Live Audio: The Art of Mixing a Show

Featured Articles by Dave Swallow, Author of Live Audio

Stay Calm
The absolute key to any successful show is to be calm. It s easy in an unpredictable environment to worry about what s going to happen, but ultimately if you worry about it, you re not focusing on your job.

Confident
Part of being able to stay calm is to have confidence. Have the confidence that the band and the room sound as best as you can before the show starts, and have confidence in your own abilities no matter who is looking over your shoulder.

Communication
A vital part of your whole day revolves around communication. If it breaks down everyone will be in trouble. Make sure if something is running behind, you let the people in charge know. If something isn t right with the sound on stage, say something.

Know Your Equipment
It s rather important that you know the sound of the equipment that you are carrying with you. It doesn t matter if you just have a guitar amp in a trailer or a full PA system in the back of a truck; if you don t know what it is suppose to sound like, how are you going to know when it doesn t sound right?

Vocal Mic
If you aren t able to carry anything else, make sure you carry your own vocal mic. This is the sound you are use to, and most importantly the sound the singer is use to. Having something that is the same every night is important for the psychology of a singer. I know it sounds small, but it makes a difference. If the band is confident, then they give the performance they need to, which gives the audience what they want. The audience can then give to the band the reaction they band needs. It s one big cycle!

One Step Ahead
Always think about what is coming up. Make sure your effects are set before you need them, and that you have your finger on the fader before the guitar solo starts.

Leave Yourself Somewhere to Go
Always leave headroom and space in the mix to push the sound just that little bit further. This is a live environment; you never know when you ll need it.

Get off Center
It is so important to hear the room from somewhere else. You become EQ deaf if you stand in one place for too long. The constant movement between little EQ and phase changes in the room will keep your ears more sensitive.

Under-Compress
This might sound silly, but when you over compress, no matter how controlled you think the sound is, you are sucking the dynamics out of the mix. The audience become use to the constant level and that becomes boring. Keeping dynamics in your mix makes it sound live, and interesting.

Keep it Simple
I need to say no more.