High fidelity vs actual live sound

Kneedeepinit

Super Member
We were at a Christian rock concert last night and heard 7 or 8 bands. It was a pretty spectacular night. The sound system was ok, too much bass and bass drum. It was very loud, shirt rattling loud. I enjoyed it but could not do that every day.

One thing that dawned on me was how live sound is so different to studio sound. I have a pair of la scala and they come the closest to recreating this sound at modest sound levels. I would not consider them to be the most accurate speaker I own but the come the closest to recreating live sound.

Does that make them high fidelity or are they just gimmicky? It seems to me that live sound is the actual representation of the atrist's intentions. Am I off base here?
 
We were at a Christian rock concert last night and heard 7 or 8 bands. It was a pretty spectacular night. The sound system was ok, too much bass and bass drum. It was very loud, shirt rattling loud. I enjoyed it but could not do that every day.

One thing that dawned on me was how live sound is so different to studio sound. I have a pair of la scala and they come the closest to recreating this sound at modest sound levels. I would not consider them to be the most accurate speaker I own but the come the closest to recreating live sound.

Does that make them high fidelity or are they just gimmicky? It seems to me that live sound is the actual representation of the atrist's intentions. Am I off base here?

Actual representation? Only if the recording is of a live performance. Even then you're liable to get better sound from the recording because IMO PA sound usually sucks big time.

I often wonder how many artists know how truly awful some PA systems actually sound.
 
Actual representation?...
I often wonder how many artists know how truly awful some PA systems actually sound.

I bet the "artists intentions" has much more to do with how it sounds on a recording (hi-fi) than how it sounds live (usually crap).
 
In many cases I think it's less the PA, than who's running FOH. And, in theory, FOH should be reflective of the band's desires in presentation.

So, is the blame really the PA, or the FOH guy/gal, or the band who ulitmately should be calling the shots about their overall sound?
 
Thick pounding bass seems to be the rage today. I went to a show that had so much bass, I could barely hear the guitar and vocals.

OTOH, A nearby town puts on free outdoor shows in the downtown square and often it is just right where you can listen without earplugs and the bass is not dominating.
 
Live music is analog.

Live music sounds analog.

You will NEVER get digital to sound like a live concert.

'Vintage' systems (amps & speakers with AlNiCo magnets), like pre-1990, best 1970-1980, have that live music sound. Some vintage amps hit the nail right on the head. Especially vintage amps with MOS.
 
Last edited:
Most all live performances these days (totally acoustic withstanding) are run through digital boards.

On another note I saw Stevie Wonder last night at the united center in Chicago and the sound was HORRIBLE! I would never aim to have my system sound like that.

If you're into anything other than classical the live sound will almost always be inferior to the studio. I have never seen or heard a PA in any room that sounds as faithful as even the most humble pro studio.
 
There are a lot of attributes to LIVE music many people don't like or enjoy hearing and I've found those attributes are more accurately reproduced in the more costly systems. Like in the $20K (new) and up systems -- That is why many people IMO when auditioning high price systems say they dont like it and prefer the sound of their way less expensive stuff.

Is it nature or nurture ?
 
In my somewhat limited exposure to live music, I've found that while live sound is often poor, it is also occasionally spectacular.

Most loudspeakers are designed primarily to be faithful to the recording. And so, most fail at sounding much like live music (for better or for worse).
 
Sometimes the "band/stage" sound engineers ain't; just knob turners. Seen that more than a few times.
Of course in a live listening area, there exists the room/venue acoustics part of the collective sound system (as when you "tune' your listening room.
 
Last edited:
How can it be live if they are playing through micrephons and speakers on stage,,, They are playing through a gain stage,,, THATS ALL BULLOX..
 
I agree. An SM58 and some powered qsc or mackie speakers are no competition to a $20,000 ribbon mic in a treated studio then played back on some very revealing hifi speakers.
 
How can it be live if they are playing through micrephons and speakers on stage,,, They are playing through a gain stage,,, THATS ALL BULLOX..

Well it's live because it's being played in real time to an onsite audience. I think the microphones, amps, speakers and such should be considered part of the instrumentation, just as the pianos, horns, guitars and such are. And the guy running the sound can be thought of as a kind of conductor.

I was a bouncer for Jam Productions for quite a while and saw scads of shows. Sometimes the sound was bad but sometimes it was great; sometimes the same system sounded great with one act on the bill and terrible with another. I think the combination of a hot, tight act and a good sounding system trumps any recording and home system.
 
No argument there. Good live sound will always trump any kind of recorded sound. Unfortunately, live doesn't always have much to do with good.
 
well it's live because it's being played in real time to an onsite audience. I think the microphones, amps, speakers and such should be considered part of the instrumentation, just as the pianos, horns, guitars and such are. And the guy running the sound can be thought of as a kind of conductor.

I was a bouncer for jam productions for quite a while and saw scads of shows. Sometimes the sound was bad but sometimes it was great; sometimes the same system sounded great with one act on the bill and terrible with another. i think the combination of a hot, tight act and a good sounding system trumps any recording and home system.

amen
 
Last rock show I went to was the Reigning Sound and had to listen through ear plugs.

Yes, because I'm old. But without plugs the sound was painfully loud--and with plugs it just wasn't very good. Kinda muffled and muted, believe it or not.

Now a classical concert is a whole other ballgame. Every time I go, it's a reality check. I realize just how very far away my system is from the sound of the BSO in Symphony Hall. Very very very far.

My system's nowhere near as good as those of many other members here. But still...very very very etc.
 
I hear ya Tom Brennan! Some time after the earth cooled, I hung out in various places, and it seemed that sometimes the "performers" never bothered to figure out what the audiences heard, only what they perceived from their particular vantage point.
But alas, some stuff sounded good, other stuff bordered on horrible.
 
I have come to the point were I go out of my way to AVOID live music.

Too many vocalists can't sing well, most rooms really aren't set up for music and the soundman is hard of hearing.

Oh and too many drummers have no sense of rhythm or touch.

I bring ear plugs with me when I think I might be exposed to live music.

If you can't play it well, play it LOUD!
 
Hard to beat live chamber music even when performed not so great... Of course if one 'hates' CM I guess that's a deal breaker
 
Back
Top Bottom