Reply To: Stage volume affecting FOH mix

[Anonymous]

That particular drummer is both exceptionally talented and humble.
But the effect of that comment is profound. The mindset it demonstrates, and encourages in others..

Feel free to quote him 😉

I have one WL with whom I have serious volume issues, and one guitar player with whom I have intermittent issues (but we’re changing what is on the stage to reduce the options for excess volume making). Also one or two vocalists who tend to get “lost in the mix” for the benefit of the congregation.

It’s not all sunshine and roses, but the quote that needed sharing is the one from the good side of our worship team (which far outweighs the difficult side). Of course in a team of about eight techs (I’m not the team lead, although I am heavily involved in the technical decision making) as part of a worship team of around 60 (including the techs) I don’t get to face either extreme very often.

-8<–
In terms of foldback there was a good point raised on a course I went on a few month back. If a “perfect” foldback mix is 100% then a musician probably needs a 75% mix to play well.
If you get them 75% off the bat (or close too it) then they’ll be happy with that.
If you start off with a 50% mix then they’ll start focussing on it, and won’t be happy, even as that mix passes 90% quality because they are focussing on that mix and not on playing(/leading).

I get positive feedback from musicians when they arrive (I’m usually already there) – they trust me to do my job in a way that they don’t with some of the other techs. That trust only comes with time and communication (remembering that we have two ears and only one tongue), it comes from going on stage and listening to what they can/can’t hear, from making “smart” adjustments depending on what is said. “I want more of me” is almost never what they want, less of everyone else does exactly the same job to them, and doesn’t kill everyone else’s mix at the same time.