I often have young sound engineers pose questions and comments such as “How can I get my mix to sound like that?”, “What mic are you using?” or “if I had that mic, console, loudspeaker, etc., then I could do that too!”, as if it were as easy as turning a knob, or changing a mic. Well, to borrow form an old TV commercial, “it’s not the shoes, Morris”. While opinions abound in our industry, the most important, most magical elements of a truly great live sound mix have absolutely nothing to do with the hardware, or a with a handful of crafty tricks.

It was recently suggested to me, in regard to blog posting “Write what you’re passionate about!” So I will. Furthermore, It may take more than one or two posts to espouse my rather heretical ideas on the subject. Stay tuned, and be sure to comment if the subject is near to your heart, as it is mine.