Laptop Mixing & PA
Can you really control a PA with a trackpad?
Studio engineers often call it ‘mixing in the box’, and they mean using a computer screen and mouse rather than a conventional console. But surely you couldn’t mix live music that way? Not only does it turn out that you can, but it just might change the world of PA as we know it.
Mixing FOH for rap and hip-hop
From the street to the stage
Taking rap and hip-hop to the stage is not as straightforward as it might seem, those who mix the genre tell Performing Musician.
Going digital
Roland's M-400 V-Mixer in action
It was supposed to be just another live sound job in the local theatre, but turned out to be an introduction to the world of digital mixing.
Sound for small theatre productions
Techniques & Tips
Perhaps it's not for absolute beginners, but if you're into live sound, maybe as a future career, then doing the sound for small theatre productions is a great opportunity to gain experience and develop your skills. Here, we discover what it's like to be part of a sound tech team for the small stage.
Mixing Led Zeppelin then... and now
From '70s tours to FOH sound for the 2007 reunion concert
The now-famous reunion show for hard rock's patron saints, Led Zeppelin, at the O2 Arena showed that while the song remains the same, the sound gets a lot better.
Mixing a stadium gig for the first time
Techniques & Tips
How do you prepare yourself for mixing stadium gigs? By mixing a stadium gig, of course. PM's tame FOH engineer recounts the challenge of deploying his skills in a slightly unfamiliar context.
Mixing sound for Broadway musicals
Mixing Techniques
More complex than a typical concert and with no opportunities for studio fix-ups, mixing and designing sound for Broadway's one-of-a-kind productions is its own animal, with singular techniques, a unique business culture and its own rewards.
Mixing Metal
Techniques from the pros
There is a primitive elegance to the eternal struggle embedded in hard rock music that pits sublime intelligibility against violent, visceral volume.
