Notes on the Music Industry
Section 6 | Production Tips
How Much PA?
Human hearing is not linear. Doubling your sound equipment only makes the volume marginally greater. To be twice as loud you need 10 times the power (2,000 Watts instead of 200)
The examples below shows an approximate guide to PA size. For light music you can easily halve what's there. For heavy guitar bands double it (if you can afford it).
AUDIENCE SIZE: Rehearsal
PA SIZE: 2 x Bose 802 or 2 x EV Entertainer or 1" horn/15" box
PA POWER: Approx 500W or (1/2kw)
AUDIENCE SIZE: Up to 200 people
PA SIZE: double above options
PA POWER: Approx 1000W (1kw)
AUDIENCE SIZE Up to 400 people
PA SIZE: 8 x Bose 802 & 8 x low end boxes or
2 x (2") horns and 2 x (2x12") mids and 2 x (2x15" lows
(called a single 3-way)
PA POWER: Approx 2000W (2kw)
AUDIENCE SIZE: Up to 800 people
PA SIZE: 4 x (2") horns and 4 x (2x12") mids and 4 x (2x15") lows
(called a double 3-way)
PA POWER: Approx 4000W (4kw)
A rule of thumb is about 1000 Watts per 200 people. That means an 8000 seater (Perth Entertainment Centre for example) will need 40,000 Watts, which is about twenty 1kW boxes per side.
Buy or Hire?
On average, a PA will cost about 2% of the new price to hire weekly. That means if your band stays together for longer than 50 gigging weeks, you can look at owning your own system.
Experience has shown that owning your own rehearsal/up to 200 people PA can be a smart move. Bigger systems need replacement backup and a crew that knows and cares about maintenance. Bands on the way up can quickly outgrow their PA. If the band breaks up it is simpler if there is no common property to split. 3. PRODUCTION JOBS
When your band gets to support a national touring act, you'll get to meet the following people:
Agent/Promoter - organises the gig, guarantees the bands' fees
Tour Manager - travels with the band, is or works for the band's management
Production Manager/
Crew Boss - co-ordinates the setup, hires and fires the crew
Front of House (FOH)
Sound Operator - mixes the band's out front sound
Lighting Operator - does the lights
Lighting Rigger - helps with the lighting setup, operates followspot
Monitor (MON) Operator - mixes the band's onstage sound (the foldback)
Stage Tech - sets up the band's stage gear (bigger acts have separate techs for guitar, drums and keyboards)
Loaders - help load in and out, often a 3 hour call system
If you are a supporting act, make sure you ask who looks after the stage and find out from them where and when to put up your stage gear. Do not assume anything. Easy promises by the agent about sound checks or crew assistance can be misleading. The crew don't owe you any favours and whether you get any help at all can often depend on your behaviour and attitude.
Loading In
The key to any successful show is loading in early enough to allow for any problems.
If the sound check should be over and the doors open to the public by 7pm, allow three hours for: the load in (20 minutes)
the setup (2 hours)
the sound check (30 minutes)
and then give yourself 2 hours extra in case you need to drive back to pick up something, ring around for help, fix your transport or any other common problems.
So being ready by 7pm means loading in by 2pm. Without problems this leaves you a generous amount of time to shower (the band) or to eat (the crew).
Set up drum kits off the stage so the lighting crew don't impale themselves while hanging their lights. Put guitar cases flat on the floor (neck can break even inside cases) and keep all bags and personal stuff well away from the setup area or someone will get sick of moving them.
Setting Up
Mid/hi speakers should always be above the audience's heads. If you have separate low end speakers, they will be louder on the floor, near walls or butted together.
The front of house mixing desk should be in the typical average listening position, often about 2/3 down the room and not quite in the middle (the low end is often misleadingly loud dead centre).
Hard left/right stereo panning is for recording, not for live sound because most people only hear one side of the PA stacks.
Wherever possible, cables should be away from busy walkways. Hang them up, or use rubber mats and tape the mats down (a lot cleaner than taping the cables directly).
Stage Monitors should be aimed at the performers' ears. You can use bricks or wooden blocks to tilt them.
Mics should be aimed away from stage monitor speakers. (remember this when setting up a singing drummers monitor).
Fix all faults and patching errors and do a line check before there are any musicians on stage. 6. SOUND CHECKING
Without PA or monitors the band should play together. At this stage nothing should be too loud, the music should sound balanced at this point already. Only then the monitors are brought in. Vocal mics should have as much of their lows taken out as possible without audibly thinning the sound (hi pass filters in). This way amplifiers deliver their power where it counts, without being strained amplifying rumble.
Try and fix instrument balance by positioning of guitar amps first, before adding more monitors to the mix.
Out front, without the PA on, again the sound should be balanced, if somewhat indistinct. After all that the PA is brought up, and only then attention is paid to individual sounds. This way every instrument is heard in context, in the mix.
The final check is to play the first song of the night.
Safety
Mechanical: a/ Use white tape to mark any obstacles and holes including the edges of the stage. b/ Route all cabling away from walkways. Where this is impossible use mats and gaffa tape so no-one trips or pulls a muscle on the rolling cable. c/ Carry cutters and cut off excess guitar strings. They have been known to pierce eyeballs. Electrical: a/ Buy yourself a $20 baby multimeter and get someone to show you how to measure between PIN 1 on your vocal mic lead and your guitar amp jack sleeve. There should be continuity and no volts, AC or DC, whatsoever. Any voltages here indicate a fault (an earth not connected in a power plug, a faulty PA or stage amplifier). This is potentially lethal and should be attended to before you electrocute yourself. b/ It's much safer to connect stagepower to the same outlet as the mixing desk. c/ Also invest in a power checker to check whether the power is wired the right way round. Home made extension leads are a major culprit in deadly power hookups. The $20 meter test could have saved a few lives had it always been used in rock 'n roll.
MULTIMETER SAFETY TEST
VOLTAGE AC/DC = 0 VOLTS FOR SAFETY
RESISTANCE = 0 OHMS FOR SAFETY
IF THERE IS VOLTAGE PRESENT - check earthing of guitar amp and/or mixing desk. If earthing is OK on both make sure both are on the same power outlet (same phase).
Notes on the Music Industry
Section 6 | Production Tips
How Much PA?
Human hearing is not linear. Doubling your sound equipment only makes the volume marginally greater. To be twice as loud you need 10 times the power (2,000 Watts instead of 200)
The examples below shows an approximate guide to PA size. For light music you can easily halve what's there. For heavy guitar bands double it (if you can afford it).
AUDIENCE SIZE: Rehearsal
PA SIZE: 2 x Bose 802 or 2 x EV Entertainer or 1" horn/15" box
PA POWER: Approx 500W or (1/2kw)
AUDIENCE SIZE: Up to 200 people
PA SIZE: double above options
PA POWER: Approx 1000W (1kw)
AUDIENCE SIZE Up to 400 people
PA SIZE: 8 x Bose 802 & 8 x low end boxes or
2 x (2") horns and 2 x (2x12") mids and 2 x (2x15" lows
(called a single 3-way)
PA POWER: Approx 2000W (2kw)
AUDIENCE SIZE: Up to 800 people
PA SIZE: 4 x (2") horns and 4 x (2x12") mids and 4 x (2x15") lows
(called a double 3-way)
PA POWER: Approx 4000W (4kw)
A rule of thumb is about 1000 Watts per 200 people. That means an 8000 seater (Perth Entertainment Centre for example) will need 40,000 Watts, which is about twenty 1kW boxes per side.
Buy or Hire?
On average, a PA will cost about 2% of the new price to hire weekly. That means if your band stays together for longer than 50 gigging weeks, you can look at owning your own system.
Experience has shown that owning your own rehearsal/up to 200 people PA can be a smart move. Bigger systems need replacement backup and a crew that knows and cares about maintenance. Bands on the way up can quickly outgrow their PA. If the band breaks up it is simpler if there is no common property to split. 3. PRODUCTION JOBS
When your band gets to support a national touring act, you'll get to meet the following people:
Agent/Promoter - organises the gig, guarantees the bands' fees
Tour Manager - travels with the band, is or works for the band's management
Production Manager/
Crew Boss - co-ordinates the setup, hires and fires the crew
Front of House (FOH)
Sound Operator - mixes the band's out front sound
Lighting Operator - does the lights
Lighting Rigger - helps with the lighting setup, operates followspot
Monitor (MON) Operator - mixes the band's onstage sound (the foldback)
Stage Tech - sets up the band's stage gear (bigger acts have separate techs for guitar, drums and keyboards)
Loaders - help load in and out, often a 3 hour call system
If you are a supporting act, make sure you ask who looks after the stage and find out from them where and when to put up your stage gear. Do not assume anything. Easy promises by the agent about sound checks or crew assistance can be misleading. The crew don't owe you any favours and whether you get any help at all can often depend on your behaviour and attitude.
Loading In
The key to any successful show is loading in early enough to allow for any problems.
If the sound check should be over and the doors open to the public by 7pm, allow three hours for: the load in (20 minutes)
the setup (2 hours)
the sound check (30 minutes)
and then give yourself 2 hours extra in case you need to drive back to pick up something, ring around for help, fix your transport or any other common problems.
So being ready by 7pm means loading in by 2pm. Without problems this leaves you a generous amount of time to shower (the band) or to eat (the crew).
Set up drum kits off the stage so the lighting crew don't impale themselves while hanging their lights. Put guitar cases flat on the floor (neck can break even inside cases) and keep all bags and personal stuff well away from the setup area or someone will get sick of moving them.
Setting Up
Mid/hi speakers should always be above the audience's heads. If you have separate low end speakers, they will be louder on the floor, near walls or butted together.
The front of house mixing desk should be in the typical average listening position, often about 2/3 down the room and not quite in the middle (the low end is often misleadingly loud dead centre).
Hard left/right stereo panning is for recording, not for live sound because most people only hear one side of the PA stacks.
Wherever possible, cables should be away from busy walkways. Hang them up, or use rubber mats and tape the mats down (a lot cleaner than taping the cables directly).
Stage Monitors should be aimed at the performers' ears. You can use bricks or wooden blocks to tilt them.
Mics should be aimed away from stage monitor speakers. (remember this when setting up a singing drummers monitor).
Fix all faults and patching errors and do a line check before there are any musicians on stage. 6. SOUND CHECKING
Without PA or monitors the band should play together. At this stage nothing should be too loud, the music should sound balanced at this point already. Only then the monitors are brought in. Vocal mics should have as much of their lows taken out as possible without audibly thinning the sound (hi pass filters in). This way amplifiers deliver their power where it counts, without being strained amplifying rumble.
Try and fix instrument balance by positioning of guitar amps first, before adding more monitors to the mix.
Out front, without the PA on, again the sound should be balanced, if somewhat indistinct. After all that the PA is brought up, and only then attention is paid to individual sounds. This way every instrument is heard in context, in the mix.
The final check is to play the first song of the night.
Safety
Mechanical: a/ Use white tape to mark any obstacles and holes including the edges of the stage. b/ Route all cabling away from walkways. Where this is impossible use mats and gaffa tape so no-one trips or pulls a muscle on the rolling cable. c/ Carry cutters and cut off excess guitar strings. They have been known to pierce eyeballs. Electrical: a/ Buy yourself a $20 baby multimeter and get someone to show you how to measure between PIN 1 on your vocal mic lead and your guitar amp jack sleeve. There should be continuity and no volts, AC or DC, whatsoever. Any voltages here indicate a fault (an earth not connected in a power plug, a faulty PA or stage amplifier). This is potentially lethal and should be attended to before you electrocute yourself. b/ It's much safer to connect stagepower to the same outlet as the mixing desk. c/ Also invest in a power checker to check whether the power is wired the right way round. Home made extension leads are a major culprit in deadly power hookups. The $20 meter test could have saved a few lives had it always been used in rock 'n roll.
MULTIMETER SAFETY TEST
VOLTAGE AC/DC = 0 VOLTS FOR SAFETY
RESISTANCE = 0 OHMS FOR SAFETY
IF THERE IS VOLTAGE PRESENT - check earthing of guitar amp and/or mixing desk. If earthing is OK on both make sure both are on the same power outlet (same phase).