Advice, Audio Equipment, Sound Guy Tips
Top 10 ways for Sound Guys to prevent bad audio.
16
Jan
Jan
- Hissing: Check the treble. Do a sound check beforehand. Make sure one of your speakers isn’t making that sound.
- Popping: When a mic comes near another you may get interference. Sometimes, this sound can be from friction with a costume or from a kinked antenna.
- Equipment: Check the quality of each component in the system. You will only sound as good as your weakest link. Check the mic, the transmitter (quality, frequency, gain, and interference), the receiver, the antennas/paddles, the cables, the sound board (XLR input’s usually offer higher quality than ¼ inch) and the speakers (Check all over the room).
- Environment: Some rooms are echo chambers and there is nothing you can do about it. If you have the authority and money to fix this then there are varying priced solutions. The cheapest is probably foam padding covered in cloth to look nice. Some solutions can range up to many thousands of dollars.
- Wrong blending: Move around the room beforehand to hear what each location sounds like. If you can’t hear any differences in a large room, you may want to reconsider if you are the right person to be doing this task. At least ask for a second technical opinion for those volume levels.
- Increase the volume for the focal point: A soloist should always be slightly louder than both the music and the backup singers. If there is an instrument solo, then turn it up louder than the other background music. It is appropriate to crescendo a soloists volume at the climax of a song- but beware of red-lining. (tip: research sound boards with compression.)
- Know your audience: The age of your listeners can play a significant role in your volume decisions. Some older people will need the volume turned up while other elderly people in your audience will be offended by loud volumes.
- Context makes all the difference: People can tolerate varying levels of volume depending on the kind of performance. Lower volume settings include places of worship, and lecture halls. Higher levels of volume include theatrical performances and concerts.
- Last minute Volume: After your sound check, things are going to change but you must discover how to contend with these issues without everyone looking back at you. The air-conditioning, nervous performers (who are now softening their voices and fidgeting with their equipment, and now there are many bodies in the room whispering and absorbing radio bandwidth)
Tip: Ask eager teenagers to be your runners. Their help will often be invaluable. - People Problems: Have you ever been to a church where the soundguys wife was the loudest choir member? Or perhaps the soundguy’s favorite instrument just happened to be the loudest instrument? Have you met a soundguy who was deaf in one ear? Sometimes the problems we experience don’t have a technical solution.
Solution: With proper communication and gentle prodding, anyone can make the most of what equipment they own.
