Ok, I know this isn't the Spice Girls channel but is this statement about sound true?
Analysis - Mark Savage, BBC Music Reporter
It wasn't just the Spice Girls who had sound issues this weekend. Festival-goers were filmed chanting "turn it up" during the Strokes' set at All Points East in London, where one fan compared the sound to "underwater karaoke".
The truth is that getting the sound right for large-scale, open-air concerts is a nightmare. No matter how you arrange the speakers, every venue will have dead zones and hot-spots, while weather conditions can play havoc with even the most sophisticated mix.
Think about this: As night falls, cool air settles on the surface-level air that's been warmed all day by the sun. The sound tends to "bend" towards the colder air, travelling right over the stadium seating and into the atmosphere.
Add to this the noise restrictions in city centre venues like Cardiff's Principality Stadium, and you can see why these concerts may have ended up disappointing fans.
If you are having trouble hearing a show, the best solution is often to move until you find a sweet spot. Not such an easy task if you're seated, but on the ground level, stationing yourself next to the sound desk is generally a good bet.
Sounds moving air, so less resistance riding the cooler air thing makes sense. I always go stand by the soundboard, where it sounds best to the techs.
Weather and temperature definitely affects audio performance. But, I have never complained about not being able to hear the Spice Girls.
... I always go stand by the soundboard, where it sounds best to the techs.
I tend to do that too. Often helpful in finding a spot with good sound. But unfortunally this also sometimes results in witnessing sound techs standing passively behind their desks trying to look cool but with such a horrendous sound it really makes you doubt that they know what they are doing!
Haha thats for sure. I prefer indoor sound unless it is some dumb arena with crap acoustics. The only outdoor sound that ever blew me away was the Deads Wall of Sound - just incredible.
I'm no engineer, but I know cold air is denser than hot air and it would seem to me that sound would want to travel the path of least resistance, so the comment about sound "bending" towards the colder air doesn't make intuitive sense to me.
A ha, something I think I know a little about--it all comes down to stage speaker placement and what you hear with your own ears. When attending an outdoor show I start with the soundboard location and observing where the tapers are set up, factor in minimizing millennial vaping, chatting and talking to their friends who aren't there on the phone and listen for good cymbal sound, bass and guitar (hopefully Gibson or Epiphone) fidelity, all of which might not be at a location all that close to the stage. True story, several years ago at a free festival, I did my usual exploration and eventually found a choice spot with excellent sound and minimal millennial interference...but somebody was already standing right there--so I left. I can be real picky like that sometimes.
[Edited on 6/16/2019 by patrickcrenshaw]
