Sound Guy Disguised as a Consultant
February 23, 2009 · by Brian Ford
I’m not the type of computer consultant that goes home after work and spends hours on a computer. Aside from checking email, and helping my kids with their homework, I avoid computers as much as possible when I’m not at work. I don’t participate in any of the online social networking sites and I have never blogged, until now. That’s not to say that I don’t sustain the geek side of myself through other means…
One of the hobbies that consumes quite a bit of my time is running and maintaining the sound system for our church. I’ve been the “sound guy” for one of the praise bands for the last 10 years. This all started when our church was meeting in the cafeteria of a middle school and we had to setup the “portable” sound system every week. I was a roadie / vocalist in the band and out of necessity became very intimate with the components of a sound system. We initially did not have a sound guy, and we just put the mixer beside the band, and did the best we could to make it sound OK. We quickly learned that just because it sounds good on the stage, does not mean it sounds good to the audience. So we moved the sound board to the front of the room, and that’s when my “career” as a sound guy started.
I have never had any formal training when it comes to mixing a live band and just picked it up on the fly and trial by fire. But I discovered that mixing is as much an art as it is a technical skill, and that different people have different ideas of what a good mix is. I also discovered that having an ear for music is a gift, but it can also be a curse. When I attend a concert, I find myself critiquing the mix, or looking at the types of microphones or other equipment that is being used, or paying attention to the sound guy or the roadies, rather than enjoying the show. So instead of learning about the latest development methodologies or new languages, I spend time learning how to separate 2 acoustic guitars in a mix, or what frequencies will make the notes of a bass guitar more distinct, or how to mix a keyboard and electric guitar so they’re not stepping on each other.
But computers and audio don’t have to be separate occupations. There is an entire industry around Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software used for recording, editing, and playing back digital audio. This includes virtual instruments, sound effects (echo and reverb), pitch correction, etc. You can create an entire album without any human instrumentalists and sub-par vocalists (Milli Vanilli anyone?). There was a point in the not-so-distant past, where I considered changing directions and pursuing a career in live or digital audio. But I realized it would probably require going back to school and getting another degree, it could possibly require travel, and would involve working on nights and weekends. So until there are more audio events Monday through Friday between 8am – 5pm, I am content to be a sound guy disguised as a consultant for our church.
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