Glasto Pyramid Stage sound.

[w oxo cube]

Is it just me or is the sound on the Pyramid Stage too loose and distant. Sounds like way too much ambient mic's in the mix and not enough direct vocal and instrument mic etc. I know there needs to be some crowd noise to get the atmosphere but it's good to hear the subtleties in the music as well

Have to say the rest of the stages seem bang on. Crisp tight and still bags of Atmos

Just my take anyhoo

[N i g e l]

Watching on the BBC...
Last night the BBC had an upcoming guest artist in their compound, quiet relaxed, subdued style- with heavy overtones of the SPARKS "this town aint big enough for the both of us" playing in the background.

[shufflebeat]

I’ve been flicking through and each time I’ve inadvertently stumbled on Gums n Roses there has been some amateurish slip-up or other (missing mics mainly) interrupting the Friday night pub-band sound.

It’s nice to see them keeping active but a crossword and afternoon TV would be more dignified.

I’ve figured out what’s creepy - they look like a GnR tribute band, and not a very good one.

Hey, is that my mate Big Dave? Nah, just looks like him.

Oops, vocal mic’s gone again. Well, you get what you pay for, apparently not.

[edit]

I’ve just heard the vocal, that dropout may not have been an accident. I believe someone has invented the “mercy kill” switch.

[James Lawford]

Too much reverb on the vocals. Doesn’t sound like they are using much ambient mics, but there’s just a washy reverb that clouds the vocal and means turning up the TV is the only option to get any intelligibility!

Also no midrange. It’s all been hacked out, when in fact the sources are largely very well isolated (band members miles apart and well away from PA) apart from potential monitor spill, but someone like Dave Grohl is right on the mic and providing huge input level - there’s no excuse to not get a good mix really.

[shufflebeat]

I had a listen on headphones from the iPlayer and it sounds like a completely different mix. There’s still a lot of space and very little glue, a bit like modellers instead of mics on amps. I’d be surprised if this is the case but you never know. However, there is clarity and better individual sounds.

The overall impression is that the stage is very loud and the vocal is struggling for monitor like a pub singer, which is odd with IEMs.

[shufflebeat]

Loyle Carner,

Snare - sounds great, too loud. Has the signature thwack of an m201 but no pause on my TV so can’t check (and CBA).

In sections without a backbeat the sound is class and the performances are chilled but present. Dynamics very effective.

#4 raves about this guy, seems she has good taste.

[OneWorld]

One comment says they sounded and looked more like a jaded pub tribute band, I reckon they ought to change their name to Guns and Zimmerframes. I fast forwarded them into oblivion, Rick Astley though, puts on yet another great show

[ef37a]

Listened to a few minutes of G&R'es through my Tannoys and found Slash was too loud and the singer not loud enough. Very typical of the sound you got in pubs 50 years ago.
I guess all the fans know the lyrics but I got none of it. Recording it all for son so will have another harken on cans later.

Question: how much is the balance we get 'tweaked' by the TV peeps?

Dave.

[Mike Stranks]

Question: how much is the balance we get 'tweaked' by the TV peeps?

Dave.

Not sure that I understand the question, Dave. But you are listening to a complete separate mix to that heard by the audience. All lines on stage have splitters on them, which are mixed for the 'At home' sound in the OB trucks.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Separate TV (and radio) mixes. Normally derived from a shared DANTE or MADI feed from active stageboxes.

Most missing mic problems are due to the PA guys repatching to overcome an FOH issue and not telling the TV crew.

It's a difficult event to mix because of all the acoustic spill into the OB trucks. Plus long shifts and no rehearsals, the need (in theory) to hit a target loudness of -23LUFS +/-1, and a far more critical audience than anyone in the field.

These days with DANTE etc, it might be practical to run a fibre a few miles and mix remotely!

[OneWorld]

Quite ironic that bands like the ancient Guns & Roses should be playing in a pyramid, they could do a collab with Tutenkhamen

[shufflebeat]

…Guns and Zimmerframes…

Gums & (Cadbury) Roses?

[OneWorld]

…Guns and Zimmerframes…

Gums & (Cadbury) Roses?

LOL that made the needle on the chuckle~o~meter twiggle a bit

[siderealxxx]

The sound for GnRs was awful. As widely reported, guitar way too loud, vocals non existent at times. Not up to BBC standards by a long shot.

I had wondered if it were deliberate, Axls voice is pretty bad at times. But then it was actually quite good at others.

I was a big fan when they were around the first time and know those songs well. Given that they're in their 60s I thought they did pretty well. But they're not an easy pill to digest for many. An odd choice for Glasto.

Not seen much of the rest of Glasto but if that was anything to go by, the BBC need to pull their socks up.

Are the OB trucks really suffering from spill? I figured they'd maybe be mixing on DT-770s or the trucks have some isolation?

[siderealxxx]

This explanation sure didn't explain it...

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on ... es-8550733

[shufflebeat]

This explanation sure didn't explain it...

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on ... es-8550733

…the agency representing the band said it has "dug deep" into the problem and discovered there were problems with the broadcast being streamed on certain TVs, resulting in poor sound quality.

…yeah, those that were turned on and tuned in to Glastonbury. Luckily, I found a solution.

Keep digging, guys.

[jaminem]

I had to turn it off. I assumed Axl had a problem with his monitor mix, he was rarely in time from what I could hear. He also struggled to hit a lot of the notes, which is forgivable, he's not as young as he used to be a bit like Robbie Williams who's not been able to sing Angles for a long time.

The most disturbing thing for me was his haircut. What's going on with that? Looks my aunt Edna....

[Wonks]

I think he was going for the Elon Musk look.

[shufflebeat]

I think he was going for the Elon Musk look.

You mean this guy:



Yeah, I’m seeing that:

[ef37a]

Question: how much is the balance we get 'tweaked' by the TV peeps?

Dave.

Not sure that I understand the question, Dave. But you are listening to a complete separate mix to that heard by the audience. All lines on stage have splitters on them, which are mixed for the 'At home' sound in the OB trucks.

What I meant was Mike, do the Beeb just take a feed from what is going to FOH PA or a mix of their own? Hugh has answered that for me. I suspect they were getting a very low vocal level and there is a limit to how much you can crank something that is barely there?

Dave.

[MarkOne]

Irrespective of the vocal issues, I did briefly tune in to G&R and caught 'Sweet Child'

My TV sound plays through a pair of KEF LS50s, and I really thought the mix was pretty bass light (and Slash's guitar was way up in the mix)

I know Hugh has said in the past that live music is difficult for the guys mixing in the OB truck because their levels are fooled by the spill from the stage subwoofers.

But again, as I said last time we had this discussion, I'm amazed nobody is doing a mix check on a decent pair of closed back cans.

[Wonks]

The vocal level through the PA was fine. It would seem to be poor mixing by the BBC. We'll probably never know exactly what happened unless someone holds their hand up and speaks out.

[jaminem]

The vocal level through the PA was fine. It would seem to be poor mixing by the BBC. We'll probably never know exactly what happened unless someone holds their hand up and speaks out.

A spokesperson for Guns and Roses said it definitely wasn't Guns and Roses fault

Some things never change....

[ef37a]

Just listened to a bit of Rick Astley and his mic level was much higher than for GNR. I still could not make out many of his words, better with my aid in but then everything sounds like a bee in a tin.

Strangely he did AC/DC's Highway to Hell playing the drums and his voice came over far better then. Maybe because it was in a clip and he did not have his mitts on it?

WRT bass? None of the bands I have heard lacked bass on my little Tannoys.

Dave.

[monomoon]

I saw a seasoned musician/engineer who's played Glastonbury multiple times being pretty vocal on twitter about the poor quality of the broadcast sound for the Foo Fighters. Said that the ambience mics are far too high, that he's been battling them about it for years and that they don't understand live mixing.

That drumkit was miked to within an inch of its life but on the BBC it sounded like it was coming from halfway down the road (and the guitars too loud, vox too quiet and washed-out).

I'm not sure if it's an aesthetic choice to try to capture more of the crowd and space, but it sounded pretty bad to me.