[quote name='essexbasscat' post='990964' date='Oct 17 2010, 11:10 AM']Oh dear
Another potentially good gig ruined by the guitarist being too loud. Trouble is, he also controls the PA.
Had a last minute call - out to fill in for another local legend that had accidentally double booked himself elsewhere. All well and good. Until the halfway point.
Our guitarist / frontman and PA controller regularly turns up the volume at the halfway point. He's never explained why, even though I've asked him why he does it. Last night, he turned up to such an extent that the gain on my Ampeg B2RE was set to 2 'O Clock and the master at 3 'O Clock, in other words, full up, with my Precision going into it. This is for a small / medium size pub, with my Ampeg into one GS 112. Rating 250 Watts at 8 ohms.
I asked him to turn it down but he said no.
Thing is, I don't know if;
- it's an adolescent desire to just be loud. Repressed in childhood ?
- it's because he honestly thinks that significantly turning up at the half way point somehow enhances the evening's entertainment. Again, I have asked him about this, be he avoids answering the question. He has previously ruined the very good PA settings for the first half of a gig by turning up in this manner. The second half was abysmal as a result.
Thing is, to acheive this exercise in childish behaviour, this guitarist;
- Selfishly damages the hearing of everyone around him to acheive an aim he can't, or won't explain. It is selfish, as he refused to turn down when I asked him to.
- Sacrifices articulation, dynamics, phrasing and to a large extent, listening and teamwork by adopting this stance.
On the plus side, we can busk practically anything (that's in his style and to his liking), he does get the gigs and I've done more stage work with this guy than anyone else in my musical career.
But I do find myself thinking more and more about the musical career I'm sacrificing to have my ears damaged in this way. Additionally, I also find excessive volume highly irritating, even very annoying.
I know our moods are under our own control and not the product of our circumstances, but I have to say, some things are just genuinely very annoying.
The irony ? At the end of the evening we were offered a residency. At least I can use the income to finance a set of ER15 earplugs.
[i]It's like rain, on your wedding day[/i]
[i]it's the free ride, when you've already paid[/i]
[i]it's the good advice, that you just can't take[/i]
[i]and who would have thought, it figures[/i]
T[/quote]
ER25's?
I know a guitard who used to do this, his excuse was more bodies in, more volume soaked up by crowd.
NOT ON BLOODY STAGE MATE!
Enjoy the residency and well done