Sound guy angst (sorta humorous)

C

Chad Young

Freshman
May 17, 2011
59
0
0
North Central FL
Experiencing some sound guy angst today. The bad: my new XR18 is here and I cannot wait to play with it, but will probably not even touch it for a week or so. The good: because I have too many damn sound jobs this week and weekend.

Pray for me, gang, for I am mixing my first national act tonight. Maybe I will share the band name and some video if I do a decent job. If not, I will blame the venue's system and walk away quickly once the trucks are packed. 8)~:cool:~:cool:
 
Re: Sound guy angst (sorta humorous)

Chad, I heard a national act (supporting) that I wish I could un-hear. The mix wasn't terrible but the "star's" performance led another worker to ask "who's nephew is he, anyway?" :roll:

I've found it good to ask whomever you mix if they have a preference for blend - do they want vocals way out in front or do they want a little more room for guitars or keyboards, etc. Do they want a wet mix (more reverb and perhaps delay)? How much kick drum, and how should it and the bass sound together? Who sings, and typically who has the high parts? If the band has commercial recordings I've found it helpful to listen to a Greatest Hits compilation or their most recent album, whichever is most available.

Most bands will be astounded and delighted that you cared enough to ask. If you can deliver a mix that is in the ballpark of what they're hoping for, you've done better than 70% of the guys that have mixed them in the last month. Seriously.

Have fun, good luck.

Tim Mc
 
Re: Sound guy angst (sorta humorous)

Well, the gig went very well. The bands were happy and the management wants me back to mix a hip-hop artist many of you would recognize. I will see if I can get some pics and video up later.

Yeah, I like to chat with the band about what they want to hear and try to fit it accordingly. Thankfully, all of these acts had stuff on Youtube for me to check out before the show. In the end it was three really solid Prog Funk bands and one giant good time for all. They were all happy with the mix, the crowd was bumping, and I did not blow up the PA.

The one funny bit - dialing in the monitors and I kept #$%ing up the mixes. It seems someone swapped the SR and SL downstage wedges. Once I sorted that out, I relabeled the aux sends on the X32's scribble strip, dialed in the mixes, sound check, and then go time!

It was nice driving a little better PA than I usually get to play with - X32 at FOH, Meyer and EAW up front. Seven monitor mixes plus in-ears for the headliner's drummer.

This was one of those gigs where I needed to either step up and show I could play varsity ball or wind up back on SOS gigs. Proud to say I did pretty good in varsity ball last night.
 
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