Ready, Fire, Aim!

So, we're at the point where we've arrived at the venue, loaded in the show, and got everything hooked up.  It's time to fire up the sound system and see if our preparations have paid off.  If you've got good power, checked all of your cables, and didn't break anything on the way to the gig you should have something that resembles audio oozing out of your speakers now.

What happens now depends on just how elaborate your sound system is.  If you're simply putting vocals through the PA, it's going to be quick and easy.  However, if you're mic'ing up an entire band, then you've got as much as 16 (or more) channels to adjust and then mix all together (I've done regional bands in large clubs that filled up a 48 channel desk).  So, in the next few weeks we'll be covering setting up this aspect of the show, starting simple and getting more complex.

But before we start building a mix, what can we do to make sure it sounds as good as we can make it?  Well, it might surprise you that the physical placement of mics and speakers can make a huge impact.

First, your main speakers.  This may seem really basic, but a lot of bands miss this.  Make sure your speakers are pointing at the intended audience.  If there's a dance floor or "listening" area in the venue, that's what you want to cover.  You do not want to be blasting the bar area.  If bartenders can't hear, they can't take drink orders.  If they can't take drink orders, they don't make any money.  It goes downhill from there.

Having your speakers pointing straight out from the stage area is frequently what you don't want.  Why?  You know those horns in your main PA speakers?  Yeah, the things that spit out all the treble....they work just like a nozzle on the end of a garden hose.  So your sound doesn't shoot straight out, it's in a spray pattern anywhere from 60 to 90 degrees wide.

So while your speaker may look like it's "aimed" at the audience, you could still be directing a lot of acoustic energy where you don't want it...like the above mentioned bar.  Yeah, I know...it looks cooler to have 'em pointing straight out (and I've had to fight this battle).  But I ask you this...did the audience come to see you perform or stare at your PA?  Yeah, that's what I thought.  Now, you go tease your hair and let me finish my job here, OK?

Sending a lot of sound into a wall is not necessarily a good thing either...especially if it's a hard surface or worse yet, glass. 

I recently had an experience setting up a band in a club where one wall perpendicular to the stage was mirror.  All of the vocal mics were set up behind the main speakers, and all of them were behaving well except for the lead vocalist's mic...it was feeding back like crazy.  There were no monitor slants on stage (the band all used in-ear systems), and the mics closest to the mains were not having problems.

Finally, I starting suspecting that we were having reflection issues off the glass.  I used a laser pointer, and starting from main speaker near the mirrors, I scanned down the mirror.  At the edge of horn, I got a laser reflection that shot right back to the lead vocal mic in the center of the stage.  BUSTED!!  We angled that speaker cabinet in about 20 degrees, and the problem was solved.  The entire system sounded better in the back of the room as well.

 



If you're using monitor slants on stage, then this "aiming" thing gets really important.

First, you should be using cardiod patter mics (we'll do a post on just mic patterns on down the road).  For now, you just need to know that a cardiod mic is the least sensative to sound coming from the connector end.  So, you want to aim the monitor down the back of the mic in order to get the most volume from your monitors without feedback.

You'll still likely need to ring the monitor out with EQ (another post).  But this will get you started.

Don't forget about reflections coming off of the ceiling and back wall of the stage.  If you have a monitor feeding back when the performer steps away from the mic, that's likely your problem. 

I had that problem with one band in a normally problem-free room.  The back wall of the stage area was carpeted, but the band had hung a large metal sign directly behind the drumer and the lead vocal mic.  Every time the vocalist moved away from the mic, it was feedback city (and when I turned it down, it wasn't loud enough).  Moving the sign was not an option (egos at play here).  But, what I was able to do was angle the top of the sign out from the wall and moved the reflections down away from the vocal mic.  Unfortunately, I started getting all kinds of crap in the drum mics then and wound up pulling everything but the kick and snare out of the mix.  But hey, it was much more important to have that sign on the wall so the 5 people in the club knew who these guys were.

Here's one I came across earlier this year.  I had set up and rang out the monitor for one of the performers in a band.  I had it nice and clear and loud with no feedback.  However, he steps up to the mic and it's starts squeling uncontrolably.  I'm looking around at what could have changed, and after a few minutes it dawned on me.  He was wearing a cap with the bill down low over his eyes.  When he stepped up to the mic, the sound was reflecting off of the cap and into the mic.  He normally doesn't wear a cap during performance, so I had him take it off.  The problem went away.   So from that, we take away:

Ken's Road Tip #81:  Sound check it like you're going to play it.

That includes checking at the volume level you intend to play at (or actually, a little more).
It's a lot less risky to turn a system down during performance than turn it up to a level you haven't checked at.  And remember that people are really good sound absorbers, so they're going to soak up some of the sound during the gig.  At least, I hope you have an audience to do that. 

Next week, let's talk a bit more in depth about mics, and why you use certain mics in certain applications.  We'll talk about why they are one of the most important investments you make in a sound system.

And I'll leave you with a trivia question....
Q:  What's the best song to end your soundcheck with?

Send me your answers at itsjustlogistics@gmail.com.  Whoever gets it right gets a shameless plug and shoutout next week.

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 itsjustlogistics@gmail.com