Live Sound with Dave Leach and friends!
A lot of what I have been doing this summer has been expanding on things that
I learned in Sound Design 1 this past semester. The experience so far has been
a more in depth and hands on look at the live production aspect of the industry.
More specifically the sound. Dave Leach has been doing sound for bands for
over 20 years at this point and owns his own rig. Some of the shows that we
brought his system to so far have been for a show at Chet's Melody Lounge in
Summit IL, a Hi Infidelity show at Arlington Race Track, and another Hi
Infidelity show at the Elgin Country Club. Today we will be using his
friends rig at a show in Clarendon Hills with a band called ARRA.
The days when we bring his system I usually meet him at his truck halfway
between where I live and the venue and we ride together from there. We
usually get there well before the show actually starts to set up the PA
system and make sure everything works properly. We unload the system from
the truck and set it up on or by the stage. After we do that we wire up the
Power amps, speakers, and subs then pin the stage so when the band shows up
we can mic everything quickly.
Days when the Sound system is provided we still help set it up, but it's
usually all unloaded when we get there.
Specifically some of the things I have been learning are how to physically
wire up speakers and subs to the power amps and fine tune everything to make
the overall mains and subs sound as crisp as they can be(along with
distances between speakers and subs in certain situations to accommodate
certain wave lengths). I have also been learning little tricks and
techniques to make certain instruments and voices sound more clear through
the mix of things. I am getting quite a bit of actual on the fly mixing
experience as well. He often lets me take over the board during the show
and run things for a little while. This also includes the processors that we have
at front of the house(eqs, reverb, delay, compressors, gates, etc.).
At the end of the shows we take everything down and pack it back up in the
truck.
Dave also has a deal with a few companies, one being Allen and Heath, where
he gets to use some of their equipment whenever he needs it. He has an
ILive 80 Digital mixing console. The technology is rather new so I get to
see where things in the industry are headed and get some experience on it.
We've also had to use an analog board on a few occasions, so I am able to
comprehend both.
Not only am I learning a great deal about how to run a show from the sound
production point of view, but I also get to see up close how other aspects
such as lighting, hospitality, and promotions work as well. There is plenty of
time for me to talk to others in the business and just listen to
conversations they have. It's surprising how much I learn just from
listening to people who know what they're doing talk to each other.
Dave will soon be getting some crossovers for his monitor wedges that I will
more than likely be helping him install, along with constructing some new
neutrik speaker cables. It will be good for me to actually know how the insides
of a speakerwork and how to manipulate them.
Dave is also a member of e.a.r.s. which stands for Engineering and Recording Society
of Chciago(http://www.ears-chicago.org/).
There is a meeting coming up that he will be attending and I plan to tag along with him.
I think this type of internship would be great for others because there is a
ton of hands on experience to be had. I feel like the experience on the
board and setting up the shows will be really good for me in the future. If
I ever get an opportunity to work a show or help out with sound I will be
able to do it with no problems.
I learned in Sound Design 1 this past semester. The experience so far has been
a more in depth and hands on look at the live production aspect of the industry.
More specifically the sound. Dave Leach has been doing sound for bands for
over 20 years at this point and owns his own rig. Some of the shows that we
brought his system to so far have been for a show at Chet's Melody Lounge in
Summit IL, a Hi Infidelity show at Arlington Race Track, and another Hi
Infidelity show at the Elgin Country Club. Today we will be using his
friends rig at a show in Clarendon Hills with a band called ARRA.
The days when we bring his system I usually meet him at his truck halfway
between where I live and the venue and we ride together from there. We
usually get there well before the show actually starts to set up the PA
system and make sure everything works properly. We unload the system from
the truck and set it up on or by the stage. After we do that we wire up the
Power amps, speakers, and subs then pin the stage so when the band shows up
we can mic everything quickly.
Days when the Sound system is provided we still help set it up, but it's
usually all unloaded when we get there.
Specifically some of the things I have been learning are how to physically
wire up speakers and subs to the power amps and fine tune everything to make
the overall mains and subs sound as crisp as they can be(along with
distances between speakers and subs in certain situations to accommodate
certain wave lengths). I have also been learning little tricks and
techniques to make certain instruments and voices sound more clear through
the mix of things. I am getting quite a bit of actual on the fly mixing
experience as well. He often lets me take over the board during the show
and run things for a little while. This also includes the processors that we have
at front of the house(eqs, reverb, delay, compressors, gates, etc.).
At the end of the shows we take everything down and pack it back up in the
truck.
Dave also has a deal with a few companies, one being Allen and Heath, where
he gets to use some of their equipment whenever he needs it. He has an
ILive 80 Digital mixing console. The technology is rather new so I get to
see where things in the industry are headed and get some experience on it.
We've also had to use an analog board on a few occasions, so I am able to
comprehend both.
Not only am I learning a great deal about how to run a show from the sound
production point of view, but I also get to see up close how other aspects
such as lighting, hospitality, and promotions work as well. There is plenty of
time for me to talk to others in the business and just listen to
conversations they have. It's surprising how much I learn just from
listening to people who know what they're doing talk to each other.
Dave will soon be getting some crossovers for his monitor wedges that I will
more than likely be helping him install, along with constructing some new
neutrik speaker cables. It will be good for me to actually know how the insides
of a speakerwork and how to manipulate them.
Dave is also a member of e.a.r.s. which stands for Engineering and Recording Society
of Chciago(http://www.ears-chicago.org/).
There is a meeting coming up that he will be attending and I plan to tag along with him.
I think this type of internship would be great for others because there is a
ton of hands on experience to be had. I feel like the experience on the
board and setting up the shows will be really good for me in the future. If
I ever get an opportunity to work a show or help out with sound I will be
able to do it with no problems.
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