If you’ve ever been to a concert, or watched one on your television, you’ve probably noticed the tent in middle of the venue. That tent is not a security tent, it is the audio engineer tent. They are the silent warriors who make the concerts and shows you go to sound as great as they do. They are solely responsible for the sound quality, and clarity, wherever they’re being used. Whether it be the studio, or a live performance, the audio engineers are solely responsible for how the show sounds to the audience. So, how do they do what they do?
Audio engineers are often referred to as the “lifeblood of the show”, and as stated, they are responsible for how the show sounds to you, the audience. So, how do they ensure that the show sounds good to the audience? They go through multiple steps to ensure good quality sound, such as mixing and equalizing the frequencies, adapting to the different acoustics of each venue, communicating with the talent and crew with any problems they’re experiencing, mixing monitors for the talent to hear themselves and each other, and learning to be quick problem-solvers while using their technical expertise.
The first thing audio engineers check to ensure good quality sound is they mix and equalize the different frequencies, or better known as sound check. In this process, the audio engineers are not only listening for the appropriate volume, but they also are listening to what frequencies in the mix need to be raised or lowered. They first check each instrument, or microphone, separately and then mix them while they are all being used together to check for any rogue frequencies. Each show is at a different venue and each venue has different acoustics, which means that different frequencies and sound levels are going to react differently at each place you play. They mix these frequencies on a board called a mixing board; if you’ve ever seen photos or videos of people in studios with those boards that have a thousand different knobs and faders, that is a mixing board.
