What's In Your Tool Box?

If you're a musician who uses electricity and cables in the course of your performance, then you need to read this post.  

There are a couple of basic facts in life that directly affect you and your performance:

 - Cables are the the weak link in most audio systems
 - There are a lot of ways for the electrical system in a building to be screwed up

Let's talk about the power first.  In the coming weeks I'm going to do an article on AC power, grounding, and other related topics.  But for now, this is about your safety and the well being of your equipment.  

The main thing to remember is A Faulty Ground Can Kill You.  Period.  Even the "famous" guys aren't immune to this.  One of the most famous incidents was in 1972 when Les Harvey of the Scottish band Stone The Crows was killed on stage when electrocuted by a microphone.  Gary Thain of Uriah Heep was severely electroducted in Dallas in 1974 and never really recovered.  Ace Frehley of KISS got a 220 volt jolt due to a ground fault between his guitar amps and stair railing on the stage set of the Destroyer tour in the late 70's (and yes, that was the inspiration for his song Shock Me).

So, how do you know if that cruddy outlet you're plugging your PA system into is wired correctly?  You spend $5 and get yourself an outlet tester:

That's what I live for...two yellow lights!  Buy plugging this in, I know that:

• The outlet is actually functioning (it's no fun troubleshooting equipment when the problem is the outlet is dead).
• The outlet is wired to the correctly polarity (more on that in our AC power article)
• Most importantly, we have a functioning ground

Knowing that the ground is intact means that the noise and hum that gets on the shields of our cables has a place to go.  But more critical is that in the event of an electrical fault in our equipment, the AC current has a place to go besides through us!  

You can pick these things up at home improvement stores (Lowe's, Home Depot).  Think of it as a $5 life insurance policy.  I check every outlet at a new venue before plugging in anything.

And then there are cables.  It's not "if", but "when" are they going to fail.  Buying (or in my case building) quality cables helps, but at some point someone is either going to pull the wire from the connector or roll the road case with all of the mic stands over one.  

So if you have more than a few mic / speaker / instrument cables, you should own a cable tester.

Plugging in this mic cable, I can see that not only are all of the individual wires are good, but it's also wired in phase (yet another future topic).  My long time favorite has been this Behringer CT100, and it's the best $25 I've spent on troubleshooting tools.  It does XLR, 1/4", 3.5mm, RCA, and MIDI.  It also has a latching function on the indicators to catch intermittent shorts or opens.  Other people make 'em (Peavey, Nady, Hosa)...this just happens to be the one I have.  The one thing it's lacking is being able to test Speak-con connectors, so I'm probably looking at getting one to do that since those connectors are becoming a lot more common now.

Keep in mind that a balanced XLR mic cable can have 1 conductor open and still function...just not as well.  You loose your noise cancellation, the signal level drops, and you can have problems with phantom power if you're using that.  So, a few times a year I get the band over to the house and we go through and check all the mic cables.  While we're at it, we run them through a damp bar rag to clean who-knows-what off of 'em.  It's call Preventive Maintenance...and there's yet another future topic.

This is a "luxury" item to a lot of people, but if I've got any question about the power in a building I'll break out my Digital Multi-Meter (aka DMM).

The outlet tester can tell me if an outlet is wired correctly, but it doesn't actually tell me the voltage at the plug.  If you're working where there's permanent power, it's pretty safe to say that the line voltage is going to be around 120V (but not always...more in a moment). However, if I'm playing an outdoor show where we're on generator power, I always check it! I saw first hand several years ago an improperly connected generator take out 2 Mesa Dual Rectifier amps (about $4000 worth of amps up in flames).  If someone had taken 2 minutes to check, they would have seen that the "120V" outlets were actually wired to 277 volts!

Sometimes you run into a situation where you have the opposite problem...low voltage.  There's a club in south Austin I used to play where my digital amp would actually reboot, and the other guitarist's tube amp just sounded bad.  We measured the voltage coming out of the outlet, and found that when the walk-in cooler compressor kicked in, the outlet dropped to 87 volts!  We found another outlet to plug into (and I started carrying a voltage regulator after that).

A DMM is also nice for checking if a wall wart power supply is working or not.  And, you can use it for finding faults in cables (although the cable checker above it a lot easier to use).  The one above is a pretty fancy one that I keep on the bench for troubleshooting.  You can pick up a basic model for about $15 when you get your outlet tester.

You should be carrying a lot more than this in your tool box, such as tools to work on your instrument, batteries, fuses, strings, picks, bail bondsman's phone number, etc.  But these are gadgets I see a lot of folks not carrying.  It's not a lot of money, but they sure lower the aggravation factor!

Since we've kind of started the discussion about AC power and such, we'll continue that next time.  We'll talk about grounding...that's a term that everyone throws around, but I find that very few people actually understand the concept of.  I'll try to take the hyper-tech out of it, and just relate the points that are important to us as musicians and performers.  We'll also talk about balancing your power loads, and I'll show you another gizmo that I find very useful in new venues.

Until then, keep the meters out of the red!

Ken

Ken Carver has been a musician and performer since the early 70's, and involved with live music production since the mid 70's. He worked for 15 years as a broadcast engineer, building numerous studios and transmitter sites around Texas. He's also worked in Critical Care Communications for the medical industry, R&D for an automated lighting manufacturer, and owned Project Lighting & Sound in the 80's. He currently heads up an R&D Hardware Technician Team at National Instruments in Austin, and still performs on the weekends in the Central Texas area. You can reach Ken at kcarvertx@gmail.com

The "4 x 4" Test...Idiot Proofing Qualified

Let me start this by saying that I'm not calling anyone who reads these little bits o' wisdom an idiot.  Quite to the contrary, I'd like to think that I'm playing to an audience with above-average intelligence.

No, what I'm referring to is the idiot moves that we all make when we're rushed, tired, drunk, or are just having a day where we're suffering from cranial rectosis.  You know, like whenever you have a show to do.

Hooking up a sound system offers literally a hundred or more opportunities to plug something in  wrong.  The well engineered and packaged system will remove as much "thinking" from the process as can be practically achieved.  If the connections are intuitive, logical, and give the proper cues to the person hooking it up, you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration.

Last week, we talked about wiring bundles...putting cables with a common source and destination together. That's all great, but what about when you have 4 or 5 connectors on each end...what do you do?

This is where careful labeling and connector selection come into play.

So, if it's really late (or early) and you've had a few drinks, could you hook this up?

If you can still match up colors, yes you can! 

How hard did you have to think about that?  You shouldn't have had to think at all...we match colors up in our heads a lot faster than we read and process text.

Don't get me wrong, text is still a darned handy thing to have when you're troubleshooting a problem. And sometimes, you have to hook up to systems other than yours..."Red" won't mean anything to a house sound man, but "KC-Vocal Mic" would.

You've just seen a real world example of the "4 x 4" test.  If you can hook it up at 4:00 in the morning after 4 beers, it passes.  And yes, I personally test each system I assemble this way.

Now, the next question I normally get is "what happens if I do make a mistake hooking it up".  The answer is "no damage will occur".  It might not work the way you expect, but you're not going to blow anything up.  When the guitar shows up on the vocal channel, you can recheck your work, swap cables, and go on with setting up the show.

This is where connector selection is really important.  In all of these snakes and bundles that you've seen, similar connectors carry similar signals.  In other words, you can't hook the output of an amplifier to the input of a mixer (that would in fact damage the mixer).  The worst that happens is you either get no signal or the channels are misassigned.  But nothing goes up in smoke.

By the way, here's a complete shot of the back of my main guitar/bass rack I use live:

The cables inside are color coded to where they plug in (just in case something comes loose during transit).  You'll also notice that the power supplies on the left side are labelled as to what they are feeding.  And I got tired of holding a flashlight every time I went to hook this up...hence the rope light.

Finally, here's a time saver that doesn't have anything to do with cables.  When you bring a rack or a case in, there's a 50/50 chance you're going to put it in place facing wrong or open up the side you don't want. 

A Sharpie fixes that...

Again, the purpose of all of these exercises is to remove as much "thinking" from set up as possible.  A minute here, a couple of minutes there might not seem like much.  But trust me, I've seen set up times cut in half just by making things 4 x 4 certified.

Next time, I want to talk about things you should have in your tool box.  If you use electricity, cables, or are your own instrument tech then there will be info you can use.

Until then, keep the meters out of the red!

Ken

Ken Carver has been a musician and performer since the early 70's, and involved with live music production since the mid 70's. He worked for 15 years as a broadcast engineer, building numerous studios and transmitter sites around Texas. He's also worked in Critical Care Communications for the medical industry, R&D for an automated lighting manufacturer, and owned Project Lighting & Sound in the 80's. He currently heads up an R&D Hardware Technician Team at National Instruments in Austin, and still performs on the weekends in the Central Texas area. You can reach Ken at kcarvertx@gmail.com

Repetitive And Redundant Moves

It never ceases to amaze me how hard musicians and technicians work to make something difficult.  They will make several moves when, with a little prep work, only one would be sufficient.

Let me ask you this, would you make 12 trips to the grocery store to get a dozen eggs?  No, you pick up 12 eggs all bundled together in a carton, and do it in one trip.

Hooking up sound (and lighting) systems is much the same way.  If you know you need to run two speaker cables to a PA stack every time you set up, why are you running them one at a time?  This is where the idea of cable bundles comes in...group cables that have a common source and destination together.  Then, you just run one bundle instead of several individual cables.


Here's a real world example from one of my PA systems.  We use a passive 3-way top and powered subwoofer per side.  That requires a speaker level output for the top, a line level signal to the sub, and power for the sub.  All 3 cables are all bundled together and run from the main rack to the speaker stack.  That saves 4 minutes in set up.

Do that twice (once for each side), and you just saved 7 or 8 minutes.
 

This not only works for PA, but for guitar rigs.  Here's the snake that runs from  my guitar pedal board I use with The Rhythm Dawgs.

There's a lot going on here, as there are 5 lines running between the board and my rack and amp (Send, Return A, Return B, Mic Send, Amp Control, and output from the Talk Box amp).  

Before making this bundle, it was 12 minutes to hook up the pedal board.  Now it's 3.  And because everything is color coded, it's a lot easier to hook it up right the first time.



Once you get above 6 or 7 lines that you need to run for any distance, I usually recommend sub-snakes to clean things up.  I'll almost always use one for the drums, as mic'ing up a kit can involve 8 or more channels (depending on how crazy you want to get).  You're still going to be plugging in the same number of mics, but it's a lot easier to run a mic cable 5-10 feet (to the sub snake) than it is 20-30 feet back to a mixer.

In The Michael Ingalls Band, we use a stage snake physically located between the drums and the bass stack.  

It not only sends the drums, bass DI, and vocals back to the board, it also returns the stage left PA feed and two monitor sends. That's 13 signals on one cable...a huge time saver.  (The "D" return in the upper right hand corner is just for the drummer during breaks.)



  Are there there things that you should not bundle together?  Absolutely.  You don't want to bundle mic or instrument lines together with AC power (especially if the power cable is feeding something with a heavy current draw).  You might can get away with it with balanced audio cables.  With unbalanced (like a guitar cable), you're asking for hum and noise to get into your signal path.
You're safe bundling power and speaker level cables together.  You're usually OK with power, speaker, and line level (-10dBm) together, but I don't put mic lines and power together.  I've seen the math behind the reasoning, and it ain't pretty.

So take a look at your setup, and see what can get consolidated together.  

The main thing to keep in mind when bundling cables together is to clearly mark what cable is carrying what signal.  You don't want to negate any time savings you get with running cable bundles by have to figure out what plugs into what.  

It the example I used earlier with the PA stack, the 3 cables all have different connectors on them (a Neutrik NL4, and XLR, and an IEC power).  In this scenario, you simply can't hook it up wrong.  

But what do you do when you have several of the same connector, be it XLR's, 1/4" phone, or whatever?  Ah grasshopper...this is where you learn the wisdom of the 4 by 4 test!  And that's what we'll touch on next week.

Until then, keep the meters out of the red!

Ken

Ken Carver has been a musician and performer since the early 70's, and involved with live music production since the mid 70's.  He worked for 15 years as a broadcast engineer, building numerous studios and transmitter sites around Texas.  He's also worked in Critical Care Communications for the medical industry, R&D for an automated lighting manufacturer, and owned Project Lighting & Sound in the 80's.  He currently heads up an R&D Hardware Technician Team at National Instruments in Austin, and still performs on the weekends in the Central Texas area.  You can reach Ken at kcarvertx@gmail.com

The Show Starts At Load In

If you're in a band that is at the point where they can afford a road crew, you can skip this week's installment.  However, if you're like the majority of us working stiffs and are still setting up your own shows, then stick around.  In fact if you do have a crew, make sure they read this.  They're representing you before you get to the venue.

Most bands have the mindset that the show starts with the first song of the night (OK, maybe it starts with a shot, then the first song of the night).  But when you're working for a venue, you're "on stage" as soon as you start loading in.  Yep...people start watching then.  And if people are watching, then you're in the spot light whether you want to be or not.

Don't be super concerned about the general patrons in the room, although you do want to be nice to 'em (and you'll always get the "what kind of music do y'all play" questions).  No, you want the manager and any bar staff working there to see a group of professionals show up with the right tools and the know-how to put a production together.  Let's first talk about how not to do it, because I can find far more examples of that.

Our band, "Nitro & The Fart Knockers" roll in at 6:00PM for a show at 7:30 (which is actually really early for Austin bands...most wouldn't get there until 7:00).  They drag their in their gear in cardboard boxes, trash bags, and just piled up in their arms.  Cables are hopeless tangled, and no one can find what they need because all of the wiring has been thrown into one Charmin toilet paper box that's been reinforced with duct tape (now that's rock-n-roll).

The bassist has to putz with his amp for several minutes to get it to work (only to find out he's get 2 bad cables from the above mentioned toilet paper "road case").  By this time, the guitarist (who has his rig up, running, and set to "stun") is practicing the stuff he should have worked out for rehearsal the previous week, and the lead singer (who considers himself "set up" once he plugs in his mic) is at the bar trying to "catch up" with his girlfriend who has been slamming Jello shots since they got there.

By the time they start (late, because someone had to go back for their mic), the singer is slurring, the guitarist has driven away several patrons, and no one bothered to check the sound out front...because if they had they would have realized that it was predominately "cowbell".

The club manager has been watching all of this, and by now has decided that Nitro and his band should have never left the garage they came from.  They finish the night (early, because the singer's girlfriend was bored and had to go...true story). But, there is little pay and no invite back. 

Their down fall started when they walked in.  Why?  Because they simply didn't appear to know what they're doing.  That, and a lot of rookie mistakes cost them any chance of getting another gig at that venue.  And here's a news flash:

Ken's Road Tip #93  - Club owners talk more to other club owners about their bad bands than their good ones.

It's like the old saying "bad news travels fast".  When you're screwing up club dates, your reputation will be ahead of you when you look for your next venue.

So, what should have happened?  Easy... at least give the appearance that you know what you're doing and that you have the tools (gear) to do the job at hand.  You need to look like you play for a living.  Sure, your friends know you have a day gig (almost mandatory at even regional band levels now), but they don't want to think about that. Everyone is there to be entertained.

After years of slugging it out in clubs, here's what I've found (based on personal experience and feedback from club owners I know well and respect) as to what they want to see in their bands:

Show up with time to spare - You're going to see this mantra over and over again here. Being rushed, having technical problems, and running late are the best ways to get a show off to a lousy start.  Always over estimate how long it's going to take you to set up and get ready.  

Don't look like you just bought your gear at a garage sale - A mechanic doesn't carry his tools around loose in the back of his pickup.  Why should you?  If you've made an investment in the gear you need to play, make sure you have it packed in something to protect it to and from the shows.  The best piece of equipment is no good to you if it shows up broken.  I'm not saying you have to go invest thousands of dollars in flight-rated road cases, but at least go to The Container Store and get some storage tubs to carry cables and small parts around in.  And unless you want to call attention to them, get 'em in black please. Otherwise, people will be staring at the stack of powder blue storage bins in the corner instead of watching you.

You're not set up until the entire band is set up - Some band members will be up and running quicker than others.  Drummers usually have the greatest number of individual pieces to put together and will typically take the longest.  If you've got a simple rig (or done your prep work on a complex one and can slap it together fast), then see who else needs help and what needs to be done.  For our drummer friend, just handing things to them or assisting in getting them mic'd up is a huge help.  Are there cases and containers that have everything out of 'em?  Then stack 'em up in the corner and clear the stage area.  Have all the cables been run?  Good, tape 'em down so nobody trips during the show (very un-rock 'n roll). You're done when everyone is done!

If you're not playing a song, you don't need to be playing - Guitarists....having your rig up and running is not a license to endlessly noodle. (Note:  This is a leading cause of guitarists being hit by blunt objects at gigs). All you want to do is just want to make sure that everything is working, and that should only take a minute or two.  There's no need to play the 12 minute version of "Green Grass & High Tides" to check your amp and pedal settings.  Trust me, you're not impressing anyone but the thrice-divorced cougar at the bar who's been there drinking since noon.

Know how to hook your stuff up - Seems simple, right?  You would be surprised.  Granted, not everyone is an electrical engineer, but if you've packaged your systems right, then everything should connect up and work first time you turn it on.  When I build a system (either for myself or another band), it has to pass my "4 by 4" test.  More on that in the near future.

Make it look like a stage, not a storage unit - It just kills me to see how many bands leave empty crates and guitar cases laying around on stage.  When's the last time you went to a concert and saw that?  We might not be playing on a 60' x 40' stage with a wall of amps behind us, but you can at least put away the empty cases and containers to make the stage look better.  And for you guitarists who leave their case on stage to lay your guitar in between sets...are you nuts?  You might as well put a sign on the floor pointing to it that says "Drunks...step this way to destroy an instrument" (I witnessed a gorgeous Takamine crushed by a size 11 boot in this manner). Invest $10 and get a guitar stand, will ya?

The show isn't over until everything is loaded out - After 4 sets, you're earned a few minutes to sit down and catch your breath.  It's also a good time to go around and thank people for coming out.  But, remember that the club employees (at least one of 'em) can't go home until you're loaded out.  If you have a small rig, it might not be that big of a deal.  But if you carry a lot of production, make sure you're not keeping them waiting unnecessarily.

In short, just looking like you know what you're doing goes a long way.  I'm not the greatest musician in Austin...but I can tell you that the bands I'm associated look and carry ourselves more professionally than most on our circuit, and we'll do our best to deliver a quality product every time.  It's rare that my bands don't get invited back to a venue.  The few times that has happened, it's always because we just were not a good fit musically for the room.  And that's OK...different venues want different things and there are few one-size-fits-all bands.   But it's never been because we were anything short of professional or failed to put on a quality show.

Next up, we'll probably spend at least a couple of weeks on the technical side of putting audio systems together and hooking things up.  I'll explain my "4 by 4" test that every system I build has to pass, and how you can use a lot of the same tricks on your existing system for very little money.  

Until next time, keep the meters out of the red!

Ken

Ken Carver has been a musician and performer since the early 70's, and involved with live music production since the mid 70's.  He worked for 15 years as a broadcast engineer, building numerous studios and transmitter sites around Texas.  He's also worked in Critical Care Communications for the medical industry, R&D for an automated lighting manufacturer, and owned Project Lighting & Sound in the 80's.  He currently heads up an R&D Hardware Technician Team at National Instruments in Austin, and still performs on the weekends in the Central Texas area.  You can reach Ken at kcarvertx@gmail.com.