"Sound" I Am In Over My Head

[gmff]

We have the 1st big name group coming, I have been tasked with finding sound equipment to rent or borrow for this event. I have done some small sound productions nothing of this magnitude. The group will bring a sound guy. The list I need is: 4) 15" speakers for the hall, 4) monitors (one for each singer), 2) stage wash speakers, 5 mics ( 1) for each singer and one for the singer opening the show), 6 mics for the band, mixer to handle all of this stuff, amp that can handle all the speakers, cords for all of the preceding. I have sought professional help, but would like to know a little more about this before I meet with the professional next week. Any help would be wonderful.

 

[bishopthomas]

That's a pretty basic rig for someone who does this kind of thing, but I can see where it would be a daunting task for one with no experience mixing bands. You have already "sought professional help," and that would be my first recommendation. Hire this out to a local sound company and learn all you can from what they do.

 

[josh88]

If they are bringing their own sound person to mix everything, you should be able to call up a rental house somewhere near you and tell them just that and what type of instruments the band has and they should be able to set you up with whatever you need.

 

[Footer]

Were any brands mentioned in the rider? Is there any house PA in the room you are in? Did the promoter mark up anything on the contract before it got signed?

If brands are mentioned its a good idea to adhere to them. If they were not, then I would still stick with upper tear stuff just to be safe. The last thing any road engineer wants is to walk in and see a Mackie console with Behringer comps and graphs. I would also say its time to get an audio company involved. They can come out with a matched system, everything will work, and they will have a tech who can handle the engineer. Finally, they will make sure the rider gets properly filled. It will be money well spent. Being a system tech dealing with a road engineer can sometimes be harder then actually mixing the band yourself. It is a different touch altogether.

 

[bishopthomas]

The thing about band engineers is they're not always good at what they do. This goes from small local bands to A level national acts. This will make your job all the more difficult, and protecting the gear is a major part of that job. Again, hire it out and enjoy the show.

 

[tk2k]

Make sure whoever you hire has liability insurance. Some people hire out a local guy for a show, then something might go wrong and you're left in legal no-mans-land. Or see if your institution's insurance covers contractors (sign a physical contract).

how much is this band costing? If the band rider doesn't mention any brands you're good hiring anything, but some larger acts will have more specific requirements. Also remember any brands in the rider are a contract, and it must be approved by you and the band manager before a substitution can be made. Aka "well this mic is like one i already own..." needs to be pre-approved.

 

[museav]

how much is this band costing? If the band rider doesn't mention any brands you're good hiring anything, but some larger acts will have more specific requirements.

Unfortunately, it can be the "wanna think they're a big star but actually aren't even close" riders that can often be the most problematic, listing brands and products that they don't need, and may not even know what to do with if they got them, but that they think asking for them makes them cool. Getting a sense of what is actually required or appropriate may require the help of someone with experience with similar situations along with considering the budget and what is practical.

How did you derive the list you mentioned? Did they provide a stage plot or input and equipment list? If so, were any specific brand names or models noted? Does anyone from the band know the venue or advance the gig? There are a number of odd things noted like their specifically wanting four 15" speakers, their wanting two stage wash speakers and four monitors, their asking for a number of mics but not noting the purpose for them, their apparently asking for all the mics but not noting any DIs or other inputs, no mention of any signal processing, the absence of any specific models or requirements and so on. A production company with experience with similar situations should really help but they may have some of the same questions as it is a bit unusual for someone to get into the detail they apparently did and to not also go into much greater detail.

 

[bishopthomas]

Unfortunately, it can be the "wanna think they're a big star but actually aren't even close" riders that can often be the most problematic, listing brands and products that they don't need, and may not even know what to do with if they got them, but that they think asking for them makes them cool. Getting a sense of what is actually required or appropriate may require the help of someone with experience with similar situations along with considering the budget and what is practical.

This is so true. When I was touring the club scene my rider stated what gear I DIDN'T want to see, along with the qualifications of the gear. Saying "No Behringer or Mackie" and "Must be capable of 8 pre fade monitor mixes" really weeds out the low end mixers and leaves gear that is more than capable of doing the job. My pet peeve is bands that REQUIRE certain gear (as in WILL NOT do the show without it) but have no good reason why. It's one thing to have a complicated show on a memory stick, but when you don't even know how to use a console why are you spec'ing it? I think if a certain piece of gear is absolutely crucial to the show then you should bring it with you (if at all possible).

 

[museav]

Saying "No Behringer or Mackie" and "Must be capable of 8 pre fade monitor mixes" really weeds out the low end mixers and leaves gear that is more than capable of doing the job.

Like Van Halen's infamous rider requirement to have M&Ms backstage but with the brown ones removed. Many people thought it was a typical excessive ego thing but it was really a response to encountering significant problems and their coming up with it as a simple way to tell if their rider had likely been read and followed. If they found the M&Ms with the brown ones removed that indicated that their rider had been read and followed, if they didn't then they knew they needed to check if the more important requirements had been read and followed.

 

[tdeater]

For your first larger show like that, have someone come in to do it, but ask a lot of questions and take notes. We run into a lot of bands wanting this and that, and frankly, for most of them they get what we have. We make sure we have enough to hook all the instruments and mics up, but a lot of the extras they don't get a lot. Many of the groups that come in, some management company created the list, and a lot of the time, they have never even seen it. Sometimes a quick call to someone in the band leader or something gets things figured out. Don't be afraid to tell them that this is beyond what you have done, so they need to be patient. Most of the time, they are pretty accommodating. (Sometimes they are not though!)

 

[bishopthomas]

Most importantly, if someone comes in needing multiple CIRCUITS do NOT tell them "there are six right here" when you do not know for sure they are on separate circuits. Outlet does not equal circuit!