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Making The Most Of A Live Performance

By Bruce Hathaway

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 22Mar2011
Word count: 809
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There are a number of factors that go into a successful live performance. It is safe to say that the person behind the mixing board is just as important as the performers. Without a decent music recording technician, balance will be off, performers' sound will be sub-par, and the audience will leave unsatisfied. The performance equipment is also key. Faulty or cheaply made technology can ruin a good show.

A proper equipment setup requires a few things; speakers, monitors, microphones, cables, and a mixing board to unify sound. The mixing board should be out of the line of vision of the audience, but still allow the technician to hear the artists performing so he or she can adjust their levels accordingly. Many technicians also use headsets with their mixing boards so they can hear the sound clearly without audience interference when necessary.

Speakers and their cables are often supplied by the venue since the technicians employed by that venue often know the acoustics and equipment of the room better than anyone. Most technicians will have extra cables just in case. A technician may always bring more speakers if necessary, but since they're bulky it may be best to contact the venue ahead of time to see if you'll need them.

Monitors allow the performers to hear themselves while they perform. While this may not seem important initially, monitors can make or break a performance and are usually located at the feet of the performers. The mixing board technician should have connection to these monitors and be able to control their levels before and during a performance. Some of the performers may opt for headsets instead of floor monitors just so they can have clearer sound. This choice is generally utilized by drummers since their instruments often are too bulky or too loud for a comfortable floor monitor. The drummer above all will need a closed ear design headphone because of the shear loudness of the drums.

Microphones are a bit more complicated than speakers and monitors since there's a wider variety of them. Hand held mics are generally the most reliable since the cables connect directly to the mixer. However, having too many cables on a stage can prove to be a tripping hazard for performers, especially if they're more active. Wireless mics are easier to handle for the performer, but can have issues with reception. Cheaper wireless mics may need an uninterrupted signal directly to the mixing board, meaning that if someone walks in front of the mic, the signal will falter. If this is the case, you may as well go with a wired hand held or use a better UHF wireless model. If the performance is being recorded, it may be better to stick with the wired hand held just for reliability. If the performers are more active (i. E. Dancers or actors), wireless mics can be important to the performance. Another decision needs to be made in this case; do you choose hand held wireless mics or go with a headset mic? Often headset mics are utilized for active shows just because it leaves the performer's hands free. Some headset mics have a headband or ear hook to keep them in place while others require skin safe tape for placement.

Mixing the sound properly is hard work. If mixing for a music concert, the audience will generally want to hear the singer up-front. This needs to be balanced against the loudness of the drums, the guitar and bass levels, the sounds from the keyboard, and any back up singers that may be in attendance. The drums are often where sound levels begin since you can only mute a drum so much. The performers are rarely satisfied with how they sound, but it's the audience that the technician must cater to.

Another issue for the technician to take into account is whether or not the performance is being recorded. Sometimes technicians will opt to record the monitor streams, just because they are less likely to have interference on the lines. Unfortunately, the re-verb (or the amount of echo-like sound attached to the line) is harder to control on these channels and the recording may sound flat. Recording a live performance through the speaker feed may have a better overall sound, but filters must be put in place to remove a portion of the ambient noise (i. E. Audience cheers, coughs, etc.).

So much goes into a live show that many aren't even aware of, but every component is key. All in all, it takes a knowledgeable technician, a decent setup, and quality equipment to make a live performance go off without a hitch.

Bruce Hathaway has been a recording engineer and musician for over 25 years. Through this experience, including his own home project studio, he has become an audio expert offering advice to other musicians interested in recording. If you're interested in microphones and mic accessories, click on the link to see Bruce's online shop.

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