The #1 Success Habit for Beginner Live-Sound Engineers!
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- čas přidán 24. 04. 2016
- Episode #1. After more than seventeen years mixing at one of America's most beloved and well respected live music venues this is what I've found to create more gratitude, goodwill, and cooperation from performers than any other method I've seen or tried. This piece of advice is the EASIEST way to build instant rapport with performers by showing you care about their basic needs and concerns. Hundreds of performers have personally told me just how much my simple yet powerful habit means to them and they wished it would become the industry standard. Please help me make that become a reality!
Watch my follow up video, Proper Procedures for Cleaning Microphone Grills, at • Proper procedures for ...
A huge thank you to the awesome Bob Dossa for all of his hard work shooting and editing around all of my mistakes and awkward nervousness while in front of the camera. You can find him and much more of his work at www.rainydayrun.com
Please share with engineers, musicians and/or anyone that performs with their voice. Thank you for your support!
Join the conversation at livesoundtips.com/
You can also connect with me at:
Facebook: / frontofhouseengineer
Twitter: / paul_at_foh
Instagram: / live_sound_engineer
If a guy pays this much attention to his client's well being and his gear...how much more attention do you think he pays to the engineering he does? subscribed.
Paul is one of our favorite sound men in the Bay and damnnn good at his craft. He's got both the personality and the technicality aspects down. Super rare. Props, Paul!
Completely agree
Even more important in 2020!! Thank you, Paul.
These videos are so great. Due to the fact that I'm working for a service and rental company and we are never at the same venue every week, I got an bottle of germicide spray. No one in my company understood me and it took along time to convince my boss of regulary cleaning the mics.
A tip for the second part: I'm always wearing gloves during the setup. I prepare stands and cables so far so I just have to plugin and adjust the mics later on without gloves. This method keeps the nasty dirt from the venues floor to even get near my microphones and provides a clean mic to the vocalists and longtime good looking microphones.
This is great advice and I appreciate your thoroughness! Thank you for putting in the extra time and effort to make the people on your stage more comfortable!
You opened my eyes about that microphone trick. Seriously. Every artist I work with (except one exception) really appreciated my work but man this is so true and I never actually thought about this... worst part - or best part - is that I actually am a dishwasher in the venue once the sound is set-up!
Juat started watching your channel with all this spare time. I though great advice considering the current situation... then saw you posted this 3 years ago. A man ahead of the times :)
As a physician I always make sure I'm seen washing my hands. Most people don't care but a fair number are real germophobes and appreciate the effort.
Man you deserve more views...
bringing new meaning to clean vocals
Indeed! hahaha! Thank you for taking the time to watch!
Simple and brilliant !
Bravo! to the mic grill cleaning, could not agree with you more and the sound quality and frequency response of the microphone is where it should be.
- I could not disagree with any sound engineer more to the "My stage" claim attitude. It is not your stage, it is the entertainer's stage for that performance. People pay their hard earned money is to see and hear the entertainment they do not come to see the engineer! Being a performer, sound man and a listener to quality live music I can totally appreciate the talents of a good sound people. Good sound reinforcement can make or break a show. In most cases the engineer is the unsung hero, it comes with a territory.
- I bring my own beta SM 57 to sing through to any of my own performance. At least I know where it has been or more importantly where it has not been!
The Bottom of The Hill is going to be the only venue that bands feel safe playing at thanks to this video. Microphones are germ sponges. I'm glad to see someone's done something about it.
excellent advice. I've been doing this for decades. when I haven't been able to do the dishwasher route, I have a can of spray disinfectant and also use the alternate grills bit.. I also have handy wipes for everyone and yup, I make sure the bands see and offer it for everyone to use... this is excellent to see and yes, I got TON of kudos from so many bands, legends to locals.. it stemmed from my own time on the road when I got really sick and figured it came from a gross vocal mic, lol, and vowed that wasn't gonna happen on my stage to my performers..
I'm super psyched by how many long time engineers like yourself are commenting to let newer engineers know they already arrived at this conclusion a long time ago. It's great that you take it seriously and recognize the value for everyone involved. Thank you for watching and commenting with your own experience!
Awesome vids and a great, positive outlook on what can be a brutally tough job! And I agree, 8500's rule for cheap ...
Bloody legend! Thanks for this advice! I will definitely take this on and teach others about the importance too!
Thank you! As I'm sure you can imagine it is now more important than ever for getting the live music industry back on its feet. I just made a new video about it today! czcams.com/video/Ci9ovMtY36I/video.html
I’m a performer, and you are right. It feels great to step up to a mic that doesn’t reek of 3 weeks of beer breath. It makes me feel like a star, at least. Thank you for this. Kudos.
Thank you, Mitchel! This is the kind of quote or testimonial my engineer colleagues need to see! The more they hear it from the perfomers themsleves then the faster it motivates them to address this problem. Solving this one industry-wide problem will go a loooong way toward getting musicians and engineers back onto the same team. Thanks again for watching and commenting!
Mitchel Evans buy your own microphone reek!
So good. Thank you sir!
Great tips bro. Nobody does it like you. God bless you. Man,,,💪💪💪
This man is the CHAMP! Rock on...
Ha! Thanks!
Great way of thinking!
the joke at the start 10/10 >.
There's an alternate punchline! Q: How many sound engineers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A: Ten. One to screw in the lightbulb and 9 to stand around talking about how it would have sounded SO MUCH BETTER if _they_ had done it. :D
@@LiveSoundTips LOL!!
Very important , great advice! Thanks
Thank you for taking the time to check it out!
What amazing tip, man!
I hope it's one that actually helps you with making a great impression on performers! Thank you for watching!
Paul is the best! CONFIRMED.
Thanks for bringing this subject up! I have always taken pride in providing clean mics for my clients.
If I don't swap the heads, I at least put a clean foam pop-shield on! Thanks for the dishwasher tip though.
Thank you for not only doing that but also making your experience and methods available to those reading the comments! You're way ahead of the curve and I'm betting your musicians and clients love you for it!
This is great advice. I am in the category of beginning/intermediate sound engineer, and I have been a dj for 16 years. I know how nasty and smelly vocal mics can get. Luckily as a dj, I don't have a lot of people using my mics. As I get more involved in live sound for bands, I know these techniques will be more needed. Right now, I have 4 Shure SM-48 mics, so I will do the same cleaning as you do with the 58.
That's great! I hope your adventures in live sound have been going well! We need more people like yourself that are open to learning and trying new things!
Good call. Never sent out a rental without cleaning and disinfecting. At the shop 70% IPA with a sterile toothbrush, then un-scented Lysol. It's just best practice. One of the things that started me doing that was a client that I worked with through the 90's until he passed away about 10 years ago. He had Leukemia, and would rebound, then get worse. My crews had to be very careful about germs when he was doing chemo, or was just in general was getting worse.
Wow! Now _that_ is a great point I hadn't even thought of emphasizing and I've even toured with a drummer/singer that's immuno-compromised due to a kidney transplant (but he was already always using his own mic). And thank you taking such good care of the mic's in your rental inventory! What's the name of the company? You/they deserve a shout-out, Charles!
@@LiveSoundTips It was called C Foley Professional Audio Services. Blew up my back in 2009 loading MT4's on one of my trucks though, closed it in 2012...decent run up until then. Only do recording now. Appreciate your posts on your channel though. Good to see a talented and passionate engineer sharing production knowlege and wisdom with the world.
@@thechazdarby Sorry to hear that. But I'd be happy to give your current studio or production company a plug in the future video where I will credit your idea.
Great video. I've sang through some nasty 58's over the years. lol
I have 4 SM58s at my disposal and honestly I never really gave this much thought. I keep my mics clean, but I've never washed the capsules before. I should get the owner to invest in some extra capsules... although I already know this would be a hard sell, as I can guarantee from watching shows at all the other bar venues in town, NO one is doing this.
I'm going to have a big show in November with 5 bands, including Agent Orange as the headliner. It's pretty big for our place. All professional with stage plots and hospitality rider. Now all the local bands I normally work with, I just get a run down on what they need when they show up. I've only had 2 stage plots since I started doing sound back in April this year. One was for Metalachi, as they are bigger than the norm, so I expected that. Agent Orange is another step further in going bigger for our place.
Now you not only have me thinking of stage setup and planning on how to make quick change-over because I've never dealt with 5 bands in a single night, and I'm the only person doing sound, so it's quite a lot of work. And now you also have me thinking of mic cleanliness. I clean the mics at the end of the night with a clean towel and some organic cleaner, but during the show with multiple bands, they end up using the same mics, and you really have me thinking about swapping capsules during band changes now.
That day will probably be 12 hours or more, just from prep-time to sound checking all 5 bands, then the 5 and a half hour show that follows. So, that's a lot of sweat, saliva and whatever else may end up on the mics... I know one of the bands, they are a regular, the lead vocalist has his own mic, but they usually require 3 more, depending on the second guitarist being with them or not, as he tours with another band as well. So that's 3 dirty mics out of 4 already. I think if I were to be able to get 4 extra capsules, I could at least clean the others and rotate them between, or get one of the staff to do that while I take care of the sound. Definitely gave me some food for thought!
It's great to know you're even considering having a second set of grills so you can rotate then clean them each set! I've done that before at my own small festival stage because I only have 4 SM58s in my little rig (as mentioned in the video my venue has 14!). Thank you for watching and commenting about your experiences. And Metalachi rules! I just mixed for them about a month ago! :D
I love these videos. I would love to see more examples of how you edit vocals and guitar.
Hi Jens, thank you for watching Live Sound Tips! I am uncertain about your meaning in the use of the word "edit". Can you clarify?
I would love to see: A guy playing the guitar and sing. And what you do with the signal from start to finish. What you think about: level adjustment, compression, dynamic, effects and so on.
Would also like to see how to edit EQ to different locations/room types.
@@jensemilasp5740 after a very looooooong hiatus I'm finally back and just published another video: czcams.com/video/GdeTGR3wj8c/video.html I will add your suggestion to my list of things I'm scheduling to shoot in early 2019. Thanks!
Thanks!!!
Thank YOU for taking the time to watch, Robby! I hope this kind of information is helpful to you. :)
I always use my own 58 Beta and clean it and my earbuds after every gig.
golden info....thanks!!!!
Thank YOU for taking the time to watch one of my videos! I hope they're helpful for you. :)
Thank you! I'm glad the videos are helpful to you! It's been a very hectic year but I plan on making new videos again soon!
Rite on my man that’s so true I clean my Mics after every band with wipes Mmmmm I think I’m gonna order 8 more am 58 heads it’s easier 🤙 thanks man
Any plans for doing more videos?
.... these are amazing!!!
I apologize for the long hiatus. At one point I hadn't even logged into my channel for over 8 months. :( But I'm back now and just published another video a few days ago. I've got a bunch of days already scheduled to shoot more stuff in the coming weeks. Look here: czcams.com/video/GdeTGR3wj8c/video.html
This, and the video about sound-checking the vocals first, have been revelatory for me! Your attitude seems so different from everyone I've encountered so far, and it seems to make perfect sense! I've only just discovered your channel, so if you've already covered this I'll try to find it, but what do you think about these Bose line arrays? Not so much the Bose brand, but just that, before them, I don't remember anyone recommending each musician having their own line array, and the mix just coming from everyone in the band cooperating (LOL!). I thought that, for a lot of smaller (not rock and roll) bands, it looks like a great idea. The thing is, as often as I've encountered these, and other brands of small line arrays since they came out, I don't think I've EVER seen them used in the way I described. What do you think about those things?
Thank you, Sam! I'm really happy to know these videos made so much sense to you. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment. Honestly, I don't have any experience yet with the Bose columns/arrays. I know of them, just haven't really messed around with them. But I know someone that recently bought JBL's version so I think in early 2019 I might ask to borrow it and try it out.
@@LiveSoundTips I love Equipment videos! Yes! Many of those! 👍🎤🎹🎸📹🎚💻 Any, and all equipment, from computers to cables... Pros, Cons, Vitals... PLEASE! Happy NewYears evybody 🎉🎊
@@damienhegedus8973 happy new year to you too! More videos coming in early 2019.
I'm not a soundman, just watch your videos cause I love fantasizing about having one like you LMAO.
Hahaha! Well, feel free to share the videos with any live engineers (or musicians!) that you know and maybe we can start to influence the people in live sound to be more conscientious and mindful about how they approach their job. :) BTW, your mix of North To Alaska is HEAVY! 💪
Lol same
you are a 100% correct
Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to watch!
More great advice! I knew a sound engineer that would clean the SM58 grill with mouthwash so it always smelled minty and fresh... But using the dishwasher sounds much better...
I know a badass high level engineer, Joe Shambro, that is a fan of "Microphome". It's a disinfecting foam spray made specifically for mic's. I haven't tried it yet but probably will soon.
Hey love watching your videos! Just getting into live sound in Oakland! Are you still in SF?
Miss your vids. Such great advice! I used rhis during covid.
Hope you are doing well! ⚡
I've long been meaning to get back to making videos on a variety of topics related to concert sound, but it seems I can never find/make the time for it. When the industry went into lockdown I took a big detour into the world of dog rescue. These days I'm back to doing live sound full time and all of my "days off" are spent volunteering with animals in desperate need of new homes. See here: marinlivingmagazine.com/between-gigs-this-sound-engineer-is-rescuing-dogs/
@@LiveSoundTips Dude, that's absolutely incredible! Sanity is one thing that dogs and music bring to us all. My heart broke for the music industry during those times.
Paul, you are wicked positive and I appreciate you and it's great to hear that you are are out there doing good!
Real singers bring their own mic. It’s $100 bucks. They can’t be that serious if they don’t own a mic. Not saying you shouldn’t clean mics but BRING YOUR OWN MIc.
I hand wash once a week and use baby wipes on the wind screens and have done this for many years. It gives them a little alcohol smell but the performers do now know that the mics are clean.
That's great that you've been doing it for so long, Mark! Do you have your own sound company and/or a regular venue where you clean the vocal mic's? If so, give a shout-out!
Why dont more singers bring there own mic? madness...
I've been noticing in recent years that more and more singers are bringing their own vocal mic's. However, I do have those occasions where someone forgot it when packing up at the rehearsal space or maybe even left it at a venue the night before (Yikes!). :( Thanks for watching!
That is exactly my thought ... do you show up with your own guitar? ... If you're a serious singer .. you have your own microphone ... the onlyi way this would be an issue would be if the quality of that mic was any lower than a 58 ... the 58 would be the standard ..
The reason is simple... the vast majority of singers sings in SM58, or senheiser 385, both of which are 1) extremely similar and 2) literally one out of the two just *have* to be in any venue, even the crappiest of bar will have at the most extreme least one SM58 to go.
Most singers are happy with one of those for live vocals, and quite honestly, most singers should be happy with one. Some should not... The Telefunken MS80 is my personal favorite but that's the answer... singers are used to using whatever mic there is because it's always a SM58 (let's say 95-99% of the time, it's one, and a real one, because they are dirt cheap). SM57-58 are the two most used mics in the industry. Should singers bring their own mics then? Yes, yes they should. But is it a big deal? Most of the time, no, it's not. It certainly is not "madness" either. If you got a very particular type of voice or are singing at extremely low volume, then you might consider another type of mic. Otherwise, it is still the easiest mic and the most forgiving for vocal technique. Keep it in front of your mouth whatever you do and close enough without touching, you should be good.
Some should not... The Telefunken MS80 is my personal favorite but that's the answer... singers are used to using whatever mic there is because it's always a SM58 (let's say 95-99% of the time, it's one, and a real one, because they are dirt cheap). SM57-58 are the two most used mics in the industry. Should singers bring their own mics then? Yes, yes they should. But is it a big deal? Most of the time, no, it's not. It certainly is not "madness" either. If you got a very particular type of voice or are singing at extremely low volume, then you might consider another type of mic. Otherwise, it is still the easiest mic and the most forgiving for vocal technique. Keep it in front of your mouth whatever you do and close enough without touching, you should be good.
You guys forget that the singer's "amp" literally is their body tho ;) It's just not even close to be a big of a deal as a guitar or bass amp seriously (I am a vocalist)
It took me like 5 minutes to realize he's wearing a Hello Kitty shirt. Haha. Great advice though. I would love to see some info on the equipment you use to wash the mics. Not all of us have access to restaurant level kitchens and sinks.
Gotta love Hello Kitty! This is a great request. I'll work on some ideas for cleaning grills in venues that don't have automated dishwashing machines. In the meantime, maybe check out some stuff called "microphome". A badass, high level engineer friend, Joe Shambro, highly recommends it.
Didn't know John Cusack was a sound engineer too
lolz. I used to hear the Cusack comparison a lot when I was younger. Later I started hearing Noah Wyle. I'll take either reference as a compliment! ;)
I was about to write "young John Cusack" haha
Great stuff by the way!
you should put some new stuff too!
Cheers!@@LiveSoundTips
@@brudbbb1 The newest episode, a follow-up to the soundcheck video just went up last night! czcams.com/video/GdeTGR3wj8c/video.html
@@brudbbb1 This one is new! czcams.com/video/GdeTGR3wj8c/video.html
Lmao my dive bar's microphones that I do sound for are disgusting I don't even want to deal with them.
So many rappers have absolutely wrecked them.
I'm bringing some lysol next gig
hahaha! We have all been in that position at one time or another. A firend told me about a cleaning product called Microfoam which is intended for cleaning mic grills. I haven't tried it yet but I hear good things!
Good advice. I did a gig once and all the house mics were fucking disgusting and smelt really bad. I was so embarrassed from this that I decided to buy all my own vocal mics (sennheiser e935s) that I could make sure were taken care of. I regularly clean the foams from my mics but I never thought to put the grills in a dishwasher, genius. Unfortunately the e935 grills are pretty expensive and its a bit pricey for me to change between each singer. I have glen 20 on hand for between sets but I always ask the singer first before using it as some react badly to the residue left from freshly disinfected mics.
+Sennheiser Thanks for watching and being part of the conversation! It's very reassuring to know that you're one of the rare few that is wiling to go that extra mile to provide clean mic's for your performers. I know the SM58 grills tolerate the hot water well because they don't have a painted finish on them like a black e935 so you may want to speak with someone at Sennheiser and get their opinion on the best cleaning method for their grills. I have seen the black finish on Audix OM-6s degrade very easily just from regluar use (which of course includes exposure to moisture) so be careful with the water temperature and which soaps or solvents you choose. :)
Thanks for the reply. I usually just follow the cleaning instructions from the manual but it only refers to foam insert and not the grill itself so I never did anything to them really. I do sometimes dab anti-bacterial wipes over the grill, mostly to get lipstick off.
Good points, but as a sound guy in a dive bar, I don't have extra vocal mics or screens. I can imagine wiping down the microphones in between acts as being a good, visible way for people to be sure about their mics - I've sung into mics that smell like straight onions, so I know it sucks. Maybe I'll start carrying around a bar rag and some solution, to make the mics and cords sparkle a little more, thanks bud
I know a really high level engineer by the name of Joe Shambro and he's a fan of this foam spray for mic grills called "micro-phome". I haven't tried it myself but will soon. You can also try those alcohol based wipes/napkins like they give you on airplanes. Thank you for watching!
I love your videos & your commitment to your craft is a great example for all sound engineers out there ~ however:
With all due respect, I would never go to a gig & expect to use someone else's guitar or bass or drumkit, let alone their microphone!
ANY Singer ( whether Lead or Backup Vocalists) worth their salt would bring their own ... too easy!
Choice Preference of Mic's to singers are as varied as choice of guitar preferences are to a guitarist.
Hey man, great video! How about when a singer brings her/his own mic? I'd imagine you're fine with that but I've had engineers complain or roll their eyes at me when I break out my own Beta 57 (yeah, i use a 57... sorry!)
I love it when a vocalist brings their own mic, especially if it is a mic I am not familiar with, and I get to try something different.
I'm perfectly happy when artists do this. It's what they are comfortable with, and that's my job to make them at ease. I don't think some engineers think that the artists are nervous before a show, so they really don't need to worry about something else. Putting them at ease keeps them happy and makes working together easier.
And as John Shotwell mentioned, I love the chance to work with something different. Just this last weekend a drummer wanted to use his Audix D6 for his kick drum. I normally use a Beta 52, but it was cool to hear the difference between the two and work with something different.
Jon, looks like John Shotwell and Acid001 already nailed this one! I too like to try new mic's I otherwise don't have access to and I always welcome people using whatever makes them the most comfortable. Thank you for watching and asking a good question!
great advice actually. Is the tiny foam inside the 58 grilles getting fucked by the high temperature of the washing machine?
Thanks for watching and commenting, Andrea. I just finished shooting another video answering this exact question because others have brought it up. It will be available on this channel very soon. So, in my experience, no, the interior foam socks do not show a significant amount of deterioration from the repeated washing. But the Bottom of the Hill typically has shows 5 to 6 nights per week so the grills will get replaced due to dents/damage or showing signs of rust long before the foam has had a chance to fall apart. If someone were ever in need of replacement foam lining for the grill of a SM58 it is available as a spare part from Shure. I will be sure to include the part number in the description section when I post the new video. Thanks again! :)
Paul Thomas great! I am an in house engineering myself and I want to start doing so with the capsules. I totally agree that is quite a statement to be able to say "nobody shares mic on my stage"
That's totally righteous and you'll be one of the few people out there doing it first. Someday it will be the norm in the industry but for now it will be small handful of us pioneers that will be remembered for making it happen. Glad to have you on board! #RespectYourPerformers :D BTW, another thing I added in the new video that's currently being editied is the importance of drying out the foam inserts and the grills separately after a trip through the sink or dishwasher. If you leave the wet foam inside the grills will get rusty.
hi I'm in fort Lauderdale, florida I will l to become a live band mixing engineer what school can I go for that
Great points. No, you are not over the top.
Thank you for watching and commenting! I'm glad you find these points helpful. :)
In my experience, the best people at "running the board" are musicians themselves. The #1 requirement to be good at this is to have a good ear. If you don't have an ear, everything else is totally moot. Some of the worst sound men I have run into have been to school to study how to do it. In the region where I live, most of the local sound men appear to be deaf. Turning everything up to eleven is their idea of "doing sound". If it isn't excruciatingly painful, it isn't loud enough for them. Musicians all hate this, by the way.
It is so incredibly stupid as to be almost beyond belief. If it is loud enough to hurt, it is too loud to actually hear the music. All the audience is really experiencing in this case is feeling the concussive , hearing destroying pain the sound man has inflicted on them. And, it is good to keep in mind that you concert-goers may actually need your ears someday!
I know, I just started out as a soundman and everyone love it because I was a musician for 15 years. Loud sound in small venue = vomit poured through a bitcrusher.
My OCD says thank you.
I've seen mic screens so dirty with food particles and stuff that the mic sounded better after the cleaning. EEWWWWWWW!
Oh yeah, I too have definitely seen that with all my touring and guest-engineering in other venues over the last 11 years. Super nasty! And you're absolutely right; when the screen or the foam insert get blocked with particles or from saliva they get darker/muddier sounding. One singer I toured with would produce enough spit during a show that sometimes a montior engineer would have to swap out the vocal mic halway through the show because the mic was losing more and more high end as the interior foam became saturated.
Thanks for watching and commenting! And, if you haven't already, please check out the brief follow-up video I did here: czcams.com/video/zV4xilTm0QU/video.html
Shouldn't the musicians carry their own microphones once their leveled up their game?
Probably, once they've had a chance to try some differnt models and see what they like. But I also like having the reassurance that all my mic's are clean just in case they forgot or lost their own mic while on the road. It certainly happens. Thanks for watching and commenting with a good question!
Or maybe buy 8 xm8500's if you're on a budget? Those things are 20$ and sound great
covid 19 brought me here.
Man, that REVERB is awful in the chamber! Please acoustically treat that chamber!
how it's possible to speak 10 minutes about cleaning grills...
Nice joke man hahaha