Top 5 Live Sound Tips For Small, Local, And Touring Bands
TIP #1: Don’t Worry What Comes Out Of The Speakers
This tip may sound cliche for some people, but the truth of the matter is, worry about how you play and not the technical stuff. If you’re like me, you probably looked up on youtube, “How to set sound for your band“ or “How to Properly mix your band“ and you only see gear, words, and phrases you never heard of, and “Buy My Course“ is the kicker. These past years playing music, it never came across my mind what it sounded like out of the speakers, being a keyboardist, my mind is more on playing and time during the set. So how should you not worry? What I’ve learned is to play for the audience, yes it sounds crazy. What I mean is that more than 99% of the audience, don’t understand music, and that 1% percent is your music majors, sound engineers, and your dad saying “it’s Aight”. Before learning the sound side of things, I focused more on playing, and less of the speakers. Remember I did not know anything about sound, I moved faders, EQ at random and hoped it would sound better. I Had many audience members come up to the stage between sets to say more “vocal“ and more “guitar“. One gig I decided I would have the vocal and guitar a little loud than the rest of the band, and worried about my playing. After that night we had more compliments than we ever had. Furthermore, it clicked in my head what the audience wants, and they don’t care what EQ or reverb trick you did, your playing and effort is more important than the technical stuff coming out the speakers.
TIP #2: Be Prepared For Those “Plug-In” Play Performances
If you have had a chance to play in a festival line up, or multi-band show then 9 out of 10 times you may have had some issues regarding the venue or your band itself. Playing in multiple of these types of gigs I learned that you need to be prepared. Let’s say you are the 5th band out of 8, and sound checks between bands are taking longer than expected. Once your band is up they give you the short set. Instead of being mad and asking why it happened to you, just try do the set with your best songs. I know it is a bummer for that to happen, but the show must go on. Hopefully that may never happen again. Following the same festival type of line up, be ready when your set is coming up. Make sure all of the instruments are near the stage so it will take you less time to set up. Help the previous band load up so you have some time to relax and get comfortable on stage. And one last point on this tip, be patient with the sound guy! He/She is doing everything they can to set up monitors, cables, lights, and Front of House. Being a sound engineer myself, you are the priority. When we are going down the line of setting each players monitors, don’t say “Hey I can’t hear anything“ and continue to play and complain, while they’re doing the best they can to get you ready. You will be next up and you will be set and ready. Trust me. I don’t know how many bands complained about not hearing anything out of the monitors, when the sound engineer was constantly going back and forth setting things up on stage. And they had no help changing inputs, give them time, and they’ll give you time. Imagine if this was the case: your band is taking a long time to set up on stage and the rest of the sound crew was ready. Help everyone be ready on those types of gigs, because you don’t want it to be your last.
TIP #3: Know What To Take To Every Gig
For bands who constantly play almost every weekend, you got it going good for you. For the ones who have gigs here and there, you got to know what to take. For drummers, I know its a lot for you to take, but maybe have some extra XLR cables handy. Countless times I’ve been to a gig and “assumed“ the band would have everything I need (as a drummer starting out). I was asked why I don’t have my own equipment, only to sit there and not answer why. I learned to take the time and learn what I would need to bring to the gig. Invest in knowing what to take to every gig. XLR, Quarter Inch Cables, Gaff Tape, Containers to store things in, and most importantly, Microphones. Yes I know the merch table is important, but worrying about what you put on stage is first priority. Each musician should know this:
Vocalist- Microphone, XLR cable, set lists, Mic stands
Drummer- *Microphones, XLR cables, Mic stands, Gaff tape(Trust me)
Guitarist- Microphone, XLR Cable, Quarter Inch cable
Bassist and Acoustic guitarist- *Di Box, XLR cable, Quarter Inch cable
Keyboardist- Quarter Inch cable, *Di Box, XLR cable
All the things I listed are good points to have with you. For any instruments I did not list its good to learn what you need for the gig. Having and Knowing what to take to each gig will help you in the long run.
TIP #4: Expect The Unexpected
The amount of shows I’ve been in, there have been a number of times random things have happened. From setting outside, where it started pouring even though the forecast showed a small drizzle, to an audience member spilling their beer on your PA system. But those are the ones where, “well it shouldn’t have happened but oh well”. Maybe you played a set and a band member suddenly stopped playing and went off stage. They came back after the full song to say, “I swear I thought I changed these batteries“. Look, your new cable, new batteries, new mixer, and anything else you bring on stage thats been looked over a ton of times, the 1% percent that could go wrong, will. Always have a back up, set of batteries for your IEM, Wireless pack, Microphone; XLR Cables, 1/4 cables. The new XLR cable you bought for your kick drum mic that needs 48V, might not work. I showed up to a gig and had the mic ready. I didn’t have time to check lines and plugged it in. I was shaking my head wondering why it wouldn’t work, only to find out the ground and hot wires were soldered together. Always expect the unexpected, because it will expect you.
TIP #5: Load Up Fast, Chat Later
So you did all the tips above, didn’t worry about the speakers, prepared for the gig, had everything you needed, and even for the unexpected. Now after all that you are playing a late gig. What do you do? Sit there right after the set, walk around and say a few jokes. Maybe you got hammered after playing, or you got straight to loading up? After the set you may have been told, “Hey its alright, we are just taking a break then we’ll pack up“ and it was an hour break? What I like to do is get straight to the point, and start loading up. I believe if I do this on each gig, I can get home early and sleep. You may already do this, and it’s a good habit to have. It also wouldn’t hurt to tell your band buddies to start loading up too. You’ll get tired of the same old “ This is the best part “ at the end of every gig. This one is my best tip only for the fact that I like to go home after a gig.
