I'm not bashing anybody; it's usually more a matter of perspective than anything else, but sometimes when the sound guy asks you to turn down, he knows what he is doing. You may not know all the compromises with the gear, the room, the management (the manager may insist that the SPL be low enough for the bartenders to hear the drink orders, for example), etc. that must be made for a comfortable even mix out front in that particular room, and the mix for the audience is (or should be) of paramount importance to everyone involved. Frankly, if it comes down to a choice between a good mix on stage and a good mix out front (as it often does in a small room), the mix out front always wins, IMO.
True.
The worst thing for a sound man to have to overcome is an undisciplined band who tries to play to the crowd from the stage. What happens is simple:
1. The guitarist keeps cranking it up. It's about the guitar.
2. The drummer is so loud his sound has to be shut right off and still he fucks it up for everyone else by bleeding into all the other mics. You wish he was drumming from the sidewalk.
3. Vocalists want more me in the monitors because the dipshit playing lead with the half stack on 6 is so loud no singer can compete with it.
4. The soundman eventually cuts nearly the entire band out of the house mix because the vocals are in such trouble.
5. The vocals are so loud in the mix to balance it gets painful.
6. The whole place dances with feedback every second and sounds like absolute crap.
With a disciplined band (and especially in smaller clubs), you have
1. Every instrument mic'd or furnishing a direct line in so it is available to be balanced in the FOH mix and to be returned in a monitor mix if needed. My job is to deliver clarity and gobs of horsepower to the audience; to do that I must have headroom and it is the band's responsibility not to screw it up.
2. A conscious effort by the band at minimizing stage volume: leave the half stacks at home. Amps arranged like monitors and NOT as a backline.
3. The drum kit mic'd appropriately and that signal is prominent in the drummer's monitor mix. The drummer has a competent touch and is not merely a walking jackhammer.
4. All vocals in the main monitor mix.
5. Run multiple monitor mixes if you need: the idea is for performers to listen to each other. This will not happen if the stage volume is too loud. So Toker41 is right: the stage volume has to be high enough so he can hear himself play. But it is just as important for him to hear the other musicians so he can listen to them. And without musicians listening to each other - closely - the band is simply going to suck.
I also agree that guitar effects are best left in the hands of the guitarist unless you're dealing with an acoustic act. But stage volume is tricky: if the soundman wants it lowered, then lower it. He's hearing more than the musicians hear and he's trying to keep the vocals and the instruments from fighting.
For this you need at least as good a monitor mix as a FOH mix. It will be different, but it needs to be clear and free of mud. Last night I did sound for a gig where I ran seperate monitor mixes and tried a set of Passport speakers directly behind the keyboard and as infill for the drummer, as well as stage wedges in front powered by better amp than before. Both the keyboard player and the drummer said this was the first time they knew exactly what was going on with the rest of the band. It showed.
k for.
