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Vintage threads from the first ten years
| previous: Lee M. Re: Amp tone at home and with the band -- 4/20/2000 12:33 PM |  |
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Nuances & getting "lost" in the mix
 4/20/2000 3:44 PM |
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Trace | Nuances & getting "lost" in the mix
First let me say that I'm not singling you out. I have heard these statements from other players so I figured I would comment on them. My background consists of being a recording engineer, session guitarist, touring guitarist and a live sound man. With that having been said I would disagree with you. You are usually at the mercy of the engineer (both in the studio and live). If the sound man is good then life is great! (ha, ha) If he's bad then your stuck no matter what you do. If your guitar tone rules then all the nuances WILL come through (provided the engineer is decent). I can say that it's really hard to mess up a great tone but there's no "create" knob on any console that will make a bad tone sound good. The reason nuances do not make it to the listeners ears are.... 1.) Guitarist usually dip the mids really low (or off) and crank the Bass, Treble, and Presence. This creates a serious problem for guitarist who wish to be heard in the mix. The most important thing to remember is that the guitar is a midrange instrument so when you cut the mids way back you are shooting yourself in the foot in many more ways than one. There's no way you will cut through the mix must less hear any nuances at all. 2.) Most guitarist fly the Bass between 8-10 & while it sounds cool (and it does most of the time when you are by yourself...) you are getting into the bass players frequency range. When this happens the end result is a muddy mix regardless of what the engineer does on the console. 3.) The Treble and Presence knobs usually get over used and players do not realize they are hurting the ears of the listeners. Usually I'll ask a player "how often do you put your ears in front of your cabinet to listen to the tone?" The answer is usually "never." If you do this you will find that the tone you are accustomed to hearing will suddenly be radically different. This is not only what the mic "hears" (or picks up) but this is also what the listener hears. The only one who hears it differently is you because you are standing off axis to the speakers where the top end is not as harsh.
I've mixed live shows and seen more drummers, bass players, and singers come up to me and comment on a players tone, be it good or bad. So it's not just guitarist who "hear" it. People (listeners who are not musicians generally know what sounds "good" or "bad" to their ears. They may not know "why" it sounds bad or good. There is obsessing in good ways and obsessing in bad ways so it all depends on where you are coming from. Trace | ||
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| Replies: |
| Lee M. Hi Trace, Tonefactor q{Guitarist usually dip the mids re... -- 4/21/2000 8:29 PM |