audience hears. Unless the performer has a wireless transmitter and a transportable instrument so he can actually leave the stage and go out in front, he has no idea what the audience hears unless he has someone sit in on his instrument while he goes out into the room and listens for himself, or sends someone, such as his tech, out to listen and then report back (but then again, he has to rely on someone elses ears).

As John mentions, part of the variables has to do with what gear the venue has (or the band is carrying), how that gear responds to the venue itself (house acoustics vary greatly from room to room), and how knowledgable the engineer is in putting it all together and adapting to the 'environmental' changes.

Another factor to be considered is the ear of the engineer out front and how HE wants to hear the music. If the band considers themselves to be a "folk" band (acousticly vocal oriented), but the engineer wants to mix them as a techno/dance (bass accented & rhythm oriented), the audience can most likely get an entirely, very possibly negative, experience from what the artist is actually trying to convey.
_________________
B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)

[Cal]

Thanks, Daved. Does Robben pull any live recordings off the floor or board to review sets/sound etc. as a tour goes on?