For anyone that has seen Maiden live

nuno_c

nuno_c

A hollow universe in space
I've never actually seen Maiden live, but i do intend on seeing them whenever they tour again.

The thing is, i've seen a whole lot of other concerts and, for some reason, whenever i'm in the front row the sound just seems to be a bit bad. Some parts of the music tend to be somewhat burried.

So to anyone who has seen Maiden live, do you think their sound comes out better when you're watching the concert more in the front or a bit more away from the stage?

Usually i like to be at the front because i pay attention to details, but at the same time i want my first Maiden live experience to have a really good sound, you know?

From your experience, what do you think/advise?
 
I have never seen Maiden from the floor/pit. Once I saw them in a stadium and once in an amphitheater and I had seats both times. The sound can be iffy, especially the guitar levels, depending on the venue.

A good rule of thumb is center and a little further back, closer towards the sound guy. But if you're looking for that in-your-face experience, you can't beat the front.
 
Only seen them at festivals. There was definitely a sound problem at the first when standing a long way back, and I don't remember it affecting the previous two bands. I don't usually try to get near the front, I can't stand staring close-up at someone's back all night. :/
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
A good rule of thumb is center and a little further back, closer towards the sound guy. But if you're looking for that in-your-face experience, you can't beat the front.
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Agreed. The front of house engineer is mixing from what he can hear at the soundboard, which is usually in the middle of the pit, sometimes towards the rear. However, there are a lot of factors that come in to play here: what kind of mains ( line arrays) the venue has provided, if Maiden is using their own rig, if there are any in-fill mains right down in front of the barrier, and if the venue is outdoors you also have weather and wind factors to consider.

I've seen Maiden three times, all in the pit, anywhere from 10 rows back to right up front. Two of these gigs were outdoor. One was absolutely awful (Tinkey park 2010), I couldn't understand a word Bruce was saying nor make out any or the guitar solos. The 2nd (Marcus amphi 2012) gig, everything was much more audible... but this was after Doug Hall left, so I still had a lot of problems with the new guy's mix. :P

The one indoor gig I've seen (Allstate arena in 2008) was fantastic. But again, it's much easier to get a good, consistent mix quickly inside.
 
Lego said:
I've seen Maiden three times, all in the pit, anywhere from 10 rows back to right up front. Two of these gigs were outdoor. One was absolutely awful (Tinkey park 2010), I couldn't understand a word Bruce was saying nor make out any or the guitar solos.
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Was that TFF tour? I was at the same show but in the second section of pavilion seating. Bruce sounded great, but the guitar levels were definitely iffy, especially at first.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Was that TFF tour? I was at the same show but in the second section of pavilion seating. Bruce sounded great, but the guitar levels were definitely iffy, especially at first.
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Yep! I don't think they had enough in-fills down the front by the barrier where I was. Very muddy sound the whole gig.
 
That venue is notoriously bad for sound. I worked there for two summers and I can count on one hand the number of shows that actually sounded good.

It was just Rush. Only needed one finger.
 
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