Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sound Presence


Recently, I listened to a very good local band. They were together, harmonized vocals, had clear dynamics, and the system was powerful enough to reach any vocal level you could possibly need...but they sounded unprofessional.
Why was that?
Even though the speakers could handle the volume, they weren't controlling the sound properly that they were sending to those speakers. It's a tight balance between having no processing (raw) and too much and sound cheesy, especially in small and medium sized venues. If you put an echo on a system in a small room it may be hard to take yourself seriously, but leaving that sound raw could be even more unforgiving.
Bands with a dedicated sound person will change effects and processing throughout a show, but what sound you want will be different from other people depending on your style of music and your concept for a song. Try going to a music store and trying out all the various effects, choruses, echos, and what-not. the bigger the store you go to the more that they will have in house to try, and on average, the more knowledgeable their staff will be.
Don't let that last step of the process comprimise your sound.

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