
- Understanding mixing live sound how to#
- Understanding mixing live sound pro#
- Understanding mixing live sound professional#
Understanding mixing live sound pro#
The Easy Way to Look Like a Pro During Soundcheck, Even If You Have No Idea What You’re Doing. Understanding mixing live sound how to#
How to Build Your Mix During Soundcheck So You Can Sit Back and Enjoy the Show. How to Soundcheck Specific Instruments and the All-Important Vocal. Step By Step Instructions to Run a Great Soundcheck, Even if You’re Doing it for the First Time. Get the Soundcheck Checklist and make all your future gigs run smoothly. Obviously, this is satire and it’s hilarious, but I’m tired of grumpy engineers thinking they’re better than everybody else. If, however, you think you’re going to become a grumpy live engineer like the one in the video below, you’re probably better off finding a job somewhere else. If everyone works together as a team to achieve the goal of a great concert then you’re more likely to be remembered and you’ll keep getting more work and moving up in the industry. If you are mixing at FOH, help your monitor engineer out so that the band is happy. Help them out and give them your absolute best.Ī happy band on stage shines through to the crowd. They are up there playing their hearts out. Give artists the outstanding service that they deserve. It will make you work faster and you’ll get more done with the limited time you have. If you are running out of soundcheck time just tell the band to play a complete song instead of mixing individual instruments. If your venue only has a Shure Sm58, then I guess you’ll be using the Sm58, whether it’s on kick drum, bass or snare.Īnother way to embrace your limitations is to make the most of your soundcheck time. They might be looking at the graphic equalizer with complete befuddlement, but if you share your wisdom you’ll not only make your job easier in the future, you’ll also earn the respect of those who will soon become your peers. That information is great to pass on to those that are just getting started in the industry. You will never forget a specific feedback frequency once you’ve gotten the hang of the graphic equalizer. If you have a mixing trick or know of a better way to do a particular job, share the wisdom.įor example, if you’ve calibrated the monitors on stage to go as loud as possible before feedback you’re probably pretty experienced in knowing what certain frequencies sound like. Hell, that’s the whole point of this website. Make sure established sound engineers know you and make sure you are the first name that pops into their head when they need someone to fill in for them. If you’re just trying to break into the industry, persistence is key – call, call, call. Listen to what others say about your sound.Įspecially if you are starting out, make a note to listen to what others say and how you can improve on that. Problems only take a few minutes to solve if you just keep your head straight and think things through.
When you have a technical problem in the system make sure you troubleshoot every variable. When you have a problem, you need to go from A to Z in order to figure out what’s wrong.
See my article on monitor mixing live sound for an in depth look on monitor mixing. Don’t hold the signal hostage in the mixer if you have sound to spare. If the singer needs more vocals in the monitor, give it to them.
If an artist wants something, give it to them. Monitor engineers need to communicate and talk to the artist. Make the Band Comfortable With Their Monitor MixĪ good example of serving the artist is how you approach the monitor mix. Remember that doing live sound is 20% technical skills and 80% attitude. Let me touch upon a few very important things you need to keep in mind for success in the industry.
Understanding mixing live sound professional#
6 Ways to Be a Professional Sound Tech Even If You’ve Never Run Sound Before and lastly some tricks I picked up over the years on how to get the right sound for your venue once the sound system is all set up and ready to go.īut first things first.EQ shortcuts and sound system tuning tips.Everything involved in a live sound setup.Some tips to think about before you ever hit the stage.In this survival guide, I will share with you to the best of my abilities: Whether you are just starting out as a live sound engineer, or you have tons of gigs under your belt, we all struggle with these similar issues. Sounds like a shitty gig, but most of the time it’s the opposite.
Late musicians, venue feedback, bad cables and sticky speakers…