The place where music takes shape is the air, the environment where the audience is: “Concerts”. Sound propagates through space, and for a band or an artist, it is essential to keep some key concepts in mind when optimizing their live setup.
Welcome back to this new section of “music tale” brought to you by Villaggio Musicale! In this article, we will tackle a vast topic with even very complex technical implications, and I will focus on some of the aspects that can most heavily influence the quality of your live concert.
I know very well how crucial it is to have a good setup for smaller gigs, the ones where there are no resources to rely on an external audio crew. We often find ourselves acting as true jacks-of-all-trades of music: guitar on our shoulder, car loaded with instruments, sound system, microphones, and accessories, everything strictly provided by the band. Armed with good intentions, besides playing, we end up becoming a mini-crew for ourselves!
In the hope that things will change one day and our musical project can finally take off, doing everything on our own often remains an unavoidable step. But do not get discouraged. I can assure you that this self-production phase allowed me to acquire valuable transversal skills, which in different ways have contributed to my current career as a specialist for Italy’s most important online musical instrument store and as a sound engineer for numerous nationally and internationally renowned artists.
How can we optimize our audio setup and consequently improve the acoustic quality of our concert?
I am here to give you some truly practical advice that will help you get the best results!
Point one: Venue inspection.
I know it is not always possible, but it is essential to analyze the environment where the concert will take place: evaluate the spaces, volume, internal acoustics, potential audience size, and above all, understand whether they will be sitting or standing.
It is useful to know the stage dimensions and make some preliminary assessments to figure out if your gear is truly suited for the context.
Here comes a second basic tip: Do not improvise! Carefully check everything you have available, such as cables, microphones, stands, DIs, and any other piece of equipment, so you have a clear picture of what you own and what might be missing.
Let’s now focus on the purely acoustic aspect and the topic of Sound Reinforcement, taking as a concrete example the case of a complete band with a rhythm section, drums, percussion, bass, and the rest of the ensemble.
The percussive acoustic instrument itself naturally generates a good volume or, more technically, “sound pressure” (SPL). This value can be measured with specific instruments (sound level meter), but on average, a drum kit generates an SPL between 100 and 120 dB SPL. Naturally, I won’t dwell too much on technicalities, but to give you a reference point, consider that normal speech inside a venue has values close to 80/90 dB SPL. Well, here is a first practical consideration: all instruments with sound pressure levels below 90 dB will need to be amplified.
Even if it seems like a given, it can help us understand the SPL power our PA system will need to have in order to match and sometimes exceed the pressure generated by the audience and our “noisy” rhythm section. The SPL value represents the acoustic efficiency of a speaker and is a much more significant parameter than the simple electrical power of the built-in amplifier, expressed in watts.
In this specific case, your setup should include “Point Source” speakers (typical active speakers on the market) with an SPL equal to or greater than 130 dB.
In quantitative terms, it is essential to start with an L/R (Left–Right) pair to ensure proper stereo imaging. In enclosed spaces, it is often complicated to use subwoofers; for this reason, I tend to consider a system that can work effectively even without them.
Every speaker has its own frequency range, meaning the interval it is able to reproduce. The width of this range depends mainly on the size of the woofer and the driver. I recommend opting for speakers with a 12″ or 15″ cone paired with a 1″ driver: this configuration guarantees good low-frequency extension and at the same time a brilliant high-frequency output.
At this point, it is useful to introduce a very important concept: the horizontal and vertical dispersion of the speakers. This is essentially how the sound produced by the speaker propagates in space, both horizontally and vertically.
This is an essential parameter to evaluate in data sheets, because it helps us determine the positioning height of the speakers and the optimal distance between the two units.
I advise you to choose speakers with a driver coverage angle of about 90/100° horizontally and 60° vertically. On the market, 90° dispersion is the most widespread standard, while models with 100° coverage are less common, a feature reserved for higher-end products (d&b audiotechnik, Martin Audio, RCF NXL series, etc.). With a distance of 5/6 meters between the two cabinets, it will be possible to effectively cover even the front rows: listeners positioned in the center, a few meters away from you, will in fact be able to benefit from the sound coming from the speakers, which will combine with the sound generated acoustically by the instruments and the natural room reflections.
At what height should the speakers be positioned? This is one of the questions I am asked most often. In this case, the vertical coverage angle comes to our aid.
As a reference, we use the driver, which is the component dedicated to high-frequency reproduction. High frequencies, by their nature, are directional: they propagate precisely in the direction they are emitted and are perceived mainly by our ears, unlike low frequencies which also affect the body.
With a vertical opening angle of 60 degrees, optimal positioning dictates that the driver is placed above the heads of the audience. This is why it is important to know whether the spectators will be sitting or standing.
In the case of a standing audience, the speakers can be positioned with the driver at about 1.90–2.00 meters in height: this is an average value but fully in line with the most common standards.
Fundamental rule: the speakers must always be placed in front of the band. This measure helps reduce the risk of Larsen effect, those annoying squeals that can turn the evening into a nightmare for the audience’s ears.
A second aspect I would like to dwell on concerns internal monitoring, meaning the monitoring reserved for musicians on stage.
There are two main types of monitoring: stage monitors, or wedges, and In-Ears, which are earphones. The differences are well known and personal habits and tastes often come into play: in fact, for various reasons, some people prefer the sound of a traditional monitor over headphones.
However, if the goal is to optimize the sound inside a venue, the technically most correct solution remains the In-Ear system, and now I will explain why.
One or more wedges placed on the stage, in addition to reducing the musicians’ movement space, have a significant impact on the acoustic diffusion of the environment. Each wedge produces its own sound pressure, which reflects off walls and ceilings; being located in different spots on the stage and at varying distances, they generate inevitable acoustic phase problems. The result can be an overall less crisp, more confused sound, with some instruments risking overpowering the others.
For this reason, to optimize our sound, I recommend using In-Ear monitoring systems. Here too, there are two main types: wired and wireless systems. It’s a rather vast topic with various variables to consider, and I promise to cover the subject thoroughly in a future issue!
Regardless of the choice, listening through headphones offers several advantages: it allows you to perceive your own instrument with precision, provides a certain degree of isolation that can improve performance, and helps keep the stage quieter and more orderly. This translates to a cleaner and more pleasant sound coming from the PA, to the great benefit of the audience.
Finally, I would like to close this article by addressing an element that can decisively influence your live set and overall sound quality: the mixer.
Today the market offers a vast range of solutions: ranging from the classic analog console to digital mixers with control surfaces, up to models completely managed via tablet.
Mixing sounds correctly is essential, but it is equally important to have all the necessary I/O for your setup, so that you can manage each source properly and without compromise.
I can recommend leaning towards a digital mixer, which is now available at very affordable prices. This type allows you to have a show in recall, meaning it can be recalled at any time, with the ability to store all parameters and utilize the internal processors needed to achieve a complete mix.
Many digital mixers also offer an excellent array of inputs and outputs, a fundamental feature if you want to implement an In-Ear monitoring system. To distribute the signal to stereo headphones, in fact, you need a good number of auxes and physical outputs to connect to the in-ear transmitters.
I recommend opting for a rack-format mixer, controllable via tablet and smartphone, equipped with at least 16 input channels and a minimum of 8 auxes dedicated to monitoring. Each musician could control their own mix through proprietary apps for devices.
Ultimately, when traveling self-produced for small gigs, it is essential to optimize various aspects. Getting the most out of your own means is possible, starting with the evaluation of the venue’s characteristics that hosts you, and then improving your setup with an adequate PA system, capable of guaranteeing the right sound pressure and a correct separation between the stage sounds and those emitted by the speakers.
A personal headphone monitoring system allows you to achieve a cleaner and crisper sound, reducing acoustic phase problems and phenomena such as feedback.
The mixer represents the element that connects all technical aspects: in light of what has been said, a good digital mixer controllable via tablet or smartphone will allow you to work with greater precision on your band’s sound. Optimizing your setup in this direction, I guarantee, will bring great benefits.
