This summer I’m headed out again to spend a few months turing knobs for my O.A.R. friends playing a ton of shows here in the U.S. Yet this time around, we will be joining big talents Train as well as Natasha Beddingfield — a great line up!

A bit different this summer

Usually I’m coordinating around 30+ channels of wireless daily. This breaks down to around 20 or so inputs (instruments and vocals) and 12 channels of IEM’s/ears plus spare packs as well as backup frequencies.

When O.A.R. is the headliner, much more control can be realized in regards to wireless. I often will coordinate wireless for the opening/support act also.

I’ll write a detailed post soon of how I generally coordinate using Shure’s Wireless Workbench, yet in the meantime this video briefly explains my workflow.

Working together

One difference this summer and this format is O.A.R. will be performing after Natasha and before Train which means there will be plenty of wireless to navigate each day.

A common courtesy with multiple band bills is acts will turn off their respective wireless when another act is on. This practice is quite helpful, and many times, essential.

Yet time is never on our side and being able to get a jump start on wireless coordination earlier in the day can be a huge help. In addition, often changeover times are brief and much can happen in those sacred minutes leading up to showtime. Being able to confirm your wireless is good ahead of time without stepping on another act is crucial.

Get to work early

I’ve found that being able to scan in realtime during an acts sound check can be quite reveling and helpful for my own coordination. Often my own gear will not be in place quite yet to perform a proper hardware scan. Using a tool such as the  the affordable RF Explorer can be quite a powerful compromise.

Using this hardware scanner along with the free (PC only) and very powerful RF Explorer Software gives you the ability to see the RF environment in realtime plus export the data into Wireless Workbench!

Here is a wonderful tutorial by fellow sound nerd, Diogo Nunes Pereira on how to properly load RF Explorer data into Wireless Workbench.

In the weeks ahead, I’ll detail a bit more of my process in an effort to help you be more comfortable tuning in Tokyo! In the meantime, check out the RF Explorer!

New live sound classes!

By popular demand, I’m developing a series of smaller hands-on classes covering one specific topic such as:

• Wireless/RF
• Monitor mixing
• FOH mixing
• Live Sound for Musicians
• Digital and analog console training.

If helpful to you, send me a note and I’ll keep you in the loop on when registration will be open!