Greatest Sound Check Song

Hughesie

Well-Known Member
What was the greatest sound check song you ever used, the one that made people just look at you as if you were crazy.

Mine would be Eurovision 08 cd :p:twisted:

but the best one i ever heard was the title song from the Team American Movie :rolleyes:.
 
At my old job there was a guy who always used "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd.
 
I like to use "Abnormal Interference" by Eat Static. It has a good range and lots of subtleties that make it nice to use. It gets me weird looks sometimes, but it is fun to crank up.
 
We are currently using the Lion King opening song, for some reason the crew seems to really get into it and it has a good range.
 
George Carlin's Seven Words You Can't Say on Television and John Valby's Was It You? , the traditional material for our station's sound check on the campus radio network before we went live every year. Okay, not necessarily the greatest material technically, but you definitely got strange looks from anyone who overheard it.
 
Depends on the show, but I usually get some Wicked in there, as well as My Chemical Romance.
 
I usually use "Blade Runner - End title." :grin:
 
When I'm doing the sound stuff, I like to use Follow Me by Uncle Kracker and when I'm trying to identify which speaker is on I use Bass Test by The Chemical Brothers.
 
Almost anything by Jean Michel Jarre'. The dynamics and frequencies he uses are all over the place in almost every song.

I really prefer Oxygene Pt1 and 2 And Les Chants Magnetiques Pt 1 and 2.
 
If I really want to p*** people off I use "Bhangra Blood Bhangra" by Opium Jukebox. It's a Bhangra tribute to Black Sabbath. Has a good solid drum and bass backing and lots of weird high frequency stuff from Indian instruments. I also carry around a copy of Pat Boone "In a metal mood."
But I usually use a mix CD I made up myself which has everything from the Beatles to The Black eyed peas. I might even add some Trans Siberian Orchestra stuff now.
 
Usually I like to use stuff from the soundracks for Jurassic Park I & II.
 
I tend to use Crowded House 'best of'. All good songs that are well engineered & the mix covers a wide frequency range. It also helps that it's easy listening stuff, so people dont mind it being on while I'm tuning a system.

I do think it's important when using something for sound checks that it:
1/ Is well known to you so that you know when a system doesnt sound right you can tweak it closer to what it should sound like.
2/Is similar program music to what you're using the system for. i.e There's no point tuning a system for great bass response if it's used for speeches, as it may actually cause issues.
 
Didja ever wonder what song Steely Dan uses for system check?
 
Battle Without Honor or Humanity - Tomoyasu Hotei

Pretty good for testing. Make sure you get a decent copy though, especially if you're getting it from the web. 128k MP3s simply don't cut it. I'd recommend FLAC.
 
"Learning To Fly" by Pink Floyd is my perenniel fave, but sometimes I use a pulled-from-vinyl version of "Number One" by Chaz Jankel, from the soundtrack of "Real Genius" back in the mid 80's. I know the song very well, so I can tell how true the repro is.

For stereo separation, and to drive miscellaneous folks bats**t, I use "Split Level Head" by Napoleon XIV
 
I usually use Daft Punk's Discovery Album

I'm a huge Daft Punk fan :)

If I'm trying to weird people out so they will leave then I'll use something obscure like E Nomine.

If I'm trying to make people laugh then I'll use Avenue Q hehe
 
I like to use Trip and Glide by Neve but I once heard of a guy EQing theatre houses by listening to Pink Floyds entire Wall album start to finish.
 

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