live music sound system

[GSB]

Hi folks

In saw the ausiefloyd last night at an arena in Leeds.

Band were excellent but what ruined it for me was the overblown bass...it just wasn't tight...rather than a first thumping sonic boom through my chest it was like muddled thud....

Was this a sound mixing issue or could it be down to the sound system?

 

[Glacialpath]

Was this a sound mixing issue or could it be down to the sound system?

It was most likely to do with where you were stood more than the mix or PA system. If you were stood right in the crest of the bass sound waves it's going to hit you like a slap. If you had moved back or forward a few steps you may have got great bass.

Unfortunaly the sound man will mix to where they are standing behind the desk, so will sound perfect to him. There will always be a few spots in any venue where the sound will be aweful. You got to find where it sounds best. Also the hotter the venue gets the more muddy it will sound no matted where you are.

 

[GSB]

Unfortunately we were seated,2nd row...to the left of the stage.

 

[pauln]

Unfortunaly the sound man will mix to where they are standing behind the desk, so will sound perfect to him.

Most shows I've worked on, the sound engineer spends ages walking around the venue talking to the guy on the desk via radio. The aim is to get the sound as good as they can for the punters. I think the op was just too close to the bass bins.

 

[GSB]

That's the thing...I couldn't see any bass speakers,just 4 banks on a suspended rig.
Wish I knew beforehand how it was going to sound...I wouldn't have gone.
As we were about 2meters behind the vip seats I didn't anticipate this problem.

 

[Frank Harvey]

It really is down to how good the engineer is. There's been a number of gigs I've been to recently where the bass is just excessive with a huge lack of control, and this was despite standing by the mixing desk.