Live sound engineers can make a live performance sound outstanding, but it can feel like a lot of pressure is on you. As a sound engineer, you must think about many things to get everything right since all venues have different acoustics.
You’ll want to review these eight top tips for live sound engineers to help your musicians put on the best show possible. Let’s jump right in!
1. Know Your Equipment Inside and Out
First, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with your audio equipment. You need to understand what gear to use when and all the idiosyncrasies of each. For example, you’ll need to know what microphones work best in certain situations and what settings they need to be on.
Spend some time in the mixing booth and review your audio equipment. You should recognize what each piece is and what it’s for. You can find information about the piece by Googling its name online if you’re unsure. Many sound engineers post tutorials and other information you can use to learn more about the tools at your disposal.
2. Practice Active Listening
Next, you’ll need to practice active listening, sometimes called critical listening. Active listening involves listening to subtle music changes that other people might miss. For example, you can listen to a track and determine if the sound balance is off or if a mic picks up too much white noise.
Active listening is an essential skill to have as a sound engineer. You can build on it by listening to many reference tracks, adjusting your audio equipment, and then listening to how it impacted the sound.
One of the best ways to improve your active listening skill is to attend a live sound mixing course. In the class, you’ll evaluate sound and learn what to do during your performances. Having a professional go over active listening with you makes it easier to understand and remain aware of when working on your own audio mixes.
3. Use Familiar Songs During Setup
You’ll want to play tracks you know well when setting up for a live performance. That way, when listening actively, you can tell immediately if something’s off. The more familiar you are with the song, the more you know what it’s supposed to sound like, so you can make changes quickly.
From there, you can work with the live band to make further changes and tailor your audio mix to them. But starting with a song you’re familiar with can make a huge difference.
4. Mute Audio Channels You Aren’t Using
Next, it’s a good idea to mute the audio channels you aren’t using. Any mixing console you’re using should allow you to switch specific channels on and off. For instance, you can mute a mic that isn’t used for a while.
Doing so allows the signal of your other mics to come out much clearer, so you get a better sound. Muting unused channels also reduce the odds that feedback happens.
However, you need to be very careful! You wouldn’t want to have a mic muted when someone’s about to perform, so only use this tip on songs you know.
5. Listen to the Environment
You’ll need to listen to the lead vocalist and how their sound interacts with the space. Sound can be significantly impacted by acoustics, and every venue is different. So, you’ll need to learn to work with that venue’s acoustics.
Listen to reference tracks in the space and try your best to get the sound as good as possible. If the acoustics are bad, you must learn to work with them. Several aspects can impact room acoustics, such as high ceilings and hard surfaces, so you’ll need to know what to look for.
The lead vocalist or performer should always be able to be heard. A frequency analyzer can make it easier to visualize the changes you need to make to have the lead performer be louder than the rest of the group.
Overall, you’ll need to consider how the unique shape of the venue will impact sound.
6. Keep an Eye on Audio Meters
Your sound mixing equipment should include audio meters; you should always watch them during the performance.
During a live performance, you might lose focus after practicing active listening for hours. Your equipment is there to help keep everything in check. It should let you know what audio channels are playing, how loud they are, and more. Familiarizing yourself with the equipment will help you be more confident reading the meters correctly during a live performance.
Even while practicing active listening, it’s good to keep checking on those meters.
7. Check on the Performers
You’ll want to check on the performers often and ensure they’re comfortable. When they feel the setup is going smoothly, they’ll trust you much more as their sound engineer.
You’ll want to be friendly with the performers too. When the performers are happy, you’re happy, making the work easier on you.
8. Understand That It’s Not Always Perfect
Sometimes, things can go wrong during a live performance. You’ll need to learn how to bounce back from problems quickly without dwelling on what went wrong. The more complicated your audio setup, the more likely there’s an issue.
Not every show will be perfect, but if you try to learn from your mistakes, you will go much further in the industry than someone who resists change.
Overall, recognize that you don’t need to stress about things you can’t change, but always do your best to improve your work. Live sound engineering can be high-stress since you always focus on perfecting everything. However, mistakes can happen.
Get More Live Sound Experience
In short, the more experience you have with live sound engineering, the better your mixes will be. You’ll need to improve your active listening skills, understand your equipment inside and out, and learn more about acoustics. But as you make those changes, you’ll notice a huge difference in your work.
