[Lauraine Graham- with the Lord]

Rich

I beg your pardon, we all seem to have wandered fropm the point.

The way to get your sound and balance as good as you can get it is a mixture of hearing the dound and mix through headphones and from the floor. Each venue is different, and I'm afraid it sounds different again when the room is either enpty or full. As you have been smart enough to ask advice I gather you must be new to the business. You're on the right track, always ask someone. I also suggest you have a notebook or diary. One, to keep a note of the advice given and taken, and two to make a note of the settings you use on your equipment once you are happy with it. That way, if you are invited back you won't have to waste time guessing.

Now to the main point, how will you know if the settings and balance is right? I am making an assumption that you are reasonably bright, do not have any inconvenient difficulties with your hearing and that you have listened to quite a bit of various types of music so far. These points taken for granted your main aids will be your ears, your common sense and eqipment of as good a quality as your pocket can manage. When I started as an entertainer I wanted Bose but was not what I got, but the best I could afford and it served me well.

Arrive in good time to do a DO A THOROUGH SOUND CHECK when you set up. LISTEN to the audio on it's own, test the mics, LISTEN to the audio and your vocal TOGETHER. Stand out in the audience area if you can and LISTEN. People come to hear the vocals so don't drown them in the backing.

Remember that when you are satisfied this is only a starting point. Keep listening and adjust. Each song and each singer has a different. Use your headphones to hear the balance throughout the evening. Do NOT sit on your backside once you have set up thinking your job is done, it isn't, it has just begun.

I hope these points are helpful to you and I wish you luck and success.