2019 Top 20 | #4: Sharing The Long Road: The Career Of Claudia Engelhart & Inside Her Unique Partnership With Artist Bill Frisell

“I have a pretty specific rider and I advance every show, talk to every production person before a tour begins, to confirm that I get as close as I can to what I need,” she begins. “It’s not perfect a lot of the time, but that’s part of the challenge of the job; to stay flexible and find ways to make a not-too-good situation work.”

An endorser of Sennheiser microphones, she carries her own mics for consistency that she can depend on at every show. The mic locker includes a pair of MKH 8050 supercardioid condensers for drum overheads, e 609 supercardioid dynamics for the guitar amps, an e 935 cardioid dynamic for vocals (when necessary) and MD 421 cardioid dynamics for bass drum and bass cabinets.

“I consider [the mics] the ears to the instrument that I can trust. they are my consistency,” she states. “I know how they sound and react, I know their dynamics as well. If I don’t get a sound check, say, at a festival, at least I know the approximate gain I can set them to start on the fly, and I know what basic EQ is needed for a starting point. They’re the most important pieces of gear I own.”

She also carries her own headphones: “They’re very important! I’m really protective of my headphones, and I never share them with anyone – it’s a personal thing.”

Engelhart notes that she’s not very particular about makes and models of PA systems, adding, “Some are nicer than others, no doubt, but I think if the system is set up with care, proper to the dimensions of the room, and the coverage is even and smooth, I can be satisfied.”

Method To The Madness

On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, the position of the front of house console desk is a top priority, and unfortunately that’s where she’s seen things get messed up all too often. “I find it’s the place that’s sacrificed in a setup most often,” she says. “I don’t understand why any sound company or venue wants to put a desk inside an enclosed booth or in the farthest reaches of a balcony. I know venues/promoters don’t want to acknowledge that we actually exist, so they like to hide us, or God forbid, they lose 10 seats to a mix position – I think that mentality is ridiculous.”

Engelhart and Frisell partnering on setup.

As we talked I recalled watching Engelhart set up many different PAs, and I reminded her of an AES
panel several years ago where she spoke of the house system as a musical instrument that needs to be tuned, just like the instruments on stage. This led me to ask about her approach to tuning systems and what consistent actions she takes, and it produced this considerable reply:

“For me, tuning the PA and monitors is everything!” she responds. “This is my instrument. I have to know the parameters I’m working with, and if the PA is not set up properly to my ear then I’m going to struggle the entire show, compensating.

“EQ is tone, it’s notes on a scale and it’s overtones. These elements all affect the music-sound going through the system. I need to know that what I’m doing doesn’t change the sound of the acoustics of the instruments I’m working with. I try to mix as transparently as possible, in a way that hopefully one will not notice the sound coming through a bunch of boxes but rather from the musicians and instruments themselves. I also try to work as organically as possible when I mix.

“There’s a lot riding on how one sets up the EQ in a system. I’ve had techs tell me that a PA was already tuned using (Rational Acoustics) Smaart or other things along those lines, and I don’t need to do anything. But that’s a machine, not a human ear. Sure, it might help in compensating for standing waves or reflections that can be problematic, but ultimately it’s up to me and what I hear. That’s the final point – not a machine. So I make sure that I get things sounding the way that feels good to me. It’s personal. I’m sure what I hear isn’t exactly what the person next to me is hearing, but hopefully what I’m doing isn’t offensive or making anyone uncomfortable. It’s really left to interpretation.