I have seen many posts in regards to technical issue and would like to address them, as there are MANY things different than a regular live show. It does seem like there were a lot more than normal this year. I do not know why
To address the overall sound issues:
- First, in a regular show, the headliner will do a soundcheck.
- They use their own gear
- They use their own crew who know what the band wants and how they want it (We try to do our best)
- They usually have a LONG time to do so, and get the monitors and front of house sound dialed in. Once it is set, they DO NOT touch it (or strike as it is called).
Progpower is not a regular show.
Monitors, sounds, and volume levels change based on the preference of each band.
Add the fact that the amps, stage layout, and settings get changed. Each time. So yes, things can get chaotic.
Add bands that DO NOT SHOW up for soundcheck, then pop in just before their set and want to use gear that is not onstage.
Add the need for a clean signal to the studio so you can get an enjoyable/usable DVD. That alone would normally be a few hours, with production meetings between studio guys, sound guys, lighting guys and stage crew.
Other issues:
Bands whos wirelesses are on the wrong frequency
Bands who are not familiar with the rental gear and may think the amp is broken when it was fine
Bands who do not bring a backup guitar but do not tell the crew they might need one. Then, they should tell us what tuning they are in since there are about 6-8 different tunings used during the weekend (unless it is an Evergrey or Freak Kitchen year, and then the number of different tunings go up to about 14-16 lol). 99% of the time, we are on top of this and ask the band, as most bands can attest to. I had a back-up set up for each guitarist stage left as they were on during the 2 main days
Bands who show up with non working gear (from cables, to pickups) and expect us to have time to do repairs
What is important on ANY show of ANY tour is not being ready for the expected.. but how do you recover from the unexpected.
If a Euro/US power converter that is feeding multiple pieces of gear gets unplugged somehow, it causes hell as can be witnessed during After Forevers set.
The important thing is their tech and our crew worked together to FIND the unplugged converter in the dark, have a multi meter ready within seconds, take a reading to see what could be re-used and what had to be re-routed, and got it fixed in minutes. YES it seemed like an eternity (to us too, trust me).. but the band was awesomely pro and worked around it (their tech was awesome as well). THAT is what it is all about. They were total pros. Not that s**t happens, but how do people react WHEN it happens.
Not sure what is happening with the wireless vocal mics batteries are changed all night !
Anyway thanks for letting me vent
To address the overall sound issues:
- First, in a regular show, the headliner will do a soundcheck.
- They use their own gear
- They use their own crew who know what the band wants and how they want it (We try to do our best)
- They usually have a LONG time to do so, and get the monitors and front of house sound dialed in. Once it is set, they DO NOT touch it (or strike as it is called).
Progpower is not a regular show.
Monitors, sounds, and volume levels change based on the preference of each band.
Add the fact that the amps, stage layout, and settings get changed. Each time. So yes, things can get chaotic.
Add bands that DO NOT SHOW up for soundcheck, then pop in just before their set and want to use gear that is not onstage.
Add the need for a clean signal to the studio so you can get an enjoyable/usable DVD. That alone would normally be a few hours, with production meetings between studio guys, sound guys, lighting guys and stage crew.
Other issues:
Bands whos wirelesses are on the wrong frequency
Bands who are not familiar with the rental gear and may think the amp is broken when it was fine
Bands who do not bring a backup guitar but do not tell the crew they might need one. Then, they should tell us what tuning they are in since there are about 6-8 different tunings used during the weekend (unless it is an Evergrey or Freak Kitchen year, and then the number of different tunings go up to about 14-16 lol). 99% of the time, we are on top of this and ask the band, as most bands can attest to. I had a back-up set up for each guitarist stage left as they were on during the 2 main days
Bands who show up with non working gear (from cables, to pickups) and expect us to have time to do repairs
What is important on ANY show of ANY tour is not being ready for the expected.. but how do you recover from the unexpected.
If a Euro/US power converter that is feeding multiple pieces of gear gets unplugged somehow, it causes hell as can be witnessed during After Forevers set.
The important thing is their tech and our crew worked together to FIND the unplugged converter in the dark, have a multi meter ready within seconds, take a reading to see what could be re-used and what had to be re-routed, and got it fixed in minutes. YES it seemed like an eternity (to us too, trust me).. but the band was awesomely pro and worked around it (their tech was awesome as well). THAT is what it is all about. They were total pros. Not that s**t happens, but how do people react WHEN it happens.
Not sure what is happening with the wireless vocal mics batteries are changed all night !
Anyway thanks for letting me vent
