"Shawn" wrote in message ...

Will this kind of approach/limitation/demand limit the clubs we can
play in?

I've really never heard of such a thing as 'totally' disregarding the need
for a soundcheck, even if you have to arrive several hours before the
DJ starts playing in order to get it done.

As to your original header question, I have to do this several times per
month. It is still an exception and not the rule.... and for me, it's mostly
acoustic acts (solos, duos, trios) that walk in right before showtime and
plug in and play. There are lots of "big bash" cases where no-one really
gets a sound check. On August 1st, I put 30 acts across a stage in 12
hours and no one got anything more than a line check in the 5-minute
change-over periods.

An experienced operator who wears the room like a glove should be able
to start you 'cold' with no one in the audience really able to tell. Even getting
only a line check, if done by an experienced operator, should be enough to
start you without sounding like mud. Even an operator that's worth their weight
in sand should be able to tweak out the room pretty rapidly to put the quietus
on any feedback problems.

It also sounds like volume may have been a serious contributing factor to
your dilemma... not just the FOH or monitor volume, but stage volume will
make additional minor headaches for even an experienced operator. All
systems have limits, and your pilot didn't seem (by your description) to
have a grip on what those were or how to get the most from it within those
limitations.

I think, if the problems are as you describe, you should be weighing the
validity of bothering to play this place again. If the house provided your
system, I can see where an unfamiliar operator might have problems.
If you were working with your own gear, it just doesn't seem like it should
have gone a badly as you describe. In any case, I'd try to make arrangements
for time to accomplish what you need to accomplish before the place opens.
If that can't be done and the circumstances are indeed as you described,
screw 'em with a big stick... do a short and sweet 'volume-up' line check
and make sure your levels are at least within operating parameters. It
only takes a couple of seconds per line to be sure you're in the ballpark.

One thing a lot of folks overlook when following a great in-house DJ system
with a modest PA that they just hauled in the door, is that they aren't going
to be able to 'blow away' the darned DJ system.

--
David Morgan (MAMS)
http://www.m-a-m-s DOT com
Morgan Audio Media Service
Dallas, Texas (214) 662-9901
_______________________________________
http://www.artisan-recordingstudio.com