• DLW
  • New member
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  • Registered: 2018-07-10
  • Posts: 8

Topic: Concert Mix

While I know I am being what some would consider blasphemous, but I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. B in Melbourne, Florida this week and he was....too loud.  Certainly not hurt your ears loud, but too loud to maintain a good mix.

When he played soft and was joined by the band it was absolutely mesmerizing.  You could hear the subtleties of the horns, the ride cymbal playing and the crisp vocals of his backup singers.  The same is true for when he was playing without band accompaniment.  Mr. B of course was dynamic and his vocals were powerful and spot on, but when they were in the main thrust of his songs the volume of his rhythm playing, the bass, and the bass drum all caused the bottom end and mid-range to go mushy and mask the music.  What was heard in these songs was effectively a merged rumble so that if you did not know what song they were playing....you would not have been able to tell. 

You can blame this on a bad mix, how the band is miked, or as I think, the volume.  Regardless,  there must be a differentiation of the notes played to keep the crispness of the sound, and that is not happening.

This was my 14th concert that I have seen of Mr. B and I am always impressed, but the volume issue has been present the last several concerts.  I am not a novice and have been concert watching (and listening) for a long time.  His concerts could be significantly better and stellar compared to what I heard on Sunday night.

....and this is from a JB fanatic....

  • Registered: 2016-01-03
  • Posts: 13

Re: Concert Mix

DLW wrote:

While I know I am being what some would consider blasphemous, but I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. B in Melbourne, Florida this week and he was....too loud.  Certainly not hurt your ears loud, but too loud to maintain a good mix.

When he played soft and was joined by the band it was absolutely mesmerizing.  You could hear the subtleties of the horns, the ride cymbal playing and the crisp vocals of his backup singers.  The same is true for when he was playing without band accompaniment.  Mr. B of course was dynamic and his vocals were powerful and spot on, but when they were in the main thrust of his songs the volume of his rhythm playing, the bass, and the bass drum all caused the bottom end and mid-range to go mushy and mask the music.  What was heard in these songs was effectively a merged rumble so that if you did not know what song they were playing....you would not have been able to tell. 

You can blame this on a bad mix, how the band is miked, or as I think, the volume.  Regardless,  there must be a differentiation of the notes played to keep the crispness of the sound, and that is not happening.

This was my 14th concert that I have seen of Mr. B and I am always impressed, but the volume issue has been present the last several concerts.  I am not a novice and have been concert watching (and listening) for a long time.  His concerts could be significantly better and stellar compared to what I heard on Sunday n


....and this is from a JB fanatic....


I have seen Joe B Many times over the last few years and and always have thought his shows are great, but when I saw him late last year, I too felt the the volume of the instruments were too loud to the point it made it difficult to hear Joe B or the ladies singing their respective parts.  I hope by the next time Joe B comes around my way, they balance out the volume of the singing and instruments.