# My first concert, got some questions...



## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Not the best first impression but perhaps Im just a victim of my small town circumstances, gf and I went to see Foreigner last night at the Bay County Civic Center, it seats 2500 people. I was disappointed with the extremely shrill and smashed mid range (especially with the songs of a more heavy metal nature), is this typical of a small-town public venue? The volume was almost at ear-bleeding levels, is this typical also? Foreigner sounded great (their new lead singer sounds exactly like the original lead singer) but the technical aspects of the show really left me wondering why my home system theater system would sound so much better than live????


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

TypeA - Live sound is hit and miss. For times that it is a miss, you need musician ear plugs. You can also find these at your local music/instrument store. Industrial ear plugs target certain frequencies, these will filter the highs and lows evenly. 

Even when the sound is good, it may be too loud, so protecting your hearing is a good idea.


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## Guest (May 17, 2011)

I don't see too many concerts, but I've been to both bad and good. I don't know any PA pro's, but I've talked to a few people who do it on the side and it sounds like a lot of them just use their ears to set stuff up. I wonder how many pro's do that....

Smaller venues don't need to be that loud, and I've walked out of buildings before because the sound actually hurt my ears. It doesn't sound good at all, its stupid, and I have no ideal why anyone would think playing too loud is a good ideal.


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Thanks for the input you two


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## TedMckennedy (May 22, 2011)

I think you'll find it is hit or miss- especially given the many different types of venues live sound engineers are exposed to.
I've seen quite a few shows, and one that has always impressed me was Martina McBride.
Aside from the fact that she is a real deal star with an amazing voice, the sound was by far the best I've heard.

It was at the Assembly Hall in Champaign- a giant concrete doom- normally an acoustics nightmare!
Both times I saw her perform, it was like listening to music on a high quality stereo- perfectly clear, balanced frequency response, punchy, nice stereo imaging.
If you get a chance to see her, the FOH engineering is worth the admission alone :T


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