Soundcheck

This is a basic live mixing checklist I created for myself and others to reference. It's not a complete guide, but it should also serve as a good starting point if you want to learn live mixing. I will assume familiarity with basic mixing concepts and equipment, but feel free to search around for more information.

General principles

• Live sound is especially in the beginning about coarse balancing, not tweaking. Don't be afraid to make drastic EQ moves, and don't obsess over insignificant details.
• Preparation can save a lot of time. Check equipment like cables and microphones. Create a preset or starting point in the mixing console by applying e.g. ballpark gain and high-pass filters beforehand.
• Proper gain staging balances headroom, signal-to-noise ratio and fader resolution with each other. Faders are most sensitive, i.e. easiest to control around 0 dB, but balancing sources to have faders near zero could mean losing headroom, increasing noise in some channels, and having an inconsistent effects processing level. This shouldn't be an issue in most modern digital mixers though.

Reset

Before starting the soundcheck, it's a good idea to reset the mixing console to a safe and clean state. Most of this should be done in preparation or with a preset.

Mute the main channel and monitors

Mute every individual channel

Unset all monitor/FX sends

Reset all effects

Main calibration

In a new space, the main sound system should be calibrated before mixing live sources.

Play a familiar recording through the mixer preferably within the genre of the event, peaking at approximately -10 dB in the channel meter (*)

Unmute the main channel and slowly bring the fader up to 0 dB while adjusting the amplifiers' gain to reach the desired volume in the main speakers

Adjust the main EQ and subwoofer balance until the song sounds relatively neutral in the venue

(*) The -10 dB main level is a suggestion to have both a good signal-to-noise ratio and still some headroom for the mixing console to push the mix louder if required.

Line check

If you can do it before the soundcheck, it's a good idea to check that all connections work as expected. It'll save some time and potential trouble.

Microphones and DI boxes carry sound

Main speakers and subwoofers play sound

Monitors play sound

Dealing with feedback

Feedback is a common problem in live sound especially with stage monitors. If you can test for feedback issues before soundcheck, great! If not, these steps can be taken during soundcheck too. To deal with feedback, follow these steps:

Place microphones further behind main speakers

Face microphones away from main speakers and monitors which output that source

If feedback still persists:

Make sure everyone's hearing is protected well while troubleshooting

Identify the feedback sources (both mic and speaker) by increasing the volume of the system until feedback occurs (you can try to trigger feedback by e.g. clapping in front of each microphone)

Identify the feedback frequency by sweeping a narrow EQ boost through the frequency range

Cut the offending frequency with a narrow band in either the mic or the monitor send if an EQ is available there

These steps can be repeated a couple of times until feedback is hopefully not an issue.

Soundcheck

During souncheck, our goal is to create a balanced initial mix, and to make active mixing easy. After the soundcheck, most channel faders should be near zero, people on stage should hear themselves and others as needed, and the output of the main speakers should sound good. For each source repeat the following steps:

Keep the channel muted and the fader down

Set the gain to a level where the channel meter peaks between -10 dB and -20 dB (**) when the source is at its loudest

Unmute the channel, lift the fader close to 0 dB while adjusting gain if necessary, targeting a good initial volume

Raise the high-pass filter as high as possible without affecting the sound

Set a (gentle) gate to kill noise

Apply obvious corrective EQ and other effects if needed

Send the source to monitors as needed

After checking individual sources, an overall balance should be made.

Let all sources play together and balance them, applying more processing as needed

Adjust monitor sends and volume as needed

(**) The -20 to -10 dB level is a suggestion to have a good signal-to-noise ratio and headroom for effects and summing in main. Mathematically 10 sources of the same level will roughly sum up to 10 dB louder.

Miscellaneous tips

• You can often EQ monitors to reduce stage volume and monitor stress especially by removing low frequencies

Finally

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me below.