Steve's famous five minute soundcheck!

[@mrandersun100]

From the sound engineer community I just want to say thank you. Perfectly explained!

[@mikelord9860]

I second that! I run sound at church once a month and mostly I mute and unmute and my pastor will come by during rehearsal and do the tweaking, which I try to learn from. Steve's tips were very helpful!

[@EduardoMano]

This was phenomenal. Respectfully teaching the audience the odds and ends of a touring musician, addressing the fact that the audience actually makes the room sound different (which most of them had any idea) and being all around funny while doing it. Great video.

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

Thanks for that.

[@superderv]

I've done this a thousand times and I still listened to the whole things and I've never heard sound check explained as entertainment lol. Next time go through all the drum mikes and backline PA. Loved it

[@zedmelon]

Hahah yeah. Most folks didn't mind the kick. But once you start on that snare, things become somewhat less "entertaining." This was a great clip and what a wonderful idea to save time, make the crowd feel like they're last of some "inside secret," and also trick the audience into learning a could things as well. ...but it'd be a lot tougher to pull off with a full band. :,)

[@darenreynolds8824]

Formed a close relationship with everyone in the room in 5 mins , giving his art so much more meaning , amazing work 👍

[@chrisclose7793]

It's great to see a musician showing the audience how sound check is done as a sound engineer myself alot of the audience don't realise what goes on behind the scenes

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

Appreciated!

[@mr.morelock]

Excellent explanation.. and really, don't be afraid of the Mic! We can tone it down a lot, but we can only work with the signal that makes it into the Microphone. When you sing (or speak) too far away, we can't do anything to help you...

[@LeeMcDaidDonegal]

A wealth of knowledge imparted with unpretentious wit and intelligence. Thank you, Sir.

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

Very kind of you.

[@MrDMBerger]

That was awesome. I've run sound and never had a musician really know what the magic was that I was doing to make them sound so good.

[@Janenel]

A round of applause from a really thankful soundguy ☺️ Well done, and glad it is not always our fault 😉

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

Cheers man.

[@PINTandDALE]

'Well done Steve! Show of Hands' impressed us SO much years ago at the Fylde Festival when they did a large scale version of this brilliant stunt. On the program was listed the "Show of Hands Sound Check Show" early in the afternoon at the main concert stage. Steve and Phil drew a large crowd and entertained everyone with this sort of fun banter, educational information and bits of song as the sound and light crews made adjustments and got everything perfectly balanced and sounding and looking just right. When they came back to headline the evening concert - their sound was impeccable and they blew everyone away with an absolutely stunning set! We were sorry that the band never toured extensively in the USA -- they would have taken the country by storm at every major festival. Their musicianship, artistry, stagecraft and production values were all at the very highest standard of excellence.

[@alpsrider1316]

Now that's probably the best way to start a gig. Brilliant!

[@murphyj7683]

Marvelously impressive, Mr. Knightley. Your grasp of the Leo Kottke-esque vocal presentation is stunning. I salute you, sir.

[@rlyman111]

Thanks for the lesson. Have helped fun sound in a large auditorium for 30 years with many different voices and instruments. Always a challenge. Liked the way you do yours.

[@Pete-i5z]

Incredible....I play with a small band and learnt soo much....Thank You

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

Thanks for that.

[@Scarhandtunes]

I learned a lot here in a short time. This video is excellent...

[@peterbarnett8071]

I thought that was great and entertaining at the same time. Thank you Steve for sharing

[@nickshires3200]

Never thought that a sound check could be so entertaining 😅

[@crlguitar1]

Thank you so much.....Wish I had that set up for my gigs....

[@NorthumbriaForestry]

I’ve met Steve (& Phil) many times over the years, both of them great craic. From Steve handing me stuff to carry and telling the door staff at The Assembly Rooms in Norwich that I was his roadie, to get me in as I didn’t have a ticket and the venue was sold out. I’d just bumped into them in the bar and Steve laughed saying don’t worry about it carry this and follow me. To Phil taking my mates first self built fiddle and being kind enough to play it and offer some constructive feedback which helped him no end, he’s now a professional builder and restorer and never forgot Phil’s kindness. Since I was a little kid getting into the business of being a full time musician to these days as a now off grid dwelling woodsman & sometime songwriter, Steve remains one of my very favourite artists. Diss Rules. What are Diss Rules! 😂👌

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

Driving through Northumberland soon on way to Kinross and Glasgow.

[@jeffeason3599]

Great video for single player setup! I am grateful that our little band has a talented sound engineer to do all this for us. First thing he does is to get each person happy with their monitor situation hearing themselves and each other in the right mix. THEN and only then does he turn on the Front Of House speakers and start dialing us in for the audience and setting. We have no idea what he does there 😊but we trust him 100% to get things dialed in and from outdoor patios to indoor metal sheds he always makes us sound good. We make sure we introduce and thank him as part of our band. Without him nobody enjoys the show!

[@piktormusic2538]

That was really well done. Include and entertain the audience in this step.

[@ChrisM541]

Whenever we used to do a soundcheck in front of the crowd it's normally because we arrived too late :) This was very well done, fun to watch and brought back fond memories. Of course, once you add more musicians on stage, you'd need to be checking the sound within the hall so that you hear what the crowd hears...usually done by locating the mixing desk + sound man between the middle & back of hall.

[@NewIndigo]

My old Texas singer/songwriter buddy Eric Taylor once told me "If an acoustic act sound checks for more than five minutes - they are just f'ing with you!"

[@davechalmers4101]

This is great, though I would just to put a little technical caveat on it if you're thinking of copying this approach: Looks like he's using a Bose Tonematch mixer with presumably a Bose L2 column speaker system standing BEHIND him on the stage - I think you get a glimpse of it at around 5 seconds in. This makes a huge difference as when he's adjusting the sound he's hearing the same thing that he audience would hear. He's kind of simulating being in the front row of the audience I guess. Just in case you're planning to do this with a traditional 'big box' PA setup with the speakers in FRONT of you - that's not going to go nearly as well as you're not hearing what the audience are. Still, fair play for turning a boring technical process into a fun icebreaker. More time at the bar I guess!!

[@heathermurfet9472]

The beauty of the Bose column PAs. The Tonematch mixer is pretty simple to use for self mixing. Interestingly Bose recommends you get right on the mic. Lips on the windscreen. Not 5 inches away. But whatever works for you.

[@phillipzx3754]

@@heathermurfet9472 "Ain't got no highs, ain't got no lows. Must be a pair of Bose." 🤣

[@steverolfeca]

@@phillipzx3754 …except that ever since Bose produced the first L1 line array speakers, it was no longer true, at least about some of their professional products. Since then, a ton of other companies have produced lookalikes, with varying degrees of success.

[@jocklanderful]

there is always one know it all in the comments aint there dave

[@OFODRUMS]

I used to mix a whole rock band I played drums in from behind the drum throne. Not ideal, but amazingly it actually worked quite well.

[@braincraven]

Just beautiful and you got there perfectly! I love this journey of sharing the tech with the audience.

[@fillhixx]

A damned fine opening number, bonded with the audience already AND put them in their places....

[@aburningfirestudios1249]

Not gonna lie...if I was still playing live...I would totally steal his bit...never thought about it that way but absolutely brilliant.

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

Grab it!

[@brutussmithicus]

Genius - now I know how to bullshit my way through a late soundcheck. Thanks for all the awesome music Steve + Phil :-)

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

I’ve done that when late!

[@peterdaldry8646]

And... that's how you do it! Good job explaining it, Steve.

[@hglbrg]

Never heard his music not even when I write this but I'm already a fan just from his demeanor.

[@tonyshuttleworth1904]

Hi Steve, I really enjoyed that. I landed here through a link on Roger Bucknall's (Fylde Guitars) October Newsletter 2024 and am really glad I clicked on it. Although I've been using Bose gear since 2011 (T1 mixer, L1 Compact and L1 Model 2) your way of doing it live might actually cause me to adapt my way of setting up my sound live, especially when I'm doing solo work with just guitar and vocals. I have my presets and a few scenes saved, but your system seems to work very well. Take care and thanks once again for the insight (which was also extremely entertaining. Tony

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

Thanks Tony.

[@tonyshuttleworth1904]

@@SteveKnightleyOfficial You're more than welcome Steve 🤩

[@gregchapman5556]

I really enjoyed that. Very informative and funny.

[@williamj.sheehan2001]

Thoroughly enjoyed this!

[@jamesbradshaw3389]

Thanks for all the brilliant information , I have learned a lot so the next time my the band The Rockers hit the stage we will be ready to roll

[@ThePat1962]

Use the Bose Tonematch with the Bose L2..And I found this useful as you play with the Tonematch..Thanks for this.

[@jeff.pitts.]

Good grief this is phenomenal

[@samblake87]

I really enjoyed this and was really inspired to perform again! I have 4 kids, another due and those days are long gone 😂 For non musicians perhaps this is a little insight into just how much goes into creating and performing music - the sound check being such a small part. Very cool guitar - the tuning sounds like Every Breath You Take - I’ll be checking out Steve more as something is instantly likeable about him 😀🎸

[@mark_fox_music]

Played on quite a few of the same festival billings as show of hands when I was in shamus oblivion. Always tried to watch their sets if I could because Steve is so talented. The usual thing to do is buy the sound man a pint of course, so there is a great financial/quenching benefit to this too. 😉

[@DarylBark]

Best "Liver" I've had in a long time. Thanks Mate! ✌

[@cliveexton8993]

So well done and entertaining.

[@JESTERFISH1]

Yes very informative And it helps to have nice kit to help things along The sound guy I work with uses a tablet to get the stage sound and do the live mix off when not at the console ( what your not seeing here is the off stage gear ) but it’s a handy peice of equipment

[@RostTatomyr]

Im not a native speaker, but it was fabulous. Thank you. It would be nice to understand the details of last few sentences joke. Beatiful bouzouki or mandola sound, by the way.

[@Newmusicreview]

Nice walkthrough ;-)

[@scottmitchell1315]

Brilliant.

[@HarveysWorldOfRandomness-n7u]

Rather insightful I would say.

[@FrancisBenhur]

Very nice and useful to many. God bless! May I know what is the type of guitar Steve is using in this video?

[@ThatSockmonkey]

Lol. That was great. I hope you don't mind that I'm probably going to use your video instead of trying to explain these concepts, because I'm not very good at knowing how to explain things I always thought were obvious to people who don't have a music background. Thanks man.

[@SteveKnightleyOfficial]

Please do. Glad you liked it!

[@marknhopgood]

Wonderful. I run the open mic for 11-17 year olds in Sevenoaks. We use 6 or 7 bands not just bass mid and treble. The rolling stones live sound settings.

[@segueoyuri]

the 20 first seconds sound like a joke but it's painfully true. People getting to the venue just ruin the perfect sound you were perfectly happy with and it's usually pretty hard to get it going again

[@southerncomfortuk]

And then you get on a festival stage and have to hope for the best 🎻🎸

[@StephenMiller-ns7fy]

With Fava beans and a nice Canti!!!! Thanks!

[@alunrees6403]

Love it .....

[@TheAdatto]

Did he just assume my density?

[@mallafets]

Yes. You are going to be a farmer.

[@punkrocktv8229]

What vocal mixer/effects are u using

[@bv3bv334]

Top drawer 👍

[@zoltanhuk]

The sound was already great right at the beginning and if ain't broken don't fix it, rookie! 🤣 As the musician plays the role of the sound guy who plays the role of a comedian... Amazing stage presence 👍

[@fredfloyd68]

We are taking up a collection to get ya squire strat...so you can throw that boat oar ..Away!!!

[@visumexcipio]

👏🏻

[@ThirteenFeathers-gz7vz]

Being a playing musician in boomy rooms and catching my vocal off a window twards the side of the stage. That one audience member thats shows up when the house becomes full and blocks my ear can really irritate you. Ive spent many a night searching corners of rooms to better hear tone. And for what its worth. It made me a better singer. A better player and a better performer. Classic nuance of things not mentioned in spinal tap. Cheers all you rags and your amazing songs that will never make top forty. Cause. Thats not why we do it. Times like THIS is why we do it. Side note : am i the only one thats still searching for the perfect contradiction in song with the first verse starting with “and” lol.

[@konarain]

What's that tuning..top 4 strings kf a guitar? Sounds familiar.. Alohoho

[@Johnnybananass-_]

Want to do when they book you for an hour but you only have 45 mins of songs haha😂

[@Muggles87]

Ha, I'm sure he could scratch together a few more than that 😉😅

[@lesbois53]

He is lucky! I never get any soundchecks on my gigs in France. I play solo, so I just wing it. Never get many complaints except from the ‘ tone nerds’ who listen for every screw up! 😂😂😂😂

[@N2F1]

What kind of PA are you using?

[@gavindaviesmusic]

Soundchecks should be done with the audience in the room just like this so the poor audience doesn't get an ear full of nastiness on the first song whilst the sound engineer try's to balance the difference between an empty venue and a full one, great idea

[@Bobster691]

Bose T1 mixer 👀

[@jcbutler9901]

T4S

[@Neil-Aspinall]

So who is this guy when he's home?

[@vincentgates5596]

Well done! However, add a few instruments and musicians to the mix and you will still need to show up and get everything working at 4pm!!

[@dankclee]

wonder if someone was late for 4pm call time, but used the set to soundcheck :)

[@ChrisM541]

Haha, that's immediately what I thought, though if it's only voice and guitar and he's played in that hall before, he could do this fast as we see here.

[@handsfree1000]

The performer can’t hear what the audience can hear so sound engineer is always at the back adjusting it for the benefit of the audience

[@IGI_Media]

Steve, you started to explain the reason for counting, then aborted, so for the folks in the 140K that aren't engineers, i'll chime in quickly. As You stated, pronunciation, annunciation, articulation, and the pesky singing stuff all create different challenges for the correct changes to the sound. But the number check is a remarkable thing, as it contains syllables, and constantans, and other words that trick the sound check. Home work: everyone reading this, count upwards, but as you do, think of what is special about each number. One - a good general sound, so EQ that accordingly. Two - the dreaded Tuh a very staccato quick burst of sound and air, aimed at the mic. Three - long vowel etc etc Then say the words "Sound Check" and repeat as needed. "Sound check" has S's, another favorite of sound engineers [sarcasm] For bonus points: Comment below the one word that is typically pronounced wrong. Combine these quick number checks and add some short song lyrics, and you have supplied whomever is doing the sound check a good sampling of what you sound like. Note: until "auto-tune" mics, engineers could not compensate for out of key or loss of pitch :) P.s. I know you're struggling with this, so here's the bonus answer. The word that is often/typically pronounced wrong is "wrong" ok ok i'll let myself out . . . . :)

[@amiga2025]

who is this?

[@Muggles87]

Steve Knightly - one of the UK's most successful folk musicians, and part of the band Show Of Hands (who are currently on hiatus). They've sold out the Royal Albert Hall 3 times.

[@MikeWeinzapfel]

[@TheFoodcoman]

Bose Tonematch...

[@dighawaii1]

Wait... We need 3 minutes of a snare drum playing quarter notes @100bpm before this thing's over. Get back up there and finish the job please.