Working in a theatre with daily shows, our team deals with around 30 cast members, including swings, regularly. With 30 different performers – some of them playing multiple roles – there are obviously more than a handful of settings & individual preferences to be remembered and saved.

Even with today’s advanced technology and digital mixing consoles, there are still limitations to what can and cannot be saved (mix “receives”, not “sends”, are one of them), thus our crew still has to come back to the stone age method having a notepad & pen for certain cast preferences.

All other variable factors aside, there are some casts who somehow still prefer my counterpart & I to run monitor mixes for them even when we’re scheduled to run FOH that particular day. There are times when performers even throw a “diva fit” and refuse to continue the show until we come down to the monitor console to adjust their settings.

Before I move on, let me just say this is NOT an ego trip for me, these are just some reflections I had after many long discussions with my counterpart about the situation. I really hope this article will help struggling sound engineers or engineers who just can’t seem to handle that one particular “diva”.

I have come to a conclusion that performers like to work with certain sound engineers not just because of technical ability ALONE.

1. Confidence

Having confidence and giving the performer confidence in you is really important. It is imperative that you show the performer you know what you are doing and you are able to give them what they want.

2. Camaraderie

I try to make friends with every performer even before sound check starts. Whether it’s a new cast or one of the regulars, a simple “good morning” will do wonders. Somehow, if a performer knows who you are, and know he/she is able to communicate with you, it gives them confidence in your working relationship.

3. Communication

It is VERY important to keep an open channel of communication with the performers at all times – before, DURING and  after sound check.  Before sound check, I talk to them, ask them how they are and find out what’s happening with them. This would be a good time to know if they have a sore throat or are going to try something new sonically that day.

During sound check, I keep my talkback mic and monitors on all the time, talking to the cast and finding out exactly what they want and what is bothering them. After sound check and shows, if the opportunity arises, I find out if they’re comfortable on stage and if there’s anything we can do for them to make things better.

Having done all the above, the performers will feel more comfortable with you as a person and will be much more comfortable with you as their sound engineer, knowing you are doing everything you can to help them sound their best on stage. Try it and tell me your experiences!

As an avid Apple computer user and supporter, one of the things I usually brag about to my Windows toting friends is that I don’t have to re-install my operating system regularly (yearly, bi-yearly?) like I did when I was using a Windows system.

If I were to be really really honest however, even though none of my Apple computers NEED a regular re-instally, they would still show definite signs of performance increase once given a fresh operating system install. This was evidenced to me when I tried upgrading a 7-year old Power Macintosh system. Although it seemed to work fine before the installation, things sped up much significantly after the re-install.

This leads me to my point in audio systems (and any other technical system for that matter).

After months and years of regular use, it often surprises me that most venue managers and technicians don’t make it a point to do a major overhaul of their system. This is especially true when a place is run entirely by volunteers or freelance technicians. I have been to places where connectors obviously haven’t been removed (and checked) since installed, speaker cones are full of mould and rust is seen building up all over exposed metal parts.

Besides these visually obvious problems, there are also instances where I’ve found that certain power amplifier channels are not working or certain mixer channels do not function as should be, and no one in the technical team even has a clue!

After so many years working with audio systems large & small, I can only say that regular maintenance goes a really long way not only in keeping the hardware in shape – it also helps the audio team understand the system better. Here are the benefits -

I will be writing a more in-depth article of what should be done during typical maintenance. In fact, I get my team to do various kinds of checks & maintenance – daily, monthly and half-yearly. Look out for that article coming soon!

In the meantime, gather your team and see what you can do to improve the performance of your system. You’ll be surprised what a difference it’ll make, and, it’ll cost close to nothing!

Welcome to Sounds In My Head!

I want to get the sounds in my head out to the world – and hopefully help you get yours out too.

At the root, we’re going to talk about all things audio – Live Sound, Studio Recordings, Audio Techniques & Theory etc. Beyond those, however, we will also be discussing ideas and concepts about sound, music and media.

Other than the technical aspects, I’ve recently experienced and pondered a fair bit about how human interaction & relationships can sometimes be more important than raw technical skills in a musician or sound engineer and I really want to see if my observations mirror those of other sound engineers and musicians. This is where comments will really make this blog interesting.

Through my daily work in musical theatre as an Audio Engineer, lecturing weekly on Live Sound Reinforcement in an arts college and being an avid musician, this blog will reflect my thoughts and experiences – and get out the sounds in my head.

I hope you’ll have fun reading this blog and find interesting information and thoughts here. Talk to me. Leave a comment. I really love to discuss the things posted here; I want to know what people think about my thoughts – to know if the sounds in my head make sense to other people!