Re: DON'T TRUST THE SOUND MAN

[Richard Zvonar <zvonar@zvonar.com>]

At 11:04 AM -0700 7/20/01, Mark Sottilaro wrote:
>While we're on the subject, WHAT THE HELL IS THE DEAL WITH ENGINEERS 
>THAT FEEL THEY NEED TO DRIVE THE SYSTEM TO THE POINT OF DISTORTION?!

I once attended an Einsturzende Neubauten performance during which I 
was seated in the front row of the balcony, directly above the 
console. Throughout their set the peak indicators on the VU meters 
were rarely NOT blinking red.

On another occasion I was mixing for the industrial band Rhythm and 
Noise, on a two-night stand in a smallish venue. The first night I 
cranked it as much as I felt I could justify, making sure that the 
signal levels were below distortion. I got complaints that it wasn't 
loud enough, so the next night I plugged my ears and pushed the 
levels up into total distortion. The audience was much happier.

However - before the gig started that night I noticed a couple with a 
small child and I advised them that they were about to endanger their 
child's hearing and that they should leave immediately.

That was the last high intensity gig I ever did, but for ten or more 
years after that I continued to mix live concerts at very polite 
levels. Nevertheless, for the last few years I have suffered from 
continuous tinnitus, and I will live with this until I die.

People who mix or listen to music at high levels are either stupid, 
irresponsible, or sadomasochistic. When you are 25 the ringing may 
stop a few days after a loud gig, but when you are 50 it will come 
back to haunt you, even without additional exposure.
-- 

______________________________________________________________
Richard Zvonar, PhD
(818) 788-2202
http://www.zvonar.com
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