Sound

[Doc Mike]

First i want to thank Planet Bluegrass for another amazing festival. The lineup was spectacular and I felt so happy being home again, but, I know it's not just me, but was the sound this year awful or what?  Bad mixing, feedback, major  mistakes. For example, one of many, who could hear Byron House during Robert Plant?  Who could hear Sam with Yonder?  Why were sound-checks audible, especially while the lame announcers were trying to speak?  Started coming 20 years ago, and do not remember anything like this. I have bragged about the sound to many people in the past. Even Sam said something when I saw him at the airport today.  What happened!?

 Listening to: My brain slowly disengaging from Festival.

[ShatteredArm]

Agreed.  I noticed the lack of Sam Bush during Yonder.  Couldn't hear Sara's voice for much of the Decemberists set... I think there were a few other times I couldn't hear someone.

[landshark]

At times the wind was pretty fierce and it would carry the sound away from the mics. But yes I did notice some small changes this year in sound delivery.

[Hooch]

I noticed too.  There were a couple HUGE sudden adjustments/fluctuations in mid-song which were horrible.  I'm sure the tapers were weeping openly and setting fire to their gear.

[FaceOnMars]

I actually spent a good deal of time during the festival behind the sound board; either dancing or just hanging out ... since the sound was noticeably better there.   While I found the sound to be excellent in that location, that sweet spot was a bit confined in terms of the full on "stereo effect" ... which I found when I moved about from one tarp to another either on the side or up front.   I don't think the sound was bad within a 200 foot radius of the sound board, but it did strike me how you almost had to walk straight down center line to not detect the "imbalance" and get the full on stereo ... almost like it was TOO precise (akin to "digital" vs. analog).   I'm not sure if there are techniques in live sound engineering to create a more "gradual seam" vs. a discrete tier/cut off line? ... but I think it might help to have the mix a bit more "zippered" in this sense.

I did notice a few hiccups with sittins and such, which is to be expected to a certain extent ... although it did seem a bit moreso this time around.   Definitely didn't help matters with the house band ... especially since they were all pretty much trying to get out of the starting gate (for the festival) vs. recent years where they closed out the festival and were all warmed up in most ways (i.e. already played tons - by themselves & with others).

Having said all of that, when you compare the sound at rows 45+ in Town Park to that of rows 45+ at Red Rocks (at least for a more full on electric ensemble), there's no comparison IMO .... the quality of sound at bluegrass blows away even the most professional of implementations at Red Rocks.

As far as nightgrass sound:  The Palm was a great venue on the whole, but I found the PA system to be a bit "muddled" for the ENB show ... could've had greater clarity on the high end.   On the other hand, I thought RRE had the SOH -- the venue itself -- literally dialed in as it's "own instrument".

[TheBanjomatic]

Agreed... Generally speaking the volume was quite loud to the point that things sounded distorted to me. Particular worse offenders were Yonder (way too heavy on the treble end... piercing even), Trampled by Turtles (had to leave mid way through the fiddle was killing me), and Head and the Heart (when you can feel the bass thumping in your gut, I start worrying about my hearing). I'll ignore the headliners for now because it always turns up at night.

I know, I know... I sound like an old fart, but I'd prefer to not be partially deaf by the time I'm 30.

Wish Planet Bluegrass would take noise pollution as seriously as they take the various other forms.

[Edit] PS. The music was still great...

[Doc Mike]

At times the wind was pretty fierce and it would carry the sound away from the mics. But yes I did notice some small changes this year in sound delivery.

I'm used to the wind effects, Miki, this was something else.

 Listening to: My kids happily playing.

[wngsfn99]

What about the debacle at the beginning of the Steve Earle set??  All drums, huge fluctuations, low vocal...

I know the 3 of us on our tarp all thought sound was off on multiple occasions this year, and it definitely wasn't from the wind.

[bouzouki]

My hearing is already damaged so I have to rely on others to tell me if they have difficulty with the sound, otherwise, I think it is just me.  Earplugs help.  When the sound goes up, my ability to discern individual parts goes down.  That was not a problem when I was a kid, I thought, but from my understanding about hearing problems today, noise pollution does things to us all that will effect us later.  Different sound manipulators add or subtract as they mix, but it seemed that there were times when somebody wasn't attentive enough to keep the sound flow intact.  

 Listening to: the birds in my backyard

[Auntie Hope]

The perfect sets IMO, sound wise, were the Flecktones set and Tim O'B. Have to give credit to Richard Battaglia for those two. He was also seen at the sound board during the House Band, making adjustments for each solo, and turned up Edgar Meyer upon request on Sunday, so Edgar could be heard at the back of the Festi-field.

Noted on all the other sets that "stereo" was off for most of the other performances, but no matter where I was, on the field or in Town Park proper, the sets were LOUD! Old Crow on Saturday night sounded better at the OTHER END of the box canyon (yes, I took that ride on the shuttle) than it did on the field when I left and then returned again before the set was over.

Have to give credit to Band of Joy's sound guys also. They nailed it balance wise, but again, two notches to LOUD at the same time.

Auntie Hope