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7
Its Not the Car, Its the Driver
T
he mixer (also referred to as the console or desk) is almost literally the heart of
the system. Everything comes in, gets swished around, and then gets pumped
back out as a finished product. The only thing left is to deliver that product to
the audience.
Todays mixing consoles bear little resemblance to the gear we were using when I got
started playing in bands and running sound in the mid 70s. But somehow, as consoles
got larger, with more channels and more EQ and processing, and finally entered the
digital domain, where they could do anything the most sophisticated recording console
could do, sound at events both large and small got worse, not better. And strangely
enough, the exceptionsthat is, the good-sounding showsare often mixed by the
same people who were kludging together homemade systems in the earliest days of the
performance audio business. They may be driving the most sophisticated system out
there, but they only use the tools they need.
This chapter has nothing to do with gear or technology, yet it is very likely the most
important part of the book. Harsh, but true . . .
Afewyears back, I was fortunate enough to say yes when a friend asked me to come to a
small town in Utah to help with a festival gig. He had asked another friend, who also
said yes. No one at the small high school where the festival was based had any idea that
the guy with the Aussie accent working with the orchestra in the main auditoriumwas a
performance audio legend. Howard Page, now the senior director of engineering for
Clair Global, has mixed acts as diverse as Van Halen, James Taylor, and Mariah Carey.
Here is what he had to say about the current state of performance audio.
After being involved in live sound engineering for so long, I am very, very sad to see
the way it has all evolved in the last few years. When did the kick drum become the
lead singer? Show after show, regardless of the style of music, ends up being just a
solid wall of badly mixed, way too loud, over the top, low-end-heavy noise. I have
tried to help and nurture so many young guys over the years to understand what
mixing live shows is all about, and my often-repeated sermon is to make it sound as
close as possible to the recorded material by the artist. If some artists ever came out
front at their shows and listened, Im sure they would be horrified at how their
performance is being brutalized. True, lately, some artists set out to use the sound
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system to deliberately beat up the audience, but those shows are way beyond any
help.
It comes down to really understanding your role as an audio provider. We refer to what
we do by many names: Live sound, live audio, concert sound, and performance audio
are a few. But I wish we could all get back to the term that really describes our job and
function: sound reinforcement.
Our job is to not be noticed. We are there to help the performer communicate with the
audience. It means giving the performer the means to convey their artistic intent and
emotional vision past the area where they can do so unassisted. It is never about how
cool your gear is or how loud you can make it or how bitchin your kick sound is. We
should be invisible and not affect the content of the performance in any way except to
spread it further. Anything else should be considered as a failed gig.
Drew Daniels is an electro-acoustical consultant, studio musician, recording engineer
and producer, and audio technology educator based in Los Angeles. His sound re-
inforcement experience includes stints with Teac, Fender, JBL, and Disney, where he
filed no fewer than five patents. On his website, he lists four reasons for lousy sound at
live events, and this is the best, most concise list I have ever seen, so I am stealing it.
(Drew used the above quote from Howard Page, which originally ran in FOH maga-
zine, which I edit, so I figure were even. . . . Thanks, Drew.)
The List
1. Inadequate technical education
2. Hostility between sound providers and artists
3. Inadequate music education
4. Inappropriate gear or gear being used inappropriately
This book is, hopefully, a beginning point for taking care of #1 and, with a bit of luck,
using the knowledge you glean here and fromother sources, you can avoid the pitfalls of
#4. Though it is really outside the scope of this book, we are going to spend a little bit of
time on #2 and #3.
Hostility
I once talked with a good friend, a musician who spent many years touring with a well-
known country act. I dont remember how it came up, but we got onto the subject of
stage volumethe bane of sound providers at many gigs. When I said that keeping stage
volume under control allowed the sound guy to make it sound better in the house, he
replied, Soundmen are the enemy. And unfortunately, this kind of attitude is rampant
with bands. I have personally dealt with acts that were so loud onstage that I could not
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get the vocal up above the guitars, and the only thing still in the system was the vocal. I
have had bands, when I asked themto keep stage volume to a minimumin order to get a
good sound for the audience, tell me, Drop it. I play loud. I have seen entire local
concert series cancelled because one band was too loud and refused to turn down.
The act and the sound provider should be a team, so why the hostility? Many reasons.
First, we, as pro audio providers, need to check our egos at the venue door. Remember,
it is not about us; it is about the performer. Many artists have never experienced a
situation in which the sound guy knew and practiced that concept. But I promise you
that every time I have worked with an artist and have been able to communicate that I
understand my role and am only there to make them sound good, I have gotten co-
operation. Every time. There have been times when the level of distrust and hostility
was such that I could not communicate that effectively, but I always try.
What is the cause of the hostility? Tis all opinion, so take it for what its worth, but
there are too many sound providers who started out as musicians and who are still
carrying a chip on their shoulder about not making it, and they take it out on the acts
they work with. This is very common in local and regional clubs with a house sound
guy. Take a look in the mirror and make sure this isnt you.
Incompetence
The next reason is just flat incompetence among many house crews. I have seen some
great house crews in my time. I have also, as a performer, had to deal with people who
had no business behind any kind of sound console, had no idea howto operate the gear,
and really didnt care. Too many venues dont put enough emphasis on their own
sound. They hire unqualified people just because they will work cheaply. If you were a
performer on tour and had to endure a string of such venues and crews, you would have
your back up, too.
Sometimes the hostility stems purely from the fact that the artist is an egotistical jerk.
But guess what? Even if that is the case, your job is to make him or her sound great.
Refuse the gig the next time they come to town, but if you are there, then you need to do
your job and actually care about how it sounds.
Education
The next item is inadequate musical education. This is a tough one. Many of the best
sound engineers I know have no formal musical education, and they approach audio as
a mix of art and science. Others are very accomplished musicians and know enough of
the science to do the job but really approach it as almost another member of the band
with the sound system as their instrument. (I know this seems to directly contradict the
earlier statement about being invisible, but the best way I can explain it is a quote
from Tom Johnston, one of the founders of the Doobie Brothers. In an interview many
years ago, he talked about the playing of his bandmate, Patrick Simmons, saying that
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few people understood how vital he was to the bands sound, and you often did not
realize he was even playing until he stopped and the song fell apart. Try to apply that to
live sound, and youll get the artistic approach to sound reinforcement.)
The most important thing you can do with regard to music education is to familiarize
yourself with the artists music to the greatest degree possible before the gig. If you are
working in a club that books four bands a night, most of whom you meet for the first
time at sound check, then there is not a lot you can do. But being familiar with and
understanding typical song structure in a given genre will help. Listening to lots of dif-
ferent kinds of music and having a solid understanding of howa great jazz band sounds
versus the vibe of a great rock band is huge.
It comes down to knowing enough about different musical genres to know what is
appropriate. Even that band you meet at sound check is not a total loss. Ask them who
they think they sound like and what kind of music they listen to. This will give you at
least an idea of the direction to start in.
Okay, lecture over. Just remember that it is about the music, not the gear or your ego.
Now lets look at that console . . .
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