Interview with Big Mick Hughes • FoH sound for Metallica since 1985

[@JordanLake25]

I feel like I'm legitimately hanging out with the sound engineer from the biggest Metal band ever. This interview is fucking amazing.

[@Mudshark6412]

J Stone Best video AND comment of the day. Nailed it. Cheers!

[@leuby23]

Well! I had the distinct fortune to work in immediate proximity to this dude when I was local crew here in Perth, Western Australia. Obviously, I was on the sound team and we were packing down FOH. He is exactly as he appears in this KILLER vid: Good humoured and authentic. Over the years, I've recalled the occasion. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to share a laugh and few questions, point blank with "Big Mick".

[@Fister_of_Muppets]

J Stone agreed, Metallica picked a real smart cookie when they picked this guy to hang their sound on.

[@juangil9628]

this dude can probably make the most dullest, boring subject sound super interesting! I'd watch a documentary on the manufacturing of paper clips if he was involved! awesome.

[@GizziMoD]

LOL!!! that made me chuckle lol

[@cullenalfonso609]

Instablaster.

[@Jimmysage3273]

I love how it’s made lol

[@fedefrusciantejohn]

I could easily watch him talking for two more hours at least! Great interview

[@scottstaver5201]

concert lighting

[@gabefernandes356]

A local band with big potential has asked me to be their resident sound man, and I thought "who's the best in the business to research? Mick!". No brainer. Amazing interview!

[@WhatsGoinOnMate]

Really friendly, knowledgeable and down to earth guy.

[@6Toe]

Big Mick has been a hero of mine for many years. I'm not really into Metallica, but I am into what Mick brings to the table.

[@RiotSeasonRecords]

Had a college friend that knew Big Mick in the late 80's. Lovely bloke and sorted us out passes for Guns N Roses and Metallica at the time (87/88) I will forever be thankful for those moments

[@soundpro707]

He is no sound engineer... He's a sound wizard!

[@drfisto8212]

I worked for Big Mick in KC he was the coolest gentlemen ever , even after we dropped a giant cable on his head he was just like it's alright mate carry on , it's good to see him .

[@benfordguitars]

This is the best interview I have ever watched about anything.....

[@thegodless2904]

What a fantastic interview, the experience and knowledge this guy has is beyond value. I remember becoming aware of "Big Mick" as a young budding engineer via a Behringer ad in Sound on Sound magazine. I could only dream of having this kind of coverage back then!!

[@Thesongstaysthesame]

the stories this man must have....

[@donmagicjuan831]

Man. He talks about subs like he's sprinkling salt while cooking.

[@blakestone75]

Juan Perez that’s kind of what subs are...

[@budgetguitarist]

Listen to any live sound podcasts and you'll hear about "Big Mick." He's a legend! This is a delightful interview. I love this channel!

[@michaelnc4450]

Great Interview and Big Mick would be fun to work with! Thanks for the post!

[@bigd8628]

Im from Montreal, 2hrs from Quebec city, where SOLOTECH is from. Makes me proud he mentioned both.

[@soulconnectedstudioproject4612]

I once talked to Big Mick in 1991 IJsselhallen Zwolle. Great man! And a hell of a sound engineer

[@stevenshewfelt888]

i heard rumor that he lets his beard work the board while he naps

[@FixedHDD]

"ye blew all me horns" 15:55 xDD Genuine funny guy. love it!

[@anthonydefallo9295]

FixedHDD I laughed way too hard at that

[@KaoswareMetal]

such a fascinating guy, I could listen to him for hours :)

[@leggus]

I remember that night with The Armory Show and Pete Mensch, it was me who rode the Z1300 home to my mothers in the snow at midnight, both feet down over the junc 7 bypass cos it was icy as shit... It was kind of payback for busting that headlight :)

[@jdessell]

Are you Mick?

[@girishpatel5366]

+jdessell Looks like it is his him.

[@MB-yw3pv]

you can tell about when any interview with him was done based on how long his beard is, great interview, learned alot

[@haggardband]

Sympathic guy, also could listen for longer.

[@dissectioncustoms9633]

That dude is a f&%kin mindwarper. Amazing to see the guy who makes Metallica live. I think he deserves a raise. The band can afford it. PS Fuck bob rock. I've been in P.A. for 20 years and any time I call he answers. He is a genius.

[@Rimfrostofficial]

Do you know how much he earns?

[@rawkinj6609]

It was the VIDEOTRON CENTER IN QUEBEC that Metallica opened. Great interview!!

[@greatriffishere]

This dude kicks ass, my ears are still ringing from Metallica gigs in the 80's and 90's!!

[@BigFatCock0]

That's not a good thing.

[@leadriff126]

what a great interview...he really knows his business, very inspiring...

[@thatsgottahurt666]

I could listen to this guy for hours

[@ericspero996]

Great interview. He is obviously quite passionate about his work and very good at it. Plus seems like a super cool guy.

[@orion2250]

Just from the beginning..what an amazing life of possibilities..taken.well done

[@buminbeer2]

I agree, going to look this guy up as I could listen to him all day as a musician...

[@metallicrazy8891]

I'm just loving this interview

[@MetaITurtle]

This is so true. Sound does matter. EQ matters. Volume matters even more. If one guitar is just a bit louder than the other guitar. Than the drums,bass ,vocals all suffer as well, it's the small things. It's that sweet spot like he was mentioning. It's TRUE

[@williamcorcoran8842]

This guy is so correct! An audio engineer drives the box truck with a lift gate, rolls in the amps, speakers, power, mics, snake, board all so he can use the his mixing board for two hours and then you take it all apart until 4 am!

[@GoCotton]

Very interesting stuff. I personally much preferred Metallicas live sound in the 90s to how things are now, interesting to learn a lot of it is down to the PA not being pushed so aggressively.

[@hdaaap]

+GoCotton i dont like the live guitar sounds anymore but they have to tune everything down because james voice is dead

[@komputerLuek]

his range has gone down because of his age, it's a natural thing, many bands do that. however his singing abilities are higher than ever. just because he can't sing as high as before doesn't mean his voice 'is dead'. listen to his acoustic performances (cure for cancer concert or something like that), he sings great there

[@Fister_of_Muppets]

GoCotton I would argue that James's voice sounds more balanced now than it has in at least 15 years, there is a little more aggression and attack in it again than there was around the year 2000. Maybe with age he has gotten a little more confident since he hasn't blown his voice out in quite a long time now.

[@TIGERGUTS]

Big Mick! Legend. He has a certain AMSR to his voice! Very nice to listen too!

[@underpressureman]

Hey Big Mick, WTF, you blew all my speakers back in 89!!!

[@wienerstein2817]

I'm late to this but thats fuckin hilarious.

[@djrickysmith]

The one thing I dread, but still love doing is building the cones. We got stuck in a rain storm for a outside gig and half the subs rip apart

[@The90sGamingGuy]

Very interesting interview. I would like to hear more about the tours tid bits stuff that has never been said in other interviews of people in the Metallica camp.

[@34hedgehog]

What a sorted bloke. Obviously loves what he does.

[@DavidGoodland]

Great interview. cheers

[@lordouroboros1099]

on the " and Justice for all" tour in Knoxville Tenn. i was a 15 year old runaway from NC i was outside of the arena with some other kid i had met we were listening to the show, wishing we could go in... and no shit, this big ass dude with a long beard came by and asked us what we were doing. we told him we didn't have tickets to go inside. he told us to follow him. he took us through the back door, and we got to watch the show for free!! after the. show the same kid and i were just walking around and the same big dude with the long beard screamed at us from across the almost empty arena and told us to " get over here" he asked us what the hell were we still doing there and told us to follow him. he led us to the backstage area and then into Metallica 's back stage party where we just hung out for a couple of hours with the band and a bunch of hit chick's. never new his full name till now just big milk. anyone know how to get in touch with him?? PLEASE HELP!!

[@Docteur666]

Worked for Metallica since fall 84, not 85

[@hdaaap]

cool interview, which it was longer. big mick seems like a sweep guy

[@balsaboy55]

seen this dude at a metallica show in 1986

[@toast47624]

This video was at least 1 day short! I could watch several more hours yet.

[@TimberTramp]

Gorgeous in a watch, my friend!

[@ronlur66]

I have been to 3 metallica shows and i always set myself next to the sound/light tent so i have always seen big mick and heard the loudest and clearest sound ever, this guy is mental mate in a good way, you need ear plugs to not go deaf jajaja

[@josephway7809]

man, that's a badass beard

[@Casketkrusher_]

Damn he changed since I saw him on Justice on Wheels. Great guy!

[@JohnPaulHare]

He's not kidding about Meyer boxes being heavy. I've got two UPQ-1P boxes that weigh 110 lbs each. They're easily the heaviest speaker boxes I have. Nothing else weighs that much in my backline, which is very limited since I only provide sound for a small college. Yet somehow we have two Meyer UPQ-1P boxes, which cost $10K a piece.

[@davidcoyle2298]

What a thoroughly decent chap!

[@stevebirmingham9650]

very interesting guy .. more interviews like this good technical info but easy to understand

[@eckesdelicious]

The best thing is the Brummie dialect he never changed.

[@MarkAllentheProducer]

Loving the natural ear protection technique 👍🏻

[@diregremo]

"He played, I erd him, it was fine" exactly

[@djrickysmith]

Haaa, I've been down this road.. I could sit at a bar and drink beer with him all day, and share stories

[@ivorykeez]

Great insight and not boring AT ALL! Question : does anyone know what kind of organ that is in the background? I bought a parlor organ that looks similar, but unsure if made by same company/brand. :)

[@JonGUK]

Thoroughly enjoyed that

[@bigleebrink]

Big Mick reminds me of Alan Moore. Cool dude.

[@iconosphereuk]

'The Armoury Show' didn't form until 1983, so he has his years a bit mixed up. As you were.

[@Robmgwan]

Such an interesting guy who knows his shit back to front ..

[@FatmanTV2009]

Who was monitor engineering for Metallica?

[@andym7333]

andy M 1 second ago did he say he uses no compression on vocal track ??

[@robschannel4512]

I wonder if Mick did the moscow event in 91?

[@marcobeijersbergen5]

Yes he did.

[@ianismajoris]

I love his accent

[@Maddruggist]

such a nice guy

[@GingerDrums]

He reminds me of the keyboard player from Spinal Tap. Anybody else?

[@christothegreat1]

Mick, great beard, how do you get it to do that around the sideburns area??

[@Corvid]

I get the agression thing! So many shitty budget modern PAs driven to near destruction have that horrific sound to them... it's like bad digital clipping is to tube overdrive... unlike the PA's back then, the sound just gets mangled to hell!

[@satinwhip]

I wonder if Lars has Big Mick dial out all of the bass from the FOH.

[@andydufresne8034]

I have a personal rule of never getting a sound engineer talking about his work, especially if he's drinking. But I'm going to ammend that rule with 'unless it's Metallica's engineer.'

[@jasonschannel9526]

That's so cool man. I got into doing sound later in life. Sheer coincidence that a friend told the local bar owner that I was highly technical and they just fired their last sound guy. I already knew how to hook up sound gear, as I roadied for a KJ, and had a general understanding of how mixers work, and background as a trumpet player when I was a kid. Before the first show, I had two days to learn a Behringer X32 console. I've been doing it for over a year and I'm hooked. I'll be 47 this year, but I hope to land a gig touring. No kids, no wife, nothing to anchor me down in my mid-life. If I got the same kind of offer and had to leave immediately, I'd go in a heartbeat.

[@carver7585]

Living Legend right there.

[@lizard4260]

i love this guy

[@PowerChucker]

this guy is Awesome to listen to! and I love his 2-tone Rolex Submariner! very nice Mick!

[@ramsesbruyperez8499]

he is brit, isn't he?

[@79Xile]

yeah from Birmingham

[@danyjeff4447]

"Lars went into the double kick drum patterns" Ahhh The good old days....

[@samuelthorogood3878]

Is it Hagrid or Gandalf

[@whereisevan]

Samuel Thorogood Gangrid

[@psteeg3551]

Hangralf

[@KernRamsdell]

loved this

[@terencetable1147]

very entertaining and interesting video (y) great guy

[@shanerobertcooperramirez1726]

bad ass Santa Claus sound engineer

[@andrewdomonic6603]

He's right. The Load tour, we zero vocals or hi-hats up in the bleeds of the Palace of Auburn Hills. Kinda sucked.

[@Thesongstaysthesame]

If this man wrote a book

[@metallicafamily001]

I wonder how many decibels tallica is

[@classix2132]

The legend

[@buzzcrushtrendkill]

Really interesting. I must say, seeing Metallica at Lollapalooza in '96 the show I was at the sound was a horrible mushy mess.

[@stevejonas5572]

Because at those shows, Metallica has little to no input on anything. They have talked about this sort of thing numerous times. Think, "First time they played on a TV show and how the band hated it.. Which was Enter Sandman on a late night talk show in the early 90's. Or, if your more inclined, Nirvana when Kirk Cobain refused to play to a backing track for the first time on MTV. Even though they did MTV Unplugged. There is always a battle between the band and overly produced TV or Lollapalooza type crap. Metallica even being at Lollapalooza in itself pissed off a lot of actual Metallica fans because, we always knew them to be the band that did stuff their own way.

[@stumpypostie6457]

Just classic

[@Disco_Breakin]

really interesting but I went to Death magnetic at the o2 up in the gods and it was fucking awful. Because the sound was hitting us then the wall/ceiling 20-30ft behind and bouncing back. I could barely make out what I was listening to most of the time

[@jonnydavies6968]

I'm a musician but I don't understand a lot about the properties of sound in a live environment, in terms of how to combat certain problems/frequencies etc, but this interview was fantastic. Big Mick has got such enthusiasm it is infectious. Great interview. I have a question though if Mick ever reads this: Metallica. Sheffield City Hall. 30th Sept 1988. Justice tour. What happened with the PA? lol. One of the best gigs I've ever been to, however, throughout the gig, the PA seemed to be having problems with the right hand stack. Sometimes it would be working, sometimes it seemed to be barely audible. During the performance of "One", the right side seemed to fade out, come back for a few second, then get loud, then the entire PA just fizzles out and all you can hear is Lars' drumming, as that is the only acoustic instrument in the room. Hence, the end of "One" was a solo drum performance. Then followed about 10 minutes of silence, and eventually, the PA was working again. What went wrong? Don't get me wrong, it kinda "made" the gig, cos it was a fucking riot. Metallica. Sheffield City Hall. No barriers between stage and fans. Seriously. No barriers. I was right up against the stage and Hetfield was about a metre away, with Jason to my left. Serious stagediving went on that night! What were they thinking? But, yeah, would love to know what went wrong with the PA.

[@pinetreeYT]

do you really think Big Mick is out there reading KZbin comments? ))))

[@mathiaspfute9870]

shit happens with PA system ask big mick

[@ZachLagrandeur]

Get yourself a woman that loves you like Mik loves PA

[@TempoDrift1480]

Filing the slots out on the graphic, that is some fuckin fuuuuuuuuunny shit! I think I might just do that to mine... Course it won't do anything but it would be a definite gag to anyone else who saw this.

[@evanseventy7593]

1.25x play speed 👍

[@kellyjackson7889]

Heavy Metal? You know Black Sabbath Judas Priest I mean it's 1984 where ya been?

[@supertotoro]

Kelly Jackson the heavy metal term was not used as much back then.

[@kellyjackson7889]

supertotoro Oh yes it was!

[@blessingsound3]

An amazing engineer, I had a privilege to work on their gig in South Africa a few years ago, I am not a fan of Metallica neither Heavy Metal music but the mix was brilliant.

[@alexg892]

he CLEARLY stated that the only metal he knew was what Americans called the new wave of british metal.

[@PatonMacD]

What a cool guy... lol awesome

[@fonzybrookestone727]

That's one cool cat!

[@nuclearskull]

0 people DONT like this = I LOVE those fuckers!!

[@blurpledragon2779]

How funny , Mick was basically Shanghaied into working for Q Prime . Great people to be kidnapped by .

[@KirkTVOfficial]

How come your sound sucks in stadiums and fans dont get refunds either?

[@lifeandThings]

I always knew Hagrid loved Metal! Awwww Yeah! ;)