5. Speaking of tools, we have tons of gadgets that have meters, blinking lights, tri-colored LEDs, plasma displays and all kind of ways to measure, indicate and extrapolate the audio information into visual data.

Do you mix with your eyes?

Sure it’s great to have a clip light, since most of us have trouble hearing when our system is getting pushed over 5 percent THD.

But it’s a mistake to think that just because the meters tell us everything is O.K. that the mix sounds good.

Want to know how much compression to add to the vocals? Use the meters to get in the ballpark, but then listen to the result and determine if it might need just a skosh more or less.

It starts with reading spec sheets, doesn’t it? How many times have you decided on a piece of gear based on the technical specifications? I’m not saying that’s bad, necessarily. The specs can help us a great deal. But if we haven’t listened to that piece of gear, in context, there’s no way to know how it will really behave when we need it.

4. Do you have a “magic” piece of gear? You know - that expensive German handheld microphone in your kit?

That tube compressor with giant black knobs you got on eBay for a song because the name was spelled wrong in the listing but you were clever enough to find it? Or that super-fancy digital black box that washes your underwear so you never have to go off the road to do laundry?

News flash: no one has a “magic” piece of gear. Sure, we all like certain devices for specific things and good tools are good tools. But the real results come from those who know how to use them. Modest tools used by true pros will always produce better results than the best tools on the planet in the hands of a hack.

Woodworkers are familiar with the Japanese Woodworker catalog. Whenever I see it, I drool over the $1,500 set of hand-hammered chisels. But then I have to admit that I wouldn’t be able to make anything better with those chisels than with a set costing $150.

3. You have a perfect memory, right? You can remember exactly what is patched where, and how the compressor is externally triggered from a pre-EQ’d copy of the lead vocal channel for sweet de-essing. But relying solely on that “perfect” memory sets you - and your clients - up for a fall. 

What if you can’t make it to a gig? The reason doesn’t matter. The point does, which is that it is best practice to have clear labels and precise documentation for as much of our system as possible.

The console layout, effects rack, drive rack, loudspeaker wiring, etc., should be logically designed and constructed so that anyone with a decent knowledge can figure out what’s going on.

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