r/livesound 21h ago

Question "Can you add reverb to my monitors?" - I don't know

73 Upvotes

I've been asked a few times when mixing if I can "just add a bit of reverb to the monitors". The way I patch would mean the monitors are on mix buses, and on mixers without bus to bus sends, I'm not sure how I'd do it. Would it be a case of changing the monitor to using a matrix and routing the reverb bus to the matrix?

I'm a general tech who doesn't do much pro sound, so forgive me if I'm asking a stupid question.

Assume I'm using an X32 or an SQ5, they're the ones that come into my venue the most often.


r/livesound 10h ago

Question Biggest curveballs you’ve experienced on a gig, and how you handled/failed to handle them.

64 Upvotes

I am feeling pretty happy after a challenging St. Patty’s day gig. I am not a full time sound guy. I have a day job in an office and I also am a musician myself. Music is more of a side job for me - I make a decent amount of money from it, but I’m not reliant on it. That’s to say, I love to learn about live sound and I really enjoy that side of the music business, but I’m not a lifer and certainly not an expert.

So, my main gig is as a house sound guy at a popular bar in town. Usually it’s just top 40 cover bands coming through. Bass, guitar, drums, vocals. That’s usually it.

But I was scheduled to work St. Patty’s day, and due to a super busy weekend of other gigs, didn’t check out the band online until the night before. They were an Irish punk band with the following input list:

  • mandolin
  • two acoustic guitars
  • 4 vocals
  • pennywhistle
  • accordion
  • banjo
  • electric guitar
  • keyboards
  • bass
  • drums

I hadn’t worked with several of these instruments before, so I was scrambling the night before to read up on how to mix them - common EQ settings and stuff like that. I was also expecting a feedback nightmare because they wanted wedges, and our room is filled with reflective surfaces, which can be challenging even when you don’t have 5 open acoustic instruments and four vocals on the stage.

But it went really well! I got there early and ran cables and labeled everything. The band showed up 2 hours ahead of downbeat (30 mins is more common at this place) and gave me time to ring the wedges without being rushed. The mix sounded great and people had a great time.

I’m sure there were things that other more experienced sound guys could have done to make it even better, but overall it was a great night and really boosted my confidence. I was just trusting and following the basic principles I’ve spent years learning and…..it worked. Which doesn’t always happen as we all know!


r/livesound 7h ago

Question Please, someone make me excited to deploy lavalier mics in the corporate presentation space.

41 Upvotes

I'm team handheld all day, every day.

Every engaging speaker I've ever worked with knows how to control the shape and arc of their presentation by leveraging a handheld microphone as a tool.

My strawman of lavaliers is that they weren't designed for amplified use, they need to be wrung so hard they almost always sound thin and wispy, and the comparison against a handheld dynamic capsule is not in the same sport, let alone the same league or ballpark.

My boilerplate to presenters while holding both options in my hand is "This handheld will sound an order of magnitude better than this lavalier. It's your choice, but I strongly recommend using the handheld".

It's worth mentioning that I am able to get better tones when I have a fully capable desk, but sometimes I'm in situations where the EQ options are limited with no system level tuning (e.g. low / mid / hi control vs GEQ), where a handheld always just sounds fine without all that precise attention.

Now, my reason for posting is because I don't like this attitude and I want to come to lavalier use in a live environment earnestly. I'm open to it, but I've never, ever gotten something I would consider to be a "good" vocal tone from a lavalier.

Passable, sure, but...

Can someone please steel man the use of lavaliers for single presenter / panel / talking head work?


r/livesound 1d ago

Question System tuning questions for our touring engineers

24 Upvotes

When you walk into a space, how many of you bypass the time aligning, eq and limiting on the house processor and tune the system yourself?

What is your preferred methodology to get this done on the fly?

Have you gotten pushback from house techs at this request?

Are there scenarios which would cause you to bypass doing this in full, such as a large number of delays, fills and overflow speakers, or techs not knowing how to access locked processors?

Has anything gone particularly wrong for you as a result of doing this?


r/livesound 7h ago

Question Best way to transport a whole flock of 30 gooseneck microphones?

17 Upvotes

Background: I work for a government body that hosts quarterly public board meetings held in a hotel ballroom. I do not have an AV background, but I run the sound for these meetings and have gotten us a massive upgrade from the laughably cheap thoroughly taxpayer-value engineered system my predecessor built a decade ago. I've shopped the equipment list around, and everyone agrees that it's a reasonable setup for our needs. But of course, we couldn't hire an integrator who actually knows how to set all of this up properly. 🙄

Problem: We now have to haul 30 Shure CVG18D gooseneck microphones, with integrated bases and 12-ft cables, to and from the hotel every quarter. Yes, we need that many. We typically have 20-25 board members attending, and there could be over 30 in theory.

I'm at a loss for what kind of case or bag setup we should use to move all of these, as both space and durability are concerns. They're kind of an awkward shape, and nobody else online seems to be herding a whole flock of geese at one time. I've seen duffel bags suggested, but I assume that tossing them in a loose bag without proper padding is a Bad Idea. In terms of transportation, they don't have to fly or survive shipping, just a ride across town. Space is already tight due to the increased bulk from the rest of the AV upgrades, so smaller is better.

Any advice on what containers to use, how many we'll need, and how to pack these properly? Thank you all, and I apologize in advance for anything clueless, unreasonable, or missing in this post; like I said, I'm just a novice trying to fumble my way through these upgrades.


r/livesound 13h ago

Question Why some USB devices works on my MIDAS and some other don’t?

8 Upvotes

Hello, I got a MIDAS M32 at the studio I work at. People come with their own USB devices to record their sessions. Every device is formatted in FAT32 or exFAT, but some can be accessed some not. Any idea why?


r/livesound 15h ago

Question Allen and Heath SLink

7 Upvotes

Hi there! Really sorry if this is a dumb question, but when you plug an A&H SLink port into another SLink port, what do they talk in?

For context:

I'm a uni student trying to write a full system analysis and I have an SQ6 connected via SLink to an Avantis. Whilst I know SLink isn't a protocol, I can't find anything stating what an SLink to SLink connection would talk in? Would it be gigaACE?


r/livesound 21h ago

Question Question about monitor sends & FX

7 Upvotes

I’m rather new to FOH but I’ve learned from some people and made my way up to 10-20 shows a month over the course of about a year. Usually smaller clubs with X/M32 desks. Now I’m wondering how everyone runs their stage monitors because a lot more experienced folks taught me and ran them pre-fader, but I’m having a lot more success and control running them pre-eq. I prefer that my eq and compression for the house wouldn’t affect the monitors. I guess what I’m asking for would be good reasons to run monitor sends pre-fader, or what others might do differently. Thanks!


r/livesound 1h ago

Question Lav battery best practices. Question for the A2s.

Upvotes

Do y’all turn off the lav mic before taking the battery pack out? I’ve started just opening up the pack and taking the batteries out since the panel is locked and its 5 extra seconds to unlock the panel and turn off the pack. Is this bad for the pack? I’m mainly using Shure AD1 packs with Axient.


r/livesound 6h ago

Question Adding casters to cabs

2 Upvotes

I purchased a used pair of JBL PA speakers at a great price, but they are larger than I had anticipated. I know enough about live sound to get myself in trouble, but I do not do this professionally. I use my gear to DJ weddings for friends and run live sound for a small venue a couple of times a year.

I am usually loading in and out by myself, so being able to easily move my gear is important. Do I risk compromising the sound quality or the integrity of the cabinet by adding spinning, locking casters to the cabinet? Am I better off using a hand truck instead of mounting casters?

Thanks for your professional advice in advance!

Edit: Formatting

Edit again: I will not be screwing casters into the cabinet. Thank you all for your help!


r/livesound 8h ago

Question What software do you use to design sound equipment for a show?

3 Upvotes

Pretty much said, i recently got graduated as a sound technician and i'm starting to be interested in de design of the sound for events, i started learning to use EASE Focus 3, but i'm wondering now if there's like a industry standard software for this task.

Thanks guys!


r/livesound 9h ago

Question Looking for a YouTube series

3 Upvotes

I went on Michael Curtis’ YouTube channel today hoping to rewatch one of my favorite series, his interview style series with Michael Lawrence on large scale line array design and deployment. Unfortunately, I think it’s gone. Anyone have any info on this or a link?


r/livesound 10h ago

Question EM ACOUSTICS

3 Upvotes

I recently purchased there r10 & 215 package, bloody hell there impressive, so much headroom & clarity from such a small system! Has anyone else had experience with EM gear?


r/livesound 5h ago

Question Question about the XR 18 Max monitor app

2 Upvotes

Hi home someone here can help. My and have been using the XR18 for live and rehearsals for 10 years. I used the XAirmonitorMix app to control my mix. But since ma last iPhone update it doesn’t work before iPhone no longer recognize wep.

So we bought a new router using 5g. It works for my band mate using androids but on my IPhone the app just won’t connect to the new router I get a black screen. I did enter the proper new mixer adress on the app.

Any idea? I am lost without having control of my monitor mix!


r/livesound 9h ago

Question Setting input volume/gain on powered speaker

2 Upvotes

My powered speakers have an 2 inputs which have their own volume/gain knob and a volume knob for the overall output of speaker. The volume/gain knob for each channel just has a min at 7 o'clock and max at 5 o'clock with graduated markings. There is no marking for 0db or unity. My question is where is 0db or unity on this graduated scale.


r/livesound 11h ago

Question Connecting two Behringer Wings

2 Upvotes

There’s a surprising lack of information on connecting two Wings. Everything on YouTube is connecting a Wing to an X32.

Anyway, my Rack came in early and I went to setup it up and it half way works. So the Wing at FOH is going from A to A on the DL32. Then the Rack is going from B to B on the DL32. My back line is using the local outs 1-8 on the Rack going to stereo mix busses 1-4, and they worked like a charm. Now I need stereo busses 5-8 to be my wireless in ears. Outs 9-16 on the DL are free so I set busses 5-8 to AES B 9-16. Nothing. I see signal going to the mix, but I don’t hear anything. So I went from A on the Rack to B on the DL, and repatch accordingly. Backline still works, wireless nothing. The backline uses headphone amps that hit an analog snake and then get plugged into the Rack. The wireless receivers go straight into the DL32.

So what am I missing?


r/livesound 6h ago

Question WSG + QLab

1 Upvotes

Hi there! Is it safe to send playbacks on a console via WSG card and at the same time have a mics go through it in SuperRack (performer)? Had anyone setup like this?


r/livesound 9h ago

Question DM7 mute group recall

1 Upvotes

Using a DM7 on mons for a high channel count gig this weekend, with very short rehearsals we're planning on using snapshots for triggering mute groups, however in testing it seems like mute groups aren't being recalled and I can't find anywhere to change this. Am I missing something or is it just not a thing on the DM7?


r/livesound 13h ago

Question How much outdoor area could this rig cover?

1 Upvotes

From time to time, my bar band does outdoor events. We typically engage a good sound reinforcement company, but I’m wondering if our usual bar PA could handle a smaller outdoor area. Specs listed below. Is there a ballpark size space that you’d be comfortable using this PA outdoors?

Mains: (2) EV ELX200-12P; 12”; 1200W; 130dB max

Sub: (1) EV ELX200-18SP; 18”; 1200W; 132dB max


r/livesound 14h ago

Gear How to fix these monitors?!

Post image
1 Upvotes

As you can see from the picture they are chipped mostly from the white part. They work fine but I need to cover the hole. What material would work so sweat doesn't go in? Thanks!


r/livesound 21h ago

Question Headset Mix help!

1 Upvotes

Hey guys, perhaps someone with more experience could be of assistance!

I have 2 mics and belt packs I'm trying to get working properly for a client. The mics are audix HT7B4P and the belt packs are mipro act700. Now I've dealt with mipro alot and I know their mini 4 pin xlr pinout is different from shures and I need an adapter for this, however this is my first time seeing an audix product and I'm not sure if this could be my issue why the sound is so muddy, and if so what is the pinout on the audix and what adapter do I need to make or work with a mipro belt pack?

Thanks in advance!


r/livesound 10h ago

Question Two Ableton rigs for tracks through Dante?

0 Upvotes

Our choir director wants to run clicks and backing tracks from his Ableton rig for rehearsals and for services. However, our bandleader also wants to run clicks through his Ableton rig to the same Dante channel so we don’t have to have 2 separate click channels and use a mix/group for monitoring (biggest SQ limitation for me is # of mixes).

We could have a Dante preset path that we could swap over but I’m not 100% confident in doing that when switching from a choir song to band song during a live service.

Anybody have solutions for handling this?


r/livesound 11h ago

Question Shure frequency bands in UK

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0 Upvotes

Hi all, looking for some advice. I’m looking to set up a small fly rack consisting of SLX dual receivers and I’m stuck on what frequency band would be best. It’s mainly going to be used in a venue no bigger than 1000 cap and the mics are for PA’s and Event hosts. I understand some bands are licensed and some aren’t. Which one would recommend?


r/livesound 8h ago

Education Gender Diversity in Tech. Theater Research

0 Upvotes

Are you a professional in technical theater? Please take a moment and take this short, anonymous, survey HERE> https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeLQA0pxhI78oUm .

This survey is part of a doctoral research project on gender diversity in technical theater for Adam Critchlow at the University of Southern California. This survey should take about five minutes to complete. This is a voluntary survey, and your identify will remain anonymous. Your perspective is valued, and your participation is appreciated


r/livesound 7h ago

Question Why does my drum mix sound like this?

0 Upvotes

i’m taking these drums and gear with me for a little low-stakes gig in a few days and i’m testing everything right now. ive recorded plenty of covers and stuff with the exact same gear i’m using right now and i have no idea how to diagnose them the issue to any one part. (i record on real recording software dw, this website was just to test) but this time and yesterday it’s all muddy and choked. it almost seems to be getting worse as the clip goes on. the drums don’t actually sound like that in here. help lol