Troubleshooting
One function of most any engineer is the ability to troubleshoot. This can mean anything from deciding on the best ‘take’ during mixdown, or discovering why the lead vocal just went dead 2 minutes before the opening sequence of the Grammy Awards live broadcast is set to begin.
Understanding how to determine what went wrong, or what has changed, is a very important part of the music process. First you need to know what something is supposed to sound like when it’s working properly. That includes the microphone, the direct box, the mic cables, the splitters, the snakes, the patchbay, the mic preamp, the EQ, the fader, the buss, the compressor/limiter, the reverb, the power amp, the monitor, the wordclock, the converters, the recorders, not to mention the instrument itself.
Sometimes you have a lot of time. Other times seconds are precious when the artist is waiting or the live broadcast is under way. Knowing how to determine if it’s a bad mic, bad cable, dead batteries, no phantom power, dirty switch, bad fader, dirty patch cord, bad mic preamp, no sync, bad buss assign, no digital recall, or any other number of possibilities – becomes a valuable skill.
We will take a look at how to troubleshoot a variety of common situations, and most importantly – how to anticipate problems before they occur. The ability to use logic and experience to keep things working trouble-free is a valuable skill. Making creative decisions is a pleasure. Trying to get something working while everyone is waiting around just kills the creative process. Knowing when to keep working on a problem and when to switch gears and work around the problem will make you an invaluable part of the team. We’ll explore a variety of options in this section.