PA & Lighting "Hints & Tips"

Additions greatly welcomed (and acknowledged).

Both PA & Lighting

Label absolutely everything even (or especially) the gaffa tape. If you can come up with some distinguishing marks (we spray paint gear, only use purple mic cable, have velcro on all cables etc) then this will help. It's not so much the possible arguments but the possibility of things going astray during a frantic get-out. ESL

List everything you carry. This aids in packing up, ensures you've got everything and (should you get help) means you can give a list to someone and say "go find". ESL

Vecro your cables. A length of double-sided velcro on each cable means you can keep a coiled cable coiled even after it's been in a pile of other cables. You can also do the velcro up one-handed. ESL

When loading in carry stuff directly to where it is needed, rather than piling it in the middle of the stage. It will ALWAYS be in the way, wherever you put it otherwise. Dave Chalmers

Have proper boxes for everything, and pack things together by where they are used, not where they fit in. This saves lots of wandering around finding wires etc. Dave Chalmers

If you find a duff cable, tie it in knots right there and then, so it doesn't slip its way back into the pile only to bite again. Dave Chalmers

When setting up, set up the heaviest and most robust things first and the lightest and most delicate things last. When striking, do in the reverse order. For example, speakers, then guitar amps, then cables, then instruments, then microphones. That way, if things fall over or bash into other things as you move them (and they always do), it's your bass bins that get another scuff, not your vintage Martin Dreadnaught. Martin Turner, Str&nded

PA mainly

You can never have enough gain controls. This is mostly of use with non-crew engineers driving your desk (because you always look after your gear better than anyone else). If they push the main faders too far, it heps to have a (preferably unlabelled) gain control you can discretely adjust downwards. ESL

Lighting mainly

On "Additive" desks (such as the Pulsar Masterpiece) keep an environment free as a scratchpad, just next to the "gentle wash for between numbers" one. Then, no matter what you've got running as the song ends, you can save it to the scratchpad, switch it off (blackout) and then switch on the "between numbers" one. ESL

Jem smoke machines are directly controllable from 10v analogue. 'Phone them for a pinout or E-Mail ESL.

When doing lighting for bands in pubs and church halls, always try and get there before the PA crew. This will enable you to have first crack at the power sockets. Lighting always needs more power than PA, yet everyone thinks one 13 amp socket will be enough. It never is, and as we all know, lighting is much more important than PA. Come on you lampies ! Kev Sargeson

ESL addition Always carry a blue single-phase to 13A plugboard, as you can (almost) guarantee the P.A. crew won't. That way, you have a good 30A supply to yourselves!

Got some ideas you'd care to share?

Then please do so
Last Updated: 9 November 1997 Back to the home page