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In this episode of Sound Design Live I interview Dave Swallow, the author of Live Audio: The Art Of Mixing A Show, about how he went from being the in-house sound engineer at a local music venue to mixing at the biggest festivals in Europe. We also discuss why graphic EQs are rubbish, time-aligning stage monitors for better vocal intelligibility, why lead singers use more than one stage monitor, how performers communicate with sound technicians, avoiding hearing damage, and why you should never defeat the ground on a power amp.

Never defeat the ground on a power cord, try using DI boxes or XLR adapters to lift the ground on one end of the connection.

Details from the podcast:

1. Music by DJ Fresh, James, La Roux, Goldie Lookin’ Chain
2. Clearcom
3. Transient smear: Audio distortion caused by differences in the time domain. Imagine two speakers playing the same program material which arrive at your ears slightly out of synch so that there is no echo but there is destructive interference.
4. Ear Defenders, Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO,  Ultimate Ears 5 Pro Custom In-Ear Monitors
5. “Horses for courses”: the practice of selecting the best person for a particular job.
6. XLR lift adapter, DI Box with earth lift
7. Shunting: allowing electrical current to pass around another point in the circuit by creating a low resistance path.
8. Midas XL8
9. Quotes
   1. We don’t align time; that’s something Dr. Who does.
   2. If the audience isn’t having a nice time then there’s no point in you being there.