Stage Sound (OT)

[DerbyBorn]

Why do concerts (ie Glastonbury) have speakers on the stage - with microphones up against them?

[The Natural Philosopher]

WEll if they are guitar amps, because those are an integreal part of the instrument - it's 'sound box' so to speak, and the musicians need them to hear what they are playing

[newshound]

I havn't watched any Glastonbury this year yet, but I didn't think foldback monitors were used much at big gigs any more. Don't most performers use moulded earpieces fed from wireless devices to give them the personal mix which they require?

Takes me back to doing the sound at a college production of As You Like It, and having people telling me to turn down the amps because they couldn't hear the singer, while the singer wanted them turned up because she couldn't hear the music. No performer mikes in those days of course! Two 20 watt Sinclair amps feeding a pair of Goodmans Axiom 10's, iirc.

In the old days of British rock, you would often have banks of amps behind the performers, and these were then miked up to provide a feed to the theatre or arena systems.

[Tim Watts]

Interesting. I's always assumed that the guitars (along with the synths etc) would just feed the master desk and there'd be feedback to the performers via monitor speakers.

[Dave Liquorice]

Yep, the amp and speaker combination are part of the sound. Taking a feed from a DI box between the FX pedals and amp doesn't get the over driven valve amp sound.

I'd be surprised if the musicians at any big concert really require the backline or foldback, they'll all have their own, individual, wireless IEM mixes.

[DerbyBorn]

Thanks.

[Davey]

I happened to turn on the TV when an ethnic group were playing, some long name that sounded like Dharenthabaka, or similar. Whoever they were, one of them was singing, and it was inaudible, even though he/she had a mouth mic. Useless.

[The Natural Philosopher]

How are you gonna get acoustic feedback like that? How are you gonna get massive overload of a particular flavour like that? How are you gonna get special loudspeaker resonances like that?

Ok these days having ten Marshall 100W tops and twin cabs is not that popular, but a single amp miked up is....