It seems like the accoustics at Alb venues can vary pretty widely.

For example, a while back I played at Brian'o'Brian's and had my bass stuff dialed in a certain way. Because of the weird dampening accoustics there, it totally overpowered the rest of the band. The guitarists were also going through a medium-sized PA that they had brought along. I was having a good time being super loud before they realized we weren't going to play any blues songfs and cut our set short.

A few days later, we played at Golden West. I left my stuff dialed in exactly the way it was at BOB's. It sounded plenty loud on stage. After the show, I asked around about how the bass sounded and a few people told me they could barely hear me. Apparently you need a ton of bass volume to fill that super long/high ceiling room. The next time I played there I used two 1x15 cabinets, pushed just below where they would bottom out, and the sound was alright. Guitars/higher frequencies seem to carry exceptionally well in there.

Anyone have similar experiences with local venues? I havent played everywhere in town and sometimes am not sure what to expect or how much/how little to bring. I know that sound guys are there for a reason, but sometimes they arent there at all or have a new guy covering for them that doesnt have a clue.

The big factor for me when it comes to acoustics is the disparity (sp?) between what it sounds like on stage compared to what it sounds like in the crowd. I really can't hear any vocals at the Atomic or Burts, but people have told me and I have heard from recordings made that the vocals are fine (you just have to know your part). The Launchpad and what is harlow's (Club R'B formerly) has some of the best sound on stage, but some of that is experienced sound guys knowing what they're doing. I've always hated the sound at the Golden West, but I hate that place in general, so the sound comes with it. Usually I can bring the same set-up with every show, and I'll be put into the PA, or my amp is enough to fill up the room (and it's not a big amp). Rarely if ever have I wanted to bring a bigger set-up.

as a non-musician, i can't speak technically but i can say i've seen sound vary widely from place to place but also form night to night in the same place.
almost everyone sounds decent in the launchpad because of the large room & system but i've also heard dismal mixes because the sound guy pushed everything way up. but having someone stationed in the box all night really helps since he can respond quickly.
seems to me not only the size of the room but the number of bodies in the place affect it as well.

burt's is suprisingly good given the space and that strange sideways lay-out. back in the dingo days, the stage was in front of where the pool tables are now which made more sense to me. but i guess when burt's originally opened, they weren't intending more than a few low-key live sets every few weeks or something. i've rarely had a complaint about the sound at burt's though.
atomic seems hit or miss. i can't ever tell if there's a sound guy on duty all full time or if he's the barback too or whatever. my biggest complaint there is that it always seems too loud upfront if you want to just sit in the booths and talk.
el ray is a cavern although much much better than sunshine but i hardly see anything worth going in there for.
golden west also hit or miss since the equipment is not the greatest, sometimes too sharp a sound. but i love the room and it sounds great with good equipment.
haven't been to harlow's since the opening night but it was way too bright, all that glass and sharp edges just bounce the high end around too much. like i say that was opening night so maybe they're working out the bugs.
sunshine is miserable. always fuuzed and distorted and turned way too fucking loud. that place was built to project the human voice, not amplified instruments. seems to me though that it doesn't matter much to the average sunshine-goer (who seem not to be the same as our average indie rock club goer) who apparently don't notice. i sometimes winder if soundguys get pressured to "turn it up" to make things seem more rockin'. loud doesn't necessarily equal rockin'. sometimes loud is just loud.

the best sound guy i've ever seen was into crust & hardcore grind: albq ex-pat dutch worhtington was the finest i think we ever had. he could do justice to genres he hated just because it was his job and he was into doing it right.
i also never had complaints about chris at launchpad (who recently left). he really excelled at stages full of all kinds of instruments even when each band had entirely different set-up's. ken at burt's is i think my current favorite.
i'm sure it 's not an easy job: making sure it sounds great everywhere in the club. and having to do the job in the midst of inebriated yobs who couldn't give two shits about the music but are there to get laid, or prima donna bands who stomp off stage for the slightest glitch.
luckily it seems that the prima donnas are mostly touring acts with a big-but-not-that-big name. blaine cartwright of nashville pussy was a dick at the golden west about 8 years ago.

i wonder how all you bands get along with the sound guys. to me, its almost like the sound system is another instrument and the guy is a member of the band for the night. do they listen to your advice on how to mix your music or just do what they want?

Rick Roy from Launchpad is my personal favorite. He's a total pro. He works his ass off and I've never had a complaint.

(Not that I would. That guy could squash me like a grape.)

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or prima donna bands who stomp off stage for the slightest glitch.

Chill, dude . . . that was ONE TIME! Now we just smash our shit.

As far as sound guys go, yes the Atomic sound guy pulls two shifts at once. The Launchpad has always got people who want to listen and work with you. Only once did I get any guff from a sound guy, and that was at club R n' B. Our drummer just started setting up and he told the sound guy he wanted to place the kick mic because he knew where the best sound was in the kick. The guy looked real pissed, waited a full 20 seconds staring our drummer down and said, "you do your job, and I'll do mine."

You get better guys on better nights too. On weekend and with bigger bands they schedule the really good ones. I get amazed at how different it can be on a Friday Vs a Monday. How can one guy make it sound so good and another ruins the entire set?

I think most places sound good from 20 feet away from the stage (the El Rey only sounds good if it's packed) but they all sound shitty from the stage. This town has no fucking monitors.It's hard to ask people how it sounds, because they all say something different. One guy wants the vocals up, meanwhile one guy 10 feet behind him wants more drums or some shit.

The worst sound guy we ever had was at Sprockets. He was some hippy they hired that night, showed up 2 hours late, after we had already done it ourselves, He just started turning knobs in the middle of our set.
We thought he was just some dude walking up to the board, and a huge scene erupted.

i don't think I've ever played the GW and had the same sound guy twice.
They all brought different shit, they didn't even know which outlets worked. (the answer was very few of them). That room can sound really nice though: just structure wise it could be the best.

Our last show at Burt's the mics were so electric that it actually brought tears to my eyes a few times.I have never been shocked so bad. Not the sound guys fault, but I wish Burt's and GW would drop a pile of cash on the electrical systems, if not the damn equipment. (I'd also prefer the Dingo set-up at Burt's, for comfort more than sound).

It's funny at Atomic to see the sound guy setting up drinks and then turning around and frantically turning knobs a second later. Ususally if we get someone who cares or knows us it's fine.

i want more bars to have fans on/near the stage. Burt's is the only one that doesn't feel like a sweat lodge.

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I wish Burt's and GW would drop a pile of cash on the electrical systems

I loosened my teeth one night on a mic at Burt's. Shocked the shit out of me. You don't know how men suffer for music.

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Originally posted by Jim:

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I wish Burt's and GW would drop a pile of cash on the electrical systems

I loosened my teeth one night on a mic at Burt's. Shocked the shit out of me. You don't know how men suffer for music.

Seriously. i fucking squealed, saw spots,forgot the song and wet myself a little bit. I was actually scared of it after that, like a dog who's been beaten and doesn't know why. I couldn't look at it. I was ashamed.

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You don't know how men suffer for music.

no rest for the wicked...

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I was ashamed.

maybe someone's trying to tell you all something?
where is brother jim when you need him?

let me tell you about the sound at believer's center! the mics apply moisterizer, the sound is perfect everywhere...

HUH?!

Anyway...

Amen to Levi's comment about monitors. Even though we don't have a singer, it's nice to hear guitar or my bass through a monitor so I know what the heck is going on.

Launchpad obviously has really good sound as long as the band onstage isn't trying to overwhelm everything with their amps.

From my experience, I love the sound onstage and in the crowd at Burt's. Steen and Ken really do an excellent job there. Seeing Steen run around during our set, making sure everything is good and making adjustments is a real confidence booster.

For some reason my bass sounds really bright at Atomic, almost harshly so. Otherwise it's ok.

I wish Golden West had better, functioning equipment. That room seems perfect for live rock.

- Chris
http://www.tanukimusic.com

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This town has no fucking monitors.

Fucking right!

Anybody ever been caught in the black hole onstage at the Atomic? Man that place can be weird sometimes, sonically...I swear, I've been within inches of my drummer there and not picked up on one fucking thing he was playing.