Pros: Vocals, Steve and Darryl come through amazingly well; crisp, powerful
Cons: Ronnie and Keith fluctuate so drastically in the mix it takes away from their performances; robbing the audience of the natural "weave" and an appreciation of what each guitar player is doing

I miss the "stereo" effect in the live soundscape. In recent years, the sound design is more akin to a "Mono" presentation where certain members are highlighted only one at a time in the center space.

I think the live mix is basically what Scorcese did on "Shine A Light": whenever the camera would be on a particular guitar player the mix would spike up to highlight what we saw on the screen. That is what I feel like the current mix is doing. The guitars are never even throughout an entire song; Keith blasts through the mix for the intro and then basically disappears when Mick starts singing and then reappears again during a solo. The mixers are riding the knobs so aggressively it kind of spoils the natural flow of how they normally play. I suspect if Keith and Ronnie heard the mix from the audience standpoint they would be shocked that it sounds nothing like the "stew" they are hearing themselves of the full band all together.

The way they do things right now only emphasizes when the band has off nights like they did in Tampa. There were times that the mixer's had to cut Keith out of the mix due to a bum note but the result of that left such gaping holes in the mix; making it extra noticeable something has gone wrong. I think their mix style makes it more difficult to work with these issues as they come up.

Anyone have any thoughts about the mix in recent tours?

Quote
Justin
The mixers are riding the knobs so aggressively it kind of spoils the natural flow of how they normally play. I suspect if Keith and Ronnie heard the mix from the audience standpoint they would be shocked that it sounds nothing like the "stew" they are hearing themselves of the full band all together.

I agree it always sounds this way on the recordings and videos, however when I saw them in concert in recent years I always enjoys that mix. But it is certainly a matter of taste.

Keith blasts through the mix

I suspect if Keith and Ronnie heard the mix from the audience standpoint they would be shocked that it sounds nothing like the "stew" they are hearing themselves of the full band all together.


So you say the mix varies way too much in order
- to match with the particular guitar player on the screen
- also to hide a screwed-up solo or guitar part.

And the junction of the two tactics makes the sound even more erratic

Interesting

I, also, noted that when Keith is on the screen, the volume of his guitar can be silly heavy, maybe to send a not-too-subtle message : Keith is a guitar god, he is soo good, Keith is the man, if it's loud it's good, etc.

Who is doing the audio? I can place his face but not the name. He worked with AC/DC too. I tried to search here and no luck.

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shattered
Who is doing the audio? I can place his face but not the name. He worked with AC/DC too. I tried to search here and no luck.

Dave Natale. Been with em since the ABB tour.

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StonedRambler

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shattered
Who is doing the audio? I can place his face but not the name. He worked with AC/DC too. I tried to search here and no luck.

Dave Natale. Been with em since the ABB tour.

Yes........thank you!

Quote
The Joker
Keith blasts through the mix

I suspect if Keith and Ronnie heard the mix from the audience standpoint they would be shocked that it sounds nothing like the "stew" they are hearing themselves of the full band all together.


So you say the mix varies way too much in order
- to match with the particular guitar player on the screen
- also to hide a screwed-up solo or guitar part.

And the junction of the two tactics makes the sound even more erratic

Interesting

I, also, noted that when Keith is on the screen, the volume of his guitar can be silly heavy, maybe to send a not-too-subtle message : Keith is a guitar god, he is soo good, Keith is the man, if it's loud it's good, etc.

Yup. For me it can be a little disorienting constantly being thrown around like that with the mix. I've no idea if it bothers the casual fan--probably not--but I think it misrepresents the Stones' sound and erases the special fingerprint that makes them unique.

On songs like Midnight Rambler you want to hear the guitars ricocheting off each other but instead you get glimpses into the sound one by one. Plus with Ronnie blasting through in the middle solo it reveals a little too much of his flubs and weird (but natural) burps in his playing. If they only made it a bit more even it could come across a bit easier on the ears and forgiving for Ronnie. Same with Keith.. they have to unnecessarily bring him so far up at times that any little mistake will be extremely noticeable. Doesn't have to be that way.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-10-31 21:20 by Justin.

Quote
Justin
Pros: Vocals, Steve and Darryl come through amazingly well; crisp, powerful
Cons: Ronnie and Keith fluctuate so drastically in the mix it takes away from their performances; robbing the audience of the natural "weave" and an appreciation of what each guitar player is doing

I miss the "stereo" effect in the live soundscape. In recent years, the sound design is more akin to a "Mono" presentation where certain members are highlighted only one at a time in the center space.

I think the live mix is basically what Scorcese did on "Shine A Light": whenever the camera would be on a particular guitar player the mix would spike up to highlight what we saw on the screen. That is what I feel like the current mix is doing. The guitars are never even throughout an entire song; Keith blasts through the mix for the intro and then basically disappears when Mick starts singing and then reappears again during a solo. The mixers are riding the knobs so aggressively it kind of spoils the natural flow of how they normally play. I suspect if Keith and Ronnie heard the mix from the audience standpoint they would be shocked that it sounds nothing like the "stew" they are hearing themselves of the full band all together.

The way they do things right now only emphasizes when the band has off nights like they did in Tampa. There were times that the mixer's had to cut Keith out of the mix due to a bum note but the result of that left such gaping holes in the mix; making it extra noticeable something has gone wrong. I think their mix style makes it more difficult to work with these issues as they come up.

Anyone have any thoughts about the mix in recent tours?

i thought was just crazy nice to see someone else noticed this too

Sound in "NOFI" Stadium was disappointing. @nd night wasn't bad. First was really muddy and boomy. No crispness to the sound. I was sitting on the field next to the soundboard. I was told Minnesota was better from someone I sat with in LA, He had similar seats in Minnesota too.

Quote
ProfessorWolf

Quote
Justin
Pros: Vocals, Steve and Darryl come through amazingly well; crisp, powerful
Cons: Ronnie and Keith fluctuate so drastically in the mix it takes away from their performances; robbing the audience of the natural "weave" and an appreciation of what each guitar player is doing

I miss the "stereo" effect in the live soundscape. In recent years, the sound design is more akin to a "Mono" presentation where certain members are highlighted only one at a time in the center space.

I think the live mix is basically what Scorcese did on "Shine A Light": whenever the camera would be on a particular guitar player the mix would spike up to highlight what we saw on the screen. That is what I feel like the current mix is doing. The guitars are never even throughout an entire song; Keith blasts through the mix for the intro and then basically disappears when Mick starts singing and then reappears again during a solo. The mixers are riding the knobs so aggressively it kind of spoils the natural flow of how they normally play. I suspect if Keith and Ronnie heard the mix from the audience standpoint they would be shocked that it sounds nothing like the "stew" they are hearing themselves of the full band all together.

The way they do things right now only emphasizes when the band has off nights like they did in Tampa. There were times that the mixer's had to cut Keith out of the mix due to a bum note but the result of that left such gaping holes in the mix; making it extra noticeable something has gone wrong. I think their mix style makes it more difficult to work with these issues as they come up.

Anyone have any thoughts about the mix in recent tours?

i thought was just crazy nice to see someone else noticed this too

I've been kind of surprised I haven't seen more people talk about this actually. The silence on this topic made me think everyone was ok with this.

Funny thing, as I recall, the live feeds and videos from the first couple of shows posted here had astoundingly good sound, I thought, as did daspyknows tape of LA 2. I thought I heard Keith's and Ronnie's real weaving, blended sound from both guitars. I realize that from reading the discussion here, at other times both in person and on tape, the sound is more separated, louder for each player rather than focused on the whole.

Maybe I have this wrong. All I recall is somewhere, when the tour started there was very good sound, of the whole band at once. This is the only place I have listened. Maybe Keith and Ronnie have given up some on their playing together, their weaving?

~"Love is Strong"~



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-11-01 19:47 by angee.

Depends were you sit. That’s all there is too it. You sit in one section it sounds bad , you sit down n smother and it’s clear as a bell

Quote
Justin
Pros: Vocals, Steve and Darryl come through amazingly well; crisp, powerful
Cons: Ronnie and Keith fluctuate so drastically in the mix it takes away from their performances; robbing the audience of the natural "weave" and an appreciation of what each guitar player is doing

I miss the "stereo" effect in the live soundscape. In recent years, the sound design is more akin to a "Mono" presentation where certain members are highlighted only one at a time in the center space.

I think the live mix is basically what Scorcese did on "Shine A Light": whenever the camera would be on a particular guitar player the mix would spike up to highlight what we saw on the screen. That is what I feel like the current mix is doing. The guitars are never even throughout an entire song; Keith blasts through the mix for the intro and then basically disappears when Mick starts singing and then reappears again during a solo. The mixers are riding the knobs so aggressively it kind of spoils the natural flow of how they normally play. I suspect if Keith and Ronnie heard the mix from the audience standpoint they would be shocked that it sounds nothing like the "stew" they are hearing themselves of the full band all together.

…

I agree with this 100%. It’s like the mix of “At the Max” (the first time
I remember hearing that from the Stones).

Quote
Justin
Pros: Vocals, Steve and Darryl come through amazingly well; crisp, powerful
Cons: Ronnie and Keith fluctuate so drastically in the mix it takes away from their performances; robbing the audience of the natural "weave" and an appreciation of what each guitar player is doing

I miss the "stereo" effect in the live soundscape. In recent years, the sound design is more akin to a "Mono" presentation where certain members are highlighted only one at a time in the center space.

I think the live mix is basically what Scorcese did on "Shine A Light": whenever the camera would be on a particular guitar player the mix would spike up to highlight what we saw on the screen. That is what I feel like the current mix is doing. The guitars are never even throughout an entire song; Keith blasts through the mix for the intro and then basically disappears when Mick starts singing and then reappears again during a solo. The mixers are riding the knobs so aggressively it kind of spoils the natural flow of how they normally play. I suspect if Keith and Ronnie heard the mix from the audience standpoint they would be shocked that it sounds nothing like the "stew" they are hearing themselves of the full band all together.

The way they do things right now only emphasizes when the band has off nights like they did in Tampa. There were times that the mixer's had to cut Keith out of the mix due to a bum note but the result of that left such gaping holes in the mix; making it extra noticeable something has gone wrong. I think their mix style makes it more difficult to work with these issues as they come up.



Anyone have any thoughts about the mix in recent tours?

They are not riding the knobs. Mick’s vocals run through a compressor that squash the sound when vocals are introduced. Every live band uses this in venues

Quote
Cooltoplady
They are not riding the knobs. Mick’s vocals run through a compressor that squash the sound when vocals are introduced. Every live band uses this in venues

Thanks for the info. Then what's changed in the last 15 years in their approach? The mix didn't necessarily sound this extreme until recently. And I'm noting specifically the guitars being squashed once Mick starts singing--not the whole band. The mix tends to favor Mick, Darryl and Steve--which I understand is in line with general trends in live music anyway.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-11-02 01:16 by Justin.

My only No Filter shows were Miami 2019 and Tampa 2021.

Miami, I was in the pit. Tampa, I was in rear GA.

Sound for both shows was impressive from the field level.

But probably as you go up to higher tiers, it might not be as crisp.

Quote
Cooltoplady
Depends were you sit. That’s all there is too it. You sit in one section it sounds bad , you sit down n smother and it’s clear as a bell

Sitting next to the soundboard should sound good. At Nofi Stadium it did not. That's what surprised me.

I realize now that what I'm describing in my original post is what I want to hear in a live album and it may not necessarily work for the stage. I hope an official document materializes from this tour at some point so we can hear the band in their full glory.