105 Questions about Sound System Tuning

by Nathan Lively

Everything you wanted to know about live sound system setup but were afraid to ask.

How far apart can I space my subs?
How do I save time in sound system tuning?
How can I easily set the number of boxes and splay for a line array?

Sound system tuning is hard and there is never enough time. I get it. That’s why I put together this collection of my best tips and shortcuts to help you get up and running fast.

ebook

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Hi, I'm Nathan. I'm a Sound Engineer and Designer with a passion for audio. Over the last 12 years I have lived in Austin, Denton, New York City, Lisbon, Bratislava, and Berkeley and have worked in recording studios, concert venues, theatres, and out-door festivals. I started my podcast, Sound Design Live, to find answers. I had many questions that weren't being satisfied by the trade magazines and books I was reading. Sometimes an author would cover a really interesting event, but would merely list facts without finding out why those choices were made. Other times I would read a great book on audio that would leave me with new questions; hosting the podcast allows me to discuss my questions directly with the authors. I guess other people felt similarly, because since the podcast's creation in 2011 it has gained 37,000 followers on SoundCloud.

I realize now that there is a middle area of pro audio education and reporting that is widely ignored. Between learning to connect a microphone to a mixer and delivering white papers at an AES convention, people are on their own as far as continuing education. Online forums try to fill this gap, but the available material is pretty thin. For this reason I decided to document my own education and technical knowledge as a pro audio freelancer.