Live Sound Check before Fans Arrive! Setup Details in the Description

The Sound Guy's Role: A Balancing Act of Art and Precision, Sound Check before fans Arrive!
Being the sound guy for a live band isn't just a job-it's a make-or-break responsibility. Good sound can elevate a performance to unforgettable heights, while poor sound can ruin the experience for both the band and the fans.
In our setup, monitors play a crucial role. We use three:
Two 15-inch Wharfedale monitors are positioned in front of Catherine, our lead singer, angled perfectly for her. To ensure the entire band can hear what they need, the left monitor is angled toward Charlie, the lead guitarist, and the right toward Garrick, our bassist. This way, all three hear vocals and guitar clearly.
A 12-inch Wharfedale monitor is placed next to Allan, our drummer, on his right. He needs to hear Catherine’s vocals and Charlie’s guitar.
For the bass, Garrick’s 4x10-inch Hartke amp delivers enough low-end punch to be heard and felt by everyone on stage.
Allan’s drum set is fully mic'd up, with the kick drum routed to an 18-inch Samson crossover split subwoofer, handling frequencies at 120 Hz and below. You can feel that thump when you stand near it.
The crowd-facing speakers-two 15-inch Wharfedales-are connected to the subwoofer. Here’s how:
1. The Alto 12-channel desktop mixer sends its output to the subwoofer input.
2. From the subwoofer’s output, the signal goes to the crowd-facing speakers.
The subwoofer isolates and handles all sounds below 120 Hz, like the kick drum, while everything else-vocals, guitar, toms, snare, and hi-hats-flows to the top speakers. This setup ensures clarity and balance, both on stage and for the audience.
The Alto 12-channel mixer is the heart of our system. It takes practice and attention to detail to get it right, especially if you’re self-taught like me. And during a live gig, it seems like everyone becomes a sound engineer, offering their opinions!
So, to all the sound guys out there without formal training, keep learning, experimenting, and perfecting your craft. It’s a challenge, but the results are worth it.
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