To read the first part of this artice click here http://bit.ly/bbKqAP
5. Sound check with each band member (quickly and with the entire mix in mind)
During the sound check time (that 15 or so minutes you control) you should systematically go through each input on the board. I prefer to start with drums then move to bass (drums and bass are the foundation that I build my mix on) followed by keys, guitar(s), other instruments (sax, flute…) and finish with vocals. During sound check I also ask that all the musicians stay on stage ready to play. The reason I ask them to do this is so I can hear how certain instruments are going to interact and feel. For example, I always listen to the kick and bass guitar together. How I eq bass is dependent on how I eq the kick drum. This goes to the point of keeping the whole mix in mind when you sound check.
Back in my rookie days I would spend almost an hour on a sound check, I would have each musician come out separately and then spend an enormous amount of time getting their instrument to sound rich and full. So rich and full that the instrument could do a solo concert. You can most likely predict the outcome of this process. Besides the musicians becoming anxious to warm-up and rehearse, my initial mix of the entire band would be shall I say, Big, Fat and I would be unhappy! I would usually spend the entire rehearsal time trying to clean out and tighten up the mix. I learned later from an industry pro that adding a 6-10 db boost at 100 Hz on the kick, bass and keyboards was probably not the best plan if you wanted tight chest thumping bass. This industry pro taught me how to eq both the kick and bass to complement each other rather than making them compete with each other. I have now learned to approach a mix by beginning with the end in mind.
6. Make the musicians happy first, reduce tension (use the talk back mic)
This seems so rudimentary but I see so many sound engineers fail at it. Learn to work with the musicians, their goal is (or at least should be) the same as yours, to produce great sounding inspiring music. Learn to take the role as a gentle teacher when it comes to technical items. When the guitar player try’s to use his special ¼ inch to xlr cable and plug the speaker out directly into the mic input, don’t scream at him. Yes, stop him immediately but then take a few moments to kindly explain to him why the mic preamp in the mixing console is not interested or capable of receiving such a high voltage level.
A really simple way to cut the tension is to use a talkback mic. If your console is not equipped with a talk back mic capability, simply plug a microphone into an input at the console and turn up the appropriate aux sends. If you do not want the mic to go over the house system set your auxes to prefade or unassign the input from any groups or master outs. There is nothing more frustrating and stressful than a sound engineer yelling from the booth and having a musician shout back what??? All well the other musicians are practicing the next best riff that they are going to use. The simple act of using a talk back mic and speaking slowly and calmly into it will greatly reduce the tension and potential hostility that exists.
A proper monitor check with also keep musicians happy.
Structured monitor check
As sound engineer you should ask each musician what they want in their mix before the rehearsal starts. After you have roughed in those levels on the soundboard the band should play through one song (unless it is a total disaster, don’t stop). After the song each musician in an orderly fashion should give the soundman direction as to how they would like their mix changed. The band should then play through two-three more songs before the musicians can make any additional requests. This forces the musicians to be precise in their monitor requests and also gives the soundman an opportunity to work on the house mix. After the two-three songs, each musician can once again in an orderly fashion ask for adjustments in their monitor mix. After this adjustment the musicians will have to live with the mix allowing the soundman to forget about monitors and only be concerned with the house mix. An additional note, the soundman should not adjust the master gain on any channel (except for an emergency) after the completion of the first song. All adjustments need to be made using the faders (for house sound) and the aux sends (for monitors). Assuming a pre-fade auxiliary send the levels of the monitors will then not change when the channel faders are moved.
7. Build the mix from the bottom up
I have already talked about how I start with kick and bass guitar to build the foundation of my mix, from that foundation keep building the mix by adding the additional instruments in. If you have already done your sound check with the end mix in mind this is a quick and simple process. Once I have all of the inputs up and going it is time to give a critical listen. My initial judge of a mix is based on the ability to pick each instrument out individually. During this process I often leave the sound booth and sit in the audience seating area (I never try to stray too far from the booth, just in case there is something urgent to be addressed. Like a vocalist setting the wireless hand held down on a monitor wedge…….) Getting out of the booth helps clear my mind a little and allows me to sit down close my eyes and really listen to what is going on. If I can pick out each instrument I know that I am 95% of the way there. I can now move into “Finesse mode” and work more with compressors, gates and effects. A word of caution here, once you are at 95% there is a tendency (at least in my case) to “overmix” and end up once again with less than desirable result. A good sound engineer that has done a proper sound check, and worked on the mix during rehearsal doesn’t need to be constantly “fiddling “with the mix.
8. Affirm the musicians by your attitude
Most of what a soundman does and thus how he is perceived comes from his attitude toward the musicians. A worship leader that I work with on a regular basis has told me he can tell when we have a great mix going by what we are doing in the booth. He said, “If I look up and see the people in the booth looking relaxed, having fun and worshipping along with us, I know the mix is sounding great!” I have not asked him if seeing us looking confident allowed him play more confidently, but I would bet the answer would be absolutely! Try also to make it a habit to give a word of praise and/or encouragement to at least one of the musicians after the service. Even if it just a “hey, thanks for playing today” doing so let’s the musicians know that you notice and care that they are there. To go back to the beginning, as I always say “Tech and Talent is explosive” make sure that the attitudes from both sides of the stage make the explosion a positive one!
9. Re-check with musicians that all is well
This really could tie in with the point above, but it is worth noting that during rehearsal after you have the mix down, take time to walk the stage. There are a couple of good reasons to do this. First, you will hear firsthand what the musicians are hearing and will get a better feel of how to preset the level and mix for the monitors ahead of time. Secondly, use this time to ask the musicians if all is okay, is their monitor level and mix right, have they changed the battery in their pickup in the last 2 years……., do they have enough light to read the music…..etc. Again this shows that you care about them and what they are doing.
10. Plan on the first song being 3db+ hotter that sound check
After a smooth sound check and rehearsal, you might be thinking, alright this is auto-pilot from here on out. Don’t deceive yourself. Yes, you have set yourself and the band up to win. Yes, you are prepared and ready to go. Yes, the last song of the rehearsal sounded spectacular and you are still basking in the afterglow of it. BUT now everyone has had a break, there are people sitting in the seats and the pastor has just declared that, “this is the day the lord has made….. Let’s be glad and rejoice in it!!!” in a loud, thunderous upbeat voice setting the expectation that the music and worship time are going to be great.
The musicians naturally sense the energy and excitement in those words and guess what…….. they will all play louder and with more intensity! All of a sudden the nice 85 dba level you had during rehearsal jumps to almost 90 dba and you fear that if the drummer hits his crash cymbal any harder it will break!
This is natural and I do not blame the musicians, in fact I appreciate the intensity they are now bringing to the worship time. However, you must be prepared for it, anticipate it. I have a common practice of turning down the master faders 3db after a rehearsal. Don’t tell the musicians but I will often do the same for the monitors (I only do this if I really know the musicians well and how they play during a service vs. how they play during rehearsal). The key is BE PREPARED!
After years of mixing I can tell you that when I or any sound engineer that I work with follows the above steps, the worship service that day is less stressful, there is more comradery between everyone on and off stage that are involved in the service and, the mix is going to sound great! So take these 10 steps and make your next sound check and rehearsal result in a powerful explosion that all can delight and rejoice in!
