RUBBERSOUL >Wedding Venue Advice

Minimum Specs for a Venue Room
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Rubber Soul has played in great deal of rooms, ballrooms, banqueting suites, marquees and even hangers over the years. We've come to know what type of room works best for a large band like ourselves and we've shared some thoughts here as you may find these considerations useful when looking for venues, not just for weddings, but other events too.

Physical Dimensions

Our minimum spec for a room is that it has a floor area of 112 metres-squared. For the non-mathematically inclined this figure is acheived by multiplying the length and width of the room together.

In an ideal world, Rubber Soul also needs 3m depth and 6m width for the band. That said, we've squeezed into all sorts of spaces, including corners. If you havent got that width available, the more depth we can have, the better as our drums extend forward quite a way.

The reason for the 112m-squared lower limit is that the sound can become uncomfortable in smaller rooms. The higher the ceiling of the room, the more comfortable it will be. Obviously we have the ability to turn the PA down and our mix will be sympathetic to room size, but there is a lower limit at which a 9-piece band will start to sound too loud with no amplification at all and we've found that that lower limit is 112m-squared or thereabouts.

Sound Limiters

See our article on sound limiters at music venues for details on what these are and why they are a problem for us. Please note that Rubber Soul has a blanket policy of not playing venues which have these activated. It MAY be possible for you to get the limiter turned off, for example if you have paid for exclusive use of a hotel. In that instance it will be fine, but you must get the hotel's intention to turn the limiter off IN WRITING.

Ideal Acoustics

When looking around a venue, keep a brief eye on the construction of the room you have in mind for the band to play in. The worst case scenario would be fully wood-panelled, a wooden floor and a high ceiling. The chances are you'll still be able to hear the last gig that was played there as the reverberation will still be hanging on in there! Rooms like this sound nasty and are really difficult to control for us.

The Setup at Grittleton House, Chippenham, Wiltshire. This room has a sound limiter installed and is a prime example of room with poor acoustics for a live band. It was still possible though and we sounded good. Pulling the curtains to the rear of us and adding a good crowd dancing all night certainly helped. We also convinced the staff to over-ride the sound limiter which was negotiated in advance of the gig.

Good rooms for acoustics will be large, but with plenty of soft furnishings - look for sofas lining the walls, carpets, curtains, fabric panels on walls and even proper acoustic treatment which some venues have invested in. If the room feels quite intimate to hold a conversation in, as opposed to having a big echo in it when you walk in, then it will be fine for a large amplified band to play in.

Marquees are not an issue for acoustics. In fact, they're perfect as they are inherantly non-reflective for sound. Just make sure that they're big enough to hold us, a dancefloor and your guests!

Marquee Gigs always look and sound great as there are inherantly no acoustics in a marquee.

Room Temperature

You should also have a look at whether the room has air-conditioning or not. Believe it or not, it's not us that generates the most heat, but our dancing crowd. A room that has no air-con or windows and doors that can be opened will make for a pretty stuffy physical atmosphere. The larger the room, the less this will be an issue.

Bear in mind that some venues will refuse to let you open the windows during a function due to noise restrictions. This could also add to the temperature in the room. In this situation, the room really ought to have air-conditioning.

If the venue is close to our base in Hampshire and you are in the process of booking us, we'll go and look at it for you if we have time. Please contact us for advice.