How to soundcheck as a band (and get a good mix fast)

You load in at six, the engineer says "give me kick," and twenty minutes later the drummer is still hitting the same drum while the guitarist noodles at full volume and the singer has wandered off to the bar. Then doors open, nobody has a monitor mix, and the first song sounds like a rehearsal through a wall. Knowing how to soundcheck as a band is a skill, and most bands never get taught it. They pick it up one rough night at a time.

The problem is structural. Soundcheck time is short, it belongs to the venue, and the engineer has never heard your band before. Every minute you spend noodling or arguing about the monitors is a minute they can't spend on the mix the crowd will actually hear. The bands that sound good in small rooms aren't always the best players. They're the ones who walk in prepared and make the engineer's job easy.

Know Which Check You're Getting

Before the day, find out whether you're getting a full soundcheck or a line check. They're not the same thing.

• Line check. A fast pass to confirm every input is reaching the board on the right channel. No full song, little or no tone shaping. Opening acts and festival bands often get only this, and the engineer finishes the mix during your first song or two.
• Full soundcheck. Levels, EQ and monitor mixes get dialed in with the band playing. Event planning guides often budget about 20 to 30 minutes per act for this, plus 10 to 15 minutes of changeover between acts.
• Reverse order. On multi-band bills, soundcheck usually runs backward from the playing order. The headliner checks first and the opener checks last, so the opener's gear can stay set up and go straight into the first set.

If you're the opener with a line check, plan your first song as the soundcheck: something mid-tempo with every instrument in, not your quietest ballad or your loudest closer.

Send the Stage Plot Before You Show Up

The fastest soundcheck starts days earlier. Email the venue or the engineer a stage plot and an input list: where everyone stands, every mic and DI you need, and who needs which monitor. Then print two copies and bring them, because the email may never have made it to the person behind the board. Our guide to making a stage plot and input list walks through exactly what to put on both.

Have the stage set and tuned before the engineer is ready for you. Amps on, pedals powered, drums tuned, guitars in tune. The engineer's time is for sound, not for watching someone hunt for a 9-volt.

The Soundcheck Order That Works

Most engineers run the same basic order: drums first, then work up the stage, with vocals last. Your job is to follow it and stay quiet when it isn't your turn.

• Drums, one piece at a time. Kick, snare, rack and floor toms, hi-hat, then overheads. Play each one at your real show volume, steady, until the engineer moves on. Don't play fills.
• Bass. Play a few bars at gig volume, including the lowest notes you hit in the set.
• Guitars and keys. Play your clean sound and your loudest sound, so the engineer hears the jump. Keys players, check every patch that changes level a lot.
• Vocals last. Each singer talks, then sings a real section at full voice. Singing quietly at soundcheck and belting at the show is the most common way bands wreck their own mix.
• Full band. Play a verse and a chorus of a song with your biggest dynamic range, then stop when the engineer asks.

The golden rule: when someone else is checking, everyone else is silent. No noodling, no tuning, no running through a riff. It's the single biggest time saver, and engineers notice which bands do it.

Get Monitors Right, Fast

Monitors are where soundcheck time disappears. Walk in knowing what each player needs, in plain words: "more of my vocal, a little kick, no guitar." Ask for one change at a time, wait for it, then ask for the next. Point at the wedge or say the mix number so the engineer knows which one you mean.

Start with less in the monitor than you think you need. A wedge that's cranked with everything bleeds into the vocal mics and muddies the room, and the crowd hears it. If the band has outgrown wedges, our guide to choosing a PA system for your band covers monitors and in-ear options.

Play at Show Volume, Then Leave It Alone

Whatever stage volume you use at soundcheck is the volume the engineer builds the mix around. If the guitarist turns up two notches once the room fills, the mix falls apart and the singer disappears. Set your amp where it'll be for the show, then don't touch it. If the room feels quieter once there are bodies in it, that's normal: people absorb sound.

After the check, thank the engineer, tell them about anything unusual in the set (a song with a quiet acoustic intro, a backing track that starts cold), and ask if they want a setlist taped to the board. A good relationship with the person running sound is worth more than any piece of gear. Our guide to finding a live sound engineer covers what to do when you're ready to bring your own.

Using Bandry for this

If the venue doesn't have someone running sound, or you want an engineer who already knows your band, drop a Seeking post on the Bandry Bulletin tagged Live sound engineer. When someone who runs front of house taps 🔗 on it, their contact shows up in your Linkups inbox and you take it from there. Before your next gig, browse music venues near you to scope the room.