Live Sound Notes...(Well, a bit of advice to promoters really...)

I've been working as a live engineer for 15 years and even after all this time i come across PA systems that let down the music...and it's just as likely to happen at a big festival as it is in a crap pub gig. A good front of house engineer can make your band sound it's absolute best given half a chance, but his/her efforts are all too often hampered by poor systems.

Here's a list of the top 10 most common problems with PA systems I have come across:

 1. Under-powered. You need plenty of power...it doesn't mean you have to use it, but a system on the edge sounds nasty.
 2. Bad placement. If the speaker drops/stacks aren't aligned right or they fire across each other it'll sound bad.
 3. Phase problems. The drivers in each box need phase checking as well as the system as a whole...that includes monitors.
 4. Too much proccessing. Leave the master buss alone. Don't over-do the digital EQ and multiband compression.
 5. Sub placement. Don't put subs under the stage!! I don't care who said it was ok as long as you filter below 100hz on the mics...crap. Not such a problem if the venue was designed like this in the first place though...check out the IndigO2 if you want to see it done properly.
 6. Time align your system. Click it out properly.
 7. Make sure your gear works. 50% of all Drawmer gates i used this year crackled....and i lost count of the dead cables in club gigs.
 8. Allow the engineer to soundcheck at gig level. Quiet soundchecks are almost pointless. Let him know if there's a time limit.
 9. Have a talk to stage mic ready! Sorting one out 15mins into the soundcheck is too late....the FOH engineer needs it ready.
10. Get the patch right! It's easy. It should be one person's responsibility...assign someone to it and make sure you stick to it.


We're seeing more and more digital desks these days which has it's good and bad points. I still prefer a nice Midas H3000 given the choice but on gigs where there's multiple acts and only one desk, a digital board is a wiser choice. The recall makes it nice and easy to get your mix back when gig time rolls around. I've taken to using a digital camera to get the channel settings stored for when i'm using analogue. I just get the pics up on my MacBook when it's time to recall the mix. It works really well.

Preferred System: Move over VDosc...Martin LongBow is the new king in my book.
Preferred Desk (Analogue) : Midas H3000/2000
Preferred Desk (Digital) : Time for the PM5D to move over.... SoundCraft iV6 rocks! Love it...i want one.
Preferred Compressors: SPL DynaMaxx. Absolutely amazing...love them. Still love UA 1176's though...
Preferred Gates: Drawmer DS201's. Still the best...but only if they're well looked after.
Preferred Reverb: Yamaha SPX900 for drums, Lexicon or TC Electronic for vocals.
Preferred Delay: TC Electronic DTwo, M350 or similar.
Preferred Vocal Channel: Still using TLAudio 5051 in the studio but using a Presonus Eureka in my live rack...sounds great.