Red Worrior!

2010-06-30T12:43:00.000+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya!

2009-09-20T23:46:00.003+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

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2009-01-23T08:17:00.029+08:00

My Career

2009-01-21T11:38:00.006+08:00

In general terms, a sound engineer is someone responsible for some aspect of the sound at live shows. Many people think of the sound engineer as the person who stands behind the big sound desk (aka mixing desk) at a show and mixes the sound the audience hears,

also known as front of house (FOH) sound. There are other roles for sound engineers at shows, however:

· A monitor sound engineer takes care of the sound the band hears in their monitors on stage. If you're ever heard a band say, "can you turn down my guitar a little bit" or something similar, they are talking to the monitor sound engineer.
· Systems engineers take care of setting up amps, PA, speakers and such for the band and the other sound engineers.

Keep in mind, however, that it is common for all of these roles to be taken on by one sound person at smaller shows. Having a whole team of engineers is a luxury usually reserved for large, well funded tours.

Sound engineers don't have to work strictly in music. Some engineers end up doing sound at conferences, for speeches and any other venue that requires projection of sound for an audience

I tend to work as a live FOH sound engineer; when you go to a concert and see the big desk and racks of gear at the back of the room I'm the guy standing behind it operating it all, mixing the Front of House Sound (FOH). This is what the audience hears. Every instrument on stage has a microphone pointing at it or is plugged into a DI box (Direct Injection Box), i.e. Kick drum, snare drum, hi hat.....bass,guitar.....keyboard,violin,...vocals.... Each one of these corresponds to a channel on the mixing desk, and it is my job to balance the sound ( make sure everything is audible and pleasing to the ears) via use of gain, EQ, compression, effects (FX) etc.

There is also Monitor Sound, which will either be done at the FOH desk or on a separate desk at the side of stage. This is what the band hears. Each member of the band will have a set of monitors either in the form of wedges on stage or In Ears (ear phones) and the monitor engineer will send individual mixes to each of these as the band requires. This is not always a balanced mix like out front as the musician may only what to hear key things, i.e. the singer may only want his vocals as he can hear the drums and guitars loud enough already. The musicians will instruct the monitor engineer to what they individually require.

Then there is the System Engineers; these are the guys and girls that set up the PA system, rig all the speakers, set up all the amplifiers and system processing and make sure that everything thing is working as it should be. A good system engineer makes your job as a FOH engineer much easier.

Then there is the Stage crew who place and cable up all the microphones and do any repatching the may be required.
On some gigs, especially smaller ones, all of the above may be done by one person.

I started out working weekends in a small minus-one show in a small venue, learning on the job as I went along, then moving on to bigger venues such as big ballrooms, halls and stadiums (ie; Putra Stadium, National stadium, Merdeka Stadium, Melawati Stadium, Istana Budaya and so on) to working for the live bands, orchestra, road tour, and solo artist.

Pay varies greatly and is totally negotiable depending on the job, hour’s conditions, etc, but I normally get between RM300-RM2,000 a day.

I get work mostly through word of mouth and reputation, with bands contacting me through friends, tour managers and directly, with some regular work at venues and for PA hire companies, doing bands, festivals and corporate events (conferences, award shows etc).

Some of my friends ask me:

What separates a good sound engineer from a bad one? What are some bad habits some sound engineers have that bands should watch out for?

This is such a difficult question.
It's totally subjective and depends upon individual taste. What some will think is fantastic others will find fault in. Bands need to work together with their engineers and find a style that is suitable for them. A good engineer will be able to mix a variety of different styles well. I started with minus one show, then did a load of live band and worked in large hall and stadiums doing funk, dance, rock, indie and metal so am well versed in many styles of music and completely adaptable to what the situation requires.
The main thing is to have a good attitude, remain calm under stress and keep a smile on your face.. :)

Razlan's Journey

Red Worrior!

Selamat Hari Raya!

My Snap-snap

My Career