Vince Neil Issues Nikki Sixx Ultimatum: “Turn down your bass or I’m quitting The Stadium Tour”

MOTLEY CRUE is purportedly having a meltdown on The Stadium Tour and it’s not because the U.S. is experiencing a brutal heatwave. As the story goes, Vince Neil is not happy with the sound quality of the Crue’s sets. He is complaining to people in the production crew that his vocals are being drowned out on purpose by Nikki Sixx. Yesterday was a day off for the Crue, after having suffered a series of negative concert reviews in Chicago and Cleveland that each seem to have the same criticism, the bass sound is way too loud.

Professionalism is the ability to play at the right volume for the rest of the band and the audience who paid to see your band perform live. Musicians that can’t tell are either 1) tone deaf 2) don’t care 3) ego is too big 4) clueless as fuck.

As the story goes, Neil approached Sixx after their most recent gig, and attempted to explain to the bassist his upset with the sound at the Crue’s continuing disastrous concerts. Already having a bad reputation for beating up his own sound guy during a solo gig once, Neil is said to have ripped into Sixx with such anger that the two nearly came to blows.

Believe it or not, word going around the Crue’s camp now is that Neil issued a warning to the Crue’s manager immediately after his blow-up with Sixx. Neil is demanding the bass be turned down so that his vocals don’t get buried… or he is going to quit The Stadium Tour.

Latest News: MÖTLEY CRÜE Concert Review Reduces Band To Nothing More Than “Opportunists” Held Together By Mick Mars! (Chicago Tribune) https://t.co/AD1lHreF3P 😱@chicagotribune @MotleyCrue pic.twitter.com/A6TIOwrinn
— Randy "Rocket" Cody (@randyrocketcody) July 9, 2022

MyAudioLover explains the problem:

“The low-end is quite sensitive and can lack balance if the bass is higher than treble as too much or a little above the required amount can sink the treble notes so that you find it difficult to hear the treble notes, ruining the song in the process.”

Either Sixx is going to do what is right and reduce the volume on his bass or the Crue is going to have to explore Plan B, calling on ex-Crue singer John Corabi to finish the remaining shows for the Stadium Tour.

In conclusion:

“To clear the low-end rumble that ruins your song is to avoid falling into the trap of increasing the bass in a way that overpowers the treble note on the song… you’ll need your treble to be higher than bass if you want to cleanly and loudly project the vocals. Any music professional knows that vocals are the heart of a song. When your audience can hear the vocals in your song, they’ll genuinely derive meaning and pleasure from it. With treble higher than bass, your audience would listen to the vocals better. However, if the bass is higher than the treble, the vocals won’t be audible enough.”