Avid Technology

As a sound company owner I have had many conversations with prospective customers and friends about renting equipment and its benefits. While I realize it is not always appropriate to rent gear, I find that most amateur bands who actually begin to play out in public have no understanding of what they are getting themselves into when it comes to production. They usually waste time and money while achieving poor results by trying to be in the production business while playing in a band.

Anyone who has ever played in a band or knows someone who has played in a band has at one time or another discussed the PA. This usually involves a trip to the local music store and some level of sticker shock at the prices. Then, if the band gets a few “gigs”, someone scrapes up a few thousand dollars and goes shopping and the band then has something that they call a PA. Add some more shopping along with some horse trading and the system is growing into a larger PA. This cycle perpetuates itself in a nearly infinite cycle till the band “breaks up” and much like a couple in a divorce, splits everything up and goes their separate ways. The exception to this is of the course the kids whose parents have too much money and try to buy their kids a trip to the Grammy Awards at the local music store in one lump payment. Neither of these scenarios is a particularly smart investment.

The two main reasons why 99% of local band PA systems sound terrible is

1) the band guys nor the guys at the local music store know much about a sound system
2) the band guys do not have nor are they willing to spend the money it takes to put together a proper sound system.

Over the years, I have witnessed first hand these exact instances occur simultaneously numerous times. Band members head to music store and tell salesman they can spend $10,000. Salesman tells them that is plenty of money and they get started putting together the perfect $10,000 sound system. Now the band has $10,000 worth of mid-level equipment that they thinks is capable of anything and the salesman has a nice commission. Everyone is happy, bliss for all. Eventually, the band decides they need more subs so the kick drum will sound better and some compressors to make everything better. And last but not least, lots of effects.

This scenario has been repeated so many times it is mind boggling. The most unbelievable part is that they never seem to learn. The sound is never right, gear tears up, subs blow, monitors wont get loud enough, and of course the main problem… wait for it… someone has got to move all this stuff around and try to make it work; and hopefully somehow, someway get lucky and sound like the “pros”. Problem is that this involves actual work, and there are no girls and cheering fans which eliminates about 75% of band guys from participating in this activity. Consequently, this leaves the work load to a few brave souls who bear the load of many. And in the end, it normally just sounds plain terrible which is a poor return on their misplaced investment.

The bands problems started before they got to the music store. The problems began with their lack of knowledge and their budget, or more specifically, what they wanted to accomplish with their budget. A budget of $10,00 which is probably rare for most bands, will only begin to scratch the surface of what they need. For example, most bands ignore the first and obvious issue they face… electricity. A proper power distribution system and quality heavy gauge power cables are essential for anything but a small sound system; yet I see few bands who address this issue. Most amateur bands are powered by extension cords from Home Depot or Wal-Mart that are usually well undersized. This will work, but it hurts the systems ability in most instances and decreases what little output capacity the system had to begin with. With no help from their salesman and no actual understanding of the electrical requirements of their system, the band has started off on the wrong foot and it will only get worse. For the sake of keeping this article from becoming a multi-volume work, I will not go into detail on every shortcoming of a low budget system. I will save something for future articles.

The lack of knowledge and budget has lead the band to purchase gear that is just not capable of providing the level of performance they desire and need. I have made the suggestion many times to band members trying to spend $5000 or $10000 to not buy a full blown PA, but rather invest in very high quality self powered and processed speakers that double as monitors, a high quality small mixer and a high quality basic mic package. They will not get as much “stuff” but it will work at a much higher level and it will be easier to operate which is a huge bonus because of their lack of tech skills. This equipment can be used to practice and play small shows. This works out very well mainly because the level of technical skill needed is lower, there is less gear to carry around and it normally sounds much better than a bunch of music store junk.

If and when the band gets bigger and better gigs that the smaller self-powered boxes cannot handle, they then can call a reputable sound provider and rent a system that is appropriate for the venue. This has so many advantages I wonder why I see band PA so often in places it does not belong. The main and obvious advantage to renting a professional system is it just plain sounds better. The differences in a professionally deployed sound system, even a club type system, and a local band PA are overwhelming. Professional system will have better bass response while maintaining clarity and overall balanced sound as opposed to the kick drum heavy icepick tone of most band PA’s. The Professional system will be able to achieve the SPL needed without driving the system into clip all night long. The professional system will come with a tech who will be able to dial in the system to the particular room and make the band sound better than they otherwise could or would.

The main argument most band guys have against this concept is that it costs too much to rent and they will make less money. I always counter by telling them they can probably play a large portion of their shows with the smaller powered cabinets and then ask them that if they are not making enough to rent a larger system, why are they willing to personally bring a larger sound system? The investment in the large useless pile of gear they call a PA was real money, but it generates nearly no return on investment (ROI); and assuming it still works, is barely worth half what they paid for it shortly after its purchase.

Conversely, had they bought the high quality, easier to use gear and rented larger gear when needed, they would have better sounding, easier to use equipment that holds resale value much better. They would spend less time setting up and breaking down gear. They would sound more professional when they play larger venues which should lead to better pay and an overall better place in the food chain. They would achieve a better return on investment. But probably the most compelling reason that the band should not purchase larger sound systems and rent gear is that they simply do not know what they are doing on a production level. They fundamentally cannot handle the job yet fail to realize this fact!

There is a reason that nearly all professional touring acts rent sound and lighting equipment from various sources……it just makes sense.

By: Todd Buckner