TimR

I thought it was Dave Grohl.

Ironside. You might want to read that over, edit the spelling, grammar, punctuation and paragraphing. It's very difficult to understand. I hope your mixing skills are better Personally as long as I can hear the guitar and vocals there's not a great deal that can go wrong with on-stage sound. I've really never had an issue that wasn't fixed by asking for a bit more of X in the monitor. I think the worst experience I've had is when the bass amp has bled into the kick drum mic. and the engineer hasn't identified it. Live sound is all about experience and I think introducing yourself and talking to the sound engineer as soon as you arrive is key.

This will be the Kanye West born in 1977 who is 39years old? Raised in a middle class household in Chicago. .

Does seem a bit strange. If you're continually coming into contact with sound engineers who can't get a decent sound from your band it's probably time to look at the common factor.

[quote name='bigjohn' timestamp='1435497623' post='2809331'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNkPn0JrTFQ WT actual F. Is this real? [/quote] He looks a bit shiftily at the camera when he realises he's forgotten the words.

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1435486745' post='2809154'] +1. Of course you won't like it if it's hip hop. I have never had a conversation with a middle aged white bloke about Kanye... or even classic hip hop (DMC/PE etc.) [/quote] Sorry. I'm a white middle aged guy. I grew up in the 80s/90s, the formative years of Hip Hop. What I heard last night was NOT hip hop. Obviously he has fans but Glastonbury is no longer the place for a specialist artist to perform. Especially as it's now become a Mecca for middle aged marketing consultants. .

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1435485711' post='2809136'] Some singers with very, dodgy intonation, have gone on to fame and fortune in the past. Simon Le Bon and Sade are two that instantly come to mind. [/quote] I agree. Far too much reliance on autotune means we have forgotten what real live singers actually sound like. I suspect people in the live audience wouldn't notice. I thought she was away with the fairies.

I like hip hop. Was that hip hop? I thought it was more like RnB.

[quote name='Jenny_Innie' timestamp='1435442684' post='2808900'] Twitter has just about melted and it's mainly positive. [/quote] That's what happens when you follow people with the same tastes as you. You get a biased view. My Twitter feed has also melted. But not positively. I watched two numbers. I didn't understand it. It's obviously some kind of high art but doesn't appeal to me.

Lemmy has been very ill for quite a while. Florence was high as a kite. Glastonbury was summed up very well last year by Bruce Dickinson when he said Maiden would never play there.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1432852954' post='2785722'] Excellent stuff. I'll be walking around with my two cameras, taking photos and vids of the event, and also taking photos of the photographer taking photos of you guys... Big thanks to Si for manning the photobooth, TimR for the backdrop, and Mick for the idea. [/quote] No problem. The photos look really good.

I only had one Tuba. Although classical musicians are a bit more relaxed about other musicians borrowing gear. The orchestra pit isn't quite like a pub gig.

[quote name='randythoades' timestamp='1435237732' post='2806846'] as TimR and Marc S say, I do carry a DI and don't do backup amps for some reason. I have two amps, one set for DB and one for EB but prefer the DI backup for both. Although I rarely have needed the backup of anything myself, I like to be the one who saves the day by having a spare cable, mic, connector, strap, strap locks, pens etc. I mean who takes spare guitar strings and pedal patch leads to a gig where they play bass and no effects? Me! What a plonker... [/quote] It got to a point when a drummer had a go at me for not have the correct spare lead for someone else. That's when I twigged... Look after your own gear and it won't go wrong. Look after someone else's and you'll get the blame when their kit goes wrong.

[quote name='smaz' timestamp='1435236074' post='2806808'] ... I do however have extra guitar cables, speakon leads, power cables etc. - don't have backup strings at the mo (need to sort that out!). That way I've also got stuff other band members may need too... [/quote] That's what I used to do. But in the end I learned it's really madness.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1435233652' post='2806762'] ... My obsession has gone a bit far though as if playing at a big-ish, paying gig I take a spare Amp head.... just in case Is that obsessive? Never had an amp break down during a gig..... ... [/quote] My dad always used to take a spare power amp to his gigs. It's not a huge thing and can be used on any instrument in an emergency. Nowadays a DI into the PA will get most of us through a gig.

[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1435225358' post='2806629'] If you haven't broken a string at a gig and then tuned back up and carried on playing on three strings for the rest of the set until you can tie a knot in the end of the broken one and put it back on in the break between sets.... then you haven't lived. [/quote] I broke a machine head on the E string on the opening number of a NYE gig. Spent one verse of the next song moving all the strings up a machine head. The rest of the night was not easy. I take a spare bass.

[quote name='wdejong' timestamp='1434990897' post='2804487'] I intend to swap guitars when we play that one song in drop D. No idea if/how it's going to work, as it will be the first gig I'm doing it. Is there anyone who down-tunes their guitars live on stage, mid-performance? [/quote] Yes. I do. The important thing is; it's not part of the act. The vast majority of the audience are not there to watch the bass player down tune or the lead guitarist swap guitars. As said above, do it quickly and effortlessly with the minimum of fuss. The only people who should notice it happen are you and that gear-geek in the audience who is only there to gear spot

I have recently (last 5years) started taking a spare bass to gigs after a catastrophic failure. I have spare strings, a spare instrument lead and a spare power lead. I also have a DI box so I can play via the mixer in the event of my amp dying. That's it.

In 30 years of playing in bands I've never listened to the vocals other than to check the level and that they're in tune.

"Letting a stranger loose on my PA" isn't the same as "Taking some advice on a mix." I love the Internet.

Marillion pioneered the crowd funding idea. https://www.virgin.com/music/how-marillion-pioneered-crowdfunding-in-music One of the bass players here has done it too but I'd have to do a long search.

[quote name='tinyd' timestamp='1435050112' post='2804863'] I think the best approach to broaching the subject of sh*te sound with the band is something along the lines of "Nice set guys - it sounds a bit muddy at the back where I was standing, do you need any help with the sound?". They may refuse, but only complete c*cks would respond with any hostility to an approach like that. [/quote] Precisely. It's all about your approach.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1434995866' post='2804551'] You'll seen 'sound guys' doing the same thing in a pub.... especially on these multiple band charity bills. Invaribly the next band on will be taking note and TELL the 'engrs' what to do....if only if it is to say..VOX only P,A please... as I can hear how the are 'mixing' the other bands [/quote] Are you typing on a phone, that makes no sense Maybe I'm different to everyone else. I'd rather speak to the right people who are responsible for the bad sound, at the time. It has better results than coming on a forum later on and complaining to the wrong people after the event. On at least two occasions in the last 30years I have had to point out to a 'soundman' that there was no bass guitar in the mix. Only for them to head off to the stage looking for a failed XLR cable, but only after scowling at me and then suddenly dawning on them that I was right. Seriously, it's not hard to have a polite word with someone. It's their problem if they don't want to listen.

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1434916504' post='2803857'] The problem most people who are bad don't realize it. Most of the time the people who just pop out of the audience and give you advice are generally the last people you should be listing too. Anyone with a lot experience of live sound will probably have come to the same conclusion. If a bass player came up to you and stated giving you unsolicited advice you would probably class them has a bit of a dick and it's the same with sound. [/quote] I don't agree. It all depends on how you speak to people.

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1434908543' post='2803766'] It's not your band so why bother? If they like their setup then leave them be. I know I'd be peed off if a random bloke said we could improve the sound doing X, Y and Z. [/quote] They didn't though. They were fiddling throughout the set. There's a difference between a band that sets itself up and just believes it's right and a band who are clearly struggling.