Last weekend I went out to see a friends new cover band of eighties hair metal.

As reference we played the same joint a year ago through the same pa and the same soundman. We all agreed after that the soundman did a good job and knew what he was doing.

O my god, I didn't realize how crappy a PA's sound at clubs.

Here is what I heard, that I forgot all about after a few weeks with my PAS.

1. Singer was loud but stragely still hard to hear because.....A. the guitar player was using a full stack on both sides, so what ever side you were on got the guitar beam. (they weren't even on that loud they were miced) B. singer had loads of reverb on (the soundman thought he was helping) shame too he's a good singer. You couldn't understand what he was saying when he talked it up between songs, if I didn't know the words to songs many of them would be hard to understand.

2. Blaring. we were two tables in front of the main and getting blasted, many people moved far back when they started. Dont' know why they blared the place had few people in it, the system didn't have to work it's way through bodies.

3. If you moved to different spots in the room, still in front of the band, you got different versions of the instrument sounds, most not complementary.

4. Singer was using a cordless mic and trying to be an active frontman. But, the feedback from the mains defeated that effort and became a constant distration in their set.

5. cound not talk anywhere in the joint while the band was playing.

6. Ears ringing when we got home.

7. Reproduction of guitar cab tones mic'd through pa.....ick.

And this is with a professional soundguy that works the joint all the time and was actually trying. He even knew the singer from the band for quite a while. It was also a small uncomplicated band. Drums, guitar, vocals, and pre programed bass (they got sick of trying to find a bass player) With cover tunes that everyone knows, no less.

Ack, I'll punch the next guy that tries to tell me I have to use the house pa and can't use my PAS.

- ric, March 17, 2006 -

full thread here