Advice

[Conti]

Ok let me start this off by saying in no means am I trying to be disrespectful here even though I know I will get a lot of shit for writing this but I really am not trying to be an ass here. I went to the symphony X show last night and saw and heard you for the first time ( other then watching a video ). I thought you guys were pretty good and tight exepct for one thing. The harmonization was very off. I also saw this in the videos of you guys on youtube. Is it suppossed to sound like that are your guitars out of tune? I am just saying this because it made it hard to enjoy the show. When you guys werent harmonizing it sounded great . The maiden cover was killer. So I am just saying that if you guys worked on that then you would be a solid band in my eyes. Once again I don't want to sound like an asswhole I am just giving my opinion.

 

[OdinsCourt]

It's all good, no offense taken.

Here is the thing that people (who don't perform on these kinds of shows) don't realize - bands that aren't the headliner are not given time or resources to be in a good position. They rush you on/off the stage. They give you zero time to setup. No sound check. The line check is so basic that you don't know until you start playing if you'll be able to hear anything. You really don't have time to even tune instruments once you get on stage (so we tune before hand and hope the elements don't affect the pitch). When you start playing, you usually can't hear anything other than drums and a low rumble. We're used to it though and press through it.

All that aside, last night added a new exaggerated element - heat. With a broken AC, 600 people, and a stage that is typically (even with AC) already hot, that was the HOTTEST I've ever been on stage. Hot and cold affect the tuning of instruments. So, yes, we had some tuning issues last night. Craig (bass) had a string that was about 1/4 flat. Rick (guitar) and I probably had some intonation issues due to the heat changing the pitch of the strings. So there probably were some notes that didn't sound all there. Factor in our set being cut from what we were orginally told (35-40 minutes) to 25 minutes, and we were rushing to make sure we could fit everything we could instead of taking small breaks between songs to interact with the crowd and check tunings.

Anyway, hope you will check us out again some time.

 

[Rick Pierpont]

Sorry to disappoint you in any way, but I think that Matt summed things uppretty well. How sad is it that the sound on stage is so horrible I didn't realize that Matt and I were out with each other? I knew that something was wrong with the bass tuning right away (that killed me), but didn't realize the rest. Craig said he checked it right before he took the stage and it usually stays in really good. My guess is that a tuner got knocked somehow. I realize that this is no excuse - just trying to provide some insight into an issue that I take VERY seriously.

Weird thing is that my guitar was actually really behaving that night. The JPMM's are quite sensitive to temperature changes, humidity, etc... I pulled my guitar out and had it sitting on a stand way before we took stage and I checked tuning right before we started. Then as always (since I'm EXTREMELY picky about tuning), I recheck it EVERY chance I get. I fell out slightly at some point, but nothing too dramatic at all. It sounds like Matt described he was having some problems, but I just don't know this time. Honestly, between the usual horrendous monitor mix we get there and the extreme heat (which really messed with my head) its a wonder we made it through that set. To put the heat into perspective, when I rolled my amp out right after we got done, it felt AMAZING outside. I thought a front had gone through. It was 104 when I got there @ 5:30, it was 90 when I left @ 12:30. My guess is that is was something like 95 @ 8:15 when I we got done. To think that felt great and AMAZING, you *know* it had to be hot inside there. That as easily the hottest have ever been on stage and I've been performing live for over 20 years!

I know Jay was pissed about the AC being broken too. Apparently, he had problems with the person who had installed the units.

Hopefully the next time we will won't have any issues! Thanks for stopping by though.

 

[Cheiron]

Heh you guys were good. I thought that your tunings between Rick and Matt were pretty close. It didn't cause any nasty oscillations. So it still sounded fine. Its not like you had the opportunity to tune to each other once plugged in....

I saw right away Colin was like 'this isn't sounding right' and he was trying to tune it based on the keyboards. He got it going fine I think in the second song. He played it smart though and it didn't screw up the sounds of any of the songs.

And yeah the mix for an opening band just is what you get. At least I could hear ever instrument and Matt singing. So many bands things get drowned out. The keyboards were mixed in there so oddly though. Like when it was keyboards and guitar hitting the same notes it sounded... strange but I didn't care. It was a fun show, you guys were really in synch, and played really clean. I just wish it had been longer.

And I was totally surprised about the Number of the Beast cover. Beautiful.

 

[Rick Pierpont]

Heh you guys were good. I thought that your tunings between Rick and Matt were pretty close. It didn't cause any nasty oscillations. So it still sounded fine. Its not like you had the opportunity to tune to each other once plugged in....

I saw right away Colin was like 'this isn't sounding right' and he was trying to tune it based on the keyboards. He got it going fine I think in the second song. He played it smart though and it didn't screw up the sounds of any of the songs.

And yeah the mix for an opening band just is what you get. At least I could hear ever instrument and Matt singing. So many bands things get drowned out. The keyboards were mixed in there so oddly though. Like when it was keyboards and guitar hitting the same notes it sounded... strange but I didn't care. It was a fun show, you guys were really in synch, and played really clean. I just wish it had been longer.

And I was totally surprised about the Number of the Beast cover. Beautiful.

Cool, thanks! Good, I didn't either, but then again the monitor mix was, well, not really a mix. Oh, I actually checked my tuning multiple times through the show. When there is a long enough break, I'll mute out (using my foot controller) and check real quick. Its harder for Matt to d othat, because even if he gets a guitar break, he is still usually singing.

Yeah, I definitely heard that and saw his face. He has a tuner but its not inline. Luckily his bass doesn't generally move during a show so its not usually an issue. Who knows what happened this time.

Well yeah, especially with 0 sound check. Sure they line check everything real quick to make sure the mics are hooked up, but the mix occurs on-the-fly. Such is life. Hmmm...weird, wonder what was up with that. So do I! That went soooo fast!

Cool! Glad you enjoyed that!

Good to finally meet you after all this time! See you in a few weeks @ PP!

 

[J-Dubya 777]

Hey Rick!
Try to remember what he looks like (Cheiron) because I'm bringing him some
Keneally related stuff to Prog Power...

I have a new schedule now, and will try to call you this weekend (I'm off - for the first time in like 2 years-besides PP weekend)

I also have to tell you about ripping (literally) my head open last weekend...
:zombie:

 

[Kenneth R.]

damn dude, take care of yourself!

 

[Cheiron]

JDub goes from pissing blood to cracking open his head. He's so metal.