The sound at different venues on a tour?

[bill]

Hi all,
Prompted by the comments on The Shadows tour, I have a question.

Who sets up the sound at each venue (I mean in general, not necessarily specific to The Shadows or the current tour)?

For example, I assume someone local to the venue would know more about that particular place (do venues have their own sound men?). Then again, a sound man/woman with the artist would know about their sound and preferences.

Do they take any measurements or rely on their ears? Do they check all areas in the venue? How do they account for the hall being empty when they set up and full during the performance? Does anyone use all their own equipment or do they all rely on the in house PA?

This isn't meant to be a barrage of questions, just to give an idea of what I'm wondering (and the profound depth of my ignorance).

[grip]

Hi bill3,

Its a good set of questions, one thing I have often wondered about is when sound checks are done, it is carried out in an empty auditorium, which must have vastly different accoustic properties compared to being full, so I would imagine there is an awful lot of guesswork involved. I remember going to see the Shadows in my youth (approx 45 years ago) at the Demontfort Hall in Leicester, and during the performance, Hank commented on the accoustics as "Being like Derby Swimming Baths", and he was absolutely right, the sound was bouncing off the back wall and unfortunately the added echo did not enhance the sound.

Kind regards


grip

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Bill,
As far as I know and from what I have seen and been told at other Hank shows, the sound out front is the responsibility of the team at the out front sound desk. The sound will be based on what is heard at that position so the best sound would be expected near that position.
The sound on stage is dealt with by a separate person at a mixer at the side of the stage.
The sound of the individual musicians would be mostly or entirely their own responsibilities.
Regards,
Charlie