Signal To Noise Podcast

Willa Snow talks with the hosts about how she got her start in pro audio and what fuels her passion. Other topics include what house sound techs can expect from touring engineers coming through their venues, how mistakes can push us forward to the next level, where and how to find touring opportunities — and — worst catering stories! Based out of Austin, TX with a deep passion for the industry, Wi...

Tyler Walters joins us for a great discussion on the best practices and daily work of a system engineer. This past summer (2019) Tyler was on the road serving as system engineer for the Outlaw Music Festival, an event organized by the original outlaw himself, Willie Nelson. He wrote about the tour and his workflow approach in a ProSoundWeb article. "Staying Ahead Of The Game: System optimizat...

We take a listener question today about console workflow. We dig into what that looks like when doing monitors from FOH. We also breakdown some monitor mixing best practices.  We would love for you to join our Podcast Facebook group . We wanted to create a space for listeners of the podcast to create a conversation around the topics and people we talk to. We want feedback and questions. This podca...

Rooted in a passion for the industry, Jeff Hawley of Allen & Heath USA talks about his path in the "music business". It's not always what you dream of as a kid. In addition, Allen & Heath has a heavy presence in the house of worship market and that’s not by mistake. We discuss what influences that and how the A&H team is heavily focused on the training aspect of it all....

What we do in our downtime whether planned for or not, is very important. The recent flood of canceled shows due to the Coronavirus has left many with more of this time than expected. Instead of focusing on the recent developments and foreseeable future we discuss what to do during any time of the year that may be slow. Everything from budgeting, diversifying your income, attaining the next level...

Michael nearly misses the recording session in order to get free pancakes, and Kyle is reminded how old he is. Kyle and Michael chat with FOH engineer and tour manager Chad Olech to discuss his experience juggling both jobs. Chad has worked with a number of major artists, including Shinedown, Fallout boy, Demi Lovato, Alice in chains, Deftones, P.O.D. and others. Episode links: Mike Green music: h...

We had a "boys night out" with just the hosts. We wanted to get a bonus episode out and a follow up to our previous "Art of Mixing" episode 17 conversation. Episode links: Mike Green music: https://mikegreen.bandcamp.com/ The Signal To Noise podcast series on ProSoundWeb , sponsored by Shure and hosted by Live Sound/PSW technical editor Michael Lawrence and pro audio veterans K...

Howard Page, senior director of engineering at Clair Global has served as front of house engineer for top artists such as Sting, Phil Collins, Van Halen, Paul Simon, James Taylor and many more. We spent most of our time talking about His approach on tuning and optimizing large-scale concert sound systems , a recent article on ProSoundWeb Jim Yakabuski joins us as well this week for the third time...

Ken "Pooch" Van Druten is one of the industry's most in-demand FOH engineers, having mixed for artists as successful and wide-ranging as Iron Maiden, Linkin Park, Michael McDonald, Katy Perry, Motley Crue, Seal, KISS, Jay-Z, and many more.  Pooch is also a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston MA, and has been voted FOH Engineer of the Year twice by the Parnelli Awards,...

Shannon Slaton, a prominent theater sound designer and mixer, joins us this week. We discuss topics like mixing workflow, understanding the dynamics of a show and bringing them to life through the mix, how system design goes hand in hand with the final mix and more. He has designed tours of Shrek, Hairspray, The Producers, The Full Monty, The Wizard Of Oz, The Drowsy Chaperone, and The Wedding Sin...

Karl Winkler   joins us to talk about the evolution of wireless microphone systems through the years, how he was on the product development team for the noted Neuman KMS 105 microphone, and much more. Having spent most of his 25-plus year career working with manufacturers and currently a vice president with Lectrosonics , he gets to see a different side of professional audio and shares a lot of in...

Pete Erskine has provided communications design, RF and operational services to entertainment professionals around the world. His clients have included the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), Walt Disney Productions, The National Football League, The Olympic Games, Clair Broadcast and more. Over the years, Erskine has developed a reputation not only for excellent design, audio engineering, a...

Grace Royse a 17 year veteran of the industry joins us this week. Punk rocker at her core, she started with bands like No use for a Name, Useless ID, Pour Habit, Dirty Heads, Cypress Hill, Sublime and more. She quickly progressed to Production Manager on tour and many festivals / large scale productions. Grace has a passion for learning the craft, growing yourself professionally and passing that o...

Jim Yakabuski joins us this week to talk about paying as much attention to what comes off the backs of the loudspeakers as what comes out the front. This was a recent article on ProSoundWeb. We also talk about the psychological side of the gig and how that plays into the relationship between artist and engineer. Even as a veteran in this industry Jim acknowledges how much he still has to learn and...

Jason Moore joins us this week and is currently the FOH Engineer  for Train but has worked with artist like David Cook, Selena Gomez, Seven Mary Three and more. Michael recently went to see him mix for Train, who he has been with the past 7 years. You can check out that article here: http://bit.ly/37Ip0Dd We discuss challenges he faces when mixing different artist through the years, managing dual...

We break down a few of the Top 20 articles on ProSoundWeb from 2019. We talk about our New Year's resolutions, and our plans to open up a taco stand at the next trade show. The Signal To Noise podcast series on ProSoundWeb , sponsored by Shure and hosted by Live Sound/PSW technical editor Michael Lawrence and pro audio veterans Kyle Chirnside and Chris Leonard (the hosts utilize Shure SM7B mi...

We answer a listener’s question about Spill Groups and then talk with production sound mixer Tod Maitland, a 3-time Academy Award nominee who comes from a family of film sound mixers and is a pioneer in the use of EQ and wireless microphones in recording for film. They go in-depth about capturing dialogue versus ambient sound as well as discussing movies Tod’s worked on, such as the recently relea...

All three hosts are on the podcast together for the first time, and they have a lively discussion, noting that unconventional methods to mixing aren’t necessarily wrong as well as sharing different approaches on how to EQ, the fact that teaching someone how to mix isn’t easy, and much more. The Signal To Noise podcast series on ProSoundWeb , sponsored by Shure and hosted by Live Sound/PSW technica...

In Episode 16, we welcome new co-host Chris Leonard, who’s been doing audio professionally for more than 18 years. He and Michael focus on possible career paths in professional audio, setting objectives, building a resume — essentially, “how to get where you want to be.” They also share their own career experiences and what they’ve meant along the way. More about Chris: he’s currently the Director...

Kyle joins us from the road to discuss the important topics of staying healthy at work, burn out, mental health, and fatigue for folks in the audio industry. The hosts also give their personal opinions on some new consoles.

The hosts check in with noted front of house engineer Robert Scovill for a lively discussion covering a range of topics.

Michael and Kyle talk about first steps in an audio career

This time out (Episode 11), the hosts talk with veteran front of house engineer Bruce Reiter about his career as well as his work with Five Finger Death Punch, who he’s served as FOH and production manager since 2010.

This time (Episode 10) Michael and Kyle talk about about several key aspects of touring front of house and monitors, as well as mixing and managing monitors from FOH.

Samantha talks about the new Church Sound University program she’s co-developing and which kicks off this coming October, as well as addressing many of the common issues that come up in house of worship audio and how to work through them. Welcome to the Si