Live Sound Tips & Tricks Webinar

Join me in a discussion about live sound mixing and I'll share with you my tips and tricks to stay organized, be more consistent and make your mix sound better!

I'll be online starting at 2pm EST (-5GMT) and will answer questions for an hour! Please follow the Webinars link on the front page for access. 

Tips for Live Sound Mixing

Topics I'll be covering;

2pm

Live sound mixing takes serious concentration. In the studio you can count on privacy and as few interruptions as possible. Working in live sound environments does not afford you the same level of privacy. Quite the opposite in fact. Follow these tips to help you achieve more consistent results when you work in live venues.

2:15

Being well organized is the hallmark of a good sound engineer. Keeping track of your input lists, your stage plots and all the other documents and devices you will need is really important.

2:30

Building a great sounding mix begins by getting the gain structure right. All PA systems have a finite amount of gain available. If you use all the available headroom in the PA for your kick drum sound, you are going to have difficulty for the rest of the show making anything else sound musical. 

2:45

Your participation in the process of making a concert is very much akin to being a band member. Your role is certainly as important. It's essential that you know the songs and know what comes next. Anticipating the next sequence of events is exactly what the musicians do. When a musician isn't paying attention and makes a mistake, it's usually quite obvious. The same is true for sound engineers. You need to pay close attention. Anticipate the solos and use your effects to punctuate the emotional content of the music. Be ready for changes between songs even! Follow these tips to make you a better engineer.

3:00 Closing remarks:

Be open to new ideas and new techniques.

Ask seasoned engineers for their approach to thorny problems.

Listen to a wide range of music and try to expand your horizons an engineer.

Become the engineer that "knows it all" and you will get offered more jobs and better pay. Having answers is one of the most important parts of your job. Educate yourself in the science of audio so you can have a meaningful dialog when you have to ask musicians to change some aspect of their setup or tone.

And last but certainly not least, foster a sense of collaboration and trust and you will build relationships that last your entire career.