This section of the tutorial is loaded with information and advice that may or may not represent "normal" ways of doing things. Where PA systems are concerned, there is often more than one way to set things up, and this section may explore some less mainstream options. Nevertheless, every tip or trick listed is useable and will sometimes even be advantageous. Some of the tips have come to me through e-mail from knowledgeable soundmen, and others are simply little helpful hints that pop into my own head from time to time. The tips are listed in chronological order based on the time they were written or the time they were received whichever is appropriate .

If you have to manually check the polarity between PA and backline, always use the backs of your hands to prevent grabbing both mic and guitar and frying yourself. Easy to do and MUCH safer.

• You will live and die by your cases. I can't tell you how many equipment repairs I have had to make because of items getting damaged in transit. Building cases takes time, but is well worth the investment and effort!
• Bundle cords properly. Except for extension cords we put away all cables by folding them in half multiple times then tying a knot in the center. We never have tangle problems and the cords come apart very easy at the next show. {Sounddude Note: This is exactly how I do it. I heartily edorse this method of handling cables. Make the loops really big.}
• Make everyone work. We are currently runing a 4,000 watt system with 6 speaker cabnets, 3 wedge monitors, and a 5,000 watt light show. From the time we get to the bar to sound check we have everything working in one hour to an hour and a half. The bass player sets up his gear and then wires the PA on stage. The light tech helps run the snake and wire the board with the sound man. Once the drummer is done he helps the light tech finnish setting up and testing the light show. The guitarist makes sure everything is in tune on stage. We also have the same guy work inside the truck to pack equipment and always move it in the same order. 9 times out of 10 we will be packed up and gone before the bartenders are done cleaning up. They appreciate it tremendously. This can mean the difference between getting invited back for another show and get blown off for another band.
• Leave mic cables loose on stage. I don't know how many times I have had to use a different mic when having problems with a wireless. If the cables are taped down I can't get back to my keyboard and guitar.
• Less effects is best. We use an EQ, and a compressor for the main PA. This elliminates failure points in your system and makes it easier to figure out problems.{Sounddude Note: I work this way too, but I know some guys who would differ greatly with this tip. Let's call it a personal choice.}
• Run cables out of the way. If you have cables that will be near the audience put them in places where they can't get stepped on. It only takes one cute girl in high heels to put that heel right through a snake cable. (When measured it can produce 1000 lbs of downforce in that little point)
• Adjust your sound to the size of the crowd. Loudest is not best. I personally enjoy a mild volume with a tight low end. Nothing like feeling the bass and being able to talk to the person next to you.
• The Tool box. Mine includes the following: Ductape, Hot glue gun, ductape, soldering iron, ductape, screwdriver/phillips, ductape, small flash light, ductape, pliers/wirecutter, and ductape.
• PM all your equipment frequently. We try to test all of our equipment every couple months. We find loose connections, corrosion, and other wierd things.

• Never cup the mic - not even if you do RAPs - it's not "cool"! With most modern mics, cupping them is asking for feedback.
• Never hold the mic by the windscreen (or any part of the windscreen) and put the thumb on top of it. You can't expect the mic to pick up good sound while your thumb is blocking it. Always hold the mic by its body.
• Never point the mic at the monitors, and if you venture down to the audience, put yourself between the main PA speakers and the mic.
• Sing with the mic pointing directly into your mouth at about 1-2 inches away at most. Do not point the mic directly upwards (toward the ceiling) from below your chin as most clueless [public] speakers do. Most handheld mics used for bands and singers are not condenser mics; therefore, they don't pick up sound from a distance too well.
• Take the mic away from your mouth when you scream. Vary the distance as a way of keeping even volume levels between the very soft/very loud passages.
• Return the mic to its stand after you finished your number. Never put it anywhere else but the mic stand - not the guitar amp, not the floor, not the table, not the music stand... blah, blah, blah...
• Do not switch off the cordless mic by yourself and leave it to the next singer to switch it back on, specially when the next singer expects it to be already on the instant he/she grabs it. Either put it back on the mic stand or hand it back to the stage technician if you cross his path on stage. On the same token, ALWAYS check for "ON" status of the mic BEFORE talking or singing into it.
• Never, never, never try to cover up your mistakes by blaming that you can't hear yourself on the monitors. If you can't hear yourself, let the monitor engineer know right away, do not wait until you forget a word in a song to tell him.
• Show up for the soundcheck and come to the show on time. Do not force the sound engineers to do the soundcheck for you on the fly or on your first song and then complain that the mic or the sound was not to your taste.
• Last but not least, at the end of the show, thank your sound crew, and if you're a guest singer, thank the band as well. Most self-respected engineers and sound crew work very hard for very little money at a very thankless job to make you sound as best as possible. Our job is to deliver a great sound for you, and the better your performance and attitude are, the more power to you.

When setting up the stage it is VERY important to keep the stage clear of leads. A tidy stage is a happy stage! This prevents the leads [Cables] from being pulled, and breaking connections or even pulling equipment over. It also stops artistes tripping over (not something you want if you're working with famous people; it can be very expensive!) and stops your leads from getting damaged. It's just much more pleasant to be on stage without leads everywhere.

So a good way to do this is to get your XLR, start at the stage box end [stage end of the PA snake]. Plug into the stage box and then uncoil along a route which doesn't cross the stage. Sometimes you may have to, so in this case cross them all in the same place and gaffer them [tape 'em] down. Once you get to your destination mic stand, leave the excess coiled up neatly at the base of the particular stand that the mic is on. This is especially useful for micing drum kits, because if you have to swap kits, it stays tidy. Also because you have started at the stage box end, you don't have a big lump of mic leads on your stage box making it impossible to isolate leads. A simple tip, but everyone should be aware of it. I've seen a stage box just dumped in the middle of the stage, just in front of the singer before! Everyone was standing on about 4 layers of leads, and you couldn't see the stage!

• You are the link between the club manager and the band, and most of the time you spend will be trying to keep the volume down. Only in about 20% of the clubs can you actually be creative and mix.
• As soon as your happy with the mix and the way it sounds in the room, the club manager will ask you to turn down.
• 90% of venues are Soundman "unfriendly", meaning Left and right speakers placement are not going to be symetrical. I never ran a stereo PA; however, always split a mono feed into left & right EQ channels to seperately control volume and EQ on each speaker stack. This will compensate for room EQ, speaker variances etc.. {Sounddude Note: This is a great idea, but not a necessity. Especially if you can't afford another EQ.}
• I would never set up in the dead center between the speaker mains out front. This always caused problems with frequency cancellations. I always favored a left or right speaker stack and "floated" the opposite side meaning monitoring it during the night and ocasionally tweeking the EQ.
• During first couple of songs in a new room, walk the room often, listen for dead spots, turn and adjust the speakers.
• Take careful consideration when playing a tape of the band that was recorded off the board to band members. Musicians can't understand that the loudest instrument on stage is the quietest on tape. Vocals will always be the loudest. You should always bleed in room ambient mics, and then privately listen before presenting it to the band as an accurate representation of the way they sound.
• Always take notes on EQ settings on the last night of the gig, this is when you should have the room mastered, note any odd accoutics in the room, anything different on stage, if returning to the club in a few months get out your notes, this is how you learn.
• Use wire markers to number all cables. For speaker cables always use the same ones for left stack, same ones for the right stack. This applies to speakers also, the same speakers go left and right at each setup. If any common problems occur from one gig to the next, you can note that its always a certain component or cord.
• Always keep the mid horns and drivers face down when packing and loading into truck, this keeps dust from getting into the driver throats.
• Keep power amps as close to speaker stack as possible with shortest and heaveist gauge wire.
• I always reserved a channel on my board for my own mike on a gooseneck, used to talk up thru the monitor sends to communicate with the band, I also did some backup vocals too.
• Learn to solder and always keep your own tools with a variety of audio connector and adapters on hand.
• Anytime you have to EQ something to extremes, it is a sign that one of you components in the system is of poor quality. Example: Your got the EQ from 8k and above set as high as they will go, this should tell you that your tweeters or Hi-end Amp or X-over is not set correctly or up to par with the rest of the system.
• The first thing people notice live is the vocals or lead singer. Always make sure thats heard and at a good level, then start working your way back to guitar, keys and rythym, obviously bringing up or down anything that totaly out of wack. Once all is under control and heard you can work on the mix.
• Just because everything can be heard doesn't mean it's a good mix. A good soundman complements the instruments and blends the band together using EQ and effects. EQ can blend vocals. If one singer's voice is a little dull during harmonys, EQ them to a better blend. This is what soundmen do and listen for. Effects like reverb can create a distance in a instrument or vocal.
• {Sounddude note: Dave on the thankless job of the soundman}
  • You will be the last one to finish setting up and tearing down.
  • If someone mentions to a band member that the band sounds good, they will take credit.
  • The more monitor volume you give a singer the more he/she wants.
  • Singers who mess up the words to a song will point to their ear, meaning the monitor isnt loud enough, so it's the soundman's fault!
  • You cannot make a bad band or singer sound good. You can try, but if they suck, they suck!
  • Usally, the women will refer to you as the "Lightman" assuming you're running the lights!

  From our experience we have come to the conclusion that you should pitch all your band's repair tools and purchase a roll of duct tape and a roll of electrical tape.  It works I swear!
 

{Sounddude note: Although I agree that duct tape is the ultimate on-the-spot repair tool, I'm not sure I could bring myself to throw away everything in my handy-dandy tool kit. I'd especially want to hang on to an old kitchen steak knife, a flashlight that's small enough to fit into my mouth, a sharpie pen, and a really long roll of tie wire.}

When running sound off stage it is a good idea to walk around a bit and hear the mix from different parts of the room. This is especially important when an audience is in front of the PA, and you are behind the audience. The human body has the tendency to absorb many frequencies. Therefore you may be kicking up the highs from your position and killing the people in the front row.

Also,if you dont have peak,VU, or clip meters in your system,try plugging your ears(tightly) with your fingers(or whatever else you may want to stick in there),and putting your head as close to the speaker as possible. This will reveal clipping or distortion you might not have heard otherwise  I dicovered one of my horns clipping to the point of coming on and off,using this method.

Some speakers have internal speaker protection which uses a small light-bulb to absorb peak wattage. This can be a very scary thing to discover at a show. I once had a singer run out of the room screaming when he saw his monitor light up. (he was under the influence of chemicals and thought the monitor was possesed by demons)If this happens,try not to over-react,just turn the output gain down. And get the singer back on stage!

Never set drinks anywhere where they can easily spill onto your soundboard or any other essential equipment. Spills are almost inevitable, and whether it's beer, milk, or even water, it can do heavy and expensive damage to your stuff once it gets inside. Also, I can attest from personal experience that cat urine can cause you to have to make an expensive trip to the repair shop. I've heard other people relate similar experiences involving pets and body fluids, so I don't think I'm being alarmist when I say it might be a good idea to store your equipment somewhere where the cat, the dog, and even the drunk guy looking for the bathroom can't get to it.
However, if something does get spilled inside a piece of equipment, unplug it immediately, and don't turn it back on until it's had several days to dry. If you're lucky, once it's all dried out, everything will work fine. If you turn it on when it's still wet you will almost certainly fry some of the internal parts.

I'd be glad to include any simple, helpful, and to-the-point tips anyone out there might have. Funny would be cool too. Just mail me at the address below.