Question about PA systems at venues, pubs and clubs etc...

["Evil" Aidy]

Just asking this question to y'all out of curiosity really.

Going by your own experiences, do you find most venues run dual mono PA systems rather than stereo?

I've been listening closely myself a lot more recently at various gigs and I haven't really been able to tell if there is any stereo action going on in the way of panning guitars left and right etc. Anyway, would it really be worth mixing in stereo at a smaller venue in a live situation?

 

[guitarguru777]

Being a guy that does both studio production AND live sound I can tell you most guys don't.

I do, and I am known as one of the better guys to get in Vegas for sound reinforcement. I apply a few "studio" tricks to my live mixes like panning the drums, and guitars. 90% of the guys out there just worry about not getting feedback and being done with it, at least that's how it is here in Vegas

 

[arv_foh]

Most systems are stereo but there is not a ton of panning going on, because we want the audience to be able to enjoy the show no matter what size of the room they're on. I usually pan guitars slightly left and right, never hard panned, because if someone was on the left side of the room they wouldn't be able to hear the other guitar. I hard pan overheads, and do slight panning with the toms. That's it.

And when I say slight I mean like 80/20

 

[greyskull]

Most systems are stereo but there is not a ton of panning going on, because we want the audience to be able to enjoy the show no matter what size of the room they're on. I usually pan guitars slightly left and right, never hard panned, because if someone was on the left side of the room they wouldn't be able to hear the other guitar. I hard pan overheads, and do slight panning with the toms. That's it.

And when I say slight I mean like 80/20

believe thats the norm

 

[Trevoire520]

If anything I tend to slightly pan guitars to the opposite side of the stage that the guitarist is on, so that no matter which side you're on you can hear both. Other than that I normally leave everything mono.

 

[Fragle]

depends, i've heard both, at least as far as guitar panning goes.
in my experience, panning guitars left/right (not 100% though) tends to give you a better sound in most areas, as theres more clarity....people on the left/right will miss some stuff though. on the other hand, with guitars in mono i feel the overall sound suffers a bit due to less seperation. but at least this way anyone can hear anything anywhere, anytime....unfortunately, most of the time all you tend to hear is mushy guitars and no clarity whatsoever.

as someone already pointed out, sometimes people tend to pan guitars to the opposite side of where the guitarist stands, which in theory should work out pretty well, but to me it's quite irritating to watch the guy on my side and hear what the other guy is doing.

this is strictly from a listeners point of view, i've never done foh myself.

 

["Evil" Aidy]

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated.

 

[-Noodles-]

Most systems are stereo but there is not a ton of panning going on, because we want the audience to be able to enjoy the show no matter what size of the room they're on. I usually pan guitars slightly left and right, never hard panned, because if someone was on the left side of the room they wouldn't be able to hear the other guitar. I hard pan overheads, and do slight panning with the toms. That's it.

And when I say slight I mean like 80/20

this.

Also, keyboards are run in mono - unless you want 40 foot wide keys.

 

[blags]

[quote="Evil" Aidy;8910833]Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated.

[/quote]
NOOO, Feedback is bad .:Smokin::

 

[fade_2_black]

NOOO, Feedback is bad .:Smokin::

HAH! Clever

Most half-decent venues will always have stereo PAs - its not common practice to pan stuff hard left/right, eg guitars, but minor panning can help clear the mix up a lot, especially phasing issues, etc. I have worked with a bunch of people who have panned (mainly guitars) hard left/right in an attempt to gain clarity, but then unless you are standing directly in the centre of a room, you cant hear what one of the guitars are doing at all (given that is two different guitars, not two mics on one).
I always slightly pan toms, cymbals, stereo samples, guitars, etc as if you have a decent PA it gives it that little something extra. Be careful not to pan too much though!

 

[if6was9]

Aye I agree with the guys here- slight bit of panning on guitars and toms, maybe a little on backing vocals depending on the band/room. Not much though in any case, just a little for clarity/seperation. Definately shouldn't use it as a crutch though, your eqing should do almost all your work for you there. Panning just kinda adds the last few percent
I went a long time with no panning because I didn't want the people in the room to be hearing an unbalanced mix depending on where they were in the venue. Now I know a little bit of panning helps uncluitter things a little and doesn't affect the balance much in a place as small as where I would normally get to work. I know one live guy who pans hard on most things mimicing his studio work and I've been to a few of his gigs where you pretty much pick your spot on how you hear his guitars