Guides
Soundcheck with a digital mixer – step by step
A good soundcheck follows a fixed order. Then everyone in the band knows when it’s their turn, and there’s time left for the monitor mix. Here’s how to run it quickly and without chaos on a digital mixer.
Preparation – at home
- Channel list (input list): Which instrument goes on which channel? Keeping the same layout saves time at every gig.
- Name the channels on the console and save a scene or profile with the basic setup.
- Set up and name the monitor buses in advance.
The order
- Line check: Is there a signal on every channel? Briefly tap each mic or play each instrument – no tone shaping yet. Mistakes like swapped cables show up immediately.
- Gain: Set each channel’s gain so the loudest parts have enough headroom before clipping. How to do it is in the guide Setting gain correctly.
- Drums: kick, snare, toms, hi-hat, overheads – individually, then the whole kit. With two mics on one drum (kick in/out, snare top/bottom), check the phase.
- Bass, then guitars, then keys and other instruments.
- Vocals: each mic individually, ideally at the same volume as in the song, not quieter.
- Monitors: Now set the monitor or in-ear mixes. It’s fastest when everyone adjusts their own mix on their phone (here’s how).
- Prevent feedback: carefully turn up the monitors and cut critical frequencies (ring-out).
- Full band: one song with everything, fine-tuning the main mix while walking around the room.
EQ: less, but targeted
A low cut on everything that doesn’t need bass (vocals, guitars, overheads) cleans up the mix. After that, only make targeted changes: cut annoying resonances narrowly, reduce mud around 200–400 Hz, leave room in the mids for vocals. Cut rather than boost.
Guided with BandAssist
The guided soundcheck in BandAssist takes care of the order for you: it calls up the channels one by one, solos the channel, announces by voice who should play (“Kick, please play”), sets the gain and analyzes the sound. For mic pairs, it checks the phase as well. At the end, suggestions for low cut, EQ and compressor are ready – you preview them and apply what fits. This works best with USB audio from the console; anything a console can’t control remotely shows up as “set by hand”.
Save time
- Everyone on stage stays quiet while one instrument is being checked.
- One person talks to the engineer – not five at once.
- Load the profile from the last gig instead of starting from zero.
In detail: Guided soundcheck and Sound analysis in the user guide.
Guides