Sound Team Training — Basics

1. Power up & shut down

• Turn on from the source to the speakers: console first, then stage gear, amps/speakers last.
• Turn off in reverse: amps/speakers first, console last.

2. Signal flow

• Mic → stage box → Avantis channel → mains & monitor mixes → speakers.

3. Gain staging

• Have people talk/play at performance level.
• Meters peak green to low yellow. Never red.
• Set gain before you touch faders.

4. Mixing basics

• Keep faders near 0 dB.
• Spoken word clear first.
• Vocals sit over the band.
• Mute a channel instead of pulling its fader down.

5. Mics & wireless

• Fresh batteries every service.
• Handheld mic about a fist away from the mouth.
• Line-check every mic.

6. Monitors & in-ears

• Make one change at a time.
• Musicians only get what they ask for.
• Guide for musicians: Your In-Ear Mix.

7. Feedback

• Pull it down first.
• Then find the cause: mic near a speaker, monitor too loud, or too much gain.

8. Live demo: Virtual SoundCheck

• Play last Sunday's recording back through the Avantis.
• Go to I/O > Virtual SoundCheck. Mode: Inactive (live inputs) vs Virtual SoundCheck (recording).
• Per-channel VSC button in Processing > Preamp lets one live mic run alongside the recording.
• Save as scene "Training Demo".

9. Service workflow

1. Arrive
2. Power up
3. Line check
4. Soundcheck
5. Run the service
6. Shut down
7. Charge batteries

10. When something goes wrong

• Stay calm.
• Mute it.
• Check in signal-flow order.
• Call the Production Lead [CONFIRM: contact].