We’ve all been there, rushing to get the band mic’d up, trying to get monitor feeds happening while also trying to get some sort of FOH mix dialed in while the band rehearses the chorus for the 18th time. How many times have you come away from a soundcheck actually feeling like you checked out the sound? Let’s look at six ways we can make more effective use of the time given to us for the all important, sometimes elusive, soundcheck.
1. Make sure it works
Whether your a touring FOH/ Monitor Engineer or a resident house guy at your local church, we all deal with sound checks. One of the quickest ways to get derailed is with a rig that isn’t working properly. While the band is loading in, lifting heavy gear and getting set their equipment setup, take this free pass to make sure the PA is functioning the way you need it to. Checking that AUX 1 is actually feeding the mix you expect it to be, making sure someone didn’t reroute or re-patch something for another use. Once the stage is wired, get an assistant (or do it yourself with your trusty tablet) to help you line check the inputs, again making sure that the guitar and key lines didn’t get mis-patched, or that your kick drum isn’t running down the main vocal line somehow. Sometimes this even means coming in earlier than the band…I know, it’s our lot in life. But on the bright side, you get your choice of parking spot!
2. Optimize
This sort of goes hand in hand with the last idea, but having basic settings dialed in and ready to go, if your using wedges, having vocal lines and direct lines roughed into the mixes really helps inspire confidence when the artist steps up to the mic and they can hear themselves right away. Also, make sure your wedges are “rung out,” meaning that you’ve got them EQ’d for maximum gain or level before they feedback. If this is done before the artist steps in the room, it will again, only help raise the confidence level that you’ve got your stuff together and the band is in good hands.
3. Run the show
Let’s face it, musicians love to play their instruments, and left to their own devices, would likely jam and noodle for, well ever. As the sound person, it’s up to us to drive the ship – we need to let guys on stage know what we need, and in turn check in with them along the way to make sure they can hear what they need. One of the best ways I’ve seen this run is for the band to have a raised hand at the start of each line check, and one by one the tech will feed their monitors, when the hand goes down, the level stops. It’s a nice, quick and easy way for the tech to see who still needs more and who’s got enough. Obviously this will likely be tweaked as things go, but it’s great to keep the check rolling and communication direct. Remember, this is also the time for you to be working on FOH sounds, so keep the PA up and once you’ve got it dialed in, feed it to the stage as well.
4. Keep the animals, err, I mean the band happy
While soundcheck is a time for us to dial in our FOH sounds, it’s also a time for the guys on stage to sort things out as well. It’s highly likely that has the room fills up, and the band settles in and plays a bit differently, our FOH sounds will change. We want to make sure that we have our gain structure pretty close and basic sounds coming together. And while we can adjust those FOH levels as the rom fills up, this is the only time the band is able to clearly communicate the changes they require in order to feel comfortable with their sound. It’s important at show time that the band isn’t thinking about monitor mix or struggling to hear themselves. So take a walk on the stage, listen to the wedges, amps etc, talk to the band and make sure they’re comfortable. Again, showing that it matters to you is going to help them trust you and that is very important. Making yourself available to the band is crucial if they’re using any sort of personal monitor mixing. Chances are they could use your help dialing in the mix in their in ears.
5. Know your sources
This is part of the gig if you’re a touring tech. If you’re a house tech, you likely interact with the same group of musicians on weekly rotations. Whatever the case may be it’s helpful to learn the sources, know their characteristics and know how your mics perform in your room. In a house gig, sometimes the only constant is that you know the PA, the console, or the mic kit at your disposal. If you learn those pieces to the point that you can predict how they’ll perform, then you’ll be much more successful when the unknown walks through the door and onto your stage.
6. In all that you do, be prepared.
As much as this seems like a straight forward concept, it’s quite often overlooked and the ‘fly by the seat of our pants’ approach is adopted. Have accurate stage plots – even if you’re a resident tech, dealing with most of the same players week to week. Have a plot of who’s where and who is on which mix, etc. This way when something does fail, you can trace it very quickly. If your running digital, save presets. If your running analog, then snapping a pic of settings that seem to work and logging them in a binder, not as the setting to end all settings, but as a starting point for someone who might be newer to the game than you are. Check your cables, DI’s, mics, batteries; essentially anything that can fail you. Once again, doing this ahead of time will alleviate the potential hassle and stress it can cause if it fails as someone goes to use the device.
Soundcheck should be a productive time for you and for the band. A chance for them to settle in and get a feel for the space, get things set and a chance for you to get sounds dialed in. If you need amp volumes or drum intensity adjusted, address those earlier rather than later. Don’t go through an entire check and tell them as their wrapping up, it can’t be fixed and addressed appropriately at that time. Remember you’re part of the band; always work with the other members towards achieving what’s best for everyone. It won’t likely be a 100% controlled stage, but a compromise on both sides. Make sure things work and are where they need to be for quick setup and make sure you don’t waste your time or the bands time… and, try to have fun!
To learn more about sound engineer etiquette and best practices, visit technotes.tv. Your go-to resource for live production training.
