Members Dweez Burczak Posted August 4, 2015 Members Share Posted August 4, 2015 Some of you may have clicked on this wondering what the heck this is about: I am a 21 year old living in South Africa, and I have worked with a number of production companies here since I was 13. From next year onwards I am going to be doing a lot of touring here in South Africa and abroad in Europe and America. I am going to be in charge of the technical side of things (Instrument tech, stage managing, setting up and striking etc). So now that you have some background to what I am going to be doing, I need help from all of you sound guys, production managers, stage hands, roadies and anyone else who has any cool ideas for me! I want some game changing ideas that are the equivalent of "life hacks". So if you could help me by sharing anything that you do to make life easier for you as a production guy, I would be most grateful! I am looking for ideas like the following: - Good/effective ways to store microphone stands - Ways of making load in/out faster and more effective - Effective Ways of storing cables - Communication systems between FOH and Stage - Tools that you have found to be extremely useful on tour - Your absolute essentials in your backpack for technical aspects of a tour I really hope you guys understand what I am asking. At the same time I hope that these are not secrets that people hold so dear to themselves, that they feel they cannot share them so that others can learn from them! Thanks guys, this is my first post so I hope it can get some great responses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dendy Jarrett Posted August 4, 2015 Members Share Posted August 4, 2015 (ADMIN NOTE: Let's assume this is legitimate and be on alert for spam). Dweez: Welcome and let's keep this on topic.ThanksD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted August 4, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 I suggest you search this forum. There have been a lot of threads on the subject of work efficiency, essential gear, etc. By way of example, if you go back a page, there are two threads on cable management, and another dealing with weather issues at outdoor venues. I'm not implying that people shouldn't respond or participate, btw, just that you can find a lot of ideas in what's already been posted. The total years of experience posting regularly here is nothing short of amazing, so you'll find good stuff. As I was composing this, I saw Dendy's post. I too thought this was spam...your user name has that spam-ish ring to it, and we get a fair amount of spam that's composed to look like a legit post but goes bad. In that respect, I'd like to see you participate in this thread rather than sit back waiting for responses. Let me know what you think about the several threads I found already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dweez Burczak Posted August 4, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2015 Hey guys, thanks for the replies already. I am opening up new tabs and looking at all the stuff that you suggested. Would still appreciate replies on this page though! I have been wanting to ask this question for ages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted August 4, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 What stopped you until now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dweez Burczak Posted August 4, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2015 I have been working full time at a church for the past 3 years, and have therefore not really had much opportunity to get out onto the road and do a whole lot of touring. I was told about 3 weeks ago that the band/ministry that are touring next year want me to work with them... So since then I have been preparing for next year by asking people questions (such as this forum post) and putting together ideas for next year so that I can be the most effective at my job. Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 4, 2015 Members Share Posted August 4, 2015 I'll bite........your post inferres you will be traveling with your own system ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dweez Burczak Posted August 4, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2015 Yes! Medium format PA that can cater to 1000-2000 people. 6-8 tops and 6 bins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 4, 2015 Members Share Posted August 4, 2015 It might help if you describe the entire system including power distro, lighting/trussing, flyware and band requirements. Perhaps the vehicle (s) being used too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pro Sound Guy Posted August 4, 2015 Members Share Posted August 4, 2015 Lets get to the nitty gritty here. Budget Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 5, 2015 Members Share Posted August 5, 2015 Lets get to the nitty gritty here. Budget I get the impression his concern is more logistics than operation costs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dweez Burczak Posted August 5, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 5, 2015 Tomm is correct here people! I am not talking about budgets/operation costs but more about logistics and stream lining setups and striking. It seems like I have a question that is rather difficult to explain in words. Replies are still welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 5, 2015 Members Share Posted August 5, 2015 Tomm is correct here people! I am not talking about budgets/operation costs but more about logistics and stream lining setups and striking. It seems like I have a question that is rather difficult to explain in words. Replies are still welcome! Further replies are also difficult if we don't know the system and related pieces you're working with. Specific advice will be of more use to you than general advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted August 5, 2015 Members Share Posted August 5, 2015 more about logistics and stream lining setups and striking. There's a myriad of details that can help streamline the job, and they cover a wide spectrum. Identifying the time vampires is key... and then figure out the diminished points of returns on stream lining. If you're working with the same performers and running the same basic system, that can help considerably. All kinds of things... like standardizing as much as you can. I run all 13ga. NL4 and NL8 speaker cabling for example, even though some of my applications only need two conductor cabling.... I try to eliminate as many "special application" cables as possible. Stowing cables appropriately, standardizing your truck pack, and standardizing your load-in and set-up, etc... the more stuff you can get down to doing it the same way every time the better. Something I've done in the past year that seems like "nothing", but has paid-off well for me and my bandmates is I've labeled their names on their mic stands. All four of our vocal mic stands look the same... all four are round base Atlas stands with "short" K&M booms... but there are differences, especially in how each of the 4 vocalists like their stands set-up. Details down to which clips and how tight the clutch on the clip is set makes a difference to each performer. So I labeled each stand with their name, and each performer is responsible for set-up and tear-down of their respective stand. That way each performer gets the same stand every time, and the stand is "just the way they left it" from the past gig. This has completely eliminated the past endless fussing with mic stands at the gigs and shop time maintenance of mic stands for me. No more drooping boom arms during a song, no more loose bases, no more missing boom wing-bolts, no more "wrong clip for the mic", etc... I've done a lot of things concerning our band's standard system to eliminate the time vampires, realizing we're there to perform, not fuss with gear. Three years ago our standard load-in and set-up took about 2 hours, and tear-down and load-out took about 1 1/2 hours. Now our standard load-in and set-up or tear-down and load-out takes about 20 - 25 minutes... and we're actually running "more" now than we used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted August 5, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 I agree with Tomm that details would really help here. A few pictures would be valuable as well. However, look at what you do before and after each performance, and think about how it could be done better. We can and will make suggestions but this is a personal issue...or at least specific to your rig, which you (better) know better than anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted August 5, 2015 Members Share Posted August 5, 2015 In the last couple of weeks, I've been gigging with, or bumping into guys that used to be in local touring acts (I'm in Vancouver BC). These guys all toured internationally and had varying levels of success. Besides all the wild road stories and tales of our misspent youth, the themes of safety and theft kept emerging. Like the story of the late, famous British singer that relocated to Vancouver. His keyboard player related to me that the singer had all his clothes lost/stolen and they had to replace them during a tour. Not an easy job when you're 6'5" or so. I also know of two, maybe it was three National bands that had all their gear stolen from the truck. Well actually, one band backed their truck up against the wall and so the thieves just took the whole truck. On a personal level, I've been in three touring road accidents, which were costly and time consuming. I also had my guitar stolen in a small town that didn't have a proper music store. I went down to the local radio station (they actually had one) and asked if there were any guitar players who could lend or rent me their guitar. I wound up with a strange Hagstrom that was barely playable. Never did get my 1970 Guild Bluesbird back... So I will submit that one way to improve efficiency is to avoid or minimize theft and road accidents. When loading in or out, have someone assigned to keeping an eye on things. Don't leave gear unattended. Keep abreast of weather and road conditions. Know what your insurance covers. Maybe compile a list of emergency numbers before you need them. Just thought I'd mention a few things that are above and beyond the PA and stage factors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dweez Burczak Posted August 6, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 Okay, so here is the rundown of how we are operating at the moment. Because we are a ministry, we normally do youth focussed events that run on Friday/Saturday nights. Normally we would arrive at the venue at around 11AM to start setting up, and we try our best to be done with final sound checks etc at 4 PM (Getting IEM levels right always seems to take the longest). Luckily we have the same group of band members every time as well as the same tech crew. The rig that we use usually consists of: The van for hauling everything is a hyundai H1 with a pretty big loading bin.A medium format PA that gets hauled in a trailer behind the van (I don't want to spec the PA as we often hire in, and the number of boxes and models may vary).Backline which includes: A drum kit and hardware, guitars and amps, keyboard and a flightcase for synths, cable crates, mic stands, merch/Apparel and lighting (LED cans, 2 crowd blinders, 4 intelligence). Sound desk, either a Allen & Heath QU16 or a Midas Pro1, depending on the size of the event The event normally finishes around 9:30 PM, we will strike the rig and be ready to leave the venue at around 11PM. I dont know if that helps a little bit more? Dont really have too many photos to show you guys, but next time we have an event I will be sure to post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted August 6, 2015 Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 Why do the IEM levels change from show to show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dweez Burczak Posted August 6, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 I guess levels vary according to the room/size of the stage that we are playing on. We do save IEM mixes, but there is always tweaking that needs to be done and it always takes time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 6, 2015 Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 Some things to consider for your tour (in no paticular order) would begin with have your vehicles/trailers serviced including spare tire maintenence. You don't mention if your shows are indoor/outdoor but if they are outdoor, bring MORE tarps than what is needed to cover all of the gear. Considering you have tech help, your set-up and sound check time seems a bit long to me. The biggest thing you can do to reduce time is be familiar with what you're doing,here are some tips that may help: 1--Figure out a load plan for your vehicles/trailer that is consistent and stick with it2--Establish a set-up routine and stick with it3--Depending on how much help you have, assign jobs to each person that don't change4--You MUST do NUMEROUS "dry-runs" of the entire operation from the time the trailers pull in until they pull out. This will expose any weakness's in your plan for correction. It will also help familiarize everyone with what's expected. You don't want to "get it down" half-way into the tour.5--Whenever possible, leave items pre-connected.6--Mark all boxes/crates with contents and inventory.7--Set up time is just that, keep everyone off the instruments.8--Perhaps most important...........Let your expectations be known and communicate frequently. Other considerations such as bandaids, aspirin, sunblock, DOLLY'S, gloves, electrical test gear, tables, chairs,headphones, sharpies, gaff tape, paper, pens. Go through all of your extention cabling, power distros, etc.... and test for function and condition. You didn't mention flying or truss's so I assume everything is ground stacked? bring plywood shims to level the cabs on uneven ground before stacking the tops. Safety cones, caution tape. Others will chime in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 6, 2015 Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 Wow, with an 11am in, no wonder you are looking at saving some time. I routinely provided audio for considerably larger shows and acts, and unless there was a lot of lighting and staging coming in, noon or 1pm call time is/was more the norm. With IEM's, I would expect another 45 minutes of time savings versus running a dozen wedges. Keep things simple and to the point. Keep focused. How big is your crew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dweez Burczak Posted August 6, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 Tomm that was awesome! Great help and advice! If we are setting up PA ourselves then it is normally ground stacked, yes. A lot of our events are normally in beloved halls and sports centres. We are still at a level where everyone is expected to put in their fair share when it comes to setup. This means that the band makes up the majority of the crew. Our crew is normally around 9 people: 6 band members, FOH, and then two other guys that come from the college that we run. I also believe that setup and soundcheck is a bit long, so more ideas/hacks are welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 6, 2015 Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 Tomm that was awesome! Great help and advice! If we are setting up PA ourselves then it is normally ground stacked' date=' yes. A lot of our events are normally in beloved halls and sports centres. We are still at a level where everyone is expected to put in their fair share when it comes to setup. This means that the band makes up the majority of the crew. Our crew is normally around 9 people: 6 band members, FOH, and then two other guys that come from the college that we run. I also believe that setup and soundcheck is a bit long, so more ideas/hacks are welcome! [/quote'] Now that you've clarified that MOST of your help is the band..............it is even more imperative that you DEMAND the instruments stay put until the system is in place. Determine who's skills are best applied to what tasks and double check everyones work until it's apparent that things are running smoothly................and then do it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted August 6, 2015 Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 I can't stress this enough due to the band being most of the crew, keep them off their instruments until the system is complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted August 6, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 Indeed, that's the first thing I noticed. Sorry, the second thing, right after 5 hours to set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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