Sound Engineer For Live Sound, just want to bounce questions off you. Options

[soon2be]

I'm very interested in making music but right now live sound is more important for me to know. And even though Im learning the baby of basics when it comes to making music and sounds on the computer I want to be able to focus more on live performances. So I need to be able to bounce some simple questions and have them anwered in simple terms.

What (to you, the answerer) is the most important quality in a live sound engineer? What is the first thing I need to focus on?

I know things here and there from listening and watching but I dont have a starting point, so therefor I dont know which way is up. I dont know if there is a way up really because the more you know the better huh?

[Presto]

If you have to record a band so they can show what they do to possible clients (ow), record the sound the audience hears: just two good microphones to get stereo - not multi-mono. Use an old barn or somewhere with good acoustics (be ready to redo if a tractor goes by, although eternally loud groups can ignore outside interference) also get an audience to give them the jitters. Record them practising first, giving advice on which way to turn the various volume knobs on their amps. Avoid recording studios unless you've got lots of money - they should use quite a bunch of very good and well-placed mics and lots of other stuff including good plug-ins to compensate the dead sound of the studio. In any case multi-mono recording will not be the sound the band makes on stage.

Oh, if the drummer's too loud, loose him somewhere before the recording or get the group to buy louder amps so they can compete with him on stage
Even if you did the best recording ever for free and got a big label to take them on, it's almost sure the group would make less money in a year than if one of them worked for a hambuger place for a week.

Oh, get headphones that keep the loud sound out of your ears. Just listen to the sound that you get from the mics at a reasonable level, that way you'll keep whatever hearing you've got left. Don't go to discos.

Keep the phones on but play your recording back for them through loud, very loud speakers. However if you're recording for people who love the delicacies of sound, life will be alot easier.

PS I'm not a sound engineer so take this as a poor amateur's comment.

This post has been edited by Presto: Sat 14 Aug 2004, 13:02