i just returned from seeing lynyrd skynrd saturday night. the band was in great form, but i had major issues with the sound.

from the opening notes of "i ain't the one". i knew we were in trouble. we were about 20 feet from the stage at an outdoor show, and the bass was just brutal. i like good bass, but this was just too much.

second was the guitar mix. they were barely noticeable above the bass and drums. it also led to some interesting sounds. i kept thinking that somebody was playing something wrong, only to figure out the the harmony guitar was much louder than the lead. my brother-also a guitarist-noticed the same thing.

still a good show, but the sound could have been so much better.

anybody else had a similar experience?

I went to see Gregg Allman and friends in 1995 IIRC,and was about 20' in front of Gregg,trouble was I was in line of the PA stack on that side of the stage,like your experience the bass was brutal,I could feel the notes slamming me in the chest...my ears were damaged that night more than any other time I can remember and were painful for about three days....never again,I'm more careful nowdays.

yep had that PA stack experience at a Joe Bonamassa gig, think the trick is get in early for the best seats, probably somewhere in front of the mixing board

right on! everybody wants the front seats, but the guys on the board seem to set everyhing so it sounds good where they are. next time i'll stand further back.

Laugh your A#@$% off at this one, but I had that same experience at a SUGAR LOAF Concert in 67/8 I think my hearing suffered permanent damage that night. At the time it wasn't funny.
----Danny,

True that, best place I ever went was at a Red Hot Chili Peppers gig at Earls Court, the sound techs were at floor level right in the middle of the standing area, so me and my friends went and stood right behind the techs leaning on the railings. Great sound and comfort, with the added bonus of a decent view as there wasn't a sea of crowd directly in front!

I've started taking these to most shows, not where I'm playing but where I'm in the audience. Just a suggestion!

As a sound person myself,I call these black spots.they mean 1 or both of 2 things,a=you have bad equipment,b=you need more smaller speakers to balence out these spots.

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I LIKE PIE!!!!!

IF I DO SOMETHING STUPID,DON'T SAY A WORD...

+1

Mixers mix so you can FEEL the band as well as hear, and while it does need to be dangerously loud, it's always gonna be loud. We just saw Ambrosia in a small. 200-seat club, and the mix was unbelievably good, but I enjoyed the show much, much more because I had my Hearos. By the time the got to the encore ("Life Beyond LA"), they were shaking the walls. Don't leave home without 'em.

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Jim Bordner
Gravity Music - www.gravitymusic.com
Composer, producer, Egnater Artist