Have the right tools, have a good day!
Being an audio technician is a very rewarding career but it can be a dream and a nightmare at times. These nightmare extremes are often the result of NOT having the right tools on hand and NOT planning ahead to be ready for good old “Murphy’s Law” to take effect. Although I like to call it “Murphy’s Curse”. To avoid all that and for all the new technicians out there, here are my top 15 important audio tech tools that can make sound jobs a lot easier! Hopefully this will help you avoid some audio technician nightmares!
#1: Headphones
You may need to solo the instruments, listen for feedback or adjust the overall balance of a mix and headphones will help you listen closely to find the source of the issue.
#2: Multi-meter
Check the electricity if you would like to avoid any bad voltage, bad cables or no power at all! Learn how to use a digital multi-meter here
#3: Tape!
Gaffers tape is useful for so many different things but taping cables down for safety is one of the best reasons. Board tape and sharpies: Label everything you touch, cables, your mixer’s inputs/outputs/misc channels. If you need to move or use a cable, you’ll be thankful you labeled it instead of guessing where it goes or having to trace it.
#4: Direct boxes(d.i. Boxes); Active & Passive
A Direct box helps in a variety of ways, They connect a line level, unbalanced signal(acoustic guitars, keyboards) with a 1/4 in connector to a low-impedance, microphone level, balanced input, usually via an XLR connector and XLR cable . Read more about di boxes here.
#5: MP3 player & cable
With all styles of music- NO COMMERCIALS PLEASE! Although Bluetooth is very popular these days, and it is quite convenient, the best fidelity is from a known good cable.
#6: Gloves
Gunk and glass get all over cables. Cables touch the floor, the stage, most likely in a bar. Protect your hands from cuts, scratches and nastiness. Also, if you are a musician, your hands are what you use to create your art, take care of them!
#7: Super cushion shoes:
I can feel the difference when my athletic shoes are worn out. I don’t actually run, but I wear shoes with some cushion, it helps the aching feet and knees!
#8: Chair
You can’t stand 12 hours a day without some rest breaks.
#9: Ear protection
Don’t fatigue your ears before you mix, your mixes will suffer. Try to always protect your ears from unnecessary volume, listen to high volume for short spans only.
#10: “Talk-back” microphone and cable
To speak to the musicians during soundcheck, plug it into your mixer and turn it up in the stage monitors, it helps to not lose your voice shouting over the stage volume!
#11: Flashlight:
Preferably L.E.D and a focus control for pinpointing something from a distance. They also have a nice flood lite from about 6-7 feet.
#12: Audio analyser
Using an “audio analyzer” can help you see the audio spectrum in a graphical representation based off of the room you are in and therefore helps you make good “sonic” decisions about your sound system tuning. By viewing the hot spots in the frequency range you can determine which frequencies are the problem areas and use subtractive eq or other options to fix it. The end result is a much tighter and stable live mix. The apps are common for ios and android.
#13: Cordless Screwdriver/Drill!!
Having a cordless drill on hand can save a ton of time and will save your wrist from major fatigue when you inevitably have to remove a speaker grill! Sometimes the speed of a drill is essential, corded or not, Just remember to keep your cordless one charged!
#14: Snakes!!
A snake eliminates long multiple cable runs, keeps your stage looking clean and your cables unscathed from foot traffic. The typical snake cable has 8-32 mic connectors on it and may be anywhere from 10 to 200+ feet long. The reason snakes are so great you ask? All of those 8-32 mic connections and their cables run down 1 larger individual cable, making a much cleaner, reliable, worry free stage
#15: Rolling case or toolbox for all these items with a lock!!
This requires no explanation! Nobody can keep track of that many loose tools! Get a case to put them in, Just remember you have to lug that giant rolling case around, so be wise!
Hopefully this list will help you be prepared for your next gig, now turn it up!-Matt Eckhardt
Matt Eckhardt audio production rents speakers and complete sound systems in Chico, Ca. Paradise, Ca and the surrounding areas! Check out some of our offers here!
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