Quiet Vocals?

Frankiestylee

I play quite a frustrating gig last night, and I'm wondering if anyone could shed some light on it.

We were soundchecking and there was pretty much nothing in the way of vocals coming back through the monitors. We asked for more and were told the singer was singing too quietly. Now, he's not an extremely loud singer for the most part, but we've never had this problem before. Apparently the engineer had the gain up as high as he could before feedbacking, and we couldn't get any more vox in the monitors... so um, that was nice.
We got off the stage and then the next band got on and were told the same thing, but I know the singer was belting them out, you could see it in his face/neck, yet he was told the same thing.
When the band before us were playing it was a disaster, there were barely any vocals in the mix and obviously I don't know what we sounded like, but I'm afraid to wonder.

Just wondering what the reason for this could have been? The engineer was pretty reputable and not just some inexperienced kid. If it had of been the mic (which did seem a bit dodgey at times) surely he would have copped it at the desk? Another possible reason was the headliners brought a full Marshall cab to a gig in a small venue, and the engineer was giving out at the start, so maybe because the guitars were so loud onstage there was more chance of feedback or something (though they didn't seem THAT loud)? I dunno... I'm quite confused by it, but as usual I didn't have the technical info to start arguing anything.

Niall - Dahlia

Well first off, you say the engineer was experienced...but using the excuse "Your singer is singing too quietly" and then the next act having the same problem despite the vocalist screaming his lungs out...there's a smell of bull**** there.

Live sound isn't my thing, but there's loads of reasons as to what the problem might have been, most of which you listed: dodgy mic, problems with feedback due to the backline, masking problems between the guitars and vocals...all of which could have been dealt with by the engineer.

In saying that, he could have been working with **** PA and wedges, a dodgy desk and **** all rack gear...what venue was it?

Frankiestylee

Ah, the gear was pretty good. It was in the Hub (I was gonna keep that under wraps but then I realised it was in my sig for ages so, meh).
The thing that annoyed me was we had done a Saturday night headlining gig there a few weeks before and there was no word of such quiet vocals, and we've genuinely never had such a complaint before.

Savman

Believe it or not, this issue is much more common than people think, even on the biggest stages in the world.
There are far too many variables in the live sound picture to really know the reasons why this Sound Operator was so conservative with the faders. Getting Vocals clear, loud and feedback-free is a fine art, make no mistake about it.

There could have been genuine issues at hand although sadly some engineers just aren't Vocalist-friendly. On the flipside, many bands with deafening stage volumes and Marshall stacks wonder why they cant hear any Vocals while the amps are cranked to stadium rock levels.:rolleyes:

IMHO the best Engineer is one who understands the mindset of the Musicians (not the one with all the tech spec and head up his arse) and likewise the most Professional Musicians are the ones who dont talk to the house engineer like he's their personal slave and try to understand the problems he faces. At the end of the day, both sides need each other to overcome any problems, there is no quick fix on either end.

Anyway, maybe do some reading and research into live sound and better prepare yourself so you can talk the lingo if and when it happens again. Knowledge is power

unclebill98

Could not have put it better myself Savman!