Another gig begins! The Sound Couple has to start by building a stage. That’s what we call “full-service production”! Strictly for my own purposes, here are some of the Learning Points that I noted: 1. It all starts with reliable and well-designed power distribution. The power distro that the Sound Couple has built does the trick nicely-at this gig and at many other gigs, as we’ve seen through the years. 2. Just watching Bart and Stacy set up the gear always gives us lots to learn from their way of handling potential problems. It is also always good to see the drink sliders in use at a gig where patrons might be tempted to place their drinks on the speakers. 3. Once again, Bart is using the Worx Control software to keep an eye on the settings for the speakers. 4. The use of the combination speaker audio and power cables is an obvious time-saver. Bart always looks for ways to make the load-in and set-up flow more effectively. 5. Using an extended mic stand to help run the Cat-5 snake is, once again, an excellent example of finding a way to complete a task with as little hassle as possible. 6. It is always helpful when Bart shows us how he assigns channels in the mixer matrix. This is such an important step to assure that all the gear works well during the gig. By demonstrating some of the features of the mixer, Bart gives us a very helpful tutorial. 7. By using a PreSonus mixer that allows Bart to also employ his iPad during line check and sound check helps assure he will have good face-to-face contact with the members of the band. 8. Bart allows us to watch his troubleshooting of the problem with the toms not feeding to the mains. This is why line check and sound check is so important. It is informative for us to see the inset on the screen that shows the actions that Bart takes to find and solve the problem. 9. Running fog and hazer with the ProKontrol using DMX is a bit of a challenge. But, most naturally, Stacy rises to the occasion. And, as the “Stacy Fun O’ Meter” testifies, while having a good time, she does her usual excellent job of matching the lighting to the mood created by the musical selection that the band is playing. Excellent production. A very special “Thank you!” to Bart and Stacy for another very informative, instructive, and entertaining video from The Sound Couple. There is so much for us to learn and we appreciate your videos that help so much with our striving for professionalism in production.
You should get some crank stands and flybars for those CDL’s. Bart, I have done alot of gigs, from small band series to music festivals with 15000+ people. I can tell you I really like your mixing with these small band gigs. You do a good job of making it sound like a loud arena while maintaining lower volumes. A skill I don’t see often when doing gigs of any size.
Check out our next video! Thank you so much for your comment...didn't think of that way, but can see what you mean. It's a two way effort, but we do what we can to make the bands sound as good as possible. Knowing how to use your tools and when to use them is important! The dirty secret is we keep it pretty simple, but maximize what we use! Some techs get too lost in the tech part and don't spend enough time listening.
I have recently been blessed by the algorithm gods of UA-cam to see your channel. I spent 10 years in the industry at the peak of analog sound and saw the birth of line arrays… better or worse my life changed… now with some $$$ in the pockets and being that guy in my dad band. I finally get to see some practical gear that makes sense for the level that I’m at. I dig the sound of your rig …on videos it comes across very clear and authentic. I can only imagine how it sounds live. The lighting rig is amazing & the picture that it delivers… a rig like this was only fantasy in my time. We had to wrestle racks of par cans for bar gigs and at best could only get a handful of good looks if we didn’t bring in the movers. Not many wanted to pay for movers. Your rig is simply high level your clients are lucky to have the two of you. Thanks for keeping it real and honest.
Thank you for your support and comments...Yes, been there with you. I remember buying our first used Par 64 cans...steel. Wow! It was a big investment and thought we had real light show now!
Steel cans were the worst! Knowing your entire rig fits in a van is awesome. Back in my area in my time there was a couple that had a van PA but know where near the caliber of you rig. Like said I’ve been out of the game and probably never get off the bench to play in your league. Have to ask, if you don’t mind, how rider friendly is your rig? Have you done any national acts? Just want to know in general kinda feel Presouns is underrated. I’ve only seen on presouns desk in the wild in my area sadly. They have always been so cutting edge. My area it’s either Macki for a board or Yamaha guitar center special. When it comes to cabs it’s JBL or those newer stick systems that have 8 4” drivers… or the resold equipment from DB sound before they “merged” with Clair Sorry for rambling but again great to see such great gear used and used so effectively.
Thanks for sharing...we don't get into situations where riders come up...We have done some bigger "names", over the years, but in our type of applications where riders aren't considered.@@sob7741
Watching your videos paid off. Our church worship band did a “Music in the Park” event, and I volunteered to help our staff engineer with load in and load out. Thinking of your videos I threw an outlet tester in my backpack as I headed out the door. It came in so handy as about 1/2 of the outlets in the band shell were dead. Being able to quickly test them saved a ton of time. Thank you Bart and Stacy!! We’re you running some vocal delay on a couple of those songs??
Great work guys! I really love watching the sound check process and the band in action with a few small clips - i know it hard with copyright and associated complexities but you guys do really well. Thanks again for an interesting watch - appreciate the time taken - well done 🙏🙏🙏
On toms you forgot to assign the Main button so it didn’t go to the mains and the DCA fader was down and at 20:34 one of the channels on the mixer was clipping
You got it...good catch on the clipping. This is because they stick their vocal mics too close to the drums....I just bring the faders down during this time.
Thanks for another great video! Have a question. Do you know what kind of stage platform product this venue uses? Looks pretty lightweight and portable. We could use something like that for a temporary stage.
These look like they were home made. Please send us an e-mail and we would be more than happy to share with you a closer photo of them: soundcouple@comcast.net
Hi Guys. Suggestion... when you are using subs on each side of the stage, I suggest you PAN the kick a bit to the opposite side of the bass guitarist, and pan bass guitar the opposite. For example, if the bass player is on stage right, pan bass a bit stage left and kick right. This way the subs are producing slightly different sounds and there is less cancellation out front when the sound waves of the two sides meet - less power alleys and valleys. And since they are sub frequencies there is no difference in the overall sound of the bass and kick. At least, that is what I do.
Yes, because I have done this myself, I spotted this problem right away besides I have an advantage of the ‘back seat driver’ position. Lol No routing, push the MAIN or Sub button, 😂 I just love you guys! Edited: I’m not sure now, having gone further into the video, how you corrected the problem. I’m not using DCA’s or Stage Box routing. Unfamiliar territory.
Thanks folks for another great video on assemble, teardown and troubleshooting. Seems like you were just there a few months ago, and got the ethernet cable run earlier on in the video. Take care.
At least some hooks? We discussed with them how we should run the cable the first time we were there and they said the floor would be ok too....we always go up if we can!
No criticism of you guys at all but with the shift you two put in and the equipment hire, the band fee, and the small audience how does it make any sense for the bar owner? If i had a bar band at that level i would for sure be happy with your services!
I wonder how much the band charged to have a sound and light person, plus pay themselves. I'd imagine a small venue like this couldn't pay more than $800 total. But they do sound for this band a lot so maybe they take the small paying gigs to get the street dance money.
We do take less for these gigs. The bar doesn't charge cover and we don't know what the band makes. Agreed, not sure how the numbers all add up with the number of people there.
@@thesoundcoupleI just asked this same question on another of your videos. You guys do a GREAT job, but cant see how its worth it. You have 10s of thousands of dollars in gear there. Hope you’re getting a minimum of 500-600 for this. Most soundguys here bring zero lights and get that much.
@@DustinRadtkeWe are starting to run our own sound and lights due to this. I’d love to hire, but for 800 bucks to make it worth for the band we have to do it ourselves. Behringer X32 rack mixer and RCF speakers and subs. Lights go along with the tracks via midi and DMX. A lot of work to get it all programmed but in the end you have the same light show each and every time and no one has to run it.
We aren't going to hit "pay dirt" on every gig. Looking at the bigger picture, there is more to consider....so yeah, there is going to be filler gigs, which are more about just the money.@@joeydego2
Hey Bart & Stacey. I know that you both always do a great job and i love your videos. But i wonder if a client ever restricted you from filming at their events or come up to you like: "Hey, aren't you supposed to do your job? Why are you filming then"? I recently been a A1 on an event and got the permission to film everything (Fixed GoPro + mobile iPhone). The gig went absolutely great with zero interferences. But when i got my iPhone out to record for a couple of seconds the event manager yelled at me like: "Go back to your desk. You're being paid to do the sound, not to film!". Which really bugged me. I told him that everything's fine and the band did in fact not need a lot of mixing as they also were professionals and were able to control their dynamics and know how the room sounded like.
That's very interesting. The short answer is "no". That said, the gig always comes first and we make sure we are first focused on that. Typically, we pad extra time to our setups, etc. to allow us the opportunity to do the filming we want to do for the channel. You will notice, that our videos can vary on what we capture based on the amount of time we have. Also, with two of us, I think it makes it easier to do as well as Stacy does most of the performance capturing, and if you can tell, anything I do is typically pretty quick or from a fixed position during the performance. We got it down to be pretty seamless....I guess if someone was to comment and they are writing us the check, we would comply....but it may come down to a trust issue. I could see there would be some shows where we probably wouldn't film if it was a high profile one off type show with someone we haven't worked with before.
We chose to use a fader console because they allow for a good spot for it and then we have a space for us and we aren't taking up a customer table/space.
We use Luminair....that's been a popular topic through out our videos. We love it, but a lot of people are quick to point out what they believe are better alternatives. We will admit, we are not lighting experts, but we want flexibility and simplicity and control. Luminair serves that to us well.
In part because that's how it's evolved over time as we added more "options" for lighting. By splitting the devices, we are able to minimize the total number of scenes and the rework that needs to be done when we add more fixtures. I am sure there are other, and perhaps better ways, but this is how we did it.
Another gig begins! The Sound Couple has to start by building a stage. That’s what we call “full-service production”! Strictly for my own purposes, here are some of the Learning Points that I noted:
1. It all starts with reliable and well-designed power distribution. The power distro that the Sound Couple has built does the trick nicely-at this gig and at many other gigs, as we’ve seen through the years.
2. Just watching Bart and Stacy set up the gear always gives us lots to learn from their way of handling potential problems. It is also always good to see the drink sliders in use at a gig where patrons might be tempted to place their drinks on the speakers.
3. Once again, Bart is using the Worx Control software to keep an eye on the settings for the speakers.
4. The use of the combination speaker audio and power cables is an obvious time-saver. Bart always looks for ways to make the load-in and set-up flow more effectively.
5. Using an extended mic stand to help run the Cat-5 snake is, once again, an excellent example of finding a way to complete a task with as little hassle as possible.
6. It is always helpful when Bart shows us how he assigns channels in the mixer matrix. This is such an important step to assure that all the gear works well during the gig. By demonstrating some of the features of the mixer, Bart gives us a very helpful tutorial.
7. By using a PreSonus mixer that allows Bart to also employ his iPad during line check and sound check helps assure he will have good face-to-face contact with the members of the band.
8. Bart allows us to watch his troubleshooting of the problem with the toms not feeding to the mains. This is why line check and sound check is so important. It is informative for us to see the inset on the screen that shows the actions that Bart takes to find and solve the problem.
9. Running fog and hazer with the ProKontrol using DMX is a bit of a challenge. But, most naturally, Stacy rises to the occasion. And, as the “Stacy Fun O’ Meter” testifies, while having a good time, she does her usual excellent job of matching the lighting to the mood created by the musical selection that the band is playing. Excellent production.
A very special “Thank you!” to Bart and Stacy for another very informative, instructive, and entertaining video from The Sound Couple. There is so much for us to learn and we appreciate your videos that help so much with our striving for professionalism in production.
Thanks Dean! We weren't sure where this one was going, but it ended up with some good stuff! Always appreciate your comments and insights!
You should get some crank stands and flybars for those CDL’s. Bart, I have done alot of gigs, from small band series to music festivals with 15000+ people. I can tell you I really like your mixing with these small band gigs. You do a good job of making it sound like a loud arena while maintaining lower volumes. A skill I don’t see often when doing gigs of any size.
Check out our next video! Thank you so much for your comment...didn't think of that way, but can see what you mean. It's a two way effort, but we do what we can to make the bands sound as good as possible. Knowing how to use your tools and when to use them is important! The dirty secret is we keep it pretty simple, but maximize what we use! Some techs get too lost in the tech part and don't spend enough time listening.
@@thesoundcouple It's so easy to get lost in the technical stuff, and another thing I have found very difficult is to know when to stop tweaking.
I have recently been blessed by the algorithm gods of UA-cam to see your channel.
I spent 10 years in the industry at the peak of analog sound and saw the birth of line arrays… better or worse my life changed… now with some $$$ in the pockets and being that guy in my dad band. I finally get to see some practical gear that makes sense for the level that I’m at. I dig the sound of your rig …on videos it comes across very clear and authentic. I can only imagine how it sounds live.
The lighting rig is amazing & the picture that it delivers… a rig like this was only fantasy in my time. We had to wrestle racks of par cans for bar gigs and at best could only get a handful of good looks if we didn’t bring in the movers. Not many wanted to pay for movers.
Your rig is simply high level your clients are lucky to have the two of you.
Thanks for keeping it real and honest.
Thank you for your support and comments...Yes, been there with you. I remember buying our first used Par 64 cans...steel. Wow! It was a big investment and thought we had real light show now!
Steel cans were the worst!
Knowing your entire rig fits in a van is awesome. Back in my area in my time there was a couple that had a van PA but know where near the caliber of you rig. Like said I’ve been out of the game and probably never get off the bench to play in your league. Have to ask, if you don’t mind, how rider friendly is your rig? Have you done any national acts? Just want to know in general kinda feel Presouns is underrated.
I’ve only seen on presouns desk in the wild in my area sadly. They have always been so cutting edge. My area it’s either Macki for a board or Yamaha guitar center special. When it comes to cabs it’s JBL or those newer stick systems that have 8 4” drivers… or the resold equipment from DB sound before they “merged” with Clair
Sorry for rambling but again great to see such great gear used and used so effectively.
Thanks for sharing...we don't get into situations where riders come up...We have done some bigger "names", over the years, but in our type of applications where riders aren't considered.@@sob7741
The show looked and sounded hype and fun o meter was non stop movin. good times.
We do have fun, but sometimes we don't show it much....there must have been something going on this night!
A showzao and an excellent work of Sound and Light!
Top congratulations...!
Thank you!
Watching your videos paid off. Our church worship band did a “Music in the Park” event, and I volunteered to help our staff engineer with load in and load out. Thinking of your videos I threw an outlet tester in my backpack as I headed out the door. It came in so handy as about 1/2 of the outlets in the band shell were dead. Being able to quickly test them saved a ton of time. Thank you Bart and Stacy!!
We’re you running some vocal delay on a couple of those songs??
Hi Stephen...this is great to hear! Not that you had issues, but we were able to help you out!
Great work guys!
I really love watching the sound check process and the band in action with a few small clips - i know it hard with copyright and associated complexities but you guys do really well.
Thanks again for an interesting watch - appreciate the time taken - well done 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you...appreciate letting us know this one worked. On the back side, this video almost didn't happen, but glad we decided to go with it!
On toms you forgot to assign the Main button so it didn’t go to the mains and the DCA fader was down and at 20:34 one of the channels on the mixer was clipping
You got it...good catch on the clipping. This is because they stick their vocal mics too close to the drums....I just bring the faders down during this time.
Thanks for another great video! Have a question. Do you know what kind of stage platform product this venue uses? Looks pretty lightweight and portable. We could use something like that for a temporary stage.
These look like they were home made. Please send us an e-mail and we would be more than happy to share with you a closer photo of them: soundcouple@comcast.net
Hi Guys. Suggestion... when you are using subs on each side of the stage, I suggest you PAN the kick a bit to the opposite side of the bass guitarist, and pan bass guitar the opposite. For example, if the bass player is on stage right, pan bass a bit stage left and kick right. This way the subs are producing slightly different sounds and there is less cancellation out front when the sound waves of the two sides meet - less power alleys and valleys. And since they are sub frequencies there is no difference in the overall sound of the bass and kick. At least, that is what I do.
Thank you for the tip!
Yes, because I have done this myself, I spotted this problem right away besides I have an advantage of the ‘back seat driver’ position. Lol
No routing, push the MAIN or Sub button, 😂
I just love you guys!
Edited: I’m not sure now, having gone further into the video, how you corrected the problem. I’m not using DCA’s or Stage Box routing. Unfamiliar territory.
DCA's are similar to subgroups....but if they are turned down, no sound.
Thanks folks for another great video on assemble, teardown and troubleshooting. Seems like you were just there a few months ago, and got the ethernet cable run earlier on in the video. Take care.
Just shows that gigs at the same place can be different! Appreciate you watching!
It's snowing up there already? about to be up your way on tour... guess I need to repack.
This was back from December!
I think the Wolfmix is the right Light Mixer for Stasy.
Thank you for sharing....looks interesting.
As an interesting thought if you do this venue more and more can a permanent cat5 cable be installed?
At least some hooks? We discussed with them how we should run the cable the first time we were there and they said the floor would be ok too....we always go up if we can!
No criticism of you guys at all but with the shift you two put in and the equipment hire, the band fee, and the small audience how does it make any sense for the bar owner? If i had a bar band at that level i would for sure be happy with your services!
I wonder how much the band charged to have a sound and light person, plus pay themselves. I'd imagine a small venue like this couldn't pay more than $800 total. But they do sound for this band a lot so maybe they take the small paying gigs to get the street dance money.
We do take less for these gigs. The bar doesn't charge cover and we don't know what the band makes. Agreed, not sure how the numbers all add up with the number of people there.
@@thesoundcoupleI just asked this same question on another of your videos. You guys do a GREAT job, but cant see how its worth it. You have 10s of thousands of dollars in gear there. Hope you’re getting a minimum of 500-600 for this. Most soundguys here bring zero lights and get that much.
@@DustinRadtkeWe are starting to run our own sound and lights due to this. I’d love to hire, but for 800 bucks to make it worth for the band we have to do it ourselves. Behringer X32 rack mixer and RCF speakers and subs. Lights go along with the tracks via midi and DMX. A lot of work to get it all programmed but in the end you have the same light show each and every time and no one has to run it.
We aren't going to hit "pay dirt" on every gig. Looking at the bigger picture, there is more to consider....so yeah, there is going to be filler gigs, which are more about just the money.@@joeydego2
Hey Bart & Stacey. I know that you both always do a great job and i love your videos. But i wonder if a client ever restricted you from filming at their events or come up to you like: "Hey, aren't you supposed to do your job? Why are you filming then"?
I recently been a A1 on an event and got the permission to film everything (Fixed GoPro + mobile iPhone). The gig went absolutely great with zero interferences. But when i got my iPhone out to record for a couple of seconds the event manager yelled at me like: "Go back to your desk. You're being paid to do the sound, not to film!". Which really bugged me. I told him that everything's fine and the band did in fact not need a lot of mixing as they also were professionals and were able to control their dynamics and know how the room sounded like.
That's very interesting. The short answer is "no". That said, the gig always comes first and we make sure we are first focused on that. Typically, we pad extra time to our setups, etc. to allow us the opportunity to do the filming we want to do for the channel. You will notice, that our videos can vary on what we capture based on the amount of time we have. Also, with two of us, I think it makes it easier to do as well as Stacy does most of the performance capturing, and if you can tell, anything I do is typically pretty quick or from a fixed position during the performance. We got it down to be pretty seamless....I guess if someone was to comment and they are writing us the check, we would comply....but it may come down to a trust issue. I could see there would be some shows where we probably wouldn't film if it was a high profile one off type show with someone we haven't worked with before.
❤❤👍🏻✅
Why did you choose to use the "real" mixer on this gig instead of the ipad?
We chose to use a fader console because they allow for a good spot for it and then we have a space for us and we aren't taking up a customer table/space.
what is the app that uses for dmx control?
We use Luminair....that's been a popular topic through out our videos. We love it, but a lot of people are quick to point out what they believe are better alternatives. We will admit, we are not lighting experts, but we want flexibility and simplicity and control. Luminair serves that to us well.
Love this channel! Quick question though Why do you guys use the nsb Stagebox when you use can your 32r for a stagebox?
We could, but stagebox is a bit easier to work with. Our rack mixer set up is quite heavy,.
So I have to ask, why do you have 3 lighting controllers? why not just make different scenes with different fixtures and run one lighting controller?
In part because that's how it's evolved over time as we added more "options" for lighting. By splitting the devices, we are able to minimize the total number of scenes and the rework that needs to be done when we add more fixtures. I am sure there are other, and perhaps better ways, but this is how we did it.