Step 1: Preparation
Step one happens before you even arrive at the venue. Make sure you’ve had good communication with the promoter and the sound engineer ahead of time. You’ll need to know what equipment to bring, what equipment will be provided, what time load-in is, what your soundcheck time is and what your stage time is.
If you have an opportunity to, visit the venue ahead of time. Go to a band night and see a band already playing. How big is the venue? How big is the stage? What equipment do you usually bring? Will it fit? Is it appropriate for that venue?
There’s no point rocking up with two 4x12” stacks when you’re playing in the corner of a small pub. There’s no point in taking more than you need.
Make sure your instruments are set up before you get to the venue. If you need to change heads or strings or tune drums, do it ahead of time. Make sure you have nothing left to do but plug in and play.
Step 2: Listen to the engineer
No matter what the gig or set-up, the sound engineer is in charge. What they say goes. At the end of the day, you’re a performer and you’re fantastic at what you do. You’re going to provide entertainment to the audience. The sound engineer’s entire job is to ensure you sound great to the audience. You only play as far as the sound engineer, and they then give you to the audience. Given that the sound engineer has all of that power – give them the respect they deserve. If you do that, they’ll likely go above and beyond to make your band sound incredible.
So when the sound engineer tells you to be somewhere at a certain time – be there at that time. If you absolutely can’t avoid being late, make sure someone else has your gear and is capable of loading it in, setting it up, and sound checking for you. Unload and unpack where you’re told and be ready for your soundcheck time. Usually soundcheck is a high-pressure situation, and everyone has got other stuff going on. The easier you make it for the engineer, the easier everyone’s life is going to be.
Step 3: Setting up
You’ve loaded your equipment and set it up where you’ve been instructed. As you wait for your turn, make as much preparation as you can. Could you be setting up your kit on the floor ready to take on stage, so that heights, etc. are ready for you to move straight on stage? Could you tune your guitar? Get your equipment ready.
Step 4: Silence on set!
You’ve set up on the stage and you’re ready to go – so what next? You wait.
Wait until the sound engineer tells you to start playing. Nobody should hear your instrument until you’re instructed to play. Don’t start warming up, don’t start playing along with the venue’s background music. No jamming, widdling, fiddling, or arsing around. Not only is it distracting, it’s disrespectful to both the venue staff and the rest of your band who are trying to soundcheck. There’s no excuse for it. The only reason anyone does this is to show off. Don’t be that guy. Everyone knows why you’re there, and if they don’t – they will when you get on stage.
Step 5: Individual checks
The first half of your soundcheck, the engineer will check every member of the band individually. This is to set levels – compressors, gates, EQs, etc. – and get an idea of what your instrument sounds like when you play it.
Drummers
Don’t do anything fancy. Even if you’ve mastered the perfect mambo groove over the last six months, or you’re a speed metal player with a 500bpm double kick – now is not the time. That’s what your set is for.
The sound engineer needs a clear example of each element of your kit. Go for singular drum strokes – let’s say crotchets at 40bpm. Play each drum individually as you’re asked to, and let the engineer hear the decay of your drum.
When checking cymbals and hi-hats, give the sound engineer all the different sounds you can muster. Give them closed hats, give them shoulder – but give them separately, so they can adjust and compensate as necessary.
Guitarist and bassists
You may have a number of pedals and tones at your disposal – but the sound engineer doesn’t need to hear all of them. They only need to hear the tones you’ll be using, at the actual volume you’ll be using them. If you’re using both a clean and distorted sound, give the engineer both of those so they can balance it out. But only soundcheck tones you’ll be using.
You won’t need a loud stage sound from your amp. This is likely to put you and the rest of the band off and reduce the musical experience on the stage. All you need is to hear what’s going on in a comfortable way. If you’re setting monitors anyway you can keep it low on stage and have it fed back through the monitor.
Bassists – you may be asked if you have a DI. Make sure you know the answer to this question.
And once that soundcheck is done, touching the dials on your amp is off limits unless you’re instructed to. The engineer is managing your EQ out front, so they know how it sounds out for the audience. When you start changing things, you will affect what the audience hears. If you’re worried about the sound out front, signal the engineer.
Vocalists
There is a difference between a line check and a sound check. If the engineer says ‘can we check your microphone’, it’s a ‘check, check, one, two’ to line check.
However, when it comes to a soundcheck, the engineer will be setting levels for your voice – and so they need to hear you sing. Yes, it’s awkward to sing a’cappella, but the engineer needs an example of the intensity of your voice. They need to know whether you’re going to peak, or if you need a boost. This is the engineer’s first example of what you’ll be doing for the rest of the night. If you can make it accurate, you make the engineer’s life easier – meaning they don’t have to spend time during the set making you bearable, they can spend time making you sound awesome instead.
Full band
When everyone is individually checked, it’s time to play a song. It’s likely that the monitors aren’t sorted yet – this is because the engineer and the band should be checking the stage sound first.
It’s a really good idea to have a soundcheck piece that you go to every time, that shows the different dynamics of your set – both individually and as a band. Make sure it’s something that everyone is in, including backing vocals if applicable, and choose something that varies in tone.
Finally – and this goes for everyone, both individually and as a band - when they tell you to stop playing, you stop playing.
Step 6: Monitors
Once you’ve played the first song, take turns to politely tell the sound engineer what you need in your monitor. Wait as your bandmates achieve the sound they need, without talking or playing over them. At no point in this process should you be playing your instrument unless you’ve been asked to, nor should you be chatting amongst yourselves. It’s unprofessional and could result in your soundcheck running over – potentially into someone else’s time slot.
Once you’ve set monitor levels, there’s no need to re-run the full song – run the chorus of the song you’ve just played. That way you’ll have a reference point for comparison.
If your monitors aren’t quite right, politely take turns to discuss this with the sound engineer. If you need to, raise your hand.
Once you’re happy with the levels, you may want to run a second song. This is only worth doing if the song is totally different to the first. If it is, ask the sound engineer if there’s time to run it. If they say no – the answer’s no.
Step 7: Clear the stage
Once your sound check is finished, thank the sound engineer, and then clear your gear off the stage if necessary. Do this quickly, and if you need to, pack up off-stage so that the stage itself is clear for the next soundcheck, or so the venue can open its doors.
If you’re leaving your equipment on stage, turn the snare wire off, and then leave the stage swiftly.
Following these steps you should have a quick, efficient, drama-free soundcheck – which will help ensure your gig sounds awesome and everyone leaves having had a good experience.
