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Live Sound:  A Handbook for Sound Engineers and Performers

 (be they amateur or professional)

 

Preface & Introduction:

Foreword

 

Introduction

How this Handbook is Organized 

Author’s Footnote

Part I:  The Pragmatic

 

General Considerations:

KISS or Keep It Simple 

Pre Launch Checkout

Types of Sound Events

The enemy:  Feedback

Performers Who Want to Run Their own board

Microphone Simplicity

Coiling Cables

Terminology

What is a Fader?

What is gain?

What is a snake ?

What is a DI box ?

What is a dB?

XLR

Phantom Power

TS and TRS (or ¼” phone plugs)

SpeakOn Connector

Wet Sound Dry Sound

DeEsser or DeSibilization

Guide to Sound Terms

The Stereo Mess

Cables using ¼” TS (phone) Plugs

Gaff Tape is Not Duck Tape

Safety

Soundboard Basics

Basic Sound Board (oversimplified), Input or Left Side of the board

Basic Sound Board (oversimplified), Main Output (right) Side

Case Study of a Board, the good bad and the ugly

Digital Boards

Routing 101

Microphone Organization:  Have a plan

Reverb

 

Speakers

Main Speakers

Subwoofers

Monitors

Column Arrays

 

Clean Sound

Hum Busting

Protecting Microphones from Wind and Hard Breathing and Other Tips

Microphones Worn on Your Body

Do not try to fix what you have no control over

Why Did it Go Wrong?

 

Part II:  Notes on Live Sound for Journeyman Sound Engineers

 

General

The Functions of Live Sound

Basic Rules for Live Sound 

Human Hearing (music)

Why Center Sound?

Line vs Microphone Level:

DI Boxes

Another use for a special DI box:


 

Setting Up the Room

Where and How high should the speaker be?

Subwoofers

Main Speaker Strategy

EQ, Effects, and the Mix

Tuning the Room (via the seat of your pants)

Reverberation and Free Fields

Dynamics

Using Multiple Boards

Cursed Feedback

Monitors without Feedback

 

Microphones

Mic’s in General

The Problem with Supercardioid Microphones

Miking Drums

Miking Electric Guitars

Mid-Side

Headsets

Lapel Microphones

Instrument Mics, Pickups, Boundary Mics, and even a word about Shootgun Mics

 

Going Wireless

Wireless Range

Wireless Microphones:

WIreless Monitors

Virtual control surfaces for mixing

Using smartphone apps to help “tune” the room

Using voice communication between the sound booth and the stage 

Lighting control

FX and Your Signal Path

 

Basic Equipment

 

Misc

DMX vs XLR Cables

Live Recording

How Good is More Than Good Enough? 

In the Very Long Run

Thoughts on Earphones

Vacuum Tubes

 

Case Studies

Time to Move Up:  Designing a Personal Sound System

Tail of Two Stages

The Setup from Hell

Under the Dance Tent

Author's Musings


 

Part III: A Little Sound Theory (with almost no math)


 

A Word about Audiophiles

On Sound

What is Sound?

Human Hearing

Sonic Space

Sound in the Near and Far Field

Subwoofers or When Theory won’t let you win!

Using Interference to Work for You

Arrays

Line Arrays

Subwoofer Arrays

A Different Kind of Array: time domain 

Sound Generators

Speakers

Cone Speakers:

Compression Horns: 

Speakers:  Some footnotes:

Microphones

Microphones: A Short History

How Dynamic and Ribbon Microphones Work

Condenser Microphones:

Conductive Sound Microphones:

“Guitar” Magnetic Pickups:

Microphone Arrays:

The Multiple Wireless Microphone Problem

Beyond Basics or what makes one mic worth 6 times more than another good mic?

Cables

The Link between the Microphone and the board: Balanced Cables

The Link Between Amplifiers and Speakers:

What is the difference between 3 pin DMX and 3 pin XLR cables and why is it important?

A word about LRC of a wire:

Feedback & Hum Busting

Feedback

AutoMix

Grounding:  Part I

Grounding: Part II

Safe Ground “Lifting” 

Hum Busting Part 2:

  Using the Gate for Hum Busting, or Squelch by any other name:

Compression (optical and otherwise) :

High Impedance -- Low Impedance Input

Amps

Amplifiers:  What is all the fuss about tubes?

Op Amps or Class A Amp? 

Class “D” amplifiers … High Efficiency but?

Peak Music Power

Input AC Power to big amps

 

Miscellaneous 

Digital … the brave new world

Frequency Filters (EQ) Basics

Wireless Grounding

Gripper notes or AC Power Input

Why Does a Good DI Box cost so Much Money?

Wav(e) vs MP3

 

Outtakes and Epilogue

 

Epilogue:

Part I:  War Against Feedback

Part II:  Dancing in a Box

 

Outtakes: 

The Sound of Music: Chords, Octaves, and Harmonics

Phase Linear Filters

A Strange Phenomena

PWM in Audio

Tube Preamps

PsychoAcoustics

Changes

 

Random Thoughts:

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