WORST SOUND AT A GIG EVER !

[LivewireYouthMusic]

Best gig Ive been to, atmsphere and the band cancelled out any issues with sound system or venue for me, im just grateful to have been there.

All the best

Andy

[FoxyMKII]

The bottom line is that the O2 was not even vaguely intended as an auditorium. It's more or less an aircraft hangar. It's a real shame because the place is otherwise quite magical as a concert arena but sadly I doubt anything can be done about the sound in the lower registers. The bass just leaks everywhere and heads for Westmister Bridge through the exits.

This is a sad fact common to all large indoor "arenas" the fact of the matter is that they don't have fixed stages. Until someone builds a 20,000+ arena with a fixed stage this issue will continue

[zoef]

OMG, I'm afraid I have to agree. It was by far the best concert I've been to, and I've been to a few. But I was only about 7 meters from the stage and I also thought there was way too much sub bass. The bass is of course what drives the music, but at these levels everything starts to resonate and the notes start to blur. It became very distracting. But if I listen to the youtube videos from the stands it sounds much better, so I think it was simply being too close to the stage.

[guitarglenn]

I understand completely. You're just being honest about the house sound, which can make or break a show. I feel for you. Fans with good ears, sensitive to the nuances of sound and tone are often victims of this. BAD sound production into the house is the curse of most bands. The bands put their hearts into every note, but the fu**king deaf soundmen destroy it for the audience! Of course, the band has absolutely no idea what is going on in the house with sound, as it's a completely different world of sound onstage.

I feel for you and the pain of many bands who've been victimized by DEAF SOUNDMEN AND ENGINEERS!!! I curse you deaf soundmen of the world! And, I hold in highest esteem the handful of good soundmen out there.

THANKS FOR THAT MATE.

This will be my final message on the subject, desipte any childish namecalling from some 'adult' members>We do things differently (and spell correctly incidentely) in England, that's why it's called speaking english !!

I think it is amazing and fantastic that Harvey Goldsmith managed to help get this show together, and I hope that Zeppelin will do more, even another album !!

But I know what that gig could and should have sounded like, and the band were not a fault, I will say it again THE BAND PLAYED GREAT, THAT WAS THE FRUSTRATING THING ABOUT IT, WITH A PROPERLY BALENCED MIX IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC, THANK YOU LED ZEPPELIN.

I could have sorted THEIR SOUND out in 10 minutes, easy.

There is nothing wrong with my ears or brain.

[studioguy]

It's typical for all rock concerts these days that the bass and bassdrum are way up in the mix, and it doesen't sound good. For some reason, that they only understand themselves, the sound engineers want it that way. It's a pity that people who are supposed to make great sound doesen't know anything about good sound.

I saw them live in '77 and they had the same "problem". I think this is the norm for loud arena shows for any band with one guitar player. If they don't kick up the bass and drums, the second a guitar solo takes place they will sound small and empty.

Agreed that they way overuse sub-bass especially on the kick drum which can get seriously overdone.

[Iriquidian]

I saw them live in '77 and they had the same "problem". I think this is the norm for loud arena shows for any band with one guitar player. If they don't kick up the bass and drums, the second a guitar solo takes place they will sound small and empty.

Agreed that they way overuse sub-bass especially on the kick drum which can get seriously overdone.

when john paul jones agreed to join led zeppelin again for this gig, I told my friend the JPJ factor would be immense because I saw his solo show in 1999, and it was absolutely the heaviest thing I have ever heard....combine that with the bombastic sound from jason bonham, and they are

the 'THUNDER' of the gods. that trebly metallic sounding guitar was suppose to slice through your brain, and the wail of plant was designed to assure you that you truly had gone insane in the midst of the depths of madness, that is Led-Zeppelin live in concert. The sound mix you recommend would be just a little too clean neat and plain out Boring...the show was suppose to be 'sick' again

sincerely,

Iriquidian***

[A Traveler]

THANKS FOR THAT MATE.

This will be my final message on the subject, desipte any childish namecalling from some 'adult' members>We do things differently (and spell correctly incidentely) in England, that's why it's called speaking english !!

I think it is amazing and fantastic that Harvey Goldsmith managed to help get this show together, and I hope that Zeppelin will do more, even another album !!

But I know what that gig could and should have sounded like, and the band were not a fault, I will say it again THE BAND PLAYED GREAT, THAT WAS THE FRUSTRATING THING ABOUT IT, WITH A PROPERLY BALENCED MIX IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC, THANK YOU LED ZEPPELIN.

I could have sorted THEIR SOUND out in 10 minutes, easy.

There is nothing wrong with my ears or brain.

With all due respect to my betters here, for those who didn't go, saying that YouTube clips sounded great so this guy must be wrong is nuts. YouTube clips are no better examples of what it sounded like to be there then soundboard rips. In fact, almost certainly worse.

But reviews that say the sound cleared up as the concert progressed indicate that somebody tried to do SOMEthing. Apparently, not enough for some people, maybe depending on where they were standing/sitting.

Personally, I like my bones to shake from low frequency bass. But if it's muddy, it's annoying at best. Doesn't mean I wouldn't have given my eye teeth to be there, bad sound or not, though.

Incidentally, "incidentally" is spelled like this. At least on this side of the Atlantic.

[Prankmonkey9]

guitarglenn, you are spot on...the guys and or gals working the sound boards should be taken out and shot post haste!! I realize I wasn't there and have only seen and heard clips I downloaded off YouTube, which were all recorded with either cell phones or cheap video cams of some sort. So I can't expect perfect sound given the device it was recorded on. But to my very critical and perfectionist drummer's ear, I heard way too much feedback, whine, etc. The so called sound engineers at this concert need to quit their day jobs as soon as possible. Prank

[Ramci]

aw, just ignore ole 'guitarglen'. The clue is in the last sentence of his original post.

HAHAHAHA

Man that's a pretty good jab. I didn't notice it until now, haha

By the way check out my web site: www.gayforzpelelin.com for info on me, including samples of my ukulele works.

Yeah you dodgy rascal, you!

[bbking]

A little off-topic....but.... BAD SOUND is the scourge of all live shows.

THE WORST for me was Prince, Seattle Key Arena, I cant even remember the year

the sound was so bad...the only intelligable words all night were SEATTLE and Mutherf#cker!

Van Halen in Portland Dec 1 sucked as well...too loud... muddy everything

from the Audio/video clips of the 02 show, you can tell Plants vocals are "hotter' than hell, cuz its way over the top of everything and it sounds (for the most part) like superamplified whispering....I dont want to get into a big thing here about Percy but it is not a matter of opinion but fact, that the surgery on his throat has left him with less than half-power for the last 20 years or more. (please note I am not saying he cant sing, just the VOLUME and STRENGTH of his voice nesccesitates superhot cranking in the mix that may have factored in the feedback and sound problems of the show.

[Lee]

For what it's worth, I thought the sound was generally OK, certainly after the first couple of numbers, albeit a bit muddy at times....and I was (deliberately) standing about 30 feet in front of the mixing desk.

I overheard a guy saying the O2 was like the Staples centre in LA...anyone been to both these venues, and care to make a comparison?

[Knebby]

THANKS FOR THAT MATE.

This will be my final message on the subject, desipte any childish namecalling from some 'adult' members>We do things differently (and spell correctly incidentely) in England, that's why it's called speaking english !!

[TangerineMan]

We do things differently (and spell correctly incidentely)

Sorry for feeding the troll, but LOL! Best laugh I've had all day.

[Vic]

There are some great and sensible fans on this site but by f8ck there are some assholes too. This was a Led Zeppelin concert. As David Gilmour once said 'whats a bit of feedback its rock n roll for f*cks sake'.

I suppose now the dust has cleared the geeks will start nit picking...w*ankers. I was there, the band was fantastic, the sound was brilliant, I would change nothing.

I can assure all those Zep fans not lucky enough to get tickets that the boys did not let you down they were better than ANYONE had the right to expect.

Ted Nugent once said 'when you rock at that intensity, whats a little mistake here and there'

[artur]

A little off-topic....but.... BAD SOUND is the scourge of all live shows.

THE WORST for me was Prince, Seattle Key Arena, I cant even remember the year

the sound was so bad...the only intelligable words all night were SEATTLE and Mutherf#cker!

Van Halen in Portland Dec 1 sucked as well...too loud... muddy everything

from the Audio/video clips of the 02 show, you can tell Plants vocals are "hotter' than hell, cuz its way over the top of everything and it sounds (for the most part) like superamplified whispering....I dont want to get into a big thing here about Percy but it is not a matter of opinion but fact, that the surgery on his throat has left him with less than half-power for the last 20 years or more. (please note I am not saying he cant sing, just the VOLUME and STRENGTH of his voice nesccesitates superhot cranking in the mix that may have factored in the feedback and sound problems of the show.

Are you kidding?!!!

Sure Plant"s voice is less powerfull than before but still IT IS POWERFULL...

Have you ever paid attention to the RIO ROCK movies on youtube where plant sings rock'nroll and the song from the PHYSICALL GRAFITY ALBUM? Have you nitced that back then there was also an uncredible amount of Feedback? Have you noticed that they were, as it is the case for the last show, using loudspeakers on stage and not EAR MONITORS?...

Here is the ONLY good answer to those feedbacks oproblems...

To end, some of you may have been bored with feedbacks all along the show. Have you noticed that led zeppelin, as well as the who for instance, did not use EARPHONES monitors but rather used loudspeakers on stage? Don't know the word in english, in french you call those loudspeakers RETOURS...

Anyway, so you guys in the audience had two sounds which were mixing up and then coming down to your ears...The one from the loudspeakers used for the arena and the one which was devoted to the musicians and to robert plant...That is a good answer to the EXTRA BASS sound that some of you may have heard during this evening...

Because when you use EARPHONES monitors, you don't have such problems...Each musician, each singer has its own mix according to his own wills...and, on the other hand, the audience don't get borred with too much loud Sound pressure...thus the sound gains in quality....

Anyway I personnaly like such a DEEP SOUND...but not when it's DEFINTELY too Loud...

Hope you understood what i just said... whistling.gif

Here is the video....

robert plant live

See ya!!

Artur

[artur]

There are some great and sensible fans on this site but by f8ck there are some assholes too. This was a Led Zeppelin concert. As David Gilmour once said 'whats a bit of feedback its rock n roll for f*cks sake'.

I suppose now the dust has cleared the geeks will start nit picking...w*ankers. I was there, the band was fantastic, the sound was brilliant, I would change nothing.

I can assure all those Zep fans not lucky enough to get tickets that the boys did not let you down they were better than ANYONE had the right to expect.

Ted Nugent once said 'when you rock at that intensity, whats a little mistake here and there'

You're damn right!!!!

B) B) B)

[guitarglenn]

There are some great and sensible fans on this site but by f8ck there are some assholes too. This was a Led Zeppelin concert. As David Gilmour once said 'whats a bit of feedback its rock n roll for f*cks sake'.

I suppose now the dust has cleared the geeks will start nit picking...w*ankers. I was there, the band was fantastic, the sound was brilliant, I would change nothing.

I can assure all those Zep fans not lucky enough to get tickets that the boys did not let you down they were better than ANYONE had the right to expect.

Ted Nugent once said 'when you rock at that intensity, whats a little mistake here and there'

HERE IS A POST FROM ANOTHER WHO AGREED WITH ME....THANX

guitarglenn, I couldn't agree with you more, when you say most people think you're an idiot just remember who those most people are !!!

They are just like the drunken head bangers that were for the most part at the gig, the guys for instance that think they are drummers and wave their arms about to the music....you must have seen it the airhead guitarists and all that crap.

How many of them could even tune a guitar let alone play it. Most of them think sub bass is something you knock your brains out with in a car driving through the town at night. They do not

know what they are talking about ...where as you do!!!!

Please pass my comments on to your blog by all means.

STEVE THE MAN....

[MistressTyreah]

The show was plagued by feedback problems throughout the night. Jimmy auditioned no

less than six different sound systems for this event. Even so, there is always going to be the human element in any production. Some have said the GUITARS, not the bass,

were too prominant throughout all the acts. In all these cases, either the engineers got it wrong or you need your ears checked.

I have heard that the 02 arena is constantly plagued with sound issues at any concert. It is the venue. I actually ws told this by an english friend before the event.

[guitarglenn]

I have heard that the 02 arena is constantly plagued with sound issues at any concert. It is the venue. I actually ws told this by an english friend before the event.

Yes, the venue may have sound issues, but for me that is no excuse.

I know what equipment is available today, spectrum anyalizers, feedback controllers etc.etc.etc.

For my money, the sound production was unprofessional and extremely badly mixed.

All they had to do was TURN DOWN/OFF THE SUB BASS.

Like I said before, rock, especially Led Zep, does not sound good with massive sub bass, bands like metallica may well do, but they are heavy metal, and I thought Led Zep hated being classed as heavy metal!!

If you put an exessive amount of sub bass in a mix, it's like throwing a fire blanket over everyones sound, IT DROWNS EVERYONE OUT, and sounds a unrecognisable mess.

There were some songs that took me 10+ seconds to suss out what they were, and I know, and can play incidentely, every zep song, forwards, backwards and sidewards. !!!!

Also the reason that some are saying that it sound good on utube or whatever don't realize that the little recorders/mobile phone that they use cannot record sub-bass at that level.

[SteveAJones]

I have heard that the 02 arena is constantly plagued with sound issues at any concert. It is the venue. I actually ws told this by an english friend before the event.

Good point. That particular venue does have a reputation for being problematic. Again,

he auditioned no less than six sound systems and they still had some problems.

[spatdrastik]

from what I heard on the youtube clips it sounds like too much compression on Plant's vocal mic. The idea is to limit the peaks and turn up the quieter parts...go too far and it's feedback city

[Atlas Shrugged]

Even if it is the sound of the venue, the sound tech guys/gals should have got it sorted. It ruined the experience for me, I have never heard anything like it, the worst sound at a gig ever, terrible.

Hey Guitarglenn, sounds like it was a nice gig to watch, maybe not so much to listen to. I would be right pissed off if I couldn't differentiate notes on the intro. to D & C. I saw Jones on his last 2 solo tours and he has a MONSTER bass player, I would want to hear him well. It must have been frustrating. I noticed Page's guitar coming in late on what I heard of the 1st song they performed.

Thanks for a different angle on the gig, I like to get different perspectives to give me a sense of the big picture there.

[michaelk]

Yeah..and I actually like the feedback element at the show. It gives an extra 'live' dimension somehow to what is otherwise in danger of being overwhelmed by its own historical weight.

It must have been a pain on the woolly basslessness front for those at the gig but it's all gonna come out great on the DVD ;-)

As David Gilmour once said 'whats a bit of feedback its rock n roll for f*cks sake'.

[NoStairway0825]

Guitarglenn, I don't know how much forum experience you have, but you're going to have trouble recovering from this one. If people get pissed at your post...just silently walk out of the room.

BACK ON TOPIC. I do sort of agree though. I listened to several bootlegs, and I couldn't hear the solo in GTBT well at all, a lot was drowned out by the bass. But hell, it's Led Zeppelin! Their performance was awesome, and that fits the bill for me.

[macanoodough]

Nothing wrong with my ears, had them checked (20-20) last year.

Again if the sound guys knew what they were doing there should not have been a problem with feedback, these guys have thousands/millions of pounds worth of equipment, I could get a better sound with a £85 Sony car mini disc system.

Eyes are 20/20 you dolt. Now we know how much credibility to give the rest of what you say. Ears go into hundreth of Decible. For instance I hear to the 500th Decible, very rare but it enables me to here bullshit from a mile away.

Feedback is a nessassary part of your sound, it has to be controled but sometimes even a cell phone can fuck with it. But you can also work it into your sound as they seem to have done (as always) with the limited sound I've heard so far.