HI James,

On Sun 2039-Jun-19 12:14, James Bradley (1:342/77) wrote to Richard Webb:



 RW>   YEah, so many folks don't know anything about how
 RW> to interact with an actual stage crew and the reinforcement
 RW> folks, etc.  I've said much the same things as I put in
 RW> that little file to bands when doing one of these benefits


JB> Admittedly, much of my inclusions were paraphrasing words I saw from
JB> you  elsewhere. Sympathy for a person's workload could go a long way
JB> toward a  better world, but when a snot-nose throws a hisey fit
JB> because you won't  ride the threshold on a gate along with 14 other
JB> effects cues for each  song... "SECURITY!"

YEah I know, that's the other thing frustrates me, was
drummers who didn't tune the kit properly, expect me to
solve their problems with technology, such as noise gates on tom mics, etc. 
OFten any signal processing I had available
was needed elsewhere, i.e. the bass man who can't play with
good dynamics, so I had to strap a compressor across his
channel, or the singer with poor mic technique, etc.  That's part of the
reason I insist on that input list, stage plot,
and some notes about the setup.  IF an act expects to have
gates for the toms, etc. etc. it's nice to know about it
ahead of time.  i may, or may not be able to accomodate the
request.  WHen I owned my big system signal processing was
my weakness in fact, I had racks and stacks plus mixers,
snakes etc. but my shoestring operation was weak on good
signal processing.  I think I had a Yamaha spx-90, a
digitech something or other digital delay, a rOland space
echo, and about 4 channels of dbx compression.  I could
borrow some stuff from the big player I also worked for at
times, but oftentimes I'd get the bigger shows I got, or
those fests from hell because his A rig, which consisted of
both his B level rigs was booked.  THis meant I was having
to rent or borrow elsewhere, and I'd only rent if it was a
ogtta have it on the rider, and I was getting paid my full
rate.  IF I was working on the cheap you didn't get me
renting additional signal processing gear.





JB> "Bottom right = good. Top left = bad. Got it?"  In my fantasies,
JB> an  automated board might eleviate any mess Junior could do, but to
JB> spot the  special idiot that could erase your snapshot of unity gain
JB> would be the new challenge.

YEah I remember the first one I played with, Yamaha 01v with the snapshot
automation.  THat was a day from hell, two
blind guys trying to figure out interfacing that thing with
two Alesis adats for a session.  I was glad my buddy still
had the harnesses to his old Studiomaster.  Once his
girlfriend got home from work and could help us with eyes
for the reference manual we sorted out our problems, and the overdubs sure
went smoother with the snapshot automation.

 JB> Did I tell you about the young aspiring motion picture projectionist
JB> ...
 RW>   YEah I can relate.  A buddy of mine who services
 RW> broadcast transmitters is always telling stories about
 RW> people wearing watches rings and the like and 

JB> Welding classes are down the hall? Cripes... Imagine how many ways
JB> "talent"  finds to ruin a modulator's gain structure? I took over a
JB> drive-in theatre  for a fellow that would drive around his charge to
JB> see if he could boost  his FM transmitter to give the WHOLE
JB> neighborhood a "free show". What a  "clipping mess" that product
JB> sounded like!

  sOme people shouldn't be allowed near such
things.  A friend of mine in upstate NY was arguing for a
poster in an internet forum to acquire a large format Yamaha digital for a
church monitor console because setting could
be passworded.  I argued for good old analog, because the
"praise team" didn't have sound techs even for front of
house, talent adjusted it themselves.  SUre it's nice to
have those parametric eqs on all the groups and that, along
with compression gates and the like, but folks who are
boiling hard just to remember to count down to the fourth
knob on the keyboard channel if you need more keyboard in
your in-ear monitors and turn that one up are going to even
have a tougher time selecting things in the menu structure
from hell.  Then, since they use in-ears, if some bonehead
happens to defeat the limiters that protect his eardrums and deafens himself
then he sues the church.  THere are reasons
we professionals advocate that anybody monitoring through
those earbuds or headphones should strap a brick wall
limiter across them.
All you need is somebody defeating that because they suffer
from the principle of mild, as in "make it loud dammit" ya
know what I mean .





JB> "Show up in uniform, and be on time." is a saying I've heard
JB> elsewhere. I  wanted to include, if you show up in a second hand
JB> leisure suit and penny  loafers borrowed from dad's closet or steel
JB> toed boots, cargo pants with a  water bottle in 'em and a t-shirt
JB> with only a couple of well deserved  holes; who would *you* trust
JB> more? 

  Seen that more than once too.

JB> Consider it work, kids! Consider the pro's workload. Respect their
JB> advice.  Showing up to learn and assist if and WHEN asked to, and
JB> you might have a  future in the biz.

Well spoken.  i tell newbies working a crew with me, show up professional
dressed, actual shoes on feet, ready to work.
DOn't ask questions unless they're essential to getting the
job done right, that is, until afterword, then ask any
questions you have.  IN the studio the newbie working for me isn't just a
gofer coffee gofer this, he's the documenter,
everything that goes down in documentation is written by the newbie, even if
he doesn't understand it.  tHen we go over
his session log after the day's work is done, and we explain why he was told
to make note of that.  This means making
notes of the position of every knob button and fader on the
console, what's patched where on the patch panels, etc.

 JB> Oh... MENTION BATTERIES in the spares department! How many cordless
 JB> mikes  go dead right after sound check and just before the first
 JB> chorus in the  first song?


 RW> Indeed, that's why I never got into band management.  IT's
 RW> hard enough just managing the tech part of the shows.

JB> When we picked up a *real* soundman, it was interesting watch him 
JB> consistently improve our product. What a wealth of knowledge that
JB> guy was!  Appreciate it if you got it kiddies!!!!

INdeed, there's a reason that sound techs demand the kind of money they do,
and often they're underpaid at that.  WHen
I'd work for my main man and do the big arena or other
venues for a national act I'd usually get tagged with mixing monitors, and
usually get a compliment from the performers
after the show, because I tried to anticipate their needs.
Biggest problem I'd have with them was communication, they
couldn't just use hand signals and point to tell me what
they needed more or less of.  But then, often they didn't
need to.  I'd actually listen to their monitor feed, and
factor in their position on stage so as to give them what
they'd need to blend properly and emphasize what they might
have difficulty hearing.  A lot of folks don't like mixing
monitors, but I enjoy it.

 RW> COnvincing these guys of all this is a nightmare.  dId the
 RW> raod bands as a muso for years.  WAs funny, often I was the
 RW> only guy on the bandstand who had gaffer's tape, basic hand
 RW> tools, etc.

JB> Oh, PHART!!! Like I wrote to you elsewhere: fluids, expendables, zip
JB> ties,  and yes; gaffers tape... Us drummers need to know at least a
JB> *little* about  lubricants, but I've heard about guitarist utilizing
JB> WD-40 (Silicone by  the end of the day, with a petrolium water
JB> dispersant carrier.) on their  fretboards and such. Drummers... If
JB> you don't know the difference between  Teflon and Graphite, LEARN
JB> IT!

As well as what the different lubes are supposed to be used
for.

 JB> Right-handed sewer flute? 

 RW>   DOn't know.  I got that "left handed sewer flute"
 RW> from PDQ bach.  ARdith would get the reference I'm sure .

JB> You punishing me behind my back for my absence, or trying to write
JB> The  Blue Man Group into a classical score? 

Maybe both.  See Dallas's post on the left handed sewer
flute.  I replied to it, but had a little technical
difficulty here and it never made it upstream.


Regards,
           Richard
... NO highs, no lows, must be Bose.
---
 * Origin:  (1:116/901)