Let's write a little story about last December's Tullisal gig, where Battle Bast, Arion and Afterworld performed.
Janne Ervelius and I used to do the techniques of Afterworld, so that Janne FOH and I did the stage. With this division of labour, we've been gone for years with Afterworld. The fleet is also well established that Janne's Soundcraft are mixers at both ends (Expression 3 in the bow and Expression 1 in the monars). The mikes are also their own, and now we go so that the house is equipped with only wires and stands (and of course PA & monitors).
The band sound checks were scheduled well and the schedule also remained well planned, or at least it remained on schedule before us 🙂 We were the first band to start the evening, so we made the check last (this is the best one for technology, so you only have to make the switch once when you unpack your own junk and get to bed in time. Is it the old age? 🙂 ). We had reserved our own hands for roadies (thanks to Kari, Matti and Ville), but there were also very many people in the house.
The collection went very fast, and I didn't even have time to connect many mikes / wires, but I focused more on directing people to do the connections / micronutuses the way I wanted. The technical tracks had been delivered in advance, and it also helped the staff do the job smoothly, so I got to start listening quickly.
The signals came in well on the mixer, and Janne took care of the gaines (the stagebox shared and his own Catit on the bow and on the stage), so the job speeded up. I started working on a signal for the monitors.
??... Can't hear anything? More vola in. Still nothing? What the hell?
I asked the tech at the house, "Are you sure the terminals are okay?" They started making sure that the mike was connected directly to the terminal, and the comfy thing was going off the monitors, so they made a new backup for the wire. The wires were plugged in, so there's gotta be something rotten about the mixer smashing. Well, it wasn't, is it? Well, would the anger between the mixer and the terminals have taken its wings? Not so often, though, all strings get dark, but, of course, in extreme circumstances, it is possible, too. Is it? Well, we changed, though, but we're still all dead.
Next thing I know, the trick library dug up a solution, that the monitors were connected directly to the stagebox, and I rerouted the table. I knew this was not the viable option when the box outputs are in FOH and the monitor outputs are taken directly from the monitor counter.
As expected, doesn't work.
Ratting back to use counter outputs and wires back onto the counter... zada, start to hear!!! What the hell?
Well, I don't care what happened there, as long as it works. 🙂
I was able to start listening, and they were also boning, that one of the cabinet wires in the house for the monitors was dead. A wire switch, and that monitor was working, too. Afterworld usually uses a set that has 5 corners on the stage and the drums go in stereo from line levels, to your headset wax.
There was still some kind of mystery in listening, when some of the instruments went off the monitor, but some of them refused to hear anything... I admit, I had the nerve to think the guys were deaf, before I went to find out for myself. 🙂 After a few minutes of wonder, the instruments began to fall from listening one after another. Fuck! So, the silent treatment at the beginning struck again. Now it was clear that the fault was sort of "digital."
From the tables and the box, power out, and back to the fire. Once again, everything is raging, as if there was never a problem. We concluded that the problem is most likely in some company, and that there is no way to fix it. We have to find out what's available.
The time reserved for Soundcheck began to run out, and it was in fact already in the overtime, when I finally put the listening levels to tolerable levels. I got a call for "Two Minutes To Open Doors" when the band started doing one more audition. In the middle of the song, they showed me a sign that "Now," when I went to stop playing. So, here we go. 🙂
The gig's starting...
The guys take the posts off the stage, and we've agreed to open the curtains when the intro runs. I asked Sneck to test it, so it's the monitors, right? No, it won't! Fuck.
I ran. Foh, to make the system a bot, so we can even start. Bow to the mud, and power out of the junk again. The start will take about 30 sec, and during that time I told the guys on the stage that, if they get those machines back in the game, you can get along with the listening that's there, and I won't touch anything during the job. In addition, if the equipment is tilted during the first job, then we'll do the bot in the middle of the job, and if the tilting is done at the end, then the show is on us.
Boot ready and sin test again? I hear you! I ran back to Foi, and that's not like the intro on wheels.
The intro rolls and the curtains open. The band pedals the song, and everything works the way it should. The tables can stand a miracle, and the weirdo can stand up all the time. I was afraid to touch any of the controls during the job, even though I noticed that there were some smart ones I needed to make. E.g. Jani (drummer) is quite accurate about listening, and if it is not right, it will have an impact on the playing. But I did notice, I don't think he heard all that. Sorry, Jani.
I don't think anyone in the audience noticed anything about this episode, but there was one of the most difficult jobs on their own (so far...) 🙂
Also known as the little evening cleaning on those tables, so that the same will not happen again!