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Hi Eddie,

With only a day to go before your performance, I want to get you thinking if I can about this new approach to amplification. In the past, this coaching has led to some spectacular performances.

Here’s the easiest way to think about it.

Imagine your group was rehearsing in your living room, and each person had a volume control for their own voice or instrument, AND NO OTHER. That’s it. Essentially, this is a “back to the future” system. It applies all the benefits of a natural, unamplified ensemble to music that uses amplification.

The shape of the loudspeakers used is important: if they were conventional speakers, you’d be able to have the living room rehearsal but you couldn’t project entertainment sound levels to the audience. If you made the level right for the artists, it wouldn’t be loud enough in the audience. Make it louder for the audience, and it would be too loud on stage, or you’d get feedback.

The seven-foot tall, coffee-mug wide L1 speakers have the unusual property of projecting sound across the stage and deep into an audience with little loss of sound volume. They’re like miniature versions of the concert line arrays used in arenas and stadiums, which have the same sound radiating property.

In our case, placed BEHIND the performers, they provide even sound distribution on stage and in an audience up to about 500 and eliminate the need for monitors, PA and even backline amps if artists so choose.

The demand, if you can call it that, is for the ensemble to listen to each other and PLAY TOGETHER. I know that sounds funny, but with conventional amplification systems employing separate monitor mixes for each player, and total isolation of the stage from the audience, many musicians have learned to just “play to their monitor” and “trust the front of house engineer”. Many have lost touch with what it means to truly play together like an ensemble, where every note, every sound, is controlled by the artists. Until the mid 1960s of course this is how everybody played amplified music. I love watching The Beatles play to the royal family in Royal Albert Hall, with only their amps behind them.

With our new approach, the sound you make together on stage, is the same sound that the audience hears. So if you concentrate on the deploying the song, you can be certain that’s reaching your audience. There’s no one else making audio or musical decisions.

Our experience, without exception in the case of the corporate center concerts, is that professional musicians take to this new approach like ducks to water. It can be a little odd at first, but any anxiety melts with the knowledge that you can just trust what’s happening musically on stage.

The biggest problem we encounter with less seasoned bands is the idea that if the singer (or singers) aren’t loud enough (relative to the instruments) the sound engineer will just turn the singers up. In this new approach, there is no sound engineer mixing the band. The band is mixing the band. So if the singer, or singers, aren’t loud enough, there’s only three options: sing louder, turn yourself up, or play softer. Our system can play very loud. But at a certain point, feedback will creep in and that’s just a drag to deal with. Singing louder is sometimes an option, but not if you’re already singing loudly. No one wants to strain their voice. Usually, the best musical option is to play softer. We train bands to listen to the hits of the 40s through the 90s and ask them to analyze the level of the vocals vs. the instruments. The vocals are king. Always. Then we ask them to deploy a song with that in mind. The results are usually just staggering. Like an angel came from heaven to bless the band. Dynamics!!! Tension and release!!! Lyrics!!! And so on. With your experience, I’m sure you know all about this.

I think you guys are going to have an absolute blast playing on this new system. Your music, and your talent, are perfect. Trust yourselves to be in control and I think it will be one of the greatest performances we’ve ever heard.

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Seriously, I suggest you include some form of this in every L1 package. Also, make it required reading for joining the forum.

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Originally posted by Chuck-at-Bose:
Hi ST,

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I am interested in both aspects. What you had to say, and how you said it.

Tom B had contacted at least one member of each scheduled band prior to the event. That was mostly a high-level converstation, as far as I know. Perhaps Tom could offer more specifics here at some point...

Having a mere 15 minutes between bands made it very challenging to get into a lot of detail. I had the best luck with speaking to each player as I helped them dial in their tones. I'd mention to that the vocals were pretty well maxed out and thus couldn't be turned up, so be sure to EAT THE MIC. I then suggested to instrumentalists that they focus on the vocals and adjust the volume of their instruments accordingly. The short version went something like "Lay back on your instrument when the singer is singing and remember to bring your instrument back up when they're not singing." The most common response went something like "Oh, you mean play dynamically? Cool!"

I attribute the sonic success of this event in large part to the high level of musicianship in the bands. Tom and I were really impressed and pleasantly surprised in that regard...