No Feedback, Thanks

One of the last shows my band played prior to all clubs shutting down was probably most notable not for our lightning-fast chops, masterful songwriting, or captivating stage-presence, but rather for the abrupt death of the PA in the middle of our third song. The club in question had a “WiFi mandatory,” iPad-controlled mix scheme and, when the router or whatever it was disrupted the Internet, we were toast.

While waiting for the poor sound guy to solve or bypass the problem, we played a cover of a song we knew many in the venue would recognize and sing along with. Went off like a charm. Pro move, no? Anyway, by the time we’d finished that track, the Internet had been restored, the PA with audible vocals was back in action, and all was well with the world.

“And?” you ask.

In addition to hosting our Annual Supplier Directory, May is also a “Sound Reinforcement-themed” issue of MMR. I’m not going to go into any detail about how difficult the past 14 or so months have been for this particular market segment, or how things are beginning to look more upbeat – that’s covered plenty in both our Roundtable on PA gear (pg. 10) and Dealer Survey about live mixing consoles (pg. 14) – but I am going to babble on for a bit about how massively impactful this type of equipment is.

It’s obvious that performing live music is dependent on having a decent sound system, so I realize I’m not offering any “breaking news.” Everyone’s gone to shows where they couldn’t hear the vocals, everything had too much low-end, nothing could be heard above the drums, non-stop feedback, et cetera. Conversely, there are those phenomenal concerts where you’re aware that, while the musicians may be playing and singing their asses off, a big part of why it’s all such a triumph is because of the sound system.

When you’ve performed in rooms with PA systems of wildly varying quality and with sound engineers of equally inconsistent skill-sets – and many MMR readers have been/are often in those positions – you truly appreciate the importance.

The first time I played a stage with both a large array of loudspeakers throughout the venue and also a separate monitor PA (in other words a “monitor mixer dude” up to the side of the stage) is a memory scratched into my consciousness – not because of the, “Oh, damn – this a big show!” slant, but more because of how amazing it felt to be playing very familiar material, but actually hearing everyone. On our recordings everything was audible, of course, but to hear each instrument and all vocals that clearly, in real-time, while playing? That was a whole new high and a true game-changer.

Whether you’re performing (or attending) a basement show with an underpowered system and hit-or-miss mic cables, a mid-sized city club with a decent PA driven by an iPod dependent on spotty WiFi, or an arena filled with bleeding-edge sound reinforcement gear, the success of the event is reliant on and, at least partially, determined by the sound system and those running it.

“I’m quite bullish about music in the next coming months,” says PreSonus’ Rick Naqvi in this issue. “Most musicians I know have been stuck at home, but have spent their time honing their writing and recording skills. When live gigs start to happen, I believe we will see an explosion of great new music, with new releases as well as a resurgence of live performances.”

Here’s to that sentiment and forecast! It’s been a tough patch for all corners of the live performance industry. Shows of all sizes will come back, though – when it’s safe to do so. Let’s be sure to lend our support when that time comes.