Don’t Insult The Sound Guy

By David A. Barber
Author of Gigging, Everything You Need to Know About Playing Gigs (Except How to Play Your Axe)

the suck knob

This is a thing that shouldn’t even need mentioning, yet we’ve seen it violated over and and over again.
Don’t insult the sound engineer. He has the power to make your band sound great or terrible depending on his attitude and your interaction with him.

Many new bands or those with limited gigging experience may not have run into the kind of disaster that can happen when you don’t get along with the sound guy. There is a reason why the most successful touring acts bring their own sound engineer with them. You never really know what you’re going to get. Sound guys (and sometimes gals) run the gamut from terrifically helpful to prima-donald assholes. If you’re touring around at the bar or club level you’re going be at the mercy of whoever happens to be working sound board that night. Many of these guys have college degrees in sound engineering, many more used to be musicians themselves and they all have different personalities. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a pro who takes pride in his work. If you’re not lucky you may get an overworked, deaf hack with a wicked hangover from the night before, or worse, he may be killing that hangover by getting drunk early. Either way, you want to follow a few simple rules.

  1. Always be nice to the sound engineer (even if he’s an ass to you). Treat him like a highly skilled professional (even if he doesn’t act like one). Do not treat him like a DJ who’s never run sound before and is in way over his head (even if he is).
  2. Keep in mind that every room is different and the sound guy probably knows better what sounds right in his room than you do. No, it won’t sound the same as it does in your rehearsal space, it’s not supposed to. It’s supposed to sound better than that for the audience, who are listening through different speakers than you are.
  3. Do what the sound guy tells you to do. He’s trying really hard to make you sound great, but if your volumes are wrong on the stage, there’s only so much he can do. If he asks you to turn your amp down, do it! Then, if you can’t hear your instrument, ask for him to turn it up in your monitor. This goes double during sound check (If you’re lucky enough to get one)
  4. Never ever ask the crowd “How does it sound?” The Sound guy will likely take that as an insult. The same is true for going out on the dance floor or seating area to listen. You are responsible for what comes out of your instrument, let the sound guy worry about the rest of the room. Never tell him that it doesn’t sound right in the room, unless it’s a very serious problem. Over sensitive sound guys will take this as an insult. Chances are, the audience will let him know if it’s really bad and obviously his fault.
  5. Start and Stop on time. Often times it falls to the sound guy to tell you how much time you have left to play. When he tells you there’s time for one more, he means one more song of about the same length as the other songs in your set, not one more 30 minute jam after your set of 5 minute songs. If you are an opening act and you play too long or start late and insist on doing your full set, you may be pissing off not only the sound guy (who now has less time to get the next act up) you may be pissing off the headliner, which now has to cut their set short. If you are the headliner, there may be local rules or laws that require the band to be done or the bar to be closed before a certain time. We know you’re having fun and the fans are screaming for more, but don’t play over without getting some kind of permission or an OK from the sound guy or someone, else in charge. The Pros plan their set lengths to include time for encores, so should you.
  6. Get your gear off/on the stage quickly. This is most important if there are bands scheduled to play after you. There’s only so much time allowed to get you off stage and the next band on. If you’re really quick about it, they may actually ask you to play a little longer to fill in the time. That’s the best way to be. If you’re the headliner, there’s still a sound guy who has to pack up his equipment and clean off the stage before he can go home. Be nice to him. Don’t leave a bunch of empty beer bottles, cigarette butts and snack wrappers all over the place. If you bring it on the stage, take it off with you. That includes the set lists you taped to the monitor or mic stand, too.
  7. Don’t be afraid to ask for more of something in the monitor. This is especially true during sound check (if you get one), but also OK to ask for between songs. You need to hear yourself and your bandmates in order to make sure you’re playing or singing right. Don’t be timid and then complain that you couldn’t hear yourself afterwards. That doesn’t help the band. If he can’t give you more without creating feedback, then you may need to turn your rig down or maybe just point it in another direction. That may be something you’ll have to get the hang of by playing a lot of gigs, but if you ask the sound guy for suggestions he’s likely to offer some. Most sound guys take pride in their work and want you to sound as good as possible.

If you have a good rapport with the sound guy, chances are he may go out of his way make sure you are happy with the sound and that you sound great out in the room. We’ve even seen bands tip the sound guy, before the set! That’s not usually needed, but if you really want to keep him happy an extra $20 isn’t gonna hurt. You might even get him to burn you a copy of the show right afterwards. Many sound guys record everything they mix. This could be a great way to collect material for a live CD or just a good way to listen to the band performing and get an idea of what does and doesn’t work or who messed up what parts of the songs during that performance. It can be a great tool for improving the band overall.

Remember that every stage is different. No two sound systems will sound exactly alike. No two sound guys will mix you exactly the same and most importantly: It will always sound different than it does in your rehearsal space. Do what the sound engineer asks and you’ll get the best sound possible for your show. Don’t co-operate and you run the risk of pissing him off and then you certainly won’t get his best effort.

An insulted sound guy may decide to crank the proverbial “Suck Knob” up to 11 or just walk away from the board and drink a few shots while you’re doing that amazing solo.

If you are unlucky and get a bad mix, just play as good as you can and hope for the best. That’s what the seasoned pros do. So should you.

Here’s a few real life stories:

A band played a medium-sized club with a pro sound guy. This band had a great buzz going, even being mentioned as one of the best bands in the region. On stage, their guitar amps were turned up too loud and despite the sound guy’s repeated requests that they turn it down, they didn’t. (When you just turn around and pretend to turn it down they can tell.) The sound guy had no choice but to take those instruments out of the mix and the result was an earsplitting mess of sound. Afterward, the sound guy called up his buddy who worked sound at a club this band played regularly. He learned that they always have it up too loud and never turn it down enough. These guys now have a reputation among sound guys all over town and some clubs won’t book them again just because they are too darn loud.

This author used to work at a blues club that featured nationally touring blues acts on a regular basis. Many of these guys had been touring for literally decades and had played everything from crappy juke joints with minimal sound systems to major festivals. The one thing they all did was keep their stage volume down and cooperate fully with the sound guy. These guys were a dream to work with because they had learned long ago to trust the sound guy. This was one reason they always sounded great on stage.

A local band, playing their first-ever live show, could not understand why they couldn’t hear themselves on stage. They refused to turn down their amps and when they asked for more in their monitors it created feedback. They did not understand that the sound guy was unable to accommodate them and got into a shouting match with him after their set. This band was not asked back to perform again. The club manager and/or booking people will usually side with their sound guy in these situations, especially if things get physical.