Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

SoundGirls Electricity and Stage Patch

Learn the basics of Electricity and Stage Patch, and Putting together a Gig Bag.

Electricity

This workshop will cover the Basics of Electricity.  What you need to know on the gig – Not a bunch of theory, but what we need to know for gigs. There are two basic aspects of working with electricity. One is to move enough electrical power from point A to point B to adequately energize the equipment that requires it. The other is to do it safely. Sometimes, these two factors will be in conflict with each other, usually because of budgetary restraints Large wire and cables are needed to move a lot of power, and they are expensive to purchase and install properly, but small, cheap gangs of “extension cords” may seem to get the job done, until a plug or receptacle burns out, or a cable catches on fire. And therein lies the potentiality for serious problems.


Stage Patch

Stage Patch is the most important job on a gig. You will learn how to properly wire a stage, learn how to make input lists, festival patches, and best steps to becoming a patch master.


Gig Bag

What’s in your Gig Bag:  Learn what tools you should have in your gig bag.


Taught by Ivan Ortiz

Ivan Ortiz is an audio veteran, with over 18 years of experience in professional audio – gaining his education working for a small sound company that specialized in Latin acts while attending Full Sail. After he graduated he headed to the west coast – taking an internship at Rat Sound Systems and his “can do attitude” led to weekend work with several Los Angeles based sound companies. Ivan would go on to tour as a system tech for Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Pepe Aguilar and toured for several years as a monitor engineer for My Chemical Romance, Gavin DeGraw, and multiple fill in gigs for other bands as FOH or MON Engineer.

Ivan would go on to work for LD Systems in Houston Texas working the Houston Rodeo as Monitors Engineer for the event for five consecutive years. While working for LD Systems Ivan also had the opportunity to work on national televised events as the A1 for NCAA Final Four, NCAA Sweet Sixteen, Houston’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, before returning to Rat as shop manager and all around Tech Master.  Ivan is now the Technical Resources Manager at Rat Sound Systems.

 

SoundGirls FOH Tuning Workshop – Los Angeles

This  workshop covers various Front of House system design and scenarios. Topics include designing the PA, software prediction, coverage over SPL, time alignment, sub-woofer configurations, and coverage gaps. This is an intermediate course and will help professionals to hone their skills.

Designing  your  PA  

Using  Prediction  Software  accurately  

Coverage  over  SPL  

Time  Alignment  

Subwoofer  configurations  

Filling  the  gaps  of  coverage

About Ivan Ortiz

Ivan Ortiz is an audio veteran, with over 18 years of experience in professional audio – gaining his education working for a small sound company that specialized in Latin acts while attending Full Sail. After he graduated he headed to the west coast – taking an internship at Rat Sound Systems and his “can do attitude” led to weekend work with several Los Angeles based sound companies. Ivan would go on to tour as a system tech for Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Pepe Aguilar and toured for several years as a monitor engineer for My Chemical Romance, Gavin DeGraw, and multiple fill in gigs for other bands as FOH or MON Engineer.

Ivan would go on to work for LD Systems in Houston Texas working the Houston Rodeo as Monitors Engineer for the event for five consecutive years. While working for LD Systems Ivan also had the opportunity to work on national televised events as the A1 for NCAA Final Four, NCAA Sweet Sixteen, Houston’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, before returning to Rat as shop manager and all around Tech Master.  Ivan is now the Technical Resources Manager at Rat Sound Systems.

 

Consideraciones para realizar un diseño de refuerzo Sonoro.

Que es el diseño de refuerzo sonoro? Reproducción del sonido en una determinada área de audiencia mediante medios artificiales, que tienen como finalidad realizar una amplificación del sonido para obtener un nivel de presión sonora homogéneo (se consideran aceptables las diferencias de +-6dB) en todos los puntos del recinto a sonorizar, además de asegurarle la inteligibilidad del mensaje a cada uno de los escuchas.

A continuación, mencionaremos algunas consideraciones a tener en cuenta para el diseño de refuerzo sonoro:

1) Consideraciones acústicas previas. Se deberá realizar un análisis de diferentes parámetros, tales como: Tiempo de Reverberación(RT60), inteligibilidad, Definición (D), Claridad de la voz (C80), RASTI, %ALcons.

PARÁMETRO ACÚSTICO VALOR RECOMENDADO
Tiempo de reverberación medio (500 Hz – 1 kHz), sala llena 0,7 ≤ RTmid ≤ 1,2 s
Claridad de la voz C50(“ speech average), sala llena C50 > 2 dB
Definición D (de 125 Hz a 4 kHz), sala ocupada D > 0,50
Relación primeras reflexiones ERR, sala vacía u ocupada 2 ≤ ERR ≤ 6
STI/RASTI, sala ocupada STI/RASTI ≥ 0,65

 

TIPO DE RECINTO REVERBERACION (s)
Cine 0.4 s
Salón de Clases 0.6 s
Teatro y Música Auto amplificada 1.0 s
Sinfónica 2.2 s
Iglesias 3.0 s

2) Debemos preguntarnos qué tipo de recinto vamos a sonorizar

 

3) Solicitud de planos del reciento a diseñar.  En este punto se recomienda tener medidas del lugar por medio de un scouting al recinto; se deberán solicitar planos en AutoCAD, tanto en vistas en 3D, 2D, plantas y cortes del recinto, para poder realizar un análisis exhaustivo. Asimismo, debemos recordar que este diseño se llevará a cabo en la práctica, por lo que no debemos olvidar hacernos diferentes preguntas que nos permitan determinar el alcance adecuado del proyecto: ¿que se espera de este diseño de refuerzo sonoro por parte del solicitante?, ¿existe alguna obstrucción visual posible?, ¿existe limitación en cuanto a peso del equipo?, ¿es un espacio abierto o cerrado? a nivel subjetivo ¿que se busca o que se espera?, ¿qué tipo de sistema se solicita: arreglo lineal o sistema convencional?, todo esto encaminado a determinar el alcance adecuado del proyecto.

 

4) Análisis de cobertura.  Se aplicarán y comprobarán diferentes técnicas de diseño apoyándonos de un software de predicción, tal como MAPPXT el cual se utiliza para medir y cuantificar parámetros. En este punto debemos ser capaces de resolver problemas de interacción entre altavoces, selección de nivel de presión sonora adecuado, análisis de la respuesta en frecuencia y fase en diferentes puntos del recinto, cobertura vertical, horizontal, ubicación de altavoces, ángulo de inclinación y peso de altavoces, distribución de señales para un adecuado ajuste del sistema buscando así una cobertura homogénea en todos los escuchas por igual. Asimismo, debemos aplicar parámetros de referencia o normas existentes según el tipo de aplicación; por ejemplo: en cines con formato de reproducción ATMOS existen normativas por parte de Dolby que ofrecen especificaciones a cumplir referentes a nivel de presión sonora, altavoces en pantalla, posición de altavoces, niveles de presión sonora en la zona de baja frecuencia, entre otros. En recintos deportivos existen normativas que ofrece la FIFA como guía para realizar un diseño. De igual forma, se deberá realizar el análisis de qué tipo de sistemas serán necesarios con base a las necesidades de cobertura de los altavoces: sistema principal, sistema frontal, sistema bajo balcón, sistema de retraso, sistema lateral, sistema de baja frecuencia, sistema multicanal 5.1, 7.1, por mencionar algunos. Al finalizar dicho análisis se genera una memoria de diseño del mismo.

 

5) Supervisión de montaje.  Una vez que se terminó la etapa anterior, lo más importante que se debe considerar y no debemos olvidar es que ese diseño se llevará a cabo en la práctica, por lo que debemos asegurarnos que el diseño se lleve a cabo tal como se planteó. En ese momento debemos contar con las herramientas adecuadas para poder supervisar dicho montaje, tal como inclinómetro, láser, cintas métricas y memoria de montaje.


Gabriella Galán Mendicuti estudió audio estudios como ingeniera de telecomunicaciones con especialización en audio y video en la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Ella ha estado involucrada en audio profesional durante los últimos 12 años con un énfasis especial en el diseño de refuerzo de sonido. Actualmente trabaja en Meyer Sound México como Especialista en Servicios de Diseño para México y América Latina. Ha participado en varios diseños de refuerzo de sonido de los lugares más importantes en varios países, como teatros, iglesias, espectáculos en vivo, eventos especiales y lugares.

 

 

Considerations for a Sound Reinforcement Design.

What is the sound reinforcement design? Reproduction of the sound in a certain audience area by artificial means, which have the purpose of amplifying the sound to obtain a homogeneous sound pressure level (the differences of + -6dB are considered acceptable) in all the points of the room to sound, in addition to ensuring the intelligibility of the message to each of the listeners.

We will outline some considerations to take into account for the sound reinforcement design

 

 

ACOUSTIC PARAMETER RECOMMENDED VALUE
Average reverberation time (500 Hz – 1 kHz), full room

Average reverberation time (500 Hz – 1 kHz), full room

0,7 ≤ RTmid ≤ 1,2 s

0,7 ≤ RTmid ≤ 1,2 s

Clarity of the voice C50 (“speech average), full room C50 > 2 dB
Definition D (from 125 Hz to 4 kHz), occupied room D > 0,50

D > 0,50

Relationship first reflections ERR, empty or occupied room 2 ≤ ERR ≤ 6
STI / RASTI, occupied room STI/RASTI ≥ 0,65

 

ENCLOSURE DESING REVERBERATION   (s)
Cinema 0.4 s

.4 s

Classroom 0.6 s
Theater and Music  autoamplified 1.0 s
Symphonic 2.2 s
Churches 3.0 s

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Request for drawings of the design to be designed. At this point it is recommended to have measurements of the place by means of a scouting to the enclosure; Plans must be requested in AutoCAD, both in 3D, 2D, plant, and court views, in order to carry out a thorough analysis. Likewise, we must remember that this design will be carried out in practice, so we must not forget to ask ourselves different questions that allow us to determine the adequate scope of the project: what is expected from this sound reinforcement design by the applicant? Is there any possible visual obstruction? Is there a limitation regarding the weight of the equipment? Is it an open or closed space? At a subjective level, what is being sought or what is expected? What kind of system is requested: the linear arrangement or conventional system? All this aimed at determining the adequate scope of the project.

4) Coverage analysis. Different design techniques will be applied and tested, supported by a prediction software, such as MAPPXT, which is used to measure and quantify parameters. At this point we must be able to solve problems of interaction between speakers, selection of adequate sound pressure level, analysis of frequency response and phase at different points of the enclosure, vertical, horizontal coverage, location of speakers, angle of inclination and weight of loudspeakers, distribution of signals for an adequate adjustment of the system looking for a homogenous coverage in all listeners alike. Likewise, we must apply reference parameters or existing standards according to the type of application; for example: in cinemas with ATMOS playback format there are regulations by Dolby that offer specifications to be met regarding sound pressure level, on-screen speakers, speaker position, sound pressure levels in the low-frequency area, among others. In sports venues, there are regulations that FIFA offers as a guide to design. Likewise, the analysis of what kind of systems will be needed based on the speaker coverage needs must be carried out: main system, front system, balcony system, delay system, lateral system, low-frequency system, system multi-channel 5.1, 7.1, to mention a few. At the end of this analysis, a design memory is generated.

 

5) Assembly supervision. Once the previous stage is finished, the most important thing that should be considered and we must not forget is that this design will be carried out in practice, so we must ensure that the design is carried out as it was proposed. At that time we must have the right tools to monitor such assemblies, such as inclinometer, laser, tape measures and mounting memory.


Gabriella Galán Mendicuti studied audio studies as a telecommunications engineer with a specialization in audio and video at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. She has been involved in professional audio for last 12 years with a special emphasis on sound reinforcement design. She currently works at Meyer Sound Mexico as a Design Services Specialist Tech Support for Mexico and Latin America. She has participated in various sound reinforcement designs of the most important venues in various countries, such as theaters, churches, live shows, special events, and venues.

 

One Simple Tool to Find the Right Size Speaker for Any Space

Do you usually choose speakers by guessing? I want to show you one simple tool to find the exact right speaker for any space.

It is called Forward Aspect Ratio (FAR) and it is simply the shape a speaker makes, defined by length and width. Here’s how you can reverse engineer it to master the universe.

  1. Measure the length of your space at mid-depth.
  2. Measure the width of your space at mid-width.
  3. FAR = length ÷ width.
  4. Cov. Angle = 2 × arcsin(1 ÷ FAR).

Let’s walk through it together.

1. Measure the length of your space at mid-depth.

2. Measure the width of your space at mid-width.

3. FAR = length ÷ width

50 ÷ 40 = 1.25

FAR = 1.25

4. Cov. Angle = 2 × arcsin(1 / FAR)

2 × arcsin(1 ÷ 1.25) = 106º

We need a 106º speaker.

 

Yikes! How do I type this into the google calculator?

Easy. Search google.com for calculator. Make sure you are in degrees. Click inside the calculator input window and type 2 [shift + 8] [shift + s] 1 / 1.25 [enter]. On a mobile device, turn to landscape mode and use the Inv button to show sin-1.

 

What if I don’t have the right speaker?

Don’t worry. As long as you have no more than a 3 dB error on each side, you’ll be fine.

Drop this into Google: ABS((20 × log(FAR A))-(20 × log(FAR B))) where FAR A is the speaker you need and FAR B is the speaker you have. As long as the result is less than 3, you’re good.

What if the result is more than 3?

If your speaker is too wide, just know you’re going to get some extra wall reflections.

If your speaker is too narrow, consider subdividing the space. Take your FAR, cut it in half, and redo your calculations.

Further questions?

Click here to download my free book, 105 Questions about Sound System Tuning. It’s everything you wanted to know about live sound system setup but were afraid to ask.


Nathan Lively is a Sound Engineer, Pro Audio Career Coach, and Author. His goal is to help you grow your business through:

Check out Sound Design Live

SoundGirls FOH Workshop – Los Angeles

This  workshop covers various Front of House system design and scenarios. Topics include designing the PA, software prediction, coverage over SPL, time alignment, sub-woofer configurations, and coverage gaps. This is an intermediate course and will help professionals to hone their skills.

Designing  your  PA  

Using  Prediction  Software  accurately  

Coverage  over  SPL  

Time  Alignment  

Subwoofer  configurations  

Filling  the  gaps  of  coverage

About Ivan Ortiz

Ivan Ortiz is a veteran, with over 18 years of experience in professional audio – gaining his education working for a small sound company that specialized in Latin acts while attending Full Sail. After he graduated he headed to the west coast – taking an internship at Rat Sound Systems and his “can do attitude” led to weekend work with several Los Angeles based sound companies. Ivan would go on to tour as a system tech for Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Pepe Aguilar and toured for several years as a monitor engineer for My Chemical Romance, Gavin DeGraw, and multiple fill in gigs for other bands as FOH or MON Engineer.

Ivan would go on to work for LD Systems in Houston Texas working the Houston Rodeo as Monitors Engineer for the event for five consecutive years. While working for LD Systems Ivan also had the opportunity to work on national televised events as the A1 for NCAA Final Four, NCAA Sweet Sixteen, Houston’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, before returning to Rat as shop manager and all around Tech Master.  Ivan is now the Technical Resources Manager at Rat Sound Systems.

 

Up Close and Personal

Last month I talked about the nuts and bolts of how I run monitors at the Glastonbury Festival. This month, I’ll share some tips about how I mix monitors at the other end of the spectrum – a solo artist and their band.

Running a large festival requires a different set of ‘soft’ skills from working closely with an artist. They both take a great deal of preparation, but whilst at Glasto, that means collating tech specs, session files and stage plots for 24 bands, with solo artists it’s more to do with rehearsals and relationships. And whilst at Glasto, I have the artistic input of making sure that the house EQ and any necessary time alignment on sidefills and wedges mean the stage sounds fantastic, with an artist it gets a lot more refined, particularly if I have a long working relationship with them. My two current artists are both fantastic singers whom I’ve been working with for nine years and seven years respectively, so by now, I have a fairly intuitive understanding of what they want to hear. Both have excellent bands playing with them, are lovely people, and I enjoy their music, so it’s a very nice position to be in.

Relationship

The quality of the relationship between the monitor engineer and artist is an important part of the job, and as with people in any walk of life it doesn’t always click. You can do a great technical job of mixing, but if the artist doesn’t feel a connection with you, you may not get a second run. As I’ve said before, they need to feel that you’ve got their back, because they really are reliant on you. Put yourself in their shoes – it’s a vulnerable position, standing on stage in front of thousands of people, and their ability to hear what they need is totally in your hands. That goes for all bands, but is amplified for a solo artist – the backing musicians are a big part of the show, but the audience is watching the star most of the time, so they’re very exposed and they have to trust you. Part of it is down to personalities – you might gel and you might not – but you can help build rapport by being reliable, consistent, calm, professional, prepared and confident.

Hierarchy

Being friendly with the artist, but not overly so, is important – you want to establish an easy working relationship with them, whilst remembering that they are still your boss. I’ve found that balancing friendliness with a little professional distance is a wise move. Friendly, not friends.

Of course, in most cases, you’re not just mixing for the artist but for the band too. I’ll always soundcheck with the band by themselves first, so that I can make sure they’re happy before turning my attention to the artist – and often an artist will stop soundchecking when they’re comfortable with the engineer. I never stop watching the artist once they’re on stage – you can guarantee that the moment you look away is the moment they’ll look over!

During the show, I keep half an eye on the band, but my main focus is the artist. So how to make sure that the band feels taken care of too? I ask the stage tech and backline techs to keep an eye on the musicians and alert me if I miss anyone trying to get my attention. I also give every band member a switch mic, so that they can talk directly to both me and the techs. I set up a ‘talk to me’ mix on my console, and I feed my own IEM pack off a matrix, pulling in that talk mix as well as the PFL buss. In that way I never miss someone talking to me, even when I’m listening to the artist’s mix.

Sometimes there’s a request that comes at a critical point in the performance; for example, the drummer wants a little more hat overall, but I have a show cue. I’ll nod to let them know that I’ve seen them and hold up one finger to say that I’ll be with them in just a moment. Then, when I’ve made the change for them, I’ll glance over and catch their eye to check that they’re happy. I encourage musicians to give me immediate feedback when they’ve asked for something – it’s no use finding out after the gig that something wasn’t quite right!

Avatar

Mixing artist monitors is like being an avatar. I need to develop a real understanding of what they pitch to, time to, what they’re used to hearing, and what helps them to enjoy the gig. I don’t usually alter the backing band’s mixes unless asked to do so, but I’ll subtly ride elements of the artist’s mix as necessary during the show, once I have a good understanding of their preferences – if an element of the mix sounds too loud or quiet to me, then it probably does to them as well. I tend to tap along with my foot, which keeps me aware of whether they are wandering off the beat and might need a little more hat or snare.

My latest trick

In rehearsals for my current tour, I had a few days alone with the band first, as usual. Once they were happy I set up my artist’s mix and dialed her vocal mic in. Then I tried something new – I sang along! BEFORE I sent the mic to anyone else, and I ‘may’ have temporarily pulled the XLR split to FOH so only I could hear it, but wow it’s a helpful exercise! It really helped me to get a feel for how easy the mix was to sing with. A more discreet way is simply to keep one IEM in, close off the other ear with your finger, and see if you can pitch reasonably easily. If you can’t find the note you need, what can go up in the mix to help your singer out?

Audience mics

Whilst we never needed these when wedges were the only option (showing my age!), with the widespread use of IEMs they can help the artist feel the vibe of the show. Currently, I’m using three mics on each side of the stage (near, wide and rifle), mixed down to a stereo channel to give a nice spread of audience sound to the ears. I hi-pass them at around 600Hz to keep the low-end out and have them on a VCA which I ride up between songs and when there’s audience participation. On the subject of VCAs, I also use one for the vocal reverb, backing it down during chat between songs.

Split vocal

With solo artists, I always split the vocal down two channels: one to themselves and one to the band. That means that I can keep the mic live in the artist’s ears the whole time, so they can hear themselves after a costume change (when jacks can get pulled and volume pots knocked), without disturbing the band. If we’re using both IEMs and wedges, as one of my artists does, I’ll actually split the vocal three ways to allow for a different wedge EQ and muting when he goes off stage. I always safe the ‘vocal to self’ out of all snapshots, but keep the ‘vocal to band’ within snapshots so those mutes are programmed in.

Keep it clean

Finally, I do a little in-ear and mic housekeeping every day. It’s the monitor engineer’s job to keep the artist’s molds clean and wax-free, so I carry wipes and a little poky tool to make sure they’re always in good condition. Alcohol swabs are great for cleaning the vocal mic, which I do right before handing it over – apart from the fact that a stinky mic is gross if the artist gets sick and can’t perform the whole tour could be in jeopardy, so hygiene is really important.

I hope you’ve found something useful here – every engineer will do things slightly differently, but a can-do attitude, hard work, and attention to detail are great foundations for any engineer, no matter what you’re mixing!

Venue Management and the Multipurpose Room

Everyone in our industry has a venue – either their favorite place to stop on a tour, their favorite place to attend a show or the place they like to work every day. These venues range from small club spaces, studio or recording spaces, to 100,000 seat stadiums and more.

Currently, my venue is a multipurpose room – virtually a swear word when I talk to some tour managers on the phone because they never know what they are going to get when that term is spoken. The multipurpose room could be an empty box with cement flooring and a portable stage made out of 2x4s and plywood, or it could be a ballroom with carpeted floor, acoustic treatments, and functional furniture adapted to any need. In other words, multipurpose rooms could be defined as compromises made to cover all the priorities determined at the time, and hopefully good enough for anything else. It’s kind of like saying McDonald’s is better than Burger King: It may be true, but it all depends on what each location is like the service you get, and your preference on which has the best French fry. My point is, the multipurpose room is a dynamic of unknowns and will never be perfect for everyone, but will be enough to get by for many.

As, with any space with architecture, you get what you get. You’re in the hands of the design and the mechanics of cement, wood, drywall, and rebar. Sometimes spaces are wonderfully designed with our industry in mind, and sometimes they’re ice hockey rinks first and shows are a way to produce more income in the off-season. Thankfully, our industry has come up with amazing tools to assist us in our goals when we end up in a space that isn’t meant for the activity occurring. Tools like pipe and drape assist with creating softer surfaces and hide an outdated look. Line arrays allow us to send the sound in the exact direction we want, and tools like Smaart assist with tuning. Heck, if the budget is there, talented people like us can make any square box into a mystical gem for a night!

Besides the tools we have, there is also a responsibility to know the room and provide hospitality to groups coming through. As a venue manager, it is part of my job to know the room well; what works well, what doesn’t, and to take steps to create the best situation for all. People swinging through for a one-night show rely on venue staff to provide insights on the space, but the venue staff must also maintain a balance of letting the group renting the space get their tasks completed without excessive interruption. A venue manager can help a touring group by having information about the space ready to share in advance of the show; things like directions to the venue, parking options, stage measurements, curtain setups, and recent pictures to name a few. I use a snapshot document to share information quickly. Many questions can be answered this way and allow groups to ask follow-up questions that may pertain to them. Bluffs snapshot

In addition to knowing the room, it will also be important for the venue manager to share the strengths and weaknesses of the space. If structural support for rigging is limited, share that information before the booking is finalized, and have supporting documentation available as well. If the venue can only hold 100 people safely, make sure this information is clear and stick with the capacity rating. If the space is extremely reverberant, share that so a tour can decide if it might be best to use IEMs instead of wedges. Sometimes information can be the key to a successful event. As a venue manager, I share what I can so the group can make educated decisions for themselves. Many times, groups will want to come back to a room that might not be perfect but they enjoy, because of great hospitality and knowing what to expect.

Riding the Roller Coaster of Live Sound – Rena Kozak

Rena Kozak is a FOH engineer and tour manager based out of Calgary, Canada. She has always had an interest in arts and has played in numerous Calgary bands as well as studied painting and drawing at University before becoming a sound engineer.  

A talented dancer, Rena was studying ballet at the University of Calgary in 2002 when she injured her foot. Unsure if she would be able to dance again, she considered alternate career paths. A friend of hers, Josh Gwilliam (current chief engineer at OCL Studios in Alberta) suggested she look into the audio recording course at the Academy of Production and Recording Arts in Calgary. By a stroke of luck, Rena’s father had just given her $5,000, a bonus from his job as assistant coach of the Canadian women’s hockey team after they won the 2002 Olympic gold. The audio engineering program cost exactly that amount, and Rena enrolled. After graduating, she began working at a recording studio but found the work of recording commercials to be monotonous.

Instead of pursuing more studio work, Rena interned with an electrical engineer and learned to fix analog equipment.  In 2005, this electrical engineer recommended her as FOH for the musical Guys and Dolls. She recounts: “it was an insane opportunity in retrospect, a 24 person cast with a full orchestra… people work for decades to break into that kind of work. It was a crazy stroke of luck. I never thought I would like live sound, it seemed so intimidating, but it was exhilarating to take my knowledge and apply it in the moment to tell a story to an audience.”

After the musical had ended, Rena got a job with a local production company Sound Art, working on shows and maintaining gear in their shop. In 2007, she did a national tour as a monitor engineer for a dance show that featured a live band. Rena felt the road wasn’t for her and found that touring took away her ability to create music or art. She took a house gig in 2008, as house engineer for Mac Ewan Hall.  child_actress

In 2012, her boyfriend passed away suddenly. After grieving, Rena found that she was in a different place mentally: “I wanted fewer physical attachments. I didn’t know where I wanted to live, I didn’t want possessions, I didn’t want to attempt to have a lifestyle that resembled anything permanent for a while so I approached the boys in Preoccupations  – who were called Viet Cong at the time and are long time friends – about using me as their touring FOH.”

Preoccupations agreed to hire her, and Rena found herself thriving as a touring FOH. She has worked as FOH for Operators (Montreal), did a run of festival dates with Holy Ghost! (Brooklyn) and even had the chance to fill in on monitors for Beirut for a couple of shows, which she describes as a career highlight.

Operators

Operators

Although she enjoys being on stage, she has realized she likes touring as an engineer more than as a musician. She thrives on mixing the same show every day and enjoys the challenge of having to work in different rooms.  Rena notes that touring can be a psychological roller coaster: it is hard to get to know new people and sharing tight spaces like a van or bus can be taxing. To offset the stress, she tries to eat well and do as much hotel room yoga as possible.

Her favourite piece of gear is her old TAC Scorpion recording console, which she is slowly re-soldering and fixing. In a live setting, Rena likes using guitar pedals as live mix effects – on the fall Preoccupations tour, she was running a couple of FX chains for vocals and drums, in the hopes of recreating the album’s sound. She hopes to get other gigs that allow her to be as creative with equipment.

Regarding must-have skills, Rena believes a willingness to do whatever it takes to get the show done is crucial.  “This job is mostly problem-solving – whether it’s solving the actual technical problems with the sounds themselves or repairing broken equipment or figuring out how to safely get the gear through a mud puddle into the venue. There is no problem that cannot be solved; you just haven’t found the solution yet.”

It’s also important to have a solid technical understanding. Knowing how the physics of sound works, knowing how your gear functions and why, understanding the equipment and systems in detail – these things are so important to achieving a good product. The more you know about your tools the better you will be at manipulating them. It can be easy to get by without knowing details – a lot of people work for a long time with very little knowledge, but reading up and building a foundation of knowledge is what will set you apart.”

rena_bass-with-shematomas

Rena’s long-term goals are to keep touring as a FOH, and to work on her own artistic projects. She has recently finished recording and mixing her first solo record (under the name Child Actress) and is looking forward to writing more music.  You can find her on the road with Preoccupations in 2017.

Rena shares some words of advice on the barriers she has faced as a woman in the audio industry, and how to overcome them.

“I’ve been tremendously lucky to have had an exceptional amount of support from so many people I’ve worked with. Of course I’ve faced the obvious challenge of being a girl. While it’s never prevented me from landing good jobs or enjoying my work, more often than not it has absolutely been a factor.

Fortunately, I had a lot of very real support. A lot of dudes who were well respected in the business saw my passion for it and believed I knew what I was doing gave me work and helped me learn and progress. I don’t think most people are as lucky to have as much support as I received.

That being said, it’s been a constant issue. It feels funny answering this question right now because of how I’ve continued to struggle with being female at work even in these last two months. From the guy who wants to carry my case for me (fine, you want to help but it’s my case, it isn’t even heavy, I don’t need you to look after me we are peers here) to the old house sound guy who tries to tell me how to EQ my wedges until I demonstrate to him how my EQ curve was actually cleaner than his, to the TM who makes side comments about not liking “having to listen to a woman”. It isn’t gone. I’ve been at this for nearly 15 years and it’s still there. But, it’s better. There are more of us, and things are changing.

I have always been great at handling the old-school sound guy personality type. I’m great with a quick joke and talking to them like I am their equal. I’m rarely intimidated, and I’m quick to win most of them over with my personality.

I’ve also recently found I’ve needed to deal with my own internalization of systemic sexism. Trying to remain calm and remind myself why I love this work and that I deserve to be here doing it, and trying my best not to react with anger as much as possible. I am very actively working on this right now, trying to be Zen and maintain confidence at all times. I find the best way of thinking about it is to remind myself that I have to COMMAND respect and not DEMAND respect. Don’t get angry, just be confident and execute your work as perfectly as you know-how and this will generate respect from your peers.

Do you have advice for women and other young people who wish to enter the field?

“Do not be intimidated by anyone. You have as much or more right to be there as anyone else.

And for those who are just beginning and feeling intimidated by the equipment or the technical side of it, shake that off and remember that you are capable of comprehending anything technical – and remind yourself of some of the sound guys you’ve met along the way.They aren’t all geniuses, are they? If they can do it even just a little, you can do it epically well. 

And call me up! I love to teach; I’m happy to take on any ladies who want to apprentice or just ask questions.”

You can contact Rena and find out more about her upcoming projects through her website

X