Live sound engineering: a checklist to run through before you decide

Start with the room and the audience

Before anyone talks about desks or loudspeakers, write down where the sound will happen and who will be listening. A village hall, a marquee on a field and a theatre foyer all behave differently, and the same mix will not travel between them. Note the approximate size of the space, the ceiling height, hard surfaces such as glass or tiled floors, and how many people you expect at the busiest moment.

Mid autumn adds its own questions. Outdoor stages face damp air, wind and early darkness, and indoor venues may be heated, which changes how the room rings. If the event runs into the evening, ask who is responsible for cable protection and cover for the front-of-house position.

Give the engineer a rough plan, even a phone photograph of the space and a sketch of where the stage will stand. That single page often saves a site visit, and it lets us say early whether the venue suits the kind of show you have in mind.

• Indoor, outdoor or covered outdoor space
• Approximate audience size and where they will stand or sit
• Hard surfaces, low ceilings or open sides
• Power supply and where the mixing position can go

Be clear about what is being amplified

A spoken-word evening, a four-piece band and a recorded presentation with a panel discussion need very different amounts of equipment. List every source that will make a sound: microphones, instruments, laptops, playback devices, announcers. Say which acts are acoustic and which bring their own amplifiers, because a loud guitar amp on stage affects what the house system has to do.

Ask each act for a stage plot and an input list well before the day. Even a handwritten version helps. It tells the engineer how many channels to prepare, which microphones to bring and whether anything needs a special connection.

If several acts share a bill, agree the order and the changeover time. A tidy changeover depends on who sets up where, and a sound check that is squeezed into five minutes rarely goes well. Decide in advance whether there will be a proper line check or only a quick one.

• Number of microphones and instruments
• Which acts bring their own backline
• Playback sources such as laptops or phones
• Stage plots and input lists from each act

Front-of-house, monitors or both

Front-of-house mixing is what the audience hears. Monitor mixing is what the performers hear, and it is a separate job. On a small stage one engineer can cover both from a single desk, but the moment performers need different mixes in their own wedges or earpieces, a second position and often a second person become sensible.

Ask yourself how much the performers rely on hearing themselves. Singers who cannot hear their own voice push harder, drift in pitch and tire early. A speaker at a conference may need only a small return, while a choir or a band with a drummer needs more thought.

Decide who will talk to the performers during the check. Having one named person who agrees changes with the engineer keeps the stage calm. Also confirm whether in-ear systems are wanted, since those bring radio frequencies and extra planning with them.

• One mix for everyone, or separate monitor mixes
• Wedges, side fills or in-ear systems
• One point of contact for stage requests

System tuning and signal routing

A good system is tuned to the space it stands in. That means placing loudspeakers so that coverage is even, measuring the room and adjusting equalisation so that nothing booms or whistles. It takes time, and it should be written into the schedule rather than squeezed in while the doors are opening.

Routing matters just as much. If the event is also being streamed or recorded, decide where the feed is taken from and who is responsible for it. A broadcast feed taken from the front-of-house desk will carry the room mix, which is rarely what the remote audience wants.

Ask how the signal will travel: analogue multicore, digital snake or a network link. Each has strengths, and each needs the right cable, power and spare parts. Make sure a spare for every critical link is on site, because a failed cable at the start of a set is the commonest fault of all.

• Time set aside for tuning before doors open
• Separate feed for recording or streaming
• Cable type and spares for every critical link

People, schedule and the day itself

Look at who will actually be working the show. Ask for the names and the experience of the engineers, not only the company, and check that they have mixed events of a similar size. A calm engineer who has seen your type of room will solve problems before anyone notices them.

Walk through the timetable from load-in to wrap. Allow for unloading, rigging, line checks, a sound check for each act and a safe margin before the audience arrives. Decide who has authority if something runs late, and which part of the schedule can be shortened without harming the show.

Finally, agree the practical details on paper: access times, parking for the van, who provides power and cover, what happens if the weather turns. Settling these early costs little. Discovering them at the load-in costs a great deal more, and it is usually the audience that notices.

• Names and relevant experience of the engineers
• Load-in, check and wrap times written down
• Weather plan and access arrangements

None of these points needs special knowledge, only a little time spent on paper before the event. If you can answer most of them, you are ready to talk to an engineer and get a realistic plan. If you cannot, that is useful to know too. Send us what you have through the contact page and we will go through the gaps with you.