Any FOH guys here.

[Dead Moon Rising]

I've been doing live sound for many years, mostly small to medium sized venues.

But here' my question, why pan the guitars hard left and right for live? i ask as a music fan first becasue when ever i go to a show, if i end up standing on one side of the stage i never get to hear one of the guitarists. i was at a big outdoor even with some friends and the 2 guitarists of a band were trading off parts and i could only hear one. and that annoys me.

so when i mix, i mix in mono, which makes me a freak (and agitates DJ's when the insist on stereo lines).

any opinions?

 

[RJ2213]

i've had this same question for a long time. i know when i worked for National Events in Wash DC doing large outdoor events we ran mono for this very reason.

i think the main reason is inexperienced engineers that make it sound good from where they are standing. when i ran sound for small bands i always took some time to walk around a bit and make sure i got all my levels balanced for as many audience listening locations as possible.

 

[Dead Moon Rising]

Inexperianced soundguys seem to run amok all around me. Especially for hard rock and metal. it's just annoying.

 

[GIG4FUN]

I'd guess to get a handle on loud backline.