[jenchan]

First ACen, thank you for getting m.o.v.e.! Wonderful band...however, I must say that the sound for the concert on Friday evening was just awful, and did not do the band justice. "Loud" doesn't make a good concert. The bass really needed to be turned down(the subwoofers were buzzing half of the concert and it was just really overpowering), and just the overall volume level was at times, canceling out the beautiful vocals of Yuri, and at times she seemed to be struggling just to be heard though all the "boom boom". Her vocals only came out true and clear when the music paused. It all seemed just like noise, instead of music, and that's not good for the artist at all.

I understand that the room we were in wasn't probabily the best for acoustics, but adjustments can be made to equipment to compensate.
Thank you for reading.

[Mr.Shishio]

I agree with you. I couldn't see very well from where I was so I concentrated on the music. The bass was indeed overpowering. Yuri could be heard just not that well.

[Heartnet]

You guys are right. I thought Yuri was great but it was very hard to hear her at times. And then all of that mic mess during the Slants concert. But what can you expect from organizers that couldn't even get a ticket line formed properly. I went from one of the first 50 in line to 150 when they went from a line to a mad rush to the doors. That was crazy!

[jenchan]

Heartnet, on May 9 2009, 09:44 AM, said:

But what can you expect from organizers that couldn't even get a ticket line formed properly. I went from one of the first 50 in line to 150 when they went from a line to a mad rush to the doors. That was crazy!

Yeah, that was really bad for the Slants...

yeah, me too, after the line went into the hotel, there was no one directing us so we just mingled into the line and no one complained.

It was a bit confusing, but hey, it wasn't all that crowded, and I think that people were leaving, and I overheard they were disgusted at the outcome of the concert.

[Voxx]

I know what you mean. I was there in the front rockin out...but whats awesome is that they* the bands* totally worked with it and I give them total props for it. ♥

I wish the sound quality would be better as well, but I'm not sure how they rig up that stuff ^^:;

[BurnsideGT]

Yep. I was a bit let down that the audio was distorted.. I had never heard the Slants before, and I could tell they would be a band I'd REALLY love; but it was a bit hard to really feel it. (well, like some of the others said, you could REALLY feel the bass :3)

And when MOVE came out, it was definitely hard to really crush on Yuri's vocals during the performance. BUT... I -think- it's something that is really hard to fine tune on the fly at an event like that with the flow of how the convention works. I know they do a setup before and a soundcheck, but maybe after they tune the accoustics with an empty room, the filling of the attendees changes things even more... I don't really know.. I'm not familiar with the specifics of working audio. It doesn't seem like it would be too much of a tricky thing to change on the fly to improve the audio quality.

I WILL say though; it was definitely a step up from the Halcali concert last year in terms of the volume/pain ratio. The audio was unbearable decibel-wise and I had to leave through the middle of it.

Perhaps someone in charge of the audio during these events could step in here and explain a bit about the issues they face and the trickiness they deal with when trying to find a nice balance for everything? Help us understand a bit why this happens they way it did.

REGARDLESS.... the concert was still fun, and where else could we ever get a chance to easily have MOVE to step up and perform for us? Aside from the audio issues, much love to the Acen crew that made it happen. Thanks everyone <3.

[ozone_00]

The thing that disapointed me most was the fact that m.o.v.e. were basically doing karaoke, rather than being backed by a live band; it just made everything sound kind of flat and bland. I understand that a full band may have been prohibitively expensive, considering how the economy has been lately, so a two singers and a DJ may have been the only economically feasable option this year. Was there a lower music budget this year?
Secondly, I also HATED the sound as much as everyone else. It kind of seemed like the levels got a little better toward the end of each set, but it was too little, too late.
Lastly, the line was a complete mess. IRT was totally unprepared and could't make up there minds. It seems like you guys haven't learned from past mistakes. Also, I was in line for about five minutes before a staffer said that no bags or props would be allowed in, and she walked past me several times before saying it.

[supergeekgirl]

From an outside perspective, it was too loud too. Everything in the main events room was too loud or the hotel just sucked that bad because I was on the SEVENTH FLOOR and could hear the rave music/concert music/people yelling from my room quite clearly (not just a pumping bass but lyrics too at least during the rave).

[justin.lazer]

I noticed that for the slants too. I thought that the concert for Move turned out a lot better. I was in front for both.

Either way, yes.. it was a good show.

[Sakamura]

ozone_00, on May 11 2009, 08:48 AM, said:

The thing that disapointed me most was the fact that m.o.v.e. were basically doing karaoke, rather than being backed by a live band; it just made everything sound kind of flat and bland. I understand that a full band may have been prohibitively expensive, considering how the economy has been lately, so a two singers and a DJ may have been the only economically feasable option this year. Was there a lower music budget this year?

Maybe you should speak with M.O.V.E.'s manager.

[Alicorn]

ozone_00, on May 11 2009, 08:48 AM, said:

The thing that disapointed me most was the fact that m.o.v.e. were basically doing karaoke, rather than being backed by a live band; it just made everything sound kind of flat and bland. I understand that a full band may have been prohibitively expensive, considering how the economy has been lately, so a two singers and a DJ may have been the only economically feasable option this year. Was there a lower music budget this year?

Some music groups don't use a live band because all their tracks are composed electronically...it was the same when I went to see Smile.dk in concert at San Japan and Sakuracon. Eurobeat concerts are similar too, though some artists like Dave Rodgers use electric guitars on stage IIRC. I just assumed m.o.v.e. was the same ^^

[BeautifullyChaotic]

BurnsideGT, on May 10 2009, 10:53 PM, said:

Yep. I was a bit let down that the audio was distorted.. I had never heard the Slants before, and I could tell they would be a band I'd REALLY love; but it was a bit hard to really feel it. (well, like some of the others said, you could REALLY feel the bass :3)

And when MOVE came out, it was definitely hard to really crush on Yuri's vocals during the performance. BUT... I -think- it's something that is really hard to fine tune on the fly at an event like that with the flow of how the convention works. I know they do a setup before and a soundcheck, but maybe after they tune the accoustics with an empty room, the filling of the attendees changes things even more... I don't really know.. I'm not familiar with the specifics of working audio. It doesn't seem like it would be too much of a tricky thing to change on the fly to improve the audio quality.

I WILL say though; it was definitely a step up from the Halcali concert last year in terms of the volume/pain ratio. The audio was unbearable decibel-wise and I had to leave through the middle of it.

Perhaps someone in charge of the audio during these events could step in here and explain a bit about the issues they face and the trickiness they deal with when trying to find a nice balance for everything? Help us understand a bit why this happens they way it did.

REGARDLESS.... the concert was still fun, and where else could we ever get a chance to easily have MOVE to step up and perform for us? Aside from the audio issues, much love to the Acen crew that made it happen. Thanks everyone <3.

Hello all!

After reading many posts with complaints about the sound and levels of the concerts/raves, I just wanted to make a lot of people aware of something that most usually aren't aware of...

A lot of the bands and/or DJs use their own "sound guy" for their shows. Some bands do like the "loud" sound as opposed to a more reasonable level.

That being said, we are not looking to point the blame at anyone but to merely inform everyone that some of the concerts sounded different or "better" because the official sound guy of ACEN ran them rather than individual bands/DJs.

What will be done?

We will be keeping an eye on everyones opinion about what they liked and disliked about the technical side of the shows (lights, video, sound) and taking note in an attempt to make next year even better.

Thank you for the input everyone!

Kat

[okaonos]

I noticed similar problems with sound during Anime Hell and the AMV Awards. The balance of treble and bass was never correct and at times I thought I would bust an eardrum from the sheer volume of everything.

[DJFLuFFKiNS]

Quick note on most of this. M.O.V.E. brought in their own sound guy, as is fairly common, and he spent a fair amount of time sound checking and making sure everything was how he wanted it to sound. Did something happen between the sound check and the concert? maybe... a lot of band usually ask to do a second check right before the concert and it's really hellish on our attendees because that usually means the room needs to be cleared.

Needless to say, we will try to make it better every year!

As far as what we got, we felt like M.O.V.E. was a big win this year and we'll do more next year. I don't think we didn't get what we paid for nor do I think we didn't get a great musical act.