Simply put, music makes us feel good
Now that summer is finally here, it’s that time of year when many live events and festivals are happening, offering opportunities and challenges to those involved with providing live sound. Planning live events involves close attention and preparation. To run a successful live event, it’s important to plan ahead, prepare a lot, and organize. Herein lies the key to the important power of live sound. In an event, sound plays a huge role. In this article, we hope to give some insight and share some sound tips to help make your event successful.
First thing that you do before running your event is checking the venue. Depending on whether it is indoor or outdoor, you may need to come up with different plans. First of all, let’s focus on the power sources. If you are running an indoor event, power source might not be a big issue. However, you may need to have a backup plan in case of a power cut. Here, the real work starts if you are running an outdoor event. In an outdoor event, you may need to check the power sources and make sure the power source you have is not connected to anything else. Additionally, if it is possible, talk to your other organizers and check whether they have a generator as a backup.
Get a great live mix
Apart from the power sources, clarity of the sound will be the next concern. Both indoor and outdoor events require special attention here. Sound can be echoed. Studying the event location and identifying these potential concerns will be helpful to run a successful event. And, the speakers and paces you use in an indoor event are different from an outdoor event. Thorough planning will help you to overcome some of the issues related to sound clarity. Frequencies that you required will not be available all the time. So, before starting up the event, be sure to check the frequencies and verify whether your wireless microphones have the frequencies that they need.
Everything should be anticipated and well planned. Whether your event is an indoor or outdoor event, get a copy of all presentations or a schedule of acts beforehand. Eliminate unnecessary noise between acts – they can be distracting. Review with presenters how to handle a wireless microphone without keeping it too close or too far. Work that should be done in the mixing board should be in written form to avoid mistakes. More importantly, there should be someone at all times at the soundboard. Assign an assistant to handle the last minute details, to allow the soundboard technician to pay full attention in the running event.
Your job is to get the best sound you can from the room you’re in
As mentioned earlier, planning is necessary to increase the clarity of the sound system. When everything is in place, a quick line check is done. Soundcheck each microphone to make sure they’re work, set the voice levels and the gain. Vocal clarity and mix quality are critical to the show. Once vocal levels are set, bring up the other instruments or supporting microphones to match it. This will often be the only chance the soundboard engineer has to hear the microphones before the event starts. Once live, tweak the mix and adjust the overall balance to achieve the best levels for the show, deliver the expected results, and keep everyone happy.
Make it an inspiring event for all
Providing the best sound possible for the audience can make it an inspiring event for all. In review, to run a successful event, start the planning process early, decide the requirements of your event, and if you don’t understand something – ask! Better to rely on the expertise of others than try to bluff your way through an event. Remember to keep it simple, and have fun!