Advice needed on being soundguy at gig?!
Question: Advice needed on being soundguy at gig!?
Hey, I'm going to be doing sound for a few bands at a gig local to here, I'm wondering about stuff that I should be aware of, what the standard procedure is!. I know a lot about it, from working with so many when my band are playing gigs, but never actually been behind the mixer (at a gig anyway, I'm fully familiar with it, mixing my own tracks etc in my own home studio!.)
How does soundcheck work!? A big question is, the bands play, at soundcheck, I adjust the levels so they sound right!. But why do they all play in the same space etc, before the thing!. Surely different bands will need different levels, so do I write down what the first, second, third band have on the mixer when they play at soundcheck or what!?Www@Enter-QA@Com
How does soundcheck work!? A big question is, the bands play, at soundcheck, I adjust the levels so they sound right!. But why do they all play in the same space etc, before the thing!. Surely different bands will need different levels, so do I write down what the first, second, third band have on the mixer when they play at soundcheck or what!?Www@Enter-QA@Com
Answers:
having experience mixing your own tracks and doing live sound are two totally different worlds!. first of all try to get a rider from the bands!. a rider is essentially a list of what instrumentation a band has and what they will require at the gig!. at a bigger gig the headline act is the first to do a soundcheck and they usually do the longest check (up to an hour or more) the order of bands is reversed for the SC with the opener being the last to check (if at all) In a decent size venue the headliners equipment remains onstage with everyone elses being set up in front of their stuff and struck (taken off stage) after they play!. During the sound check the headliners channels are set and left alone for the remainder of the day until they play!. All the other bands will share mics and channels!. This requires a large console with enough inputs to accomodate the headliner and the openers seperately!. At a smaller venue there might not be enough room onstage or on the board to do this!. This changes things dramatically with no one getting a sound check or setting up until they go on!. If this is the case you will need to be prepared with at least 3 vocal mics on stands, a bass drum mic and 2 or more over head mics for the drums, 2 mics on short stands for guitar, a direct box for the bass, and another for any keyboards or acoustic guitar!. So you will need at least 10 channels to do it right!. mic stands and direct boxes as well as all the cables are also your responsibility!. If you are just the sound man and there is another company providing the P!.A!. then you should contact them and make sure that they will have all the right gear!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
Use your ears! Take your best shot during the soundcheck for each band!. Make notes on the settings so you can duplicate them before each band, then adjust on the fly!. Make sure the instruments don't overpower the vocals! Good luck!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
Set it how you want!. If its a bunch of local bands, then no one will notice or care anyways!.Www@Enter-QA@Com