Simple But Oft-Overlooked Live Performance Checks

Often, very often, the things that cause technical problems in both recording and live recording situations are very simple. Things like forgetting to turn on phantom power when recording with a condenser mic, or forgetting to arm a track for recording. For live performances it’s often things like forgetting to make sure all the inputs on the PA mixer are turned up. Admit it, you’ve probably seen this in very professional performances when the 2nd or 3rd person to speak or sing gets a line or two into their part before their mic gets turned up or on.

I can’t tell you hoe many times my wife has told me to “make a checklist” every time something like this happens. I still haven’t done it, mainly because these things seem so obvious that putting them on a checklist seems ridiculous. But they work.

Here is a post – coming from a church sound perspective, but the topic applies equally to any live situation – about this very situation:

https://www.prosoundweb.com/article/church_sound_sometimes_its_the_simple_things_that_matter_most/