You're too loud. You're not loud enough.

Eric Philippsen · From: Central Florida USA

Did an outdoor gig Sunday night. First set the drummer tells me I'm too loud and the guitar player turns his amp way up, a sure sign that he thinks I'm too loud. At break, however, the sax and bass players tell me to turn up. Then, at the end of the night, several audience members tell me they barely heard me, too.

I mean, Whaddya' gonna do?

Tim Russell · From: Pennsylvania, USA

This is interesting...

How the drummer thought you were too loud, considering all the noise he was making, and presumably your amp was in front of him, facing away, I don't know how he could have heard you at all.

Rolling Eyes

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David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

Outside gigs are their own beast. Just a breeze one way or another or an amp pointed a few degrees this way or that can throw everything ON stage out of whack - the bass frequencies tend to just disappear. Or go all ONE place. The audience is the only group that ought to matter. Ahem. Wise people will sometimes say things like "if you're going to do a lot of outdoor gigs maybe you should SET UP outdoors and practice and get USED to it" but that's, kinda like, ummm, WAY too sensible for real bandishness.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

I hate playing outside. Sometimes I turn down those gigs. Only with my own band will I do them. I never get told to turn down. It's always, "turn up, you ugly piece of S#!t" Confused

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Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Well, stage mix and house mix are two different animals. Did you have someone out front mixing the mains, or did you just have to set it yourselves and live with it the best you could (i.e., no soundman)? Were you able to do a soundcheck beforehand, both for the stage mix and house mix? Sometimes some of one instrument or another needs to be picked up into the monitors and sometimes just left out completely... We don't always have the luxury of a separate soundman to adjust all this stuff, but it always goes better when we do...
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Barry Blackwood · Posted 25 Aug 2015 8:17 am

Doug Earnest · From: Branson, MO USA

The cure that I found for those sort of situations was to quit playing in public. Not the best remedy but very effective.

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

I always told people that a steel should be as loud as the singer's voice (without interfering), just like a saxophone. And I also told them that it has nothing to do with my ego. It's just the way it should be, from an aesthetical viewpoint.
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John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Loud,low.....low, loud. It's really a crapshoot when you play outside. It's all depended on the weather and the atmoshphere, plus the stage area placement. If the venue is mic'd and sent through the sound system, then, all you have to do is play normal stage volume and let the sound man or whoever is in charge to set the sound up. But, still, there might be a compromise. I dislike outside gigs immensely because of the disparity in the sound. There's no real control over Mother Nature. Inside gigs are much more controllable, most of the time. I played an outside gig the other night from 6-9 PM and by the third set I was getting cold and my fingers would not move the way I wanted them to. I've done this too many times and it's never easy. I've chosen to live in the north country, so, I know I have to live with it. We do try to aim our amps towards each other a bit to try and compensate for the abnormalities, though.

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

Lee,
It's starting to get chilly at night, up here in the mountains. I like living here, though. The air is clear and fresh with no pollution. Of course, the winters can be rough, but, for the time being I'll put up with it. Maybe before I croak, I'll move to a more amicable climate.

Roual Ranes · From: Atlanta, Texas, USA

I play through a N112 and have been told "your too loud" several times. Laughing

Justin Emmert · From: Greensboro, NC

I always think I'm too loud and overplay. But my current band has no obnoxious guitard to overpower me, so it's hard to judge. I sometimes think the band and other folks are afraid to say anything to me about it since I'm the only steel player in a 250 mile radius.....but then again....who knows.....

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Lee Dassow · From: Jefferson, Georgia USA

Eric, you should have went over to your amp and pretended to turn down. Then after the next song
ask the drummer how that sounds. He probably would
have said "much better". Always did that back in the day in the bars with annoying customers and bar owners. Then have the audacity to ask them if thats better. 90 per cent of the time it was. Tenn.Lee
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Justin Emmert · From: Greensboro, NC

Jim Bob Sedgwick · From: Clinton, Missouri USA

In SoCal backin the 60's, Johnny Davis dealt with this problem by taking his amp out of the case (combo amp), and drilled an extra hole in the faceplate. He put a worn out volume pedal pot in and marked it Master Volume. He would turn this bogus control when someone would yell at him about his volume. Worked every time. PS: This control was NOT wired to anything, just a dummy pot.

Bo Borland · From: South Jersey -

I am always being told to turn it up .. but from where I am sitting I am right in the stage mix.. so i run a mic to the PA.. then a visiting guitard
( i like that word )
says I too loud (mainly because he CAN hear me and not just the house guitar)

Then a guest sits in on an overpowered (for the room ) amp.. and blows the mix to hell. (Did I mention the guest wears hearing aids which he removes prior to playing) He's a decent player but has to play LOUDER than he needs to and never stops playing lead over everything ..

With my regular band I mic both amps at every venue and play loud because i am NOT in the monitor mix closest to me..

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

This is why we carried a sound man and monitors. You cannot rely on an amp to carry your sound outside unless the stage volume is blistering. A sound man/pa can make or break a bands sound. We never had a problem with stage volume. All played at acceptable levels with a 5 way personal monitor mix. The drummer used a plexi shield. Your band sounds like it's not properly equipped to handle sound in outdoor situations.

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

DOG! I'm moving to Martinsville! NOBODY can be allowed to have THIS much fun... (cept me)

Justin Emmert wrote:

Jack Aldrich · From: Washington, USA

Back in the 80's, I got a gig playing steel in a band where the couple who led it were on the verge of a divorce. A friend said it was like: He"Good Morning", she: "Why do you always say that". She told me "Please turn your amp down". He said "Turn it up!" This went on for a couple of exchanges, and she threw her Martin 000-28 at him and stomped off the bandstand.
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Les Cargill · From: Oklahoma City, Ok, USA

GaryL · From: Medina, OH USA

When complaints got ridiculous, I made it look like I was adjusting my volume (I wasn't.) I played in a group where one of the wives liked to "mother hen" the band, and was constantly telling people to turn down then complaining that people couldn't hear them. Then there were the folks who would sit in front of the mains complain about the volume. We also had a notorious lead man who would constantly gripe about not being able to hear me (I was miked) so I'd just point and say "talk to the soundman about your monitor volume." Outdoors jobs can be hateful.
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Craig Schwartz · From: McHenry IL

Outdoors and monitors for voice only create some issues riht away so Put the bass player "you know the guy thats alwys late" between you and the drummer and leave your speaker further away from the drummer and crank it where it should be, If that doesnt work, which it probly wont , start all over and get it right on the next tune.

Try not to blow your area of the stage where your sitting to the uncomfort zone for your ears sake and remember to hear yourself first off.stay alittle timid at first, your the only one with a volume pedal, remember to use it so the uglys stay in the box. 3 outdoor gigs a week all summer long helps paint a picture, the humidity and not being shaded are your elements of complete concern, ifyou wear a sombrero for shading your strings and guitar , It would help.
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Sam Lewis · From: Conway, Arkansas, USA

Age old fight. It started with little David setting in the shade of a pyramid playing "Wildwood Flower" on his harp. I've fought this fight for seems like 100 years.There are some you would wear you volume control flad-dab out trying to please. Don't try.

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