Sound Design Live

Build Your Career As A Sound Engineer

How an improperly connected motor cable arced up the chain and almost ended in disaster

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In this episode of Sound Design Live I talk with the touring FOH sound engineer for Godsmack, Erik Rogers. We discuss how he dealt with various SPL limits while on tour, console setup, and why safety is never a compromise.

I ask:

  • What’s one of the biggest things you’ve learned while working with Godsmack?
  • Tell us about the biggest or maybe most painful mistake you’ve made on the job and how you recovered.
  • From FB
    • Sam: Ask him what kind of issues does he face on the road besides the difference in venues.
    • Andreas: His Routing in his Desk (Input- Groups – Matrix etc)
    • Chris: Always interested in rock vocal chains, and mixing them with an up front guitar sound. It can be difficult to separate them at times. Tips or tricks?
    • Alfons: Does he use gates on all vocals & drums? Does he use peak or RMS compression?
    • Rob: What beard cream is best?
    • David: Compression: heavy or light? Pre or post EQ? What console are you on, what are you doing with bus compression?
    • Mark: Can I train under him ?
    • Jonathan: What tricks does he use to get that epic kick sound?

Safety is never a compromise.

Erik Rogers

Notes

  1. All music in this episode by Godsmack.
  2. Hardware: isemcon 7150, calibrator, never portico 2, shure 91, audix d6, kelly shoe,
  3. workbag: iSEMcon emx7150, calibrator, focusrite scarlet preamp, flashlight, incense, headphones
  4. Books: The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
  5. Podcasts: How I built this, Joe Rogan, Serial Killers
  6. Quotes
    1. I don’t have the same direction I did when I was 20.
    2. Sometimes you need to get hit in the face with a brick in order to focus.
    3. I guess that’s the difference between me and a monitor guy; my customer service has a barricade in between us.
    4. You’re an American and you look at 100dB and you’re like, that’s fuck’n crazy.
    5. I calibrate one microphone every day for SPL measurement and then my roaming microphone for system tuning is not calibrated.
    6. Safety is never a compromise.
    7. Anybody who’s motivated to succeed can as long as you don’t give up, and can take a shit load of criticism.