Hello Music Lovers, We are so happy to share this information about sound checking with you. This is the final crucial step before your big show, and it can mean the difference between having a great show and a bust! Get this step right, and when you get to stage it, you can just focus on just PLAYING! We hope you find these tips useful! We are here to answer any questions about Live Performance 👍🏼Leave your questions in the comments and we’ll tap u back ✊This tutorial is part of our 15 episode series FUTURE LIVE MUSICIANS. Be sure to check out the rest of the videos here: @t They are packed full of information for live musicians of all levels! Happy Playing! Cheers, Christina Sing & Bobby James DESTINEAK
Great video! As a sound tech myself I kinda missed something though: when soundchecking your individual instrument/vocals, be prepared to perform a riff/song on your own and don't stop until the sound guy(s) tells you to. Nothing more annoying than for example singers coming up to soundcheck and giving me a nearly whispered "uhm.. check...? *long pause* is this on? .. ah yeah.. uuuhhhm.. one, two....? You need more?" Then I am like "yes please, just sing something like you do in the show" and they are standing there struck by lightning not knowing how to perform on their own.. and then when show time comes they nearly blow my preamps cause suddenly they sing much much louder than in their unconfident soundcheck. So please be prepared. Also shut up when others are checking. Be on stand-by and be patient. You will get your time to shine, trust me 😅 This I say from experience with a lot of smaller local shows with young bands/artists.
Hey Leo, I posted this above but want to make sure you see it. It might help the odd time lol. Cheers✌ "Great points! As I started working with more professional acts, I realized they are very used to a certain type of soundcheck. It was very cool to learn and made everyone's day easier. The key is this: as you get a level and begin to eq your channels in FOH, any player on stage that wants that particular instrument or sound in their monitor holds his hand up. They keep their hand up until you have it where they want it. So as soon as I'm done eqing and have it where I want in FOH, I just look up and start feeding monitors until all hands go down. Next instrument... If no hands up, move to next channel. Sound check is amazing with these guys. I'm talking acts like The Fab Four and Beatlemania revisited. Not famous, but professionals for sure! Most bands don't know this method but I mention it when I can and when the band is willing to play along lol. Adjustments are made during song run throughs, but it gets a huge chunk of it out of the way. If you go through each player and monitor mix one at a time, then each player has to play over and over for each mix. It's frustrating for everyone. Cheers!
@@abie3705 that highly depends 😄 I could give you an average but the range goes from a few seconds to double digit minutes so not much use for an average.. It all depends on the circumstances. First: Am I doing that act regularly and if so is there something new? If it is just same old equipment like every night I need a few seconds per line/instrument to verify the level is still the same and everything works. If this is a new musician it gets trickier. For acoustic piano the question is how many mics are used but all in all it should be done in a few minutes max. With electric the question is how many different sounds do they use etc. That might lengthen the check. The question is also how much time do I have? Because if I need more time and have it, I will definitely use it even though things might technically work. If I don't have much time I can also just check the lines and do the sound on the fly. As I said it all depends 😉 hope this helps anyway!
Definitely - was performing yesterday on stage and the audience levels were totally unendurable apparently - we just thought the audience looked bored but actually they were uncomfortable. And a sound check where we were not told it was for foldback as well as lines. So we were started off and could only hear some instruments and almost none of the vocals. Result = we can’t hear each other properly, we play badly, and all of that is amplified to horrible levels with upper bass resonance. Yuck. Came here so I could learn more about how it should have been done. Honestly I think the stage foldback mix is the most important, because the band has to be able to hear themselves in order to be able to perform properly. We provided a stage layout of our band with all the sources and power requirements, and photos of ourselves! So there really wasn’t any excuse to end up playing at a festival with horribly bad sound making us look incompetent. I suspect part of the problem is that sound engineers spend all day mixing and ends up simply getting used to bad sound or going temporarily partially deaf. Seriously. But as a band, what do you do? Take a dB meter? I went in for a listen before our set, and I couldn’t even bear to be in the tent.
I own a live blues music venue in Japan. My sound tech is awesome. I communicate well with the bands and to my sound tech. It's much simpler than this video, but this video makes me feel that I'm still doing things right. Teamwork with the bands is our forte. Both the bands and customers are always in awe by the sound. I love this video! It applies to every live music event from small to large. Thank you!
Thank you for visiting our channel, great to hear your venue has amazing sound! It is so important. Jeremy "soundtech in the video" is amazing as well. Keep Live music alive! PS I started playing the blues in a small club in my hometown, miss playing it!
"Save those settings" 😂 Why I want motorized mixes where you can save your presets and patches. Thank you for this super useful video! I love the hybrid structure of your band: I, too, use TC HELICON Voicelive boxes, and I'm always fantasizing about making a hybrid band because the drums can sound exactly like the production because of the sample triggering.
Good stuff. One thing I would add is that as a precaution, I will run a direct box between their mic and their effects unit so that I have a clean dry feed, that I can process independently and use if for some reason their effects are not working well for the tune. I have had singers bitch and freak out, but in the end, when their noisy piece of crap failed on them, I had all of the processing they needed either onboard the console (if I'm running a digital) or in the rack (analog), and it still sounded pretty amazing (thank you, Eventide). The toughest part is getting the musicians (especially singers and bassists) to trust me when I give them instructions, like telling the bassist to NOT turn the bass amp up onstage, and if they need to hear more of themselves, I can get it to them in the monitors. It's very strange, they are under the misguided impression that they can hear what is going on in front of the PA system, or that turning up the bass amp will do anything except wreak havoc on the lows in the house, mostly in the form of phase cancellation. Guitarists can often be that way as well, with ear shredding levels onstage. So many times I've had to put a powersoak on the output of the amp. Basically, the lower the stage volume the better for all involved.
One of the worst things I hate is scheduled soundchecks with intentional late arrivals. If can't you respect my time to make you sound good, it also means you don't respect yourself or the audience you're playing for..we are all here to give our best. To add, if you're performing by track, have it ready by various means and find out which method is preferred (jump drive, phone with proper adapter with someone who can operate it, or emailed over)
Question? Does it make me a bad guy if "load in" is at 5pm but my band's sound check ✅ is at 7pm and I come in ready right at 7pm? I just feel like it's a waste of time for me to be waiting around for 2 hours doing nothing, while I could be doing other things, or even practicing before I get to the show.
The team is definitely interlinked. I mostly do the lighting, but in the daytime outdoors, follow the production company and cross train. Last summer was a couple new experiences for me. At a state fair, worked with a backline company for the first time, and was the substitute FOH engineer when the engineer has to be absent one day of the fair. Was honored to be trusted to run it solo. They had a new act on stage every hour from 11Am to closing. In prior events was the relief engineer for smaller acts while the main FOH engineer got lunch and dinner before prime time. Then I was busy on the light board.
38 years and 5000+ shows as a sound guy- I noticed after a few years that after each show, the console and outboard gear (or digital console these days) looked very similar show to show, act to act. Going into a soundcheck, I'm always ahead of the band, providing them with what they need before they even knew they needed it. If I'm familiar with the band, and I know they're a pain in the butt, I prefer no sound check and hope they show up late. I've got my act together, as long as the band is halfway together it works out better with no soundcheck.
Hand sign communication is SO CLUTCH. It might seem simple, but it makes or breaks many scenarios! 32 years of experience... that's all I needed to continue watching haha. It's insanely rewarding and frustrating at times, just because of the diversity of character you come across. However, when you do the work behind the scenes and have a thorough understanding... analogies become a mood swinger! Thanks for uploading! Her ability to explain "wet" or "dry" too... really nice. It's not just the sound engineer that should have knowledge. A musician understanding it as well... I mean... can it get easier for sound check ha?!
Hey! thank you so much for taking the time to watch this and giving us your valuable feedback! 32 years sounds like a long lustrous career in music and we hope you have another 32 ahead. Have a great day. Cheers Christina & Bobby
@@DESTINEAK I'm not 32 years in, haha, I was referring to the gentlemen being questioned/doing sound check. Whoever the female vocalist was; GREAT TONE!
As a band, Sound check is everything. The better you sound the more you get popularity. Make sure to not fuck up during the show. You sound good, you get shows.
There is so much useful stuff in this video. I hope all bands and techs see it. One thing that I don't need on a tech is a rider suggesting power of pa in watts.... This is typically futile as volume should be measured in dB... Firstly because of venue size and layout but other reasons too. My opinion.. please correct me... is loud bands need maybe 110 of headroom other bands can usually manage comfortably on 105 measured from in audience area and jazz or acoustic or similar 95db might cut it. Do they require extra sub head room? Watts mean very little to audience experience.
Save those settings! lol. Some do, some don't, even w/ digital consoles. It's the whole reason I stopped doing soundcheck with my bands for years. Drive out early to the gig, sound gets dialed in, 2 other bands play, my band's mix sounds nothing like it did, and our first 2-3 songs in front of people become the soundcheck... again. No wonder bands are bringing their own X Air rigs with in ears. Great video!!
Great points! As I started working with more professional acts, I realized they are very used to a certain type of soundcheck. It was very cool to learn and made everyone's day easier. The key is this: as you get a level and begin to eq your channels in FOH, any player on stage that wants that particular instrument or sound in their monitor holds his hand up. They keep their hand up until you have it where they want it. So as soon as I'm done eqing and have it where I want in FOH, I just look up and start feeding monitors until all hands go down. Next instrument... If no hands up, move to next channel. Sound check is amazing with these guys. I'm talking acts like The Fab Four and Beatlemania revisited. Not famous, but professionals for sure! Most bands don't know this method but I mention it when I can and when the band is willing to play along lol. Adjustments are made during song run throughs, but it gets a huge chunk of it out of the way. If you go through each player and monitor mix one at a time, then each player has to play over and over for each mix. It's frustrating for everyone. Cheers!
As a sound engineer residing in two clubs in Spain, I get to do 6/7 concerts every 4/5 days I really approve of this video. 90% of the problems are generated by unprofessional or inexperienced bands and incomplete riders (when they arrive ) riders who arrive on the day of the event, constant changes to the production (invited artists not reported, changes of instruments etc ...) It would take a compulsory course for all musicians to learn the fundamentals of this work :) much of the stress that this work generates in me is due to my lack of professionalism and lack of knowledge of the fundamental "rules".
Awesome video! For me, as a DJ, and a person who is going to enter the musical sound engineer, it was very interesting to find out all this. Thank you for your work
This video was fantastic! It's good to hear such insightful information, because I've recently started booking solo gigs using backing-track accompaniment, and setting out on tour soon. These tips will make me look and feel more prepared and professional. Thanks for the heads up!
Thank you for taking the time to comment and watch a tutorial on Sound checks! definitely a well overlooked portion of the career of music. Hope you’re having a great day. Cheers, Christina and Bobby.
Most of this isnt useful to a band starting out. You won't need a tech rider until you have contracts for your shows. Hell, sound check is usually very short if you get one at all. In all my time playing bars, the best advice I can think of, is treat your soundman like royalty. Treat everyone well, or you'll never be asked to play there again, but the soundman more than anyone else. They ultimately control how your band sounds. They can make you sound awful, and I've seen it happen when a band treated them poorly. The rest you'll figure out as you go. Soundcheck is very simple in a small venue.
great content. lol i'm looking for more of a slight step below. i have a new mixer and a set of new PA speaks. was looking to see about a soundcheck to be conducted from the stage. hoping soon to get to that level but not there yet. again great content and keep up the good stuff
I all sold on the process and set up but i really don't see/hear the need for the sound bed in this video. A good informative soundcheck video that has a bad sound balance. But i have learnt alot.
A very good point that was brought up about advancing a "rider". It was mentioned how one seemingly innocuous change to one thing could throw a monkey wrench into the whole flow of production. Allot of the time that Booking agents send out riders, they are sending out several year old riders that reflect no longer used musicians/instruments. Or even the difference from say using a guitar cab and mic system to now using a Kemper or the like. It might not seem like much but, can really throw a kink in the overall flow of how things were planned out. ALWAYS make it a point that one of the first people that you interact with when first arriving to a gig is the A1/FOH audio engineer. NEVER just assume that because you have advanced that you have already been taken care of. Biggest thing that I can say to young bands is, be flexible and proactive when it comes to the production of YOUR show. As for the "asshole sound guy", that would be me, I won't hesitate for a second to walk out of a 30 minute only soundcheck if the artist/band is not fully engaged in said soundcheck. Not a time for a vocalist to mumble out the side of his/her mouth as they are watching tictok on their phone while setting levels. If you don't want to take this stuff seriously, neither will I. Like he said, there are dozens of people that have already been working on your show before you even got out of bed that morning, show them a little courtesy by not wasting their time with ass grabbing and jaw jacking, when a solid half hour of your time is all that is asked for.
Amazing information and I totally agree with all the details mentioned here. I personally have gone through this and I know that being prepared and have everything well communicated with a proper technical rider is super mega important. Love you guys. I met you guys at a Tim Horton's here in Toronto that is by Fairmount Royal York Hotel back in 2012 and took a picture with you both amazing people. It's so good to see you guys here. Much love guys.
Hi thanks for checking out our video, I would try some gates on drums and clean up the resonance from the kit Mics, then gate the vocals a tiny bit just so when no one is playing the Mics are closed. Turn the monitors down as much as possible possible and use in ears if you have the$ , we do many shows now where we don’t have any monitors on stage , just ears, really cleans up the mix, get the drummer to use cymbal baffles or e-kit? Hope this might help 😊
@@matchmediafilms I don't know what gates are or what baffles and e-kits are so I'll look them up. We use an analog mixer and and the main speakers have been positioned on the stage just a few meters behind where the lead vocalist stands. The space isn't too big. Do you have any resources on speaker positioning? I'd appreciate that and any other resources which would help me get better
@IamBrill absolutely , now I have a better vision of your set up , gates are link a valve that lest signal in after a certain threshold. If you have a few inserted on drums and such it helps clean up the noise levels to the speakers. One thing for sure is you need to get the speakers in front of and Mics, very important! Have the speakers positioned as far forward of the performers Mics as possible, if you have a drummer smashing g away it’s better to pad the drums up and control the acoustics a bit .
A quick question if you please. Our band is uses IEMs and likes doing our own monitor mixes. We have our own monitor set up. As sound production would your prefer a splitter snake box (before our preamps} with fantail to your rig or, a digital splitter with fantail to your rig. I would think you'd prefer to have the split before hand. If splitter snake box is preferred, is that something you would expect us to provide ? or is that something that most sound companies already have ?
Thing that seems to be missing: let the people that work with on stage / backline effects like pedalboards or rackmount effects switch through their components. Dynamics may vary dramatically.
I was about to add this to our company page, but the ‘minimum watts’ thing tagged me out. Sound systems are measured in coverage, model and spl. Watts are not relevant.
Anybody who starts with the drums (which I know is almost everyone) doesn't know how to utilize headroom. 9 times out of 10 the vocals will struggle to be heard when the band starts playing. Starting with the vocals and guitar at the same time and finishing with drums will get you a more balanced sound. Then if you have to turn anything up (which you will), you'll have plenty of headroom without the risk of feedback.
Good approach but you don’t always get to tour with your own PA, so checking drums first is a great way to test what’s available in the Rig. Tips and lows and everything in between for frequencies are there. If the drummer, (me) are too loud tell them to for the band and and a pro should be able to adjust. Vocals should always be upfront. For sure.
i have questions..to all sounds engineering..please help my curiosity and hope can help my Church performance Am i supposed to hear all the instruments clear and with detail when the band are played or not? because of this.. bugging me so much why? i’ve been to concerts from Jack Johnson, The Strokes, John Mayer and The Script while i was study in US. i can hear all their instruments played each one of them clearly in my ears..as though they were separated from each other but well combined. For me that’s like awesome, i believe a great quality MUSIC is when i can hear all the instruments clearly and with detail. On the contrary… in my country..most of the bands..whether it’s regular, wedding or church band..they sound so loud in their drum and bass, and that makes me can’t hear the guitar, the acoustic guitar, the piano…even the violin, harps (if there are any). All i hear is the drum and bass and some blending other music playing on the background. Please inform me, what is the standard of hearing good sounds live? Thank you so so much.
Start with the lead vocal, put the ohter instruments one by one at the end of the soundcheck you are supposed to still hear your lead vocal well, I most of churchs the acoustic of the room is not made to play amplifed music, if possible for you put a lot of curtains along the walls and maybe put the drums behind plexyglass panels and don't put the amps in front of the audience
Question? Does it make me a bad guy if "load in" is at 5pm but my band's sound check ✅ is at 7pm and I come in ready right at 7pm? I just feel like it's a waste of time for me to be waiting around for 2 hours doing nothing, while I could be doing other things, or even practicing before I get to the show.
Good question, I would think that it depends on your part in the band, definitely drums first with longest soundcheck, vocals usually last. So if your the vocalist you might be sitting around if your driving the drummer to the gig, lol. Also if your the opener expect the venue to drop the lights and say your on with just a quick line check. Once the stage is patched and the techs are happy with Mics and lines coming up in the board where they need them, most pro crews can do it on the fly.
@@DESTINEAK I'm a bassist 😉. I can be the last one there and the first one to be ready for sound check, considering my rig weighs below 60lb. Sometimes I just use their backline or even just go DI using my pedalboard. It takes me 5 minutes to set-up either way. It's almost like people just want me there just for ethical reasons.
@@JVMC_ZR1 cool! Travelling light is always a +! As a drummer myself I’ve always noticed that the Mix engineers like to have the Drums and bass check first as it’s a great way to hear how the room sounds or the PA if your in a new venue each night. Kinda like turning up the speakers to see what they have. Drums and bass take care of checking pretty full frequency range and it gives the FOH a good idea of where to place everything in the mix. As far as band check go for us . So for our checks bass is always 2nd, but when the gigs done your outta there quick because of light setup!
...Sound checking should always be done BEFORE DOORS. No one pays their hard-earned money to hear 5 noisy sound checks for 5 different bands during the course of the show.
NO SOUNDCHECK PLEASE, it kills the energy of everybody, musicians,techs,stage crews Î did so many festivals were we had around one hour. When the stage manager told us ”THE SOUNCHECK IS AT THE END! )AND WE JUST FINISHED THE SOUND OF THE BASS DRUM ! IF WE HAVE NOT ENOUGH TIME I LIKE BETTER TO ORGANISE. A GOOD CHANGE OVER ÔR TO TAKE TIME JUST TO CHECK THE LEAD VOCAL FOR FOH AND MONITORS,
It's set up to showcase some of the obstacles and etiquette revolving around different kinds of sound checks. Whats the biggest venue or show you have sound-checked in? Just wondering as your comment has nothing to do with music, and BTW were from Canada, have a great gig🔉
@@drumndirty Thanks guys, nothing personal, but the whole thing just felt way over-produced. Respect to Canada (but please don't become America). And yes, my comment is "nothing to do with music", it's about the way the info is presented. I was chasing info on sound checking. FWIW the alternative content that's resonated for me has the information up front and in a more condensed form, with the production subservient to the content (not the other way round). All the best.
You could always add some professional insight along with your comment. Try to be helpful on this page that’s what we try to do is share tips of the trade. Thanks 🙏
Hello Music Lovers, We are so happy to share this information about sound checking with you. This is the final crucial step before your big show, and it can mean the difference between having a great show and a bust! Get this step right, and when you get to stage it, you can just focus on just PLAYING!
We hope you find these tips useful! We are here to answer any questions about Live Performance 👍🏼Leave your questions in the comments and we’ll tap u back ✊This tutorial is part of our 15 episode series FUTURE LIVE MUSICIANS. Be sure to check out the rest of the videos here: @t
They are packed full of information for live musicians of all levels!
Happy Playing!
Cheers, Christina Sing & Bobby James
DESTINEAK
Great video!
As a sound tech myself I kinda missed something though: when soundchecking your individual instrument/vocals, be prepared to perform a riff/song on your own and don't stop until the sound guy(s) tells you to. Nothing more annoying than for example singers coming up to soundcheck and giving me a nearly whispered "uhm.. check...? *long pause* is this on? .. ah yeah.. uuuhhhm.. one, two....? You need more?" Then I am like "yes please, just sing something like you do in the show" and they are standing there struck by lightning not knowing how to perform on their own.. and then when show time comes they nearly blow my preamps cause suddenly they sing much much louder than in their unconfident soundcheck. So please be prepared.
Also shut up when others are checking. Be on stand-by and be patient. You will get your time to shine, trust me 😅
This I say from experience with a lot of smaller local shows with young bands/artists.
yes!! be prepared to give it all you've got for sure!!
Hey Leo, I posted this above but want to make sure you see it. It might help the odd time lol. Cheers✌
"Great points! As I started working with more professional acts, I realized they are very used to a certain type of soundcheck. It was very cool to learn and made everyone's day easier. The key is this: as you get a level and begin to eq your channels in FOH, any player on stage that wants that particular instrument or sound in their monitor holds his hand up. They keep their hand up until you have it where they want it. So as soon as I'm done eqing and have it where I want in FOH, I just look up and start feeding monitors until all hands go down. Next instrument... If no hands up, move to next channel. Sound check is amazing with these guys. I'm talking acts like The Fab Four and Beatlemania revisited. Not famous, but professionals for sure! Most bands don't know this method but I mention it when I can and when the band is willing to play along lol. Adjustments are made during song run throughs, but it gets a huge chunk of it out of the way. If you go through each player and monitor mix one at a time, then each player has to play over and over for each mix. It's frustrating for everyone. Cheers!
I'm a Sound man , always carring a AK47 ...
On average, how much time do you need for a keyboardist to play for soundcheck? This question goes for both electric and acoustic piano.
@@abie3705 that highly depends 😄 I could give you an average but the range goes from a few seconds to double digit minutes so not much use for an average..
It all depends on the circumstances. First: Am I doing that act regularly and if so is there something new? If it is just same old equipment like every night I need a few seconds per line/instrument to verify the level is still the same and everything works.
If this is a new musician it gets trickier. For acoustic piano the question is how many mics are used but all in all it should be done in a few minutes max. With electric the question is how many different sounds do they use etc. That might lengthen the check.
The question is also how much time do I have? Because if I need more time and have it, I will definitely use it even though things might technically work. If I don't have much time I can also just check the lines and do the sound on the fly.
As I said it all depends 😉 hope this helps anyway!
Also make sure crowd dB levels are safe for the duration of your show.
Yes! Great advice
Definitely - was performing yesterday on stage and the audience levels were totally unendurable apparently - we just thought the audience looked bored but actually they were uncomfortable. And a sound check where we were not told it was for foldback as well as lines. So we were started off and could only hear some instruments and almost none of the vocals. Result = we can’t hear each other properly, we play badly, and all of that is amplified to horrible levels with upper bass resonance. Yuck. Came here so I could learn more about how it should have been done. Honestly I think the stage foldback mix is the most important, because the band has to be able to hear themselves in order to be able to perform properly. We provided a stage layout of our band with all the sources and power requirements, and photos of ourselves! So there really wasn’t any excuse to end up playing at a festival with horribly bad sound making us look incompetent. I suspect part of the problem is that sound engineers spend all day mixing and ends up simply getting used to bad sound or going temporarily partially deaf. Seriously. But as a band, what do you do? Take a dB meter? I went in for a listen before our set, and I couldn’t even bear to be in the tent.
it’s only good if it’s deafening
@@gimmigimmigimmi nope lol No one will come to your show if they can’t hear it.
@@yanike they will FEEL it
I own a live blues music venue in Japan. My sound tech is awesome. I communicate well with the bands and to my sound tech. It's much simpler than this video, but this video makes me feel that I'm still doing things right. Teamwork with the bands is our forte. Both the bands and customers are always in awe by the sound. I love this video! It applies to every live music event from small to large. Thank you!
Thank you for visiting our channel, great to hear your venue has amazing sound! It is so important. Jeremy "soundtech in the video" is amazing as well. Keep Live music alive! PS I started playing the blues in a small club in my hometown, miss playing it!
"Save those settings" 😂
Why I want motorized mixes where you can save your presets and patches.
Thank you for this super useful video! I love the hybrid structure of your band: I, too, use TC HELICON Voicelive boxes, and I'm always fantasizing about making a hybrid band because the drums can sound exactly like the production because of the sample triggering.
Absolutely is a game changer when you can set patches to recall. Consistency is SO important!!! Happy playing!!
Good stuff. One thing I would add is that as a precaution, I will run a direct box between their mic and their effects unit so that I have a clean dry feed, that I can process independently and use if for some reason their effects are not working well for the tune. I have had singers bitch and freak out, but in the end, when their noisy piece of crap failed on them, I had all of the processing they needed either onboard the console (if I'm running a digital) or in the rack (analog), and it still sounded pretty amazing (thank you, Eventide). The toughest part is getting the musicians (especially singers and bassists) to trust me when I give them instructions, like telling the bassist to NOT turn the bass amp up onstage, and if they need to hear more of themselves, I can get it to them in the monitors. It's very strange, they are under the misguided impression that they can hear what is going on in front of the PA system, or that turning up the bass amp will do anything except wreak havoc on the lows in the house, mostly in the form of phase cancellation. Guitarists can often be that way as well, with ear shredding levels onstage. So many times I've had to put a powersoak on the output of the amp. Basically, the lower the stage volume the better for all involved.
YOU ~ ROCK ! !
One of the worst things I hate is scheduled soundchecks with intentional late arrivals. If can't you respect my time to make you sound good, it also means you don't respect yourself or the audience you're playing for..we are all here to give our best.
To add, if you're performing by track, have it ready by various means and find out which method is preferred (jump drive, phone with proper adapter with someone who can operate it, or emailed over)
GREAT TIPS!! yes. be on time. RESPECT. IT'S UNIVERSAL!!
Question? Does it make me a bad guy if "load in" is at 5pm but my band's sound check ✅ is at 7pm and I come in ready right at 7pm?
I just feel like it's a waste of time for me to be waiting around for 2 hours doing nothing, while I could be doing other things, or even practicing before I get to the show.
The team is definitely interlinked. I mostly do the lighting, but in the daytime outdoors, follow the production company and cross train. Last summer was a couple new experiences for me. At a state fair, worked with a backline company for the first time, and was the substitute FOH engineer when the engineer has to be absent one day of the fair. Was honored to be trusted to run it solo. They had a new act on stage every hour from 11Am to closing. In prior events was the relief engineer for smaller acts while the main FOH engineer got lunch and dinner before prime time. Then I was busy on the light board.
totally!! it's a team effort to make an excellent show go off. glad to hear of a fellow team player!! cheers, christina
38 years and 5000+ shows as a sound guy- I noticed after a few years that after each show, the console and outboard gear (or digital console these days) looked very similar show to show, act to act. Going into a soundcheck, I'm always ahead of the band, providing them with what they need before they even knew they needed it. If I'm familiar with the band, and I know they're a pain in the butt, I prefer no sound check and hope they show up late. I've got my act together, as long as the band is halfway together it works out better with no soundcheck.
Hand sign communication is SO CLUTCH. It might seem simple, but it makes or breaks many scenarios!
32 years of experience... that's all I needed to continue watching haha. It's insanely rewarding and frustrating at times, just because of the diversity of character you come across.
However, when you do the work behind the scenes and have a thorough understanding... analogies become a mood swinger!
Thanks for uploading! Her ability to explain "wet" or "dry" too... really nice. It's not just the sound engineer that should have knowledge. A musician understanding it as well... I mean... can it get easier for sound check ha?!
Hey! thank you so much for taking the time to watch this and giving us your valuable feedback! 32 years sounds like a long lustrous career in music and we hope you have another 32 ahead. Have a great day. Cheers
Christina & Bobby
@@DESTINEAK I'm not 32 years in, haha, I was referring to the gentlemen being questioned/doing sound check.
Whoever the female vocalist was; GREAT TONE!
As a band, Sound check is everything. The better you sound the more you get popularity. Make sure to not fuck up during the show. You sound good, you get shows.
EXACTLY 👍🏼. soundcheck is that last 10% that gives you confidence you know you’re gonna rock it
There is so much useful stuff in this video. I hope all bands and techs see it. One thing that I don't need on a tech is a rider suggesting power of pa in watts.... This is typically futile as volume should be measured in dB... Firstly because of venue size and layout but other reasons too. My opinion.. please correct me... is loud bands need maybe 110 of headroom other bands can usually manage comfortably on 105 measured from in audience area and jazz or acoustic or similar 95db might cut it. Do they require extra sub head room? Watts mean very little to audience experience.
Love how the three different categories are covered... musicians... and also singers and drummers hahaha
Haha that was strictly for search engine optimization lolllll. We are all musicians 😂
The three food groups 😂
Save those settings! lol. Some do, some don't, even w/ digital consoles. It's the whole reason I stopped doing soundcheck with my bands for years. Drive out early to the gig, sound gets dialed in, 2 other bands play, my band's mix sounds nothing like it did, and our first 2-3 songs in front of people become the soundcheck... again. No wonder bands are bringing their own X Air rigs with in ears. Great video!!
DIGITAL MIXERS ARE A GAME CHANGER!!! SUCH A TIME AND HEADACHE SAVER!!!!!!!
I have never heard such a brilliant vocalists before!!!
Oh my dear! What a wonderful compliment. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰thank you so much.
Great points! As I started working with more professional acts, I realized they are very used to a certain type of soundcheck. It was very cool to learn and made everyone's day easier. The key is this: as you get a level and begin to eq your channels in FOH, any player on stage that wants that particular instrument or sound in their monitor holds his hand up. They keep their hand up until you have it where they want it. So as soon as I'm done eqing and have it where I want in FOH, I just look up and start feeding monitors until all hands go down. Next instrument... If no hands up, move to next channel. Sound check is amazing with these guys. I'm talking acts like The Fab Four and Beatlemania revisited. Not famous, but professionals for sure! Most bands don't know this method but I mention it when I can and when the band is willing to play along lol. Adjustments are made during song run throughs, but it gets a huge chunk of it out of the way. If you go through each player and monitor mix one at a time, then each player has to play over and over for each mix. It's frustrating for everyone. Cheers!
This is great info. Even for pros, there are tips which are helpful. Moreover, your presentation is clear. Thanks for posting!
Great feedback! Yes Jeremy is a complete pro!!
As a sound engineer residing in two clubs in Spain, I get to do 6/7 concerts every 4/5 days I really approve of this video. 90% of the problems are generated by unprofessional or inexperienced bands and incomplete riders (when they arrive ) riders who arrive on the day of the event, constant changes to the production (invited artists not reported, changes of instruments etc ...)
It would take a compulsory course for all musicians to learn the fundamentals of this work :) much of the stress that this work generates in me is due to my lack of professionalism and lack of knowledge of the fundamental "rules".
YASSS nailed it!! PREPARATION IS KEY to a great performance. Just like any sport, job, or activity. you gotta learn the lingo!!
As Sound Engineer i can approve all of this ! Be Nice, Be Prepared, Have Fun.
Man got FX on his talkback. Real pro.
Its not on the talk back, Its coming through the wedge from the vocal fx, super pro!
Awesome video! For me, as a DJ, and a person who is going to enter the musical sound engineer, it was very interesting to find out all this. Thank you for your work
YES! soundcheck is key to your performance. glad it helps!!
This video was fantastic! It's good to hear such insightful information, because I've recently started booking solo gigs using backing-track accompaniment, and setting out on tour soon. These tips will make me look and feel more prepared and professional. Thanks for the heads up!
This is EXACTLY why we set out to do this series!! You have the willingness to grow and that’s why you will succeed my friend!! Happy playing!!!!
Fantastic information for Musicians and Audio engineers
Thank you for taking the time to comment and watch a tutorial on Sound checks! definitely a well overlooked portion of the career of music. Hope you’re having a great day. Cheers, Christina and Bobby.
This is incredibly helpful for someone live mixing a band just getting started. And the featured band sounds amazing.
Most of this isnt useful to a band starting out. You won't need a tech rider until you have contracts for your shows. Hell, sound check is usually very short if you get one at all. In all my time playing bars, the best advice I can think of, is treat your soundman like royalty. Treat everyone well, or you'll never be asked to play there again, but the soundman more than anyone else. They ultimately control how your band sounds. They can make you sound awful, and I've seen it happen when a band treated them poorly. The rest you'll figure out as you go. Soundcheck is very simple in a small venue.
Rock on! BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR SHOWS! XX C
great content. lol i'm looking for more of a slight step below. i have a new mixer and a set of new PA speaks. was looking to see about a soundcheck to be conducted from the stage. hoping soon to get to that level but not there yet. again great content and keep up the good stuff
Glad we could help! You gotta just put in the time in the stages will get bigger and bigger. Just stay positive and keep playing.
8:38 LOL I get a kick out that sound of an electronic tom. Love it! :)
"Be humble and rock it"; perhaps the best advice. I never put this much thought into a sound check. Great vid!
Thanks for watching!! Best of luck on stage!!!!
I all sold on the process and set up but i really don't see/hear the need for the sound bed in this video. A good informative soundcheck video that has a bad sound balance. But i have learnt alot.
Fair enough!
Her voice! Wow 😍
AWE... Thanks so much. all the best - Christina
Jeremy, your Awesome brother!
The sound guy at the horseshoe tavern is the greatest. He says everyone shut the f up until I tell you to play. Ok see you at 11 guys.
Thanks for the useful info ! I have to say I drifted off because of the mirrored shots ! 😄
Haha thx for the feedback!!
Great video! Very instructive. By the way, the singer‘s voice is beautiful❤
A very good point that was brought up about advancing a "rider". It was mentioned how one seemingly innocuous change to one thing could throw a monkey wrench into the whole flow of production. Allot of the time that Booking agents send out riders, they are sending out several year old riders that reflect no longer used musicians/instruments. Or even the difference from say using a guitar cab and mic system to now using a Kemper or the like. It might not seem like much but, can really throw a kink in the overall flow of how things were planned out. ALWAYS make it a point that one of the first people that you interact with when first arriving to a gig is the A1/FOH audio engineer. NEVER just assume that because you have advanced that you have already been taken care of.
Biggest thing that I can say to young bands is, be flexible and proactive when it comes to the production of YOUR show.
As for the "asshole sound guy", that would be me, I won't hesitate for a second to walk out of a 30 minute only soundcheck if the artist/band is not fully engaged in said soundcheck. Not a time for a vocalist to mumble out the side of his/her mouth as they are watching tictok on their phone while setting levels. If you don't want to take this stuff seriously, neither will I. Like he said, there are dozens of people that have already been working on your show before you even got out of bed that morning, show them a little courtesy by not wasting their time with ass grabbing and jaw jacking, when a solid half hour of your time is all that is asked for.
Awesome !!!! Thanks for those helpful tips.
Glad to help! Best of luck on your performance!!!! xx C
My favorite is when i can just set my own mix using an app. Wish every board was set up that way
Yah digital mixers are a game changer. We use the Midas series!!
Really awesome serie! Congrats 🤘🤘🤘👏👏👏👏
Time to play ! Thanks a for watching Bruno!
Hope to see you live in Hong Kong and hear your sounds output according to your kind explanation 👍
Very nice informative video! Great work, thank you :))
My drummer is about to buy an Alesis strike pro so thankfully I'll be able to mix us as a band together but i do need to get a better mixer
Digital mixers are the best. Save so much time!!!!!
Monstercat hat in the thumbnail is rockin. Easy like just for that
Great stuff,,really helpful for all Sound guys. 👍Tq guys.
Amazing information and I totally agree with all the details mentioned here. I personally have gone through this and I know that being prepared and have everything well communicated with a proper technical rider is super mega important. Love you guys. I met you guys at a Tim Horton's here in Toronto that is by Fairmount Royal York Hotel back in 2012 and took a picture with you both amazing people. It's so good to see you guys here. Much love guys.
AWE awesome to hear!! glad to see you on here too! xx C
Nice video! What microphone reverb or voice box unit did the singer use?
Love this guys!! Great explanations for any up and comers!
I usually get feedbacks and I also have my instruments getting into the mics of the vocals making the sound messy. What can I do to make it better?
Hi thanks for checking out our video, I would try some gates on drums and clean up the resonance from the kit Mics, then gate the vocals a tiny bit just so when no one is playing the Mics are closed. Turn the monitors down as much as possible possible and use in ears if you have the$ , we do many shows now where we don’t have any monitors on stage , just ears, really cleans up the mix, get the drummer to use cymbal baffles or e-kit? Hope this might help 😊
@@matchmediafilms Yes please, will switch to the in ears then. We do have some available but do not use them often
@@matchmediafilms thank you for your timely response also
@@matchmediafilms I don't know what gates are or what baffles and e-kits are so I'll look them up. We use an analog mixer and and the main speakers have been positioned on the stage just a few meters behind where the lead vocalist stands. The space isn't too big. Do you have any resources on speaker positioning? I'd appreciate that and any other resources which would help me get better
@IamBrill absolutely , now I have a better vision of your set up , gates are link a valve that lest signal in after a certain threshold. If you have a few inserted on drums and such it helps clean up the noise levels to the speakers. One thing for sure is you need to get the speakers in front of and Mics, very important! Have the speakers positioned as far forward of the performers Mics as possible, if you have a drummer smashing g away it’s better to pad the drums up and control the acoustics a bit .
A quick question if you please. Our band is uses IEMs and likes doing our own monitor mixes. We have our own monitor set up. As sound production would your prefer a splitter snake box (before our preamps} with fantail to your rig or, a digital splitter with fantail to your rig. I would think you'd prefer to have the split before hand. If splitter snake box is preferred, is that something you would expect us to provide ? or is that something that most sound companies already have ?
Thing that seems to be missing: let the people that work with on stage / backline effects like pedalboards or rackmount effects switch through their components. Dynamics may vary dramatically.
Cool series! Keep it up
You will NEVER need a tech rider for a bar gig. In fact, you might piss some people off if you provide one.
hmmm. we've been asked. but we also were always practicing to play bigger shows then bar gigs, and when you prepare, good things come!
@@DESTINEAK It definitely would not piss me off I'd be quite impressed. Always be prepared and provide the most info no matter the size of the gig.
Great tips! Thank you!
Yeah Jeremy is a total pro! Best of luck!
Can I sing a song with Her😊? I like it good job 👍🏻
maybe some day!!! xx C
Thank you. Wanted. to know what brand and mixer used and vocal(box) at 5:19 -you're using for your mics on stage please. Appreciate it much
Great video!
Glad u liked it!! 😎
Very helpful video
cheers! glad you enjoyed it. xx C
I was about to add this to our company page, but the ‘minimum watts’ thing tagged me out. Sound systems are measured in coverage, model and spl. Watts are not relevant.
I’m a street performer. How do I find a good sound person and adviser? Thank you.
go to the local music store! make friends! play some gigs for free at the local bar to get to know their sound specs and sound guys!!
great explanation. thanks
Glad it was helpful!🎉🎉🎉
Anybody who starts with the drums (which I know is almost everyone) doesn't know how to utilize headroom. 9 times out of 10 the vocals will struggle to be heard when the band starts playing. Starting with the vocals and guitar at the same time and finishing with drums will get you a more balanced sound. Then if you have to turn anything up (which you will), you'll have plenty of headroom without the risk of feedback.
Good approach but you don’t always get to tour with your own PA, so checking drums first is a great way to test what’s available in the Rig. Tips and lows and everything in between for frequencies are there. If the drummer, (me) are too loud tell them to for the band and and a pro should be able to adjust. Vocals should always be upfront. For sure.
I wish bands gave me riders and stage plots!
Right?? Saves time & makes things pro!!
Is there a reason that there is delay on your talkback?
Thank you!
Amazing guys ... Iv learned so much ❤️❤️
Thank you for checking out our videos!
Awesomeness bro.
Nice to see you Steve
@@DESTINEAK you two are so awesome!!!!! 🤘☠🤘
i have questions..to all sounds engineering..please help my curiosity and hope can help my Church performance
Am i supposed to hear all the instruments clear and with detail when the band are played or not? because of this.. bugging me so much why? i’ve been to concerts from Jack Johnson, The Strokes, John Mayer and The Script while i was study in US. i can hear all their instruments played each one of them clearly in my ears..as though they were separated from each other but well combined. For me that’s like awesome, i believe a great quality MUSIC is when i can hear all the instruments clearly and with detail.
On the contrary… in my country..most of the bands..whether it’s regular, wedding or church band..they sound so loud in their drum and bass, and that makes me can’t hear the guitar, the acoustic guitar, the piano…even the violin, harps (if there are any). All i hear is the drum and bass and some blending other music playing on the background.
Please inform me, what is the standard of hearing good sounds live?
Thank you so so much.
Start with the lead vocal, put the ohter instruments one by one at the end of the soundcheck you are supposed to still hear your lead vocal well, I most of churchs the acoustic of the room is not made to play amplifed music, if possible for you put a lot of curtains along the walls and maybe put the drums behind plexyglass panels and don't put the amps in front of the audience
Be easy to work with 👍🏽
Question? Does it make me a bad guy if "load in" is at 5pm but my band's sound check ✅ is at 7pm and I come in ready right at 7pm?
I just feel like it's a waste of time for me to be waiting around for 2 hours doing nothing, while I could be doing other things, or even practicing before I get to the show.
Good question, I would think that it depends on your part in the band, definitely drums first with longest soundcheck, vocals usually last. So if your the vocalist you might be sitting around if your driving the drummer to the gig, lol. Also if your the opener expect the venue to drop the lights and say your on with just a quick line check. Once the stage is patched and the techs are happy with Mics and lines coming up in the board where they need them, most pro crews can do it on the fly.
@@DESTINEAK I'm a bassist 😉. I can be the last one there and the first one to be ready for sound check, considering my rig weighs below 60lb. Sometimes I just use their backline or even just go DI using my pedalboard. It takes me 5 minutes to set-up either way.
It's almost like people just want me there just for ethical reasons.
@@JVMC_ZR1 cool! Travelling light is always a +! As a drummer myself I’ve always noticed that the Mix engineers like to have the Drums and bass check first as it’s a great way to hear how the room sounds or the PA if your in a new venue each night. Kinda like turning up the speakers to see what they have. Drums and bass take care of checking pretty full frequency range and it gives the FOH a good idea of where to place everything in the mix. As far as band check go for us . So for our checks bass is always 2nd, but when the gigs done your outta there quick because of light setup!
I am a street performer. How do I find a good sound person and advisor?
Wow! Who is the absolutely gorgeous stunningly beautiful female guitar player? 😍😍😍😍
What effects of the? Delay or reverb
“Musicians, singers & drummers”
Drummers are musicians too!
👍
I just adjust them as the show goes on :))))
Hi, question. Change over is the time betweeen songs? 7:09
Between bands, usually about 15min so you dont loose the crowd. If its a 7 band punk rock show, 5 min, lol
Is it Jeremy of Enso in Vancouver?
YES!!
love
That south park music in the background
"always the bass player!" :))
Haha right?!?? Always thrown under the bus lol
💕💕😍😍💗💗
: ) thx!!
🎶🎶🎶🎶
cheers!!
This background music sound like Soda-Sopa from South Park... it's uncanny
Why is the talkback mic going through a delay?
Might be bleeding into the monitors, can ya give a time stamp and I might be able to find why, thanks for checking our video out
@@DESTINEAK Everytime the engineer talks to the band.
To show us they have a delay but don't know how use it,
Because they need to be told twice!
@wally7856 it’s actually coming through the vocal mic into the monitors, camera mic is picking up the room, good ear 👂
Good video but not the reality of what bands actually do 😂 acoustic drum kits and twiddling guitarists
Yes some bands are still acoustic but some are hybrid like us! The soundman’s advice is great for everyone though!
Nice voice like Jenifer lopez
😂😂
It's always the bass player lol 😅😂
...Sound checking should always be done BEFORE DOORS. No one pays their hard-earned money to hear 5 noisy sound checks for 5 different bands during the course of the show.
Elon Musk as sound engineer 😅
I jhonen for u I am nepali I want roll n roll
My old band 20 years ago named Noise Therapy, that outta put you in the mood!
The guitar is a little out of tune
NO SOUNDCHECK PLEASE, it kills the energy of everybody, musicians,techs,stage crews Î did so many festivals were we had around one hour. When the stage manager told us ”THE SOUNCHECK IS AT THE END! )AND WE JUST FINISHED THE SOUND OF THE BASS DRUM ! IF WE HAVE NOT ENOUGH TIME I LIKE BETTER TO ORGANISE. A GOOD CHANGE OVER ÔR TO TAKE TIME JUST TO CHECK THE LEAD VOCAL FOR FOH AND MONITORS,
My band sound shit
Thanks for sharing, hope some of these tips can get you through some of the challenges!
This whole production felt incredibly "plasticky". Overly earnest Americans really aren't my thing.
It's set up to showcase some of the obstacles and etiquette revolving around different kinds of sound checks. Whats the biggest venue or show you have sound-checked in? Just wondering as your comment has nothing to do with music, and BTW were from Canada, have a great gig🔉
@@drumndirty Thanks guys, nothing personal, but the whole thing just felt way over-produced.
Respect to Canada (but please don't become America).
And yes, my comment is "nothing to do with music", it's about the way the info is presented. I was chasing info on sound checking. FWIW the alternative content that's resonated for me has the information up front and in a more condensed form, with the production subservient to the content (not the other way round).
All the best.
cheating
You could always add some professional insight along with your comment. Try to be helpful on this page that’s what we try to do is share tips of the trade. Thanks 🙏