mike257

Sound engineer here, have seen many people turn up with various flavours of these things over the years. In my experience, the Boss ones are best avoided, and the TC kit, as with the general consensus in this thread, is far and away the best. I'd also advise moderation, and much like dialling in a multi-effects pedal, often what sounds great in your house/in the shop is probably overkill at gig volume through a proper rig.

Centre fills are normally something that comes in to play in larger venues with a big stacked or flown PA to fill the gap in coverage for the folks right up on the barrier. They're usually on the front lip of the stage, or occasionally on Sunday stacks if they're spaced appropriately to make it work. They're not meant to hit the middle of the room because if the main system is properly deployed, it'll be covering that space - they're just filling in where the horizontal dispersion of the main hangs/stacks don't reach. Not really something that you can translate to a small portable setup, unless you're carrying a 4ft high stage with you too!

Proper pieces of kit! I never really spent time with the MPCs but for a brief period in my late teens I did a lot of work with an S6000. Akai were always head and shoulders above anyone else when it came to sampling hardware. Looking forward to hearing how you get on with it!

Creating successful content on YouTube is a musical career path these days. It's just not one that existed when most of us first set out on our musical journey. The landscape has changed. If he made a successful TV show on a mainstream broadcast channel about bass that had over a million viewers, would that be different?

The important thing here (aside from the fact that it sounds like your guitarist is loud enough to (1) cause his band members serious hearing damage and (2) ruin any hope of a decent FOH mix) is that you need to make sure you get the best possible fit on your earphones to block out as much of the outside noise as possible so you can have a clear IEM mix. The best you'll get is custom moulds, but if you're looking for budget wireless I'm guessing you're not keen to drop hundreds on that. Next best thing is to experiment with the different sizes of Comply foam tips on generic IEMs to see what seals the best for you. Sounds like the real problem is plugged in to the Marshall though, and addressing that will do you all sorts of favours!

It'll never be cost effective printing in such small runs. The unit price comes down as the quantity goes up, so it's best to go bigger if you can, rather than multiple small orders. I use Ozzi at https://www.ozmerchco.co.uk/ a lot for merch printing, tour laminates etc. They work almost exclusively with touring bands, so know the market and know the margins. Saw Pins & Knuckles get a mention above, they're great too. Also just had some really good quality merch from BSI on a recent tour. Good advice above about simplifying the design to keep the cost down, I'd echo that. The ability to take card payments is essential these days. I've generally used Zettle for shows in the UK, but SumUp and Square are popular too. They all run regular offers to get the cars reader for next to nothing for new sign ups, and (depending on your phone model) you can also take contactless payments in the app without needing the card reader at all. The fees are relatively low (around 2-2.5% of each transaction) and the increase in sales you'll get from being able to take the card payments makes it absolutely worthwhile.

Love to see it still in action! What are you up to with it? Yeah, the SQ is far and away the best option in thar price range for sure. Really not a fan of the TF and the X/M32 are showing their age. I think Soundcraft is a lost cause at this point, sadly. Nothing has really happened since Samsung acquired Harman, which they mainly did for the home entertainment end of their portfolio of brands. I don't think they've got any real interest in sustaining a presence in the pro audio sector, but it's a shame to see a historic brand run down like that. Maybe someone will buy it out, who knows?

There's a real skill to hiding the mics discreetly in the costumes and still getting them in a good spot for the audio. The advantages they have on a West End stage is that they're working with top notch musical theatre performers who really understand how to project their voice, and the band are quiet, and below them in a pit (usually with the drummer in a box) so they're not fighting stage spill. They also mix the shows line by line, with the FOH engineer having every scene in the script blocked out with a corresponding scene in the console to recall mutes/levels, and riding the faders of every live mic with each line. It's a whole different art/skill set than mixing a band!

If it worked that well, everyone would be doing it. They're a big compromise in a lot of ways. An omni headset mic will pick up loads of spill on a live band stage. A cardioid one will be very sensitive to positioning. Genuinely good headset mics are a lot more expensive than their hand held equivalents too. Unlike a mic on a stand, you can't back off or move in to control your dynamics if you're one of those singers that really belts it out. You also can't turn away from the mic to cough, catch your breath, call the next song, tell the guitarist the right chords or ask the drummer to slow down. It's always there, picking up every huff, puff, grunt, burp and muttered curse.

Of the common brands, Zettle seems to have the best app features, reporting etc. Also has robust integration with WooCommerce, so if you sell from an online store too you can tie them together. Worth noting that if you tour abroad, none of these will work for you in other territories and you'll need a different solution.

Marios is a good'un! I'm in the main room tomorrow on house mons. We've got Thrice in, which I'm very much looking forward to as I'm a big fan but have never caught them live. Won't be mixing anything all day as both the headliner and the support are self contained, so it's a day at work of mostly just watching good bands! Just got back home from a couple of weeks around Europe as TM/FOH with a pop artist from South Africa on his first headline tour up these ways. Smallest rooms I've done in a while but we had an absolute ball. Great shows, all sold out, and a lovely bunch of people to be on the road with. Took my trusty little SQ5 out for its first shows of 2024 and it did a cracking job. Doesn't get used too often these days but it's such a great little desk for the money.

I've just got home from two-and-a-bit weeks on tour, and judging by the way I found the kitchen on my return, I'll be considering myself a dishwasher for a fair portion of the evening 🤣