For my Live Venue Analysis assignment, I traveled home to
Cincinnati to see my long- time friends in the newly-formed, old-time band, The
Traveling Jam, play at a bar in Covington, Kentucky, The Backstage Café. Also on
the bill was the Yellow Springs based, old-time band, Blue Moon Soup.
I spoke with sound technician James Robbins about his gear and his career doing live sound. James was very helpful in all of his explanations, and more than willing to answer my questions and share his wisdom with me. I was very well-received, and I feel very
fortunate to have spoken with James. I was also able have a conversation with
the promoter of the show, who is also a stage hand at the Madison Theater next
door, and who also agreed to give me a crash course in promotions.
Back to the topic at hand, live venue analysis, I spoke with
James the night of the show and in follow up phone call a couple of days later.
He told me about his equipment and making a living doing live sound. It was a
very informative conversation and I am very glad I was able to establish a
contact in Cincinnati, where I hope to pursue a career in the music business.
Now, onto a synopsis of our conversation.
James informed me that he has been doing live sound for about 10
years, and has been in Cincinnati the whole time. I was very impressed with his
gear, the focal point of which is his Peavy XR 12-12, a 12 channel digital
mixing console with built in crossover and effects rack. After nearly a decade
in the business, James set his sights on this piece of equipment, ordering it
directly from the manufacturer around 6 months ago. A key feature of the
console, James explained, is the auto EQ function, which, in a pinch, can save
him a lot of trouble. “The computer can hear a problem a lot faster than a
human,” he told me when we spoke on the phone.
James’s other gear includes combination JBL, Yamaha, and Peavy
mains, all of which were in excellent condition. He was using industry-standard
Shure SM58 microphones. Somewhat surprisingly for the small venue, he was
running 3 snakes, one 16x4 channel main that he ran to the back of the stage,
and two 6x2 channel sub-snakes, that he ran to the front of the stage.
James went on to tell me that he is able to support himself between his sound gig at Backstage, where he does as many as four shows a week,
and doing odd jobs at the Madison Theater next door, such as spotlighting or
working at the door. He advised that a critical aspect in being able to do
freelance live sound is equipment selection. In his assessment, when it comes to
putting together a rig, there is no substitute for on-the-job experience.
When I asked James about the venue and any problems that might
arise acoustically, he told me about how he has to compensate for the sound
reflections from the glass panels of the windows directly behind the stage.
Typically, he explained, he would put curtains up in front of the windows to
eliminate feedback into the mics from the reflections. However, police code in
the jurisdiction of that particular venue prohibits windows from being blocked.
Therefore, James said, he uses dynamic microphones on the stage, rather than
condensers, which he would otherwise prefer to use. He went on to explain that
the automatic EQ mentioned earlier helps with feedback issues as well. Inputting
instruments directly into the signal chain will also help to keep feedback under
control, he said, and advised me that this option is optimal for rigging sound
whenever possible.
All in all, my conversation with James was very informative and
really beneficial. He mentioned that one piece of equipment he would really like
to acquire is a small lighting system that he could run in addition to sound.
Otherwise, he said he really enjoys his career in live sound and plans to keep
doing it. In my estimate, I will likely run into James again in the future. I
would be glad to have him aboard as a collaborator on future projects as I
(hopefully) gain traction in my own career.
Cincinnati to see my long- time friends in the newly-formed, old-time band, The
Traveling Jam, play at a bar in Covington, Kentucky, The Backstage Café. Also on
the bill was the Yellow Springs based, old-time band, Blue Moon Soup.
I spoke with sound technician James Robbins about his gear and his career doing live sound. James was very helpful in all of his explanations, and more than willing to answer my questions and share his wisdom with me. I was very well-received, and I feel very
fortunate to have spoken with James. I was also able have a conversation with
the promoter of the show, who is also a stage hand at the Madison Theater next
door, and who also agreed to give me a crash course in promotions.
Back to the topic at hand, live venue analysis, I spoke with
James the night of the show and in follow up phone call a couple of days later.
He told me about his equipment and making a living doing live sound. It was a
very informative conversation and I am very glad I was able to establish a
contact in Cincinnati, where I hope to pursue a career in the music business.
Now, onto a synopsis of our conversation.
James informed me that he has been doing live sound for about 10
years, and has been in Cincinnati the whole time. I was very impressed with his
gear, the focal point of which is his Peavy XR 12-12, a 12 channel digital
mixing console with built in crossover and effects rack. After nearly a decade
in the business, James set his sights on this piece of equipment, ordering it
directly from the manufacturer around 6 months ago. A key feature of the
console, James explained, is the auto EQ function, which, in a pinch, can save
him a lot of trouble. “The computer can hear a problem a lot faster than a
human,” he told me when we spoke on the phone.
James’s other gear includes combination JBL, Yamaha, and Peavy
mains, all of which were in excellent condition. He was using industry-standard
Shure SM58 microphones. Somewhat surprisingly for the small venue, he was
running 3 snakes, one 16x4 channel main that he ran to the back of the stage,
and two 6x2 channel sub-snakes, that he ran to the front of the stage.
James went on to tell me that he is able to support himself between his sound gig at Backstage, where he does as many as four shows a week,
and doing odd jobs at the Madison Theater next door, such as spotlighting or
working at the door. He advised that a critical aspect in being able to do
freelance live sound is equipment selection. In his assessment, when it comes to
putting together a rig, there is no substitute for on-the-job experience.
When I asked James about the venue and any problems that might
arise acoustically, he told me about how he has to compensate for the sound
reflections from the glass panels of the windows directly behind the stage.
Typically, he explained, he would put curtains up in front of the windows to
eliminate feedback into the mics from the reflections. However, police code in
the jurisdiction of that particular venue prohibits windows from being blocked.
Therefore, James said, he uses dynamic microphones on the stage, rather than
condensers, which he would otherwise prefer to use. He went on to explain that
the automatic EQ mentioned earlier helps with feedback issues as well. Inputting
instruments directly into the signal chain will also help to keep feedback under
control, he said, and advised me that this option is optimal for rigging sound
whenever possible.
All in all, my conversation with James was very informative and
really beneficial. He mentioned that one piece of equipment he would really like
to acquire is a small lighting system that he could run in addition to sound.
Otherwise, he said he really enjoys his career in live sound and plans to keep
doing it. In my estimate, I will likely run into James again in the future. I
would be glad to have him aboard as a collaborator on future projects as I
(hopefully) gain traction in my own career.