Top Ways To Annoy A Sound Engineer

What about the opposite?

Things bands tell me that annoyed other sound men that are part of the job.

I had a band in the other night that u have mixed before. I remembered the lead singer needed a sax mic for one song, so I went ahead and set it up with the rest of the stage before they got there.

They told me that they have been getting has sealed about needing that extra channel by the club guys recently.

My response was that if you want to blow one note on one song as part of your show, I am going to have the mic ready for it.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Max Warasila said:
Totally true. I know a monitor tech who prides himself on getting the monitors so loud that when the band he was touring with would walk on stage, the vocalist would say "check," have his entire body feel the vibrations, and then demand that the monitor tech stop trying to kill him with the vocalists own voice. Good running gag if you ask me, but you have to admit- that tech's got it down.
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My proudest moment as a monitor engineer was a couple of years back, mixing for a very famous hip hop act that was coming through a venue I worked in. Their tour manager had been on my back for most of the morning about how important it was for the stage vocal levels to be "as loud as possible"

The guys came out for soundcheck, did the "yo yo yo" shout down the mics and jumped out of their skins, asked me to turn it down :D~:-D~:grin:
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Richard Mitton said:
My proudest moment as a monitor engineer was a couple of years back, mixing for a very famous hip hop act that was coming through a venue I worked in. Their tour manager had been on my back for most of the morning about how important it was for the stage vocal levels to be "as loud as possible"

The guys came out for soundcheck, did the "yo yo yo" shout down the mics and jumped out of their skins, asked me to turn it down :D~:-D~:grin:
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Awesome. I think I always get excited when anyone tries to tell me that it needs to be "as loud as possible." I don't know about the rest of you all, but being asked to keep it loud but still intelligible is probably the coolest thing to be asked for.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

The nicest thing I can say about Tyler is that he's attention-seeking. The rest? Uh, I still want to work in this industry...

The actions of some artists, members of their entourage, or their fans led us to consider privately hiring off duty, uniformed and armed police officers for the security of our staff and certain show-critical gear. So far it's not been necessary, but we have a plan and phone numbers if we think this solution is needed.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Henry Moreau said:
And we all remember that SH!T HEAD Tyler the Creator - that stood on the FOH console kicking knobs off of it.
Got his arse arrested for it HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA.
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I have the perfect solution for that. Shut all the inputs down and say he broke something (which he did) while acting like you are trying to get everything back on line and doing the old scratching your head and touching some knobs trying to figure out what is wrong. You could always run a little pink noise at 105db through the mains turned on when the artist throws something else to enhance the effect as well. Too bad it took the artists remaining time of the set to figure out the problem. Ahh, I figured out the problem...........The artist is a sh#@head. Problem solved. Next act.

Actually I really don't have a problem with calling ANYONE out that acts like that. I worked way too hard to have the equipment I have to let some punk destroy anything unless they want to pay for it in advance (In which case everything is for sale). The one time I encountered a situation like that I cut all the inputs except my talkback mic which I then fed to the mains as well and explained that I would take my toys and go home if anything like that ever happened again. Nobody could hear anything the artist was saying but everyone could hear me quite well. We reached an understanding very quickly. This is one of the advantages you have in JV. Other than that one time and the drunk guy trying to take a leak on one of the amp racks I really have never had any other problems like that.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Ewwww, that guy, just ew

I had a lecturer at uni who got out of the live sound thing after supplying PA for Pondie, a biker festival out bush. Someone spilled beer on the amps, the sound went down, the bikers got aaaaangry, cue my lecturer and his colleague bumping out and fleeing as quick as they could. Says his back's never been the same since.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Jake Scudder said:
A good rant can be cathartic. Your list is full of things we've all encountered but I have a few questions.

I don't understand the first two. Is there something special about your cable that would prevent any of thousands of qualified people from wrapping or running them?

If you feel that strongly about your cable who is the "idiot" in your 8th entry and why is he acting as system engineer when you don't even trust him with simple stagecraft?

It would be cool if musicians made a little more effort to learn proper terms and names of equipment. Maybe a fair trade would be learning the names of the people you're mixing?
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On the cables. Sound guys have their own way of doing their cables so they can fit them where they want them to go. we all have our own technique. me for instance i do the over/under. Nobody that offers to help wrap cables can do that. I have my cables trained as a lot of other sound guys do as well. if they do the elbow to hand type of wrapping then it twists the small cables inside and causes the cable to tear up and we have to get new ones.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Jimmy Hardin said:
On the cables. Sound guys have their own way of doing their cables so they can fit them where they want them to go. we all have our own technique. me for instance i do the over/under. Nobody that offers to help wrap cables can do that. I have my cables trained as a lot of other sound guys do as well. if they do the elbow to hand type of wrapping then it twists the small cables inside and causes the cable to tear up and we have to get new ones.
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Oh. Thanks for that. I always thought you just bought new ones for every show. I get it now. Only one person per set of cables. Got it.

I've heard of this over/under thing. It must have been you they were talking about. Cool!

If you were to buy used cables from another provider would they have to go through some sort of "retraining" process? Is there a transfer you can just sign?

What about those big shows that have a semi trailer full of cable trunks? That guy must be there FOREVER to coil all that cable! Oh well. He has a whole semi truck to pack it in! I'm sure it can just go anywhere. Glad I'll never have to do one of those shows.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Naw, Jake, we just do that to the LX dept cables. They never notice the difference if we just dump the cables in the caddy and jump up and down on them (we call it "the cable dance of love"). We'll make it fit even if we have to chop off those big metal ends... /sarcasm

Also I've never figured out how VDO guys can take such lousy care of their cabling. It's common to see them sort through a hamper full of 5 wire to find a piece that has all the BNC connectors intact. The cables are kinked up and never lay flat without large quantities of gaffer tape. It's not like their work depends on it, eh?

Taking care of our toys is something the audio dept takes pride in. The lampies, the video crew... just shit on their stuff and then complain to company management that they need replacements.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Tim McCulloch said:
Naw, Jake, we just do that to the LX dept cables. They never notice the difference if we just dump the cables in the caddy and jump up and down on them (we call it "the cable dance of love"). We'll make it fit even if we have to chop off those big metal ends... /sarcasm

Also I've never figured out how VDO guys can take such lousy care of their cabling. It's common to see them sort through a hamper full of 5 wire to find a piece that has all the BNC connectors intact. The cables are kinked up and never lay flat without large quantities of gaffer tape. It's not like their work depends on it, eh?

Taking care of our toys is something the audio dept takes pride in. The lampies, the video crew... just shit on their stuff and then complain to company management that they need replacements.
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On the road I would always negotiate a trade with LX. I'll push their FOH gear to/from the truck with mine. I'll travel and run their FOH snake(s). They run my over-stage and light ladder runs (along with the mult they would already be running in these locations). The bundles they ran were the only ones I ever had to repair. If they hit a snag, they would just pull harder. Even with occasionally having to replace a BNC connector or two it was a big time saver to let someone else run the cable. And I didn't care how they packed it. It didn't go on my truck.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Jake Scudder said:
Oh. Thanks for that. I always thought you just bought new ones for every show. I get it now. Only one person per set of cables. Got it.

I've heard of this over/under thing. It must have been you they were talking about. Cool!

If you were to buy used cables from another provider would they have to go through some sort of "retraining" process? Is there a transfer you can just sign?

What about those big shows that have a semi trailer full of cable trunks? That guy must be there FOREVER to coil all that cable! Oh well. He has a whole semi truck to pack it in! I'm sure it can just go anywhere. Glad I'll never have to do one of those shows.
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No , you don't buy cables for every show. if you take care of them then you wont have to buy new ones for a long time. I have had the same cables for 5 to 7 years now and haven't changed nothing but the connectors and that was because they were cheap ones.

I don't know what your talking about on "it must have been me they were talking about" , but the over / under thing works , It keeps your cables looking like cables instead of a twisted up mess you should try it sometime.

yes they would have to go through that retraining process, but i dont buy from other sound providers i order them new if i order anything.

I am pretty sure they have a cable guy there that wraps his cables his own way , if that guy quits or is fired i would assume they would hire someone else and then he would have to either wrap them like the last guy or have to train them as to his preferred wrapping technique.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Before this gets too out of hand, I would like to say that personally, I don't give a damn who wraps or runs my cables as long as when they are run they get from point A to point B safely and neatly, and that when they are wrapped they are wrapped neatly, preferably over-under and without tangles.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Jimmy Hardin said:
No , you don't buy cables for every show. if you take care of them then you wont have to buy new ones for a long time. I have had the same cables for 5 to 7 years now and haven't changed nothing but the connectors and that was because they were cheap ones.

I don't know what your talking about on "it must have been me they were talking about" , but the over / under thing works , It keeps your cables looking like cables instead of a twisted up mess you should try it sometime.

yes they would have to go through that retraining process, but i dont buy from other sound providers i order them new if i order anything.

I am pretty sure they have a cable guy there that wraps his cables his own way , if that guy quits or is fired i would assume they would hire someone else and then he would have to either wrap them like the last guy or have to train them as to his preferred wrapping technique.
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Jimmy, you've clearly missed the satire and sarcasm in Jake's posts. You're digging a hole. Stop before you reach halfway to China.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Tim McCulloch said:
Jimmy, you've clearly missed the satire and sarcasm in Jake's posts. You're digging a hole. Stop before you reach halfway to China.
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He might have been using sarcasm, but on a computer it's hard to tell at times weather someone is either being sarcastic or just plainly being a smart with someone. I probably took it the wrong way. sorry guys. :)
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

To bring this back to a slightly more serious subject, but still related to coiling cords, I'll tell of my recent change in habits.

By way of background, I learned to over-under at about the age of 10 from the older brother of one of my little friends who was, at the age of ~13, a total TV geek and into all things SMPTE. (He still works in television, talk about knowing what you want.) Anyway, I've over-undered every extension cord, garden hose, climbing rope, and audio cable ever since.

But recently I've started to make an exception for very small cords, under, say, 5 ft in length, such meter leads. Basically anything short enough so that I can hold one end in the air without the other touching the ground. These I wrap all in one direction giving it the old thumb and forefinger twist as I go, so as to get a nice flat coil. I find that these actually tangle less than over-undered cords when thrown loose into a toolbox, for example. If you grab one end and let them hang free they happily untwist. Maybe everyone does this and I was just the last to catch on. Wouldn't be the first time.

--Frank
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Frank...

I do the exact same thing with my cables of 6' and under. I start with the XLRM in my hand, flat coil 4 or 5 loops, then "sew up" the remainder so it hangs together. The extra weight of the XLRF makes it grip just enough with the in-out weave so it doesn't turn to spaghetti in the bin.
 
Re: Ways to annoy a sound guy

Frank Koenig said:
To bring this back to a slightly more serious subject, but still related to coiling cords, I'll tell of my recent change in habits.

By way of background, I learned to over-under at about the age of 10 from the older brother of one of my little friends who was, at the age of ~13, a total TV geek and into all things SMPTE. (He still works in television, talk about knowing what you want.) Anyway, I've over-undered every extension cord, garden hose, climbing rope, and audio cable ever since.

But recently I've started to make an exception for very small cords, under, say, 5 ft in length, such meter leads. Basically anything short enough so that I can hold one end in the air without the other touching the ground. These I wrap all in one direction giving it the old thumb and forefinger twist as I go, so as to get a nice flat coil. I find that these actually tangle less than over-undered cords when thrown loose into a toolbox, for example. If you grab one end and let them hang free they happily untwist. Maybe everyone does this and I was just the last to catch on. Wouldn't be the first time.

--Frank
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Agreed. Over-undering a short cord feels a little silly.
 
No matter how you coil them I am pretty sure xlr cables should not be used to:

1. Hang boxes
2. Secure things to trusses
3. Secure trusses
4. Strap down boxes in the truck/trailer
 
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