The Secrets of the Sound Check

In theory, sound check is the time where you, as the band, and the engineer make sure that everything sounds fantastic at the show and that the audience get a rockin’ good time.  An effective sound check, whether an hour long or five minutes will usually do the trick, whereas an inefficient check can result in disaster.

I will stick up for my fellow engineers here and say that I honestly don’t believe that any sound guy or gal will intentionally do a bad job.  Off days happen, just like every other job, but sabotage is unlikely to be the reason for problems!   For most of this piece we cover a fairly thorough sound check typical for a gig where there are only a few bands, and plenty of time at the venue before the audience arrive.  Other scenarios, with time pressures and/or more bands are basically a condensed version of the full sound check – a few tips are included at the end.  And remember, no two sound checks are EVER the same!  This is how I like to run mine personally, of course many engineers will do things differently, but a majority of points will be common.

Pre Sound Check

Once you have arrived at the venue, seek out the sound engineer, and make yourself known to him, whether just one representative for the band or mob handed!  It is always useful to take two minutes to quickly check things such as sound check and show times, band set up etc.  Give the engineer an idea of the kind of band you are; they will be able to mould the sound dependant on this – making sure the emphasis is on the right instruments etc.

If the engineer is still setting up on stage, wait before moving amps, drum kits and bodies there; especially on smaller stages – you are more likely to get in each others way rather than speed up the process.  Hopefully the rig and stage will be set up, the engineer will have done his checks to make sure everything is working and that the rig sounding good (expect to get a very loud blast of some of their music if they are still doing this!).  

When the stage is ready, get on and set up your stuff, and soon enough you will be ready for sound check…

Sound Checking Basics

It is always better to have the whole band on stage for the whole of sound check, certainly in cases where time is limited.  (The exception to this would be times when you have a long check planned, and especially for bigger bands).  Bodies on stage affect the sound, particularly the monitors; and so if you check individually, when the band strikes up, things may be very different.

While other members of the band are checking, keep quiet; you will get a very frustrated engineer if the guitarist is shredding away while they is trying to sort other members out.  Use the time to tune up (if it can be done silently), fix your hair or whatever.

Throughout the sound check, listen to what the engineer says – if they are not using talkback through the monitors, keep you eye on them too.  Good, two-way communication is essential to an effective sound check.

OK, we’re ready to go, lets look at individual instruments…monitor checks are covered in a separate section later.

The noisy one at the back (Drums)

Drum sound checks take time.  That’s just the way it is.  The fact that the engineer needs to check a number of mics on the kit rather than just one for most other things is the reason.

Start with kick drum.  The boring thump, thump is best to begin with.  As the sound starts to settle down or when the engineer asks, try anything “different” you might do eg double kick players should try this now.  Then move to snare.  Again a similar procedure, single hits first, moving on to rolls, flams and all those other little tricks drummers do!  Try and cover anything you do within you set at this time.  Most engineers will gate the snare and so they need to be aware of things such as rim shots, grace notes and softer rolls to make sure they get into the mix.  Next is hi-hat.  Again start with singles, trying closed, open, half open and move on to any fills and tricks.  At this point, during a longer check, the engineer may ask for kick, snare and hats together.  It is useful here to play a regular beat but with plenty of snare work, again use some variety.

Toms can then be checked.  Beware of microphone position and distribution.  If two toms are sharing one mic (which often occurs) play the two alternately.  Work your way down the kit, highest tom to lowest.  Finally the overheads (if present) and anything else you may have (cowbells chimes etc) are to be checked.

When the individual signals have been set, move to using the whole kit.  Again a normal beat is best, but put plenty of fills in – this will allow the engineer to set the relative levels of each drum and help give a cohesive sound to the kit. 

The low sounding one (Bass)

On the whole bass sound check should be fairly easy.  The bass will generally be DI’d, though adventurous engineers sometimes mic the cab instead/as well.

If a DI box is being used, then it is fairly simple, the engineer will get dry line level signal and will just need to EQ it out front.  If you are using a DI out from the amp head, it is important to be aware of the level being sent and whether it is pre or post EQ.

As a rule, if the EQ on your amp is set, isn’t too radical, stays the same and you are happy that it is right for the band’s overall sound, use post EQ – this should mean that the engineer will be able to get a similar sound through the rig.  However, if you are likely to change EQ during the gig, or if there are large amounts of cut or boost at certain frequencies, go pre EQ.  This will mean a flat signal will get to the engineer and it can be tweaked there.  Be aware of overall level sent.  Some bass amps DI out is affected by the master volume. Therefore a small change in backline volume during the set can make big differences out front.

For sound check, it is best to play something specific – one of the songs from the set is best, firstly using your “stock” sound – then move onto anything different you may do.  Also if any effects are being used, try them too.

Mr Twiddly the guitarist (electric!)

More often than not, guitar cabs will be mic’d up (note at the end about DI’s). Sound checking guitar is mainly a case of trying the full variety of tones and effects the guitarist is going to use.  Get your amp set for tone and volume (a word on volume later!) and start with your most used sound, a rhythm sound either clean or overdriven (dependant on the band of course!).  If you use lots of changes between clean and distorted make sure both are checked fully.  Then move onto you lead sounds – have a quick word with the engineer beforehand if possible as to whether your sounds are set with the necessary volume increases for solos or if you want him to boost them for you.  Once this is sorted, move on to some other patches, particularly any radical effects.  Wah and Whammy pedals are two likely candidates.

For those of you using amp modeling modules such as a Line 6 POD would do well to consider DI’ing guitar, preferably in stereo.  Since such devices will give a line level signal out with amp and cabinet emulation all included, this can go direct to the board and used instead of/in conjunction with the mic’d cab.

Mr Noodly the guitarist (acoustic!)

This is nice and simple. Plug into a DI box and away you go. It is best if you keep the EQ (if any) on the guitar fairly flat, and play just as you would in the gig.

The techy one on the side (keys/samples etc)

Another DI, usually stereo this time. Again it is a case of checking various levels and patch changes.  If you have a number of keyboards or bits of outboard, try and make sure you can mix down to a stereo send for the engineer.  Except at much bigger venues/gigs, you are unlikely to get the option to give 10 outputs to the engineer.  This then means that levels between boards needs to be sorted.  Hopefully a keyboard player will have done this at practice/previous gigs so that all the levels are pretty much equal.

For sound check go through a variety of sounds, making sure you include the ones that occur most often.  The engineer will not want to put too much EQ on a keyboard sound – after all the majority of the time, the patches should be edited (at some point previously) to achieve the sound required. 

Other bits and bobs (decks, horns, percussion)

Decks – straightforward – DI, set your level then playback and do some scratchin’…

Percussion – again just a case of playing really, put some variety in it and keeps you eyes and ears open to the engineer.

Horns – be aware of what the engineer says about the mic position relative to your instrument.  As far as the actual sound check is concerned, just play as you would for the set.

The one with the big mouth .

The rest of the sound check

Once the individual instruments have been checked, it is best to have the band to play a song or two to get the final sound sorted.  The best things to choose are songs which involve the full set up of the band – especially things like backing vocals – so that the full mix can be heard.  Also sound checking the first song of your set is good policy – this will mean that the engineer will know what to expect.

Utilize this time to iron any wrinkles in your sounds/check backline level changes/check monitors (see later).

After the sound check

If you have the chance to talk to the engineer between sound check and the performance, go through some details of your set with him.  At the very least, give him a set list.  This can be as simple as song titles, which will let him know when the set is finished.

However, a few little annotations on the set will help greatly.  If there are any specific effects required for a song a simple “big reverb” or the like next to title will help.  If there are solos, especially in bands with two guitars, let him know who is doing them.  While the engineer will be able to work this out within a few seconds, the performance is far better if he can be prepared and make any necessary changes immediately. 

A note on volumes

At large venues and with a big rig, onstage volume will make less difference to the FOH sound and so are less important.  However at a normal pub/club size venue they are crucial to maintain a good mix, both for the band and the public.

As a rule, backline should be kept to the minimum level at which they can be comfortably heard with the band playing.  This usually means getting guitar and bass at acoustic drum level.  If you crank your Marshall stack up to 11, chances are that while everyone can hear it, you are annoying them and ruining the overall mix.  Once you get to a point where a signal is coming just off stage rather than through the rig, the trouble begins.  Firstly, the engineer has lost control over tone and EQ and balancing any level changes.  Also as this backline level goes further up, the engineer will be fighting to get other instruments balanced with it and probably hurting lots of ears in the process.  So get your levels under check or be prepared for unhappy faces.  Here are a few tips….

1.   Get used to picking out the sound of your cab when on stage.  It may sound strange but you can get better at picking out certain tones – if you can focus on your instrument it will help you to keep your ears on it at lower levels.

2.   Place the cab nearer to ear level. Beer crates are the simplest idea. If you have a combo think about angling it up towards you (you can buy stands which will do this for you.)

3.    If your drummer thinks he is John Bonham, tell him to stop it!

4.   Practice at lower volumes.  If only from the point of view of saving you hearing, this is a good idea.

When an engineer asks you to turn down on stage, it is usually for good reason.  As I have stated before, he is trying to make sure you get the best sound you can.  If you genuinely can’t hear yourself on stage, either check with him and turn up (don’t just crank it and not say) or ask him to put some back through the monitors.

One final point on volumes.  When you sound check, play at the volume you do when the gig starts.  Don’t put you guitar half way up or gently tap the drums – this will only means problems at the start at the set.  It is understood that there may be a bit more guts in the performance once the adrenaline kicks in!

Monitor sound checks

Setting monitor levels correctly is essential to both the band and the engineer.  If the levels are very high and close to feeding back all night, the engineer ends up fighting the mix and the performers end up deafened; set them too low and the singers can have trouble pitching and the like.  Therefore in most cases, there is a need to compromise.

Since they are not amplified, it is most important to get the vocal level sufficient first, then fill in any other requirements.  It is also possible that certain groups of monitor speakers will be on a common feed and therefore balance between what is needed between the players using them is required.

Basically the monitors should be set at a level where the vocals can be heard through the sound of the band on stage, hopefully where this is not too close to feeding back.  This shows how important a controlled backline level is – the louder the backline, the louder the monitors need to be and therefore closer to feedback.  Once vocals, and any other unamplified signals (decks, keys and (shudder) backing track) have been sorted then any extra fills for the other instruments can be fed in.

As with the main mix, the monitors should be checked at gig levels.

Short sound checks

While a long soundtrack is very useful; much can be achieved in a short space of time, if the band and engineer communicate and work efficiently.  To condense half an hour into 5 minutes, the engineer may sound check the drums together, line check instruments, get a quick rundown of what is required in the monitors.  Then it will be a verse and chorus full on and a quick chat to try and fix any problems before show time.

Even shorter sound checks

Even in worst case scenarios of virtually no time for sound check, it is possible to set rough levels by banging out half a song and letting the engineer bring up the levels as you go.  Be aware that the vocals and monitors will probably be the last thing to appear – don’t panic if they are there straight away.

So there you have it – a guide to sound checks.  As stated previously, they will vary greatly and certain engineers will want things in a certain order, but the basics will remain.  Communication and patience will help to create the kind of sound that the performance deserves!
written by: Pete Davies of Superior Sound Services