Poor sound mixing

[killingjoker]

Friday was a mixture of excitement and frustration for me as two of my favourite acts were spoilt by what i can only describe as 'muddy vocals'. Once instance being a new studio album by the mighty Killing Joke (vocals drowned out AND no lyrics on the inlay sheet). Then, Gary Numan's final night at The Forum in Kentish Town. Yes, as normal he gave a great show. But whilst i grew up listening to him so that those early album lyrics are burnt into my brain it was still spoilt by 'muddy vocals' being drowned out by the music.
Sound engineers. Are they doing this now as a trend? I like to hear lyrics even though the music should be loud. The Prodigy & NIN can achieve this so why the problem here?

[Jazzy Jefferson]

killingjoker said:

so why the problem here?

Sound engineers.

The answer was there all along

It's a pet hate of mine, I do a lot of live sound work, and also perform in a band. Vocals are always an issue, in as much as they lack clarity. To be fair, it's not always sound engineers, the venue acoustics, sound system, mic choice and placement, and the "onstage sound" can all play a part in it. However I find using the correct mic (and by this I mean one suited to the vocalist, not whatever the venue has lying around) and some decent EQ work will solve most issues.

[killingjoker]

I've since flipped in the 2nd cd as i brought the 'delux' version of Pylon and funny enough the vocals are better on the bonus tracks. Incidently, i've seen Numan at the Forum a few times and the sound Friday night was not up to par as previously (except during his Pure period where he drowned them on purpose). Maybe that's what he did Friday night. Who knows eh?