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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

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Sam Boone – Systems Engineer

 

Sam Boone has been working professionally in audio for just three years and is currently a freelance system engineer, completing her first tour with Volbeat in 2022. She discovered audio in middle school and spent considerable time working in churches through her teen years. Sam played in the school band as an oboist and then took up guitar as she decided she wanted to attend a school for music. She admits that she was a terrible musician but her love of music, would lead her to live event production. She would go on to attend Middle Tennessee State University as a part of their recording and music program. At the same time, she was interning with a local production company, and when they offered her a full-time position she dropped out of school.

Career Start

How did you get your start?

I got my start interning at a regional production company. I managed to land that internship by asking for an introduction from a family friend who was familiar with the company.

What did you learn interning or on your early gigs?

I learned several technical skills, primarily basics like cable management, show power, and troubleshooting and repairing gear. I also learned how to prep a tour from start to finish, line check, and build show files. More importantly, I began to see and learn how to interact with clients, how to ask questions, and observe.

Career Now

How did you discover System Engineering?

I discovered systems engineering during my internship while working in the shop, learning what a drive rack is and what it does. That led to me asking about the position of the person using the gear and what all systems engineering entailed.

Why were you drawn to System Engineering?

I was drawn to systems engineering because, unlike so many other aspects of live audio engineering, it’s as much a science as an art. For me, it’s taking the challenge of making the show sound the same in every seat into the context of a new venue daily. I enjoy that I can measure the system, see how well I’ve done, and see what I need to improve. It’s fascinating that I can see a lot of how something sounds on an analyzer. My work is a specific, measurable process, and nothing is random. It’s all a series of decisions with measurable effects, and I can go back to the data and say this is why I made these choices, and that, to me, is something I love.

If someone wants to pursue this path, what advice do you have for them? Education and skills?

The advice I have for someone jumping into this specific role in the industry is to not only get a mentor but also to read a lot. Sound Systems Design and Optimization by Bob McCarthy is a book that I have learned a lot from. I recommend reading Between the Lines by Michael Lawrence as well.

What is a typical day like?

My typical day on tour begins by making a 3D model of our venue for the day (or verifying a pre-made model if I was given sufficient information in advance). Then I’ll design the PA and send the splay angles, trim heights, and all other necessary information to our fly techs. From there, I’ll build FOH, run snakes, and get our FOH engineer powered up and ready.

Once our FOH engineer completes the virtual sound check, we tune the PA, take a walk and listen to it. At that point, we will make any changes we see fit. Then we go onto line check and soundcheck with the band.

Additionally, I’ll usually sit with all the front-of-house engineers through their soundchecks and make any changes they ask for in the PA. I typically have some downtime from there to relax, and finally, we have a show.

During the show, I walk around the venue and listen to the PA. I will also make any changes asked for by the engineer or any specific changes needed to make all areas of coverage sound the same tonally across the venue. Last, we load out and do it again the next day.

How do you stay organized and focused?

I use several spreadsheets and keep notes on everything from the patch to show file changes.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I enjoy the challenge of making every seat sound the same every day, regardless of the venue we are in. Some days we play in clubs, while others are in arenas. No matter the venue, my goal is to have every seat at every show sound as close to the same as possible.

What do you like least?

While I love doing tours in Europe,  what I dislike the most is the time change when I am there.  Tour life can be challenging to regulate and manage all aspects of your life, whether it be work, relationships, or simply trying to figure out how to have a functional schedule without burning yourself out. The time change simply adds another layer to the mix and makes talking to friends and family much more difficult.

If you tour, what do you like best?

I enjoy the people I meet and the travel.

What is your favorite day off activity? 

I go to the gym or run on days off to stay physically active. I also work on the next day’s gig, so I feel confident and prepared when I show up the following day.

What are your long-term goals?

Long term, I would love to become even better at my craft. I plan to eventually work on new technology or theory in research and development. I aim to contribute to the industry in a way that will outlast me. I plan to leave behind a better version of the industry than I found when I started.

What, if any, obstacles or barriers have you faced?

For me, the most challenging part of getting started was learning where to start asking questions. For a long time, I didn’t have enough knowledge to ask questions worth answering. Also, once I started learning about audio and its different aspects, there was a moment when it felt overwhelming to look at all the skills I needed to know.

How have you dealt with them?

I decided to deal with this by choosing one skill at a time to work on learning and then either further pursuing it if I was interested in it or moving on to the next one if I wasn’t. That’s how I gathered interest in systems engineering, leading me to my current job.

Advice you have for women who wish to enter the field?

My advice for young women joining this field would be not to be intimidated or deterred by the people around them. Some of the nicest people I have ever met, I’ve met on tour. We’re all figuring it out as we go, and we’re all constantly learning. If someone won’t answer your questions, it’s a sign you should be asking someone else.

Must have skills?

My must-have skills are troubleshooting, organization and communication.

Favorite gear?

My favorite piece of gear I’ve used this year is the Meyer Galaxy 816 processor. I’ll put one in front of any system, and it’s been a game changer to have access to U-shaping for tuning PAs.

You Can Find Sam on The Signal to Noise Podcast

 

Fake It ‘till You Make It?

 

The live events industry can be hard to navigate. There isn’t a defined career pathway or educational framework that one needs to follow, no qualification that is necessary or will guarantee you a rewarding job once you have it. It can feel even more confusing if you’re a freelancer. You don’t have a boss to guide you or promotion options to pursue within a company. You are the only one who is responsible for your training and progression. When you then take into account the… creative and organic nature of live events and the current industry-wide shortage of experienced technicians caused (mainly) by the pandemic, it is quite common for people to be offered roles that don’t exactly match their skill set. Whether it’s an ad for a dream job that lists a bunch of skills or experience that you don’t have, or you’re getting offers of work that involves equipment that you’ve never touched, you may feel that there is a gap between your current skills and what potential clients are expecting of you. What should you do? The phrase “fake it ‘till you make it!” gets thrown about a lot, but is it really the solution? It is something I have struggled with throughout my whole career and I’m sorry to say I still don’t have the answer, but here are some things to consider so you can form your own conclusions.

Unfortunately, we’re a bit special

There are endless articles out there about whether you should fake it until you make it, but it is almost all aimed at employees in corporate jobs. There are definitely lessons to be learned from these sources, but there are a few things about our sector that mean the advice is not entirely applicable to us.

First of all, the proportion of workers in our field who are freelance is much higher than most. We have to advocate for ourselves and convince potential clients that we are a good choice and that our experience puts us in good stead to do the job well. This can be challenging when there isn’t an “industry standard” qualification and everyone’s experience history is unique. It is much easier to fire freelancers than employees, or simply not call them again if their work isn’t up to scratch. We are also up against untold numbers of other freelancers for each job, and in the absence of formalised, transparent hiring practises, it can be hard not to take hiring decisions personally. Paranoia and bitchiness about who gets what role can take hold in freelancer circles, similar to when there’s an opportunity for promotion in office-based sitcoms. All I can say is try to avoid questioning why this job went to that person, because it can eat you up inside, and trying to find logic, where there may be none, will drive you crazy.

Most jobs in live events, especially touring, are quite short in the grand scheme of things. Even if you land a role on a two-year global tour, that’s not much compared to potentially spending decades working for the same firm. This means we go through the stress of job hunting much more often than most people. There is also much less of an incentive for clients to invest in our professional growth or even put as much effort into recruitment as they would for a full-time position.

Lastly, our job is much more immediate than “normal” jobs. Of course, we can, and should, study and practise our craft as much as possible on our own time, but there is a lot that we can’t help but learn through experience. You can only deal with a quiet, unpredictable singer when you’re faced with one. You only find out what word clock slipping can sound like when you hear it (I’ve often thought that an audio library of what things sound like while being affected by different technical issues would be incredibly useful. If anyone has assembled one please let me know). Your live mixing will improve more with the experience of real musicians in real, crowded rooms than with any amount of practising with a multitrack. So if you are faking it until you make it and come up against something beyond your capacity, you will have to deal with that in real-time, potentially in front of thousands of booing fans and an angry client.

Keeping up with the fakers

In an ideal world, we would never have to fake it. Everyone would be offered jobs according to their abilities and everyone would be given opportunities to grow and progress along the way. Wouldn’t that be nice? Unfortunately, that is rarely how it works. If you have an employer or client who takes an active role in your professional development, please recognise them for the rare gem that they are. That’s not to say that everyone else is evil, it’s just that most companies are swamped with work and they don’t have the time or resources to dedicate to training, appraisals, mentoring, etc. At the end of the day, if you’re a freelancer, that responsibility lies squarely with you anyway.

I used to turn down jobs if I wasn’t 100% comfortable with every piece of equipment that I would need to use. I would tell them that they should choose someone else, for the good of the gig. However, it took me far too long to realise that more often than not, they didn’t find someone better, they just found someone who had the chutzpah to say yes and give it a go. Those people did a good enough job most of the time to get away with it, and so kept getting offered more opportunities. I dread to think how much putting the gig’s success before my own career has held me back, particularly because the gig probably would have succeeded anyway.

This brings me to the difficult part: none of us would have to fake anything if no one else did. We would all get exactly the level of jobs we deserved. However, there are all sorts of people in this industry, and as I just alluded to, the way things work favours people who are full of… chutzpah. It’s understandable: if you’re a busy booker who has a lot on their plate, finding a freelancer who has reassuring confidence about them and says they can do anything you ask them to is a godsend. If you’re an event organiser who’s worried because there’s been a technical difficulty, someone who uses a few select pieces of jargon but tells you it’ll all be fine shortly is exactly the kind of person you want. Never mind whether the difficulty was caused by that person in the first place; you don’t have the time or specialist knowledge to find that out, you just want your gig to happen. People like to say that chutzpah-ers get found out and don’t last in the industry, but in my experience that isn’t true, and in fact, the opposite can be the case. It can be frustrating to have to work with these people and watch their careers skyrocket, but I still don’t think you should join them if you can’t beat them. We’re all on our own journey, comparing yourself to others is a recipe for misery. The road might be longer if you don’t take the “chutzpah” shortcut, but you learn much more and can be truly confident in your own competence as you progress.

To fake or not to fake?

It’s a bit of a catch-22 that knowing when to turn something down and when to go for it comes with experience. Experience that you might need to fake a little bit to get in the first place. Now that I’m older I’ve seen more of how the industry works: I know that no one knows everything about everything. New equipment and software updates come out all the time, and you get used to reading manuals or chatting to friends who have used it to get up to speed (on that note, if any manufacturers are reading this, can you please stop replacing your PDF manuals with endless video tutorials. They are useful as supporting material, but you can’t search for a keyword in a half-hour-long video and scan through the relevant paragraph on your phone while the client isn’t looking. Or even just browse it during a slow conference). You get used to the equipment list fundamentally changing at the last minute, so whether you’ve used a certain desk before might suddenly become irrelevant anyway. You see so many people being thrown in at the deep end that you start to wonder whether there is any type of baptism that isn’t of fire. So once you see that perfection isn’t always necessary, and once you become more certain of your own abilities, it is easier to make that judgment call.

Further, it is easier to have a frank conversation with the booker when you’re more established. I still flag gaps in my knowledge with my clients. Sometimes they’re happy for me to read the manual or spend extra time in the warehouse to fill those gaps, sometimes they have a more suitable candidate for that role that they go with instead. I’m lucky enough that I don’t need to take every single gig I’m offered, and admitting to my lack of experience in certain areas doesn’t affect my long-term relationship with my clients. In fact, they usually appreciate my honesty and trust my self-assessed competence in other roles more.

So what can you do if you aren’t that experienced yet? It’s a decision you have to make yourself, but I would suggest the following:

Some day we will all be able, to be honest about our abilities and even our insecurities with everyone, and everyone will get exactly the jobs they can handle and deserve. Until then, a little bit of “faking,” insofar as you’re coming across as confident and reassuring while taking on new, reasonable, challenges, can do wonders for your career. If you know that it’s just a little bit of a stretch for you, and you are competent in the basics, some chutzpah can get you closer to the point where you won’t need to fake it because you will have genuinely made it.

Small Venue Survival Guide – Not Even the Gig Yet

 

Small venues are everywhere and unless you are doing arena tours there is a good chance you will spend quite a few hours in these. They come in all forms and shapes, and from relatively well-kept to complete car crash establishments. One thing that will always be the same though: you will always be there alone in the middle of the afternoon, with nobody else around, faced with technology that does not always do what it says on the tin, an owner/manager that is nowhere to be found, and a phone line for emergencies that was supposed to be working that isn’t. So, in a nutshell, it’s up to you. As you move up the sound engineer ladder you will be faced with many different challenges but in a way the small venue is the litmus test for people starting out as sound techs with its way of throwing everything at you just to test you out to see if you are actually cut for this or not. It can often be a painful experience and one that is especially daunting because it is often thrown at you right at the start of your journey into sound engineering (which is pretty unfair I think). So here are a few tips that will hopefully help you own the small venue gig rather than the small venue gig owning you.

More often than not the small venue gig will appear out of nowhere. Someone is ill, can’t make it, or has double booked themselves. Oftentimes what has really happened is that they have found a better gig for themselves and are all too pleased to offload the small venue gig onto someone else (that’s you). The good thing about this is that there is a good chance that the small venue gig will turn into a repeat gig. And while not a fanciful location, it will give you lots of opportunities to hone your trade. Provided you are prepared. So, fear not! The following few simple steps should help you live up to the challenge.

In a way, your preparation for this starts long before you find yourself in a dingy basement behind a half-working mixer trying to mix a band. So even if you get called at short notice try to go to the venue a few days before your gig, and try to aim for a night when another gig is on. This may seem like a big-time investment, but it really pays off to not find out about all the things that don’t work when you are there all by yourself. Go there and talk to the sound tech that is there. Look what gear, mixing desk, etc. they have, and where things – mics, stands, cables, DI boxes, etc –  are stowed away. Ask the important questions: what is broken, what is unusual, what do you need to take particular care about. Know the channel count in that venue. Find out which ones do not work (there will always be some) or those permanently used by the DJ / bar staff to play their music over the PA. Take pictures of everything and take notes. Get that sound tech’s phone number if they agree. Spot any kit that is unfamiliar? Make a note. Look it up. Download the manual. And save it on your phone, print it, whatever – you may not have a reception in the venue. Ask if there is a decent start-up scene on the desk you can use. If you can stay for a bit of the gig do so. Take a mental note of what the venue sounds like, walk around, and see if the mix position sounds very different from the audience bit. Have a drink, make friends with the bar people, tell them you’ll be there next, and go home. If you really can’t go there physically try to get as much info beforehand anyway.

Next thing: Get the riders, load in times, stage plots, and backline requirements (and if they share backline or not) for as many bands as you can – email the promoter/venue manager, etc. yourself if you didn’t get any. Still no luck? Try the band’s Facebook/ social media. More often than not bands send the riders and they “get lost” somewhere in translation and they don’t mind the sound engineer getting in touch with them. And while you are in touch with them clarify all other points as above (backline, load in, etc.). And if you spot anything that the band wants that you are not sure the venue has (keyboard stand, special mic….) ask the venue if they provide it, or have at least discussed it with the band….. You may think it’s not your job to sort this out, and you are right, it isn’t. However, if the stuff is missing it will be your fault. Because you will be the only one there anyway. It will also cause unnecessary delays as you – yes that will be up to you as well – try to chase up enough empty beer crates to fashion a synth stand out of. You will run late and the band will be pissed off way before sound check even starts. You may email the venue and try to clarify and you still get no answer. But at least there will be an email trail to show you tried.

After that: Listen to the bands’ music. That fancy vocal effect? Can you do that on your desk? What kind of mix is it? A metal band with heavy guitars and double kick? Or a jazz combo with a harmonium? Think about what mixing these genres involves, in terms of mics you’ll use, how you place them and what effects you need to have dialed in on your desk.

Lastly? Do you have more than two bands? Make a festival input list. Make sure all inputs of all bands can fit somewhere on your mixer. Got five bands and a 16-channel mixer of which two are not working at all and one is not passing phantom? Plan ahead how you’ll squeeze them all in. And how to easiest bring it all together. Print the list with a number of copies (you’ll lose one immediately), take a pen to amend (the riders will be wrong). And put the vocals at the end, starting from your last channel (as the riders will be wrong). You may end up with a gap between your last instrument and the vocals but at least you won’t have vocals and then more bongos, keys and some violin after that when every band turns up with an extra musician (or two).

Ok so, the day of the gig is there. Go to the venue early and I mean early. 2 hours before the first band rocks up is no luxury as you have a lot of work to do before they arrive, as we’ll see below.

Step 1: Make sure the PA works. This may sound like a given but in small venues, it, unfortunately, isn’t. A working PA means: both sides of speakers work (usually, in some form or other), all drivers in the speakers work (sometimes), sound roughly the same (rarely), both subs work (sometimes), and the PA is plugged in the right way round meaning L is L and R is R (not always). You do this by either sending pink noise into each of your buses in turn or by plugging your phone (but be careful with phones and mixing desks, see below) into a line input and sending it to all buses in turn (L / R and matrices or delays if there are any).

Step 2: Make sure your monitors work using the same technique. Don’t be alarmed if none of them sound the same. That will usually be the case, unfortunately. I’ve often pondered if this is an issue but have decided that since each musician only hears their own, it isn’t.

Step 3: Make sure the desk does what you want it to. That show file you were advised to use? Make sure there are no fancy leftovers from others. Plug in your phone or a mic and send the signal to the FX, to the mons, to the mains. If weird stuff happens, reset the desk and rebuild your own scene. If you have an analogue desk, zero whatever can be zeroed and check all routing is correct, outboard works, etc.

Step 4: Make sure all your stage inputs work (almost never). The way I do this is I raise all faders, raise masters, put all settings (gain, EQ, etc.) at the same levels, unmute, and plug in either a signal generator, a mic, or the phone into each channel (and check channel after channel). This way I can hear from the stage if it all works/sounds roughly the same. Make absolutely sure your phantom power is off though as the 48 volts will fry audio outputs of phones etc. in a second. That’s why I do not really recommend using the phone for that. A cheap cable tester that also does test signal is the trick here.

Worse than the completely non-working channel though is the one-legged channel. It will seem like it passes audio fine (although a little quieter) but a one-legged channel will, depending on which pin is not working either pass no phantom, or no phantom and only half the audio. So how do we find out about this? This time you mute all the channels but put phantom on. Plug an active DI with a light into each channel (channel after channel) and if the light does not come on, you’ve got a one-legged channel. That does not mean you can’t absolutely use it. Oftentimes you will have to use every channel you can find. But you should not use it on very quiet sources, or anything that requires phantom, like a condenser mic, or an active DI.

Step 5: Make sure all cables work. This is where the humble cable tester is the small venue engineer’s best friend. Take 10 mins to go through all the ones you’ll use. Because if one doesn’t work it absolutely will end up being the one for the main vocal and not that second rack tom or bottom snare.

Step 6: Ring out your system: Set up your vocal mics where they will be. Don’t know how many input lines? Put them at the end (or very beginning) of your input list. EQ both FOH and monitors to remove feedback. If you have an iPad that is where it will be really useful as you can position yourself right on stage and do your ringing out from there.

Step 7: Set up most other mics before the band arrives. Get the stands out, put the mics into the clips, and cable them up. If you don’t know where on your input list the vocals get plugged in, or how many lines you’ll end up with, plug them in at the end (or the beginning). Prepare DIs with cables etc.….

And so, when the band finally arrives you’ll have a working system, that is rung out, and all your mics will already be ready to go. And most importantly you’ll have that confidence that you’ve checked it all and normally everything should work.

Next: Small venue survival guide – Part 2: The gig, and what’s in my bag

Gertie Steinacker started out in live sound, after working in production for a number of festivals, about 15 years ago in Switzerland, attending a 2-year course then working in local venues. Later on, music production became the priority but a few years ago she got sucked back into being behind a mixer again. Her time is now split between live sound, translation work, trying to finish a Ph.D., and music production.

You can currently find her at FOH or on monitors in various venues around London and Sheffield such as the 100 Club and the Foundry as well as working with a number of independent and underground promoters.

 

Victoria Butash -Monitor Engineer for Jason Isbell and Sylvan Esso

Victoria has worked in Live Sound for over eleven years and is currently on tour as a monitor engineer with  Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit and works with Sylvan Esso as a monitor engineer. In addition, she works for Big House Sound, Inc. and Sound Image.

Victoria grew up surrounded by music, as her dad was a musician as well as his friends, and at age ten began exploring songwriting. She was part of the choir and band at school and can play a variety of instruments. She attended Capital University, in Columbus, Ohio with the notion of becoming a studio engineer, but realized quickly that her love was in live music and the dream of touring. She would graduate with a Bachelor of Music in Music Technology.

 

Career Start

How did you get your start?

I honestly didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do when I started college. I didn’t even know if I wanted to be in college at all. At first, I thought that I wanted to pursue being a studio engineer, and I realize now that that was a result of my program being so studio-focused. As soon as I got a taste of the live sound environment, I was sold. My first paid gigs were in small clubs. My friend recommended me to cover a few shows, and soon I was being scheduled regularly and was being offered shifts at other clubs that were similar in size. I was bartending to keep a steady income, but eventually, I realized how much those two tracks conflict and decided to pursue other audio opportunities.

What did you learn interning or on your early gigs?

One of the biggest lessons I learned early on was that there is more than one way to efficiently and correctly accomplish something and that you can learn so much from simply observing. I learned and practiced the nuance of asking the right questions at the right times. The other big one was that you absolutely do not have to yell or be a bully to get things done in an effective way. I watched a lot of others try that tactic, and it exclusively garnered resentment amongst the people that you want on your team. There’s a time and a place for being stern (safety), but you absolutely do not have to use it as your primary tactic.

 

Sylvan Esso Crew

Career Now

What is a typical day like?

Wake up at least an hour and a half before walk and chalk, and check Google Maps to see where we are and if there are good coffee spots within walking distance.

Even though I’m not flying anything currently, I still go to walk and chalk to determine my footprint on SL and make sure that I’m being left enough room to operate and make adjustments if not.

Load In

Build MON world and take a look at the air space with RF Explorer and Touchstone Pro

My RF products are all Shure, so I use Touchstone Pro to visualize, and then import data into Wireless Workbench to analyze and deploy my frequencies and pair receivers/transmitters.

Open the previous show file, review my notes, and update snapshots accordingly

Once the backline is built, I run my looms to stage boxes and power drops and help patch the stage

Find some time for lunch and another coffee, and if there’s enough time I’ll call a loved one

Line check with backline pals

Soundcheck

Organize stage/prep changeover if there’s an opener

Dinner

Show

Load Out

 

How do you stay organized and focused?

The most important thing is taking care of your mind and body – if you’re not drinking enough water or eating consistently, your mind will not be at its best.

Outside of health, I find that having a step-by-step routine for getting your day started and setting up is helpful. If you continue to practice the same routine every day, you’ll be able to troubleshoot faster and be considerate of your team’s schedules. For instance – I wouldn’t ever run stage looms first thing because the backline has rolling risers that need to be built and placed. I really don’t like when I hear others use the phrase “work smarter not harder” condescendingly, but I can attest that running out a hefty sine loom is much easier if you don’t have to move it because it’s in the way.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I love being a part of the interpersonal relationships within the tour team and talent. I think that being a monitor engineer means that your crew is instilling a lot of trust in you. It’s your job to create a sonic space that honors the musician as well as the backline techs that work tirelessly to preserve tone. It’s an amazing feeling to experience the energy on stage as it morphs from song to song.

What do you like least?

When things go wrong, it’s hard not to take it personally. Even if you’re fully prepared and have done the work to secure spare lines, spare frequencies, etc., the equipment can still fail in a way that isn’t immediately fixable. That aspect can be anxiety fuel.

Luckily, I work with incredibly understanding folks who keep their frustrations in check and trust that I am doing my best to make the issue go away. It’s been great to know that if something comes up, we can have a civil conversation about it later.

If you tour what do you like best?

I have always (kind of) joked about how my number one passion in life is food and touring is my gateway to experiencing all of the world’s best food. Seeing the world is such an amazing perk.

I also love that I get to partake in so many fantastic friendships.

What do you like least?

I think that living out of a suitcase surrounded by up to 11 people in a small space as well as being away from your loved ones gets tiring during a long tour. It certainly forces you to choose what items are most important to your every day. I think even the most social people need a break with privacy sometimes, and it can be hard to come by.

What is your favorite day off activity? 

I have two priorities: Find the best coffee. Find at least one good meal.

Outside of that, I usually bring my rollerskates on the road, so I’ll find somewhere to skate and listen to music. I also genuinely love hanging out with my crews, so I like planning fun group activities – especially if they can be outside. I also always make time to phone my loved ones.

What are your long-term goals?

I just want to continue staying on top of the newest technologies and seeing the world (and eating all of the food that the world has to offer!). Eventually, I’d love to dive into more Production Management. I also want to continue exclusively working for and with good humans.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

My biggest obstacles have always been my own anxieties: whether I deserved to be where I was, whether I could handle challenging situations, and being worried that I’m not communicating well enough with my team. The industry’s volatile nature has left a lot of my friends and coworkers with these same anxieties, which means that many of us can share in them and help each other deplete them. You can only control what you can control.

I would be remiss if I didn’t note that I’ve experienced a fair bit of sexism and sexual harassment. I’ve worked in spaces that didn’t feel safe, and I’ve been brushed off for asking for help.

I’ve noticed that – for me at least – it hasn’t been as up-front as it once was. Post-COVID lockdown, there’s been a level of accountability that didn’t quite exist before. That’s not to discount anyone else’s experiences, but I’m glad to feel somewhat safer in my work environment.

How have you dealt with them?

Letting go of the things you can’t control is a powerful thing. I see a therapist once every two weeks, which really helps with the struggles of having anxiety and being on the road full-time. I really, really encourage everyone who tours to seek telehealth therapy options. Many cities have programs that can help with financial support for mental health services. If you live in the Austin area, please reach out to SIMS for mental health support.

I’ve had to get better at advocating for myself and my safety, as well as the safety of those around me. I do my best to work hard and foster an environment where everyone feels welcomed and appreciated.

Advice you have for other women who wish to enter the field?

Never stop learning. Remember that no single person knows everything; it’s okay to look something up on Google if you’re second-guessing. Do your best to stay focused through the beginnings of your career: it’s gonna be tough, but you can push through. Meet everyone and try to remember their names – that goes a long way and helps with networking. Make sure that you’re ALWAYS taking breaks to drink water and eat – even on the busiest days. If you only have the budget to purchase one nice tool to start out with, grab a multi-tool like a Leatherman. You will more than likely encounter some form of sexism/discrimination, but do not let that stop you…and always reach out to a Production/Stage Manager, Tour Manager, or Venue Manager if you need help. You should not be expected to work in an unsafe environment, and safety includes sexual harassment or sexism. Advocate for your health, your pay, and your safety. And as you move into positions with more authority, despite what you may see others do, you can accomplish things with kindness and comradery instead of fear.

Must have skills?

I think the biggest skill to being on any team is work ethic and the ability to see everything and everyone from the “same team” point of view. We’re all here to do the same job, even if we work in different departments. People on your team will also notice when you care about your work, and that is a valuable trait.

Be communicative and open. Take responsibility if you mess up and put fail-safes in place to avoid the issue in the future. At the same time, also know when to let a bad night go.

Do your best to stay calm and collected when troubleshooting. Something will definitely go wrong at some point, so be prepared with the knowledge and tools to track it down and fix it.

Last but not least: do your best to be pleasant while respecting your boundaries and your teammates’ boundaries. We all have to work together through long, sometimes arduous days and then we have to get onto our tiny house on wheels and live together, which is a lot. I’d say that getting along with your team goes further than technical know-how.

Favorite gear?

My Leatherman, JH Roxannes and UE 18+ PROs, my RF Explorer, soldering irons, my SoundTools Rat Sniffer, label maker (with cool glitter tapes), anything from the Neve 500 series in a rack, and honestly…zip ties. Haha.

I just want to pay homage to those who helped me get to where I am. In no particular order: my dad Jeff and my mom Cindy, Rick Rhoads, who introduced me to recording and opened the door to a plethora of incredible music, Dr. Mark Lochstampfor, Greg Harbert, Joey Pasternak, Andie Cascioli, Melanie Renecker, Kip Montgomery, Zach Anderson, Nate Peterson, Alicia Blake, Karrie Keyes, and Jeremiah Karni.

Why I Don’t Use Plug-Ins When Mixing Music Live

I talk a lot about how I don’t use plug-ins.  I want to clarify a few things, and in this blog, I’ll explain why I don’t use any plug-ins when I am mixing live sound and how I use plug-ins when working in a DAW.

MIXING LIVE SOUND

If I’m mixing on an analog console, I’ll have a rack of outboard gear consisting of some gates and compressors, reverb, and delay.  I’m less is more kind of gal and I like to keep things simple.  If I’m mixing on a digital console, unless it is by the artist’s request, I use only the EQ, gates, and compressors on the console.

I do not use sound-shaping plug-ins to create the sounds I want.  I focus on using the right tool for the job starting with choosing the right microphone, using a great-sounding console, and minimal processing in the signal path. I rely heavily on good gain structure and proper use of EQ. I also work to make sure what I’m mixing sounds great before I put a mic on it.  When you start with great sounds from the source, it makes mixing that much easier.

I want to be able to mix my show on whatever console and equipment I have and when I’m touring all over the world with an artist, there is no guarantee that I will be able to have the exact gear that I request in every location.

When your show is built around layers of plug-ins, you will inevitably run into a situation where your server is down, your licenses don’t work, your console won’t speak to the waves rack, or there isn’t enough DSP to handle it.

I’ve watched so many sound people at festivals frantically on their phones with tech support trying to resolve issues with their plug-ins not working. They are super stressed because they cannot mix the show without the plug-ins.

They never learned how to properly use EQ or compression and rely on the plug-ins to do what they can’t.  Without plug-ins, their mix completely falls apart and they have a terrible show.

As the sound engineer for a band, you should be able to walk in and mix your show on whatever equipment you have.  Of course, some shows will sound better than others due to the quality of the sound system and equipment available, but you should never be in a situation where you can’t make the guitar sound good without your Maserati ACG or GTR3 ToolRack or you can’t get any warmth or thump from the PA without your OneKnob plug-ins.

When we start to rely too heavily on the tools, we lose our skills.  If you want to master your audio skills, make sure you start by learning the fundamentals.

MIXING IN A DAW

When I talk about mixing music in the studio without using plug-ins, I’m referring to sound-shaping plug-ins.  Things like OneKnob, Maserati, Clarity, etc.  Plug-ins that do things that you can do with proper EQ and compression.

When using a DAW it’s a given that you will need to use plug-ins.  Most DAWs come with basic EQ, dynamic, and effects.  These are all integral components of a mix.  Beyond the basic plug-ins available in your particular DAW there are many higher-quality options available.

The Neve, API, or SSL EQ plug-ins will sound better than the generic EQ included in your DAW.  Listen to compare and choose the one that sounds best to you.

As well, the UA audio, Empirical Labs, CLA, and SSL compressors will sound better than the ones included in your DAW.

Take your time in choosing what works best for your music and mix.

But when it comes to finding clarity in the vocal, getting that extra punch on your drums, or fattening up a thin acoustic guitar, etc. these are all things that can be accomplished with proper mic choice, good signal level, and EQ.

If you want a great-sounding electric guitar, take the time to dial in the sound of your amp before recording it.  Tuning and recording great-sounding drums will prevent the need for doctoring up with multiple plug-ins.

There is nothing wrong with using plug-ins to enhance your mix but it’s important to build a great-sounding mix with the basics first.

The skills of using critical listening to choose the right mic and position, tweaking the sound of the source to make it as good as possible before recording, setting proper input gain, and using EQ and compression properly will serve you far better than a toolbox full of single-use sound-shaping plug-ins.

If you’re getting started in Live Sound, CHECK OUT THIS BLOG, and if you’re recording and producing from your home studio READ THIS.

By: Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato MixingMusicLive.com

 

On Knowing When to Leave (and Getting Fired Before You Can)

Unfortunately, I can no longer say I have never experienced racial discrimination in our industry.

About a year ago, I landed a job after the much-anticipated remodeling of a local midsized venue. I was hired with the understanding that I wouldn’t be one of the main engineers but still taking a handful of shows a month. As an unknown quantity, I would start as an A2, and then start getting A1 shifts once I had established myself a bit. It was exciting: the room was custom-made, and the consoles were top of the line aalthough not very common.

The reality was very different. Call times were texted late at night the day before. Advance info wasn’t received until hours before the call time. At most I was scheduled for two shifts in a month. Most months I had no shifts at all. In the end, I was only getting shifts if I specifically requested to work a show. When I asked what I could do to get more shifts I was given the equivalent of a verbal shrug. I was sidelined as an A2 and told I wasn’t experienced enough to move into the A1 role, despite being a regular A1 at a couple of other venues twice the size and being the FOH engineer for a local artist. I asked for my pay to get matched to my other venues and was declined. It felt like I was being pushed out somehow, even though I was never given the chance to establish myself.

I started to wonder if my demographics had to do anything with the work environment I experienced. I was the only woman of color on the audio staff, and one of a handful of nonwhite engineers. I was left off the schedule almost completely. The other two men were pushed down into working the smaller stage more often, even though we were designated as working in the main room. Everyone scheduled regularly in the main room was white and male. It felt like I was being singled out, but I wasn’t quite sure, because I felt that I wasn’t even around enough to have a clear picture.

It became more and more frustrating. I had never properly learned the console or even the venue because I was there so infrequently, so reconfiguring my file each time I worked and troubleshooting anything that happened was a slog. I would be cranky for 24 hours before the few shifts I had, partially because I knew how frustrating just doing my job would be and also because I still had no information about what time to show up or what the show was.

I decided that there was no point in continuing to request shows. It wasn’t a good working environment. Venue politics aside, the way the venue was set up and the amount of time that passed between my shifts made simply getting a show-up and running much more difficult than it needed to be. It was clear I wasn’t going to get more shifts; it was clear I wasn’t going to move up; it was clear I wasn’t going to get paid more, and losing $250 once every two months was an almost unnoticeable financial impact. I essentially didn’t work there anyway. Finding out that one of the other nonwhite engineers, who was very much established, was fired in part for questioning the same scheduling pattern I had noticed sealed the deal. I decided to quit sending in my availability.

Little did I know that I too would get fired before I could quietly fade myself out.

I had agreed to cover a shift when I realized I had double-booked myself. There were still several weeks to go, so I contacted the few coworkers I had contact information for, and when no one was free I contacted the person who was responsible for scheduling. Instead of helping me, he gave me three options: switch to a different day that week (not possible, as I was booked or out of town), pressure the original engineer into taking the shift back (not how that works), or dropping my conflicting shift (which I had committed to first, paid significantly more, and was with a company that gives me regular work). When I declined to take him up on any of those options, I heard nothing for a day, before receiving a very passive-aggressive text message telling me that I was off the shift and also no longer in the scheduling pool. Getting fired for something as standard as needing help finding coverage for a shift only confirmed that my instincts to get out of there were correct.

Walking away can be hard, but it’s important to know your worth and feel confident in your reputation as an engineer. If you don’t feel you’re getting anything out of a gig, and you can survive financially without it, there’s no shame in letting it go. Stand up for yourself and stick to your boundaries. It’s not a failure. There will always be more. This venue fired me while I was at my home venue doing the best-sounding FOH mix I’ve ever done in that room. Move on to somewhere that values you and don’t look back.

Doing Sound for Acrobatics Shows

The first time I ran a soundboard from FOH for a show with acrobatics, my main concern was not to get distracted by the act and by the anxiety that watching acrobatics and dangerous acts can cause. This feeling never goes away but you learn how to control it and to focus your attention on your cues and mixing. Especially when your track is a fundamental part of the show, as important as the music and sound effects can be, and especially when troubleshooting needs to be performed as effectively as possible in case of any surprise or technical difficulties because it can affect the act and performer’s safety. I might even claim that your mixing becomes second, safety is always first.

The way to achieve this concentration level starts by learning mainly four things: learn your gear, learn the act/show, learn the cue sheet and learn the music. As with any job, knowing the tools and gear you have to perform your job is fundamental, even getting used to the physical position of it and training your muscular memory can be important to efficiently do your job during a show with acrobatics that requires rapid response and accuracy. Many of the sound cues will be related to visual references, verbal cues, or musical cues during a show with acrobatics, so learning when an artist moves a leg or does a head bow, are as important as learning the key change in the music to trigger the next scene on your console.

As in other types of shows, acrobatics shows have a big crew of technicians backstage running different tracks to make the show happen. During the show (and rehearsals) we are all on Intercoms following a script read by a show caller. These scripts let each technician know the moment to run their specific cue, and it will be something like winch coming in, cue 27 go, door is clear, performers to position, house to 20% go, standby for …, etc. If you are running FOH, 99% of the time you won’t be listening to the show caller because there is a show to be mixed with both of your ears, but you may have cue lights triggered by them or you might have to hear momentarily the show caller channel to trigger your cue. Other show tracks for sound as monitors or backstage will probably hear the show caller during the whole show, adding it to the mix for the in-ears or carrying a belt pack just for coms.

Following artists’ movements to run cues, sound effects, or musical remarks might happen during the show too, like pushing the master for specific impressive moments of the acropachies or triggering sound effects for clown acts. This means that in addition to your audio console and processor you’ll run, you might always have another piece of gear with sound clips for this purpose, like Qlab, LCS Cue consoles, 360 Systems Instant Replay audio player, etc. Learning the acts and the different versions of them will help you follow the artist’s actions, if they decide to repeat an action or not, your cues may vary or not.

It will also be very important what to do in case of an emergency, you’ll be trained to follow emergency protocols depending on the situation (show stops, fire alarm, etc.) like triggering special announcements, playing waiting music, or even assisting artists on stage.

Cue sheets and track sheets are the best way to put together all the learning of the music, the act, and the cues. On them, you can specify preset instructions, the type of reference to take cues, what the cue does, when to take the cue, what the next cue is, and how fast you need to do it, act versions or show versions, etc.

Doing sound for acrobatic shows will always keep your attention to a maximum, there is no chance for missing cues or for big mistakes, and problem-solving will be your most valuable skill.

 

Tips for Your First Live Sound Gig

So you did it!!

Congratulations, I am so SO so proud of you. You managed to reach out of your bubble and made connections that are all leading up to today, hopefully, it will mark the start of your new career in live sound. You could be working the church PA system for the first time, at a venue or festival, or maybe a wedding. It really doesn’t matter where you are – just that you are putting yourself out there. If no one has given you kudos for that, I am there bud!

My first gig in live sound was the most trial-by-fire you can possibly get. Despite being fresh out of my college Live Sound I class, I decided to help at a music festival. Little did I know I would be the FOH for my own stage…oh boy. I can vividly remember the thought of going there with the thought I would be a stagehand or a runner for the engineers, and the shock I felt as soon as I realized that wasn’t the case.

It felt invigorating and anxiety-inducing all at once, me? Run a stage? Set up the PA? Run the console the whole show? What? At that moment I knew I would either fall into the building panic or rise to the challenge of a lifetime.… Spoiler! I SLAYED!!

Definitely not without some hiccups, so if you find yourself in a trial-by-fire predicament as I did, or it is a little laxer, here are some tips that can help.

Scope Out The Scene

My first experience was at a large music festival, before I went I used Google Maps to see if I could sit at any public parks or coffee shops. If you have some downtime (by this I mean an hour or greater) until the event explore the area you are in. Please always prioritize safety above anything else, if you don’t feel comfortable or safe, taking care of yourself is more important than anything else. Trust your instincts, if something is telling you to leave – do so and find someplace (maybe that’s a deli or pharmacy) where you can go in and cool off.

Pro Tip Value public libraries! They are heated in the winter and cool come summer, open all year round, and are great places to kill time and get work done. I was able to work on a session on my laptop before the gig, essentially freeing two birds with one key.

Scope Out The Venue

Once you have settled into the role you’ve been given, It is time to familiarize yourself with the equipment, stage area, and most importantly – your inputs and stage plots….ugh speaking of
which…

Stage Plots May Vary

You may hit the holy grail of stage plots. The picture is clear and legible – you know where they want to be positioned and how to set up the stage in correspondence with that particular act. Not every stage plot is like that. I’ve had to work with very different bands and artists – Rock alternatives, R&B, Gospel groups, Metal, and one Noah Cyrus/ Alicia Keys cover band. The stage plots were wildly diverse – some were completely non-legible, while others did not bother to submit anything other than their band name and email information. Inputs and stage plots are important for whoever is doing sound – they need to make sure that they have the equipment to accommodate the artist’s set,
and also that they follow guidelines set by the venue. My advice if you get a plot or input list that doesn’t resemble either of the two is to talk to the client(s) – What are they bringing? Is the guitar going directly to the console, or are they going to bring an amp? Do they want to use their own mic, is it dynamic? If you have no way to contact them, talk to your stage manager – their job is to make sure the show goes smoothly, and if you can’t do your job, things are certainly not going smoothly.

Take a Breath

There is a lot more that can be said on the topic, like wearing comfortable plain clothing or the best ways to position monitors – but really you need to learn what to do by doing it. I can solidly say that if someone asked to do that whole experience again, I could with little hesitation. Your head can often get in the way of your capabilities, trust that you can do this. Breath in…. And let
it out.

Andrea Arenas – Live Sound & Studio Engineer

Andrea Arenas is a Live and Studio Engineer working in the industry for over 17 years. Andrea is currently working as a sound technician for La Perle by Dragone in Dubai. Andrea discovered audio when she was in her teens and overheard some of her friends from orchestra discussing audio engineering.  Andrea wanted to pursue music as she had been learning percussion since she was ten years old. She was deterred by her family who said that music was not an option, so audio engineering opened another career path for her. At the time in Venezuela, there were no official institutions offering audio as a career path, so Andrea enrolled in electronic engineering at Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela, with the understanding that it was somehow related to audio and music. Andrea is currently enrolled at Iberoamerican University, Puebla working on a Master’s Degree in Cultural Management.

 

Career Start

How did you get your start?

I approached a recording studio in my university, part of the communications department, open-minded and willing to find a person who could take me in to teach me all about it. The person in charge of it, fortunately, took me in and taught me most of the things I know about sound today.

How did your early internships or jobs help build a foundation for where you are now?

That first job in the university studio was the door to starting my career in audio, it let me understand what the field was about and if it was something I would enjoy. So it was one of the most important decisions I’ve made in my audio career

What did you learn interning or on your early gigs?

I learned about types of gear, signal flow, working processes, and critical listening. I learned about which parts of the sound career I liked and whatnot.

Did you have a mentor or someone that really helped you?

Yes, Francisco ‘Coco’ Diaz was the person who took me in at the university studio and mentored me for almost 3 years. Even after all these years, I still go to him when I need some perspective or advice. You can follow his Instagram account in Spanish for musical production tips @serproductordemusica.

 

Career Now

What is a typical day like?

I wake up around 8 to 9 am and take care of any home and personal activities like cleaning, cooking, yoga, etc. Then I check emails and work on any out-of-work projects like my personal music, podcasts, mixing, university classes, volunteering work, etc. Then, my work hours for the show usually start after 2 pm. When I arrive at the theater, I check the schedule for the day. We usually have some training, rehearsals or validations with artists. Soundcheck happens every day a couple of hours before the show starts, depending on my track for the day (because I rotate 4 tracks, foh, monitors, RF, and musical director) I’ll do presets for microphones, consoles, computers, etc. Then I run two shows and go home at midnight.

How do you stay organized and focused?

Discipline is part of the daily routine in every aspect of my life, I think mainly because of my musical training, I try to plan short-term goals and keep track of schedules I plan in my mind. I say “in my mind” because following a routine is not my way of doing it. Depending on the day’s mood I organize my activities trying to follow those short-term goals, let’s say I try to keep a weekly schedule rather than a daily tight schedule.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

Feeling that I’m part of a show that, for at least two hours, takes people’s imagination to new places, to enjoy and be happy for a moment. It makes me feel rewarded.

What do you like least?

Having shows on days you want to see your favorite artist show.

If you tour, what do you like best?

Before the pandemic, I was touring with Cirque and my favorite part was always during the first soundcheck at every new city. I usually felt very tired at that moment because of the transfer work, but as soon as the first notes sounded, I could remember why I was doing it, kept going, and enjoyed the moment.

What do you like least?

Working many days in a row, one time I worked 22 days in a row, live sound can be physically very demanding sometimes

What is your favorite day off activity?

I still work on my personal projects during the days I don’t have shows. I consider everyday activities as a choice and I disagree with thinking that on days off I’m “free”. Of course, I also enjoy doing nature or art activities, but I consider them as part of my schedule to achieve the mental state I need to be efficient, enjoy my creative process and enjoy life.

What are your long-term goals?

Keep learning and be open to new opportunities. The pandemic changed my perspective about two things: making plans and depending on a single paycheck. So I’m willing to expand my horizons as much as possible, always open to new experiences related to sound, music, art, culture, and a sense of community.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

It has probably been to leave my country and be able to be recognized as a professional again despite having to practically start from scratch. It’s common to find people don’t trust your skills and even doubt your CV when you are from a different latitude and speak different languages. Fortunately, not everyone thinks the same way, and some others gave me the opportunity to prove myself and let my work speak for myself

How have you dealt with them?

I always try to mention that despite anything that I’ve dealt with (consciously or not) I’m true to myself, and my ideas and keep working as hard and passionately as possible.

Advice you have for other women and young women who wish to enter the field?

Follow your instincts, speak up, despite feeling intimidated by others, and don’t let these feelings rule the way you behave or think. There will always be people more experienced and less experienced than you anywhere, just be aware that your opinion is also important and can be considered as others.

Must have skills?

Problem-solving, active listening, and patience

Favorite gear?

I always say that because I haven’t tried them all, I can’t choose a favorite. I think the idea is to feel comfortable with the gear you use, and learning the most about it and practicing will be the only way to get there. So I usually try to feel comfy with the gear I use, sometimes I wish I could have the trendy ones or the ones that a super famous artist or studio owns, but sometimes it is not possible. So I embrace reality and get the best out of the gear I have in front.

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