Improving Your Band’s Live Sound |
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March 31st, 2007 | Band Leadership, Live Performance, Sound Improvement |
Improving live sound for your band should be a constant and ongoing process.
However, few musicians actually admit that their stage-show needs any serious work! Most performers don't make the effort to record their live performances on a regular basis or with anything other than somebody's camcorder. While it's unfortunate that their fans have to suffer through noisy, boomy, muffled performances, you should be proud that you realize even "great" things can and should be improved - such as your current live sound. It's not that hard to find out where your band's live sound needs improvement. A great test is to record a show from at least 3 different sources:
- Camcorder
- House Mixing Board
- Personal recording device (Handheld DAT/ iPOD)
Most soundmen will record a copy of the show for you if you provide a tape or CD. It's worth calling the club beforehand to find out how they do it. Lately, many soundmen want to make a few extra bucks by selling you the recordings for a fee. If it's under 10 bucks, I say go for it. That's a small investment for the shocking realization that you really do need to get a new amplifier, or fire your drummer. But if it's over $10 or $15, I say wait until your next gig. Your call.
Facing the Music:
When hearing a live recording of your band you will probably experience mixed feelings. You may be excited to hear yourself rocking out, a little anxious waiting to hear mistakes that you forgot you made during the performance, or you'll be so disgusted by the sound that you instantly throw the tape against the wall or out the window. This is a moment that defines you as either an amateur or a pro in the making.
A professional sees this bad recording as a golden opportunity to improve, and sets a goal for his next show. An amateur denies the truth, blames everything but what he is responsible for, and thus NEVER improves. If your goal is to take over the world with your music, you have to realize that your most important product at this stage in the game is not your record - it's your live show. If you hear a bad recording, take it seriously. Granted, most bootleg recordings from shows are not the best sonic quality.
Unfortunately, most fans who come to bootleg your show don't have $3500 stereo condenser mics and trident mixing board on hand to make you sound awesome. They will take whatever crappy device they have and record you, and (hopefully) post your bootleg on the internet or share it with friends. You HAVE to get your live sound as solid as possible, as soon as possible, to reap all the benefits from this bootlegging and word-of-mouth phenomenon. Good things spread fast. Bad things rot. So, you ask, "How does one improve live sound to make for the best possible performances?" Learn to be more self-aware, and read the rest of this article.
Gold-plated Guitar Cables?
Fairytales have it that $50 gold-plated 1/4" guitar cables will keep your sound pristine and crystal clear. In my experience, they really haven't made any noticeable difference, however I'm sure they don't HURT your live sound. Here's the thing: before you go out and spend $500 on all new fancy guitar cables for your band, take a look at your other equipment first.
Your guitar for example... does it suck? Are the pickups noisy? What about your amplifiers? Are you using a Solid-state distortion amplifier? Get a Tube amplifier! Do you have a noise-reduction pedal yet? My point is that guitar and instrument cables should not be the first thing on your list when it comes time to improve live sound. They shouldn't really be the last thing either, but use some common sense. If you have a $150 electric guitar and a $90 10 WATT solid-state amplifier, a $50 gold-plated guitar cable is NOT going to help you.
Noise-reduction Pedals and a note on Pickups:
If you checked guitargeek.com and found out what the Pro's are using, you'll notice many of them use a Noise-reduction pedal somewhere in their chain of effects (mostly at the end). One in particular you can safely call the industry standard is the Boss NS-2. If you or any of your bandmates use Fender guitars (or any other single-coil pickup guitar), you'll probably encounter some on-stage electrical interference which results in unwanted noise. Single-coil pickups are notorious for this phenomenon.
Also, if your guitar amplifier is noisy or you like to use some effects pedals in your chain, you should probably invest in the Boss NS-2 pedal and drastically clean up your act. What I love about that pedal is how it truly retains your natural tone, without taking much character away (if you tweak it correctly). If you do happen to set the threshold too high, your guitar will lose character and sound a bit artificial (the more noise reduction you apply, the harder it is to achieve FEEDBACK).
I believe BOSS makes one specifically for Bass guitars, but I've seen tons of bass players use the NS-1 with no complaints. The more you research this tool (or noise reduction methods in general) you'll realize how seriously music professionals take it. At your shows, you want your fans to hear your music without the extra, unintentional noise. If your goal is of improving live sound, a noise reduction pedal or the (BOSS NS-2) is ESSENTIAL. Seriously. Cool sidenote: The Boss NS-2 can act as a HUB and power all your other pedals! You don't need as many AC adapters and it cuts your setup time down!
Staying in Tune:
The only thing more painful than listening to an out-of-tune guitar is listening to an out-of-tune band! Second in line to that is hearing the band tune-up on stage! How unprofessional! I am a huge advocate of electronic tuning pedals. Every performer with an electric stringed instrument interested in improving live sound should have one. Most of them come with a bright display which tells you are getting in-tune, and of course a big MUTE BUTTON so none of your fans have to hear this non-musical process of tuning. Having a tuning pedal helps your band sound it's best, and it lets your stageshow carry on more smoothly. You can find a good one for under well $100. I had a Korg and it rocked.
Soundcheck and Levels:
During sound check, have your soundman or a trusted member of the band be your sound critic. If you are opening for a more popular or better-sounding band then your own, ask one of their members to critique your sound if possible. Have them stand in different parts of the crowd; right up front, near the PA, in the back, all while the rest of the band is playing. Check if you can hear each individual instrument within the mix.
Don't think that the club's sound engineer is going to fix all your problems! No way! You have to make sure your on-stage sound is as close to perfect as possible so the soundman can make an accurate representation of you through the PA. Are the drums overpowering the mix? Then you'll have to turn the amplifiers up or fire your drummer. Check the guitar volume as the guitarist switches through his different channels - from clean to distortion, distortion to clean; check for extreme sound level differences. This can really throw off a live performance if it's not done right.
An ideal setting for a guitar with 3 channels is to boost the volume about 5-10% when going from clean to distortion, and another 5% or so while soloing. This helps cut through the mix and boost dynamics of the band, so the fans "feel" the music. For Bass guitar, don't try to cut through the mix unless you're Flea from RHCP and every note needs to be heard. For 99% of bands, the bass guitar is "felt" through vibrations in the floor and walls of the club. That is why a bigger bass amplifier at lower volume is much better than a smaller bass amplifier cranked up.
Also, fans start to lose their perception of high frequency noises during the course of a loud show anyway, and a bass guitar simply won't be able to cut through. Shoot for a deep, full-bodied bass sound that fills up the low end of the mix instead of trying to cut through it.
Drummers are tricky and can present a hurdle when trying to improve live sound. As a drummer myself and from working with drummers, we sometimes tend to play softer during the sound check and then explode during the actual show. It's most likely nerves and inexperience. MAKE SURE your drummer is playing at 100% velocity during sound-check or else the other instruments will get swallowed whole. You may have to yell at him, "Play your hardest, sissy!"
Position of the amplifiers and stage Layout:
Many bands want to appear huge on stage and therefore spread their gear out as wide as possible. DO NOT DO THIS! Instead, keep your gear relatively close together (not on top of each other, but not miles away either). The bass amplifier should be close into the drums on one side, and the guitars and other amplified instruments should be on the other side. Also, a good trick is to swivel the amplifiers somewhat inward, towards the center of the dance floor. That way when the sound hits most of your fans, especially the antisocial ones in the back, all the sound-waves from the stage have gelled into one delicious, full-balanced sonic mix. Think of how this benefits your superfan's bootleg recording!
There are many more ways of improving live sound for your band, these are just a few ideas. Check out the other articles on here for more insight on how to be a wiser-rocker!
July 16th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Would better speaker improve the sound?