# Preparing for first time doing live sound for a band



## Khesahn (Aug 21, 2013)

Hey peeps, I´m about to get a gig as sound guy for a bands live performances.
I´ve explained to them, that I have no prior experience with live sound. Only in my own home studio. But they like what I do, and wanna get me on board!

Do you guys have any tips for me or reading material/youtube videos I could check out, to kinda know what I´m getting into and to help me prepare in advance? I´d really like to come prepared and have some kinda workflow ready.

The band is a death metal band, if that helps :]

Thanks guys.


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## Baelzebeard (Aug 21, 2013)

The first couple of things you'll want to get down is "signal flow", and "gain staging".

Signal flow is so important for live sound because you need to work fast, and be able to troubleshooot fast. If you know how the signal travels through the system you will be able to stay ahead of issues. It will also help you with ....

Gain staging. Following the signal from start to finish maintaining proper gain is critical. I tend to run my first gain stage with the mixer preamp peaking at 0- +3 db, and run everything else at or near unity gain, except the channel fader. This usually gets a good level above the noise floor, and leaves good headroom for transient signals.

Another thing that will come with some time is quickly identifying frequencies. This will help you quickly eq for best sound, and feedback prevention for monitors.

Damn there is so much to say, but start with researching this stuff.

And here's one of my tricks. You can get away with a lot of compression live, so don't be afraid to crush the shit out of things to get powerful signal and simultaneously helping with transient problems.


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## danresn (Aug 22, 2013)

Baelzebeard said everything I was going to say.

The only other basic thing left is to be prepared beforehand to get annoyed at the band. They will probably be playing when (if) you are trying to soundcheck someone else and the bass player will probably play some slap when you are getting levels and then use a pick for the show. Be aware the vocalist will probably sing/scream really quietly during soundcheck (again, if you are lucky enough) and then sing/scream at a 'normal' volume during the show.

Other than that good luck


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## WarriorOfMetal (Aug 22, 2013)

I do sound at a DIY venue, and I typically only have enough mics for the vocals and kick drum. What I'll do is have the drummer play for a bit, to get a feel for how hard they hit and how loud they play. Then I'll stand in the middle of the room and have the bassist start playing, and have him turn up to a level that works well with the drums. Guitars are next, bring them up so that they can be heard clearly, without drowning out other things. Vocals come last. Most bands are willing to cooperate with this system, and I always explain to the bands how I do things, before we start.

Another "trick" I learned a while back, that can help with feedback issues: don't be afraid to turn the bass and treble way down on the vocal mic, especially for loud metal bands. Also, remember that if you want to have the kick audible without being overpowering or mudding things up, it's usually more about the "click" than the "boom" in faster/more extreme styles.


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## MrPowers (Aug 22, 2013)

I agree with everything else everyone has said.

My one tip would be, there are some singers that cannot be pulled through a mix no matter how hard you try (this is assuming that there is no compression/dedicated graphic EQ). They just don't have a voice that cuts or they are extremely quiet. When you get into a situation like that, just do the best you can, but it's usually not worth the feedback that an extremely hot mic and a careless singer will cause.


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## WarriorOfMetal (Aug 22, 2013)

MrPowers said:


> I agree with everything else everyone has said.
> 
> My one tip would be, there are some singers that cannot be pulled through a mix no matter how hard you try (this is assuming that there is no compression/dedicated graphic EQ). They just don't have a voice that cuts or they are extremely quiet. When you get into a situation like that, just do the best you can, but it's usually not worth the feedback that an extremely hot mic and a careless singer will cause.



Truth. Also, it's no fun playing "human compressor" for a full set. I've had to do that before, with a singer who had no mic technique and a PA with no compression.


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## User Name (Aug 22, 2013)

one thing i have to say is that mixing live sound is way different than mixing in the studio. in the studio you have all the time in the world to "tweek" the sound, but in a live performance setting you need to know how to react at a moments notice if something goes wrong.


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## WhiteWalls (Aug 22, 2013)

For the "sound" part you already got extremely good advice so I'll go for the "logistics":

Try and find out the mixer model beforehand, so you can study how the signal flow works and how many monitor mixes you have available.
Bring tape and a sharpie to write down the channels/monitors and always remember to write all the settings after the soundcheck, even if no other bands have to do it (it's easy to bump on a fader accidentally or something)
Ask the band for their stage setup in detail so you can troubleshoot gear problems better.

If you have effects available, it's basically the same as you do it in the studio: compress vocals and bass, but don't overdo it as feedback is always a problem. lots of highs for the kick drum (especially for a death metal band), lots of mids for the vocals and snare drum.
Always remember to monitor the sound from as many places as possible (just in front of the stage, on the back of the room) to find out inconsistencies (for example: if you are right in front of the stage and one guitar is too loud, it means there's too much sound coming from the amp and too little from the PA)


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## Sinborn (Aug 24, 2013)

I will reiterate knowing the signal path of the PA system is paramount to knowing what you can do with it. For example, you can use more compression on vocals if you can insert the compressor in the signal chain in a way that you compress them in the main mix but not the monitors.


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## xfkx (Aug 26, 2013)

inevitably you will shit yourself if you don't know your way around a live console... every digital console has it's own thing going on, find out which model is it. If it's analog with outboard, find out which gate/compressors models are in there. Time is crucial, work fast with big moves, don't obsess with details... you'll work those out during the first few songs. In the studio you're obsessed with carving surgical cuts into guitars, in the live setting a hi-pass and maybe some dip in the muddy frequencies will do the job, don't over-eq stuff. 

It just has to sound like music from the first few notes, the general balance of instruments has to be right from the get go, or people will start giving you funny looks. 

A proper soundcheck before the show will be crucial, as you have to have time to at least learn to move around the console

good luck!


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## Khesahn (Aug 26, 2013)

Thanks a heap guys! It´s really awesome of you, to give your time and experience!

I really like the idea of knowing what gear I have to work with, so I will make some phone calls and check the gear out in advance.

Can't wait to to this! But I'm also very nervous!

Thanks for all your posts guys. Please do keep them comming if you have something to add :]

Cheers!


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## robare99 (Aug 26, 2013)

If you get a low rumble feedback, check the makeup gain on the compressor. Feedback isn't generally from the mains, though in the heat of battle, if you start to get some, bringing down the mains a bit can help get rid of it, until you know what it is. 

Like others said, musicians will sandbag a bit. That's why after going thru the drums, have him play a but to dial them in. You can also put all the drums on a subgroup which will let you bump them all up or down with just one fader. 

As awesome as a great kick drum sounds, no one goes home humming the kick drum. Find that right mix with it. If you know that the singer is hardcore, and he's just talking into the mic, say something like "ok is this how you sing? If your balls out screaming during the gig, it's no problem, but that's what I need. 

Stand about 10' in front of the stage and have the guitar players play an A chord. Get then balanced out, then have them switch one at a time to their lead volume. Don't be afraid to ask them to turn down a touch, providing you can bring them up in the monitors. 

Good luck!!


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## Given To Fly (Aug 27, 2013)




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## walleye (Aug 29, 2013)

Simple Feedback Trainer


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## noUser01 (Aug 30, 2013)

walleye said:


> Simple Feedback Trainer



This is a great program. I also highly recommend Quiztones, it's the same idea but you can run songs through it and it'll have an EQ spike or cut somewhere in it that you need to figure out.


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## RevDrucifer (Sep 4, 2013)

MrPowers said:


> I agree with everything else everyone has said.
> 
> My one tip would be, there are some singers that cannot be pulled through a mix no matter how hard you try (this is assuming that there is no compression/dedicated graphic EQ). They just don't have a voice that cuts or they are extremely quiet. When you get into a situation like that, just do the best you can, but it's usually not worth the feedback that an extremely hot mic and a careless singer will cause.



That can be a touchy territory. I once had a "soundguy" tell me I wasn't singing loud enough and he couldn't get my mic loud enough without feeding back. Didn't matter to him that he had a mic on every drum, overheads for cymbals, mics on 2 FULL stacks that were blaring and a mic PLUS the DI from an SVT Pro with an 8x10....in a room that fit maybe 200 people....but was actually holding maybe 30 at the time. 

If I had no prior live experience, performing OR mixing, I would have listened to the guy and blew my voice out trying to make up for what his P.A. couldn't do. 

One of the first rules taught to singers is to never over-sing to compensate for the lack of volume coming from the monitors or P.A.

That said, if some dipshit is standing 4 feet away from the mic and whispering over a death metal band, just turn his mic off.


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## Khesahn (Sep 5, 2013)

Thank you guys so much for all the great feedback :] I will try out those trainers for sure!

I know this singer very well. He´s anything but quiet! If there isnt a 20 db pad the mixer will clip with gain all the way down. He´s super loud! So ill always have some form of 20 db pad in my bag just to be sure :]

I was at the bands rehearsal this passed weekend & they are a super bunch of guys. Told me what they wanted sound wise & reassured me that they´d rather have me learning my way around live gigs and sound "ok" until I really get things right than to have the venues guy do "ok" every time. 

So that really put me at ease :]

Cheers again guys for being awesome and sharing with me!


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