When I was younger, I knew it all. I feel it’s important to note that this was circa 1985, pre-internet, and I had almost no access to information on live sound with the exception of a one-page article featured in a monthly magazine published by Peavey.
I was 17 and was mixing the most popular Christian rock band in our town. They would play every Thursday night at the same church, and this quickly led to mixing the most popular country gospel band in our region. I was moving up!
These folks would travel almost every weekend, crossing back and forth across the Canada/U.S. border. I would place the loudspeakers on their stands, set up the microphones, plug everything into the powered mixer (the board had built-in power amps) and dial up an awesome mix. My confidence was sky high.
Next, I moved to the “big city” and soon found myself working with a small, self-contained rock band. They’d been traveling with their own PA for a while, and everything was already quite “dialed-in” when I arrived. They’d been running the mixer side-stage up to that point, and their manager suggested they get an audio person so they would seem “more professional.” It was the group’s first tour and club owners expected to see a crew with the band.
Whatever the case, I was their touring audio engineer. Things went very well. My confidence was soaring and I was unstoppable… until I stopped – hard.
Much More To It
The band had sub-rented the audio rig to another act and I went along with it. The show was at a small bar across town. We showed up, set up the rig, helped the act get set and began sound check. The drummer hit the kick drum and the system exploded with low-end feedback.
And I was completely lost. Up to this point, because the systems I’d used were either very simple or had already been “pre-set,” I didn’t realize there was so much more to mixing than pushing faders.
I quickly became aware of what’s known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, which is a cognitive bias stating that people with low ability at a task overestimate their ability. More simply put, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
Up to this point, everything had come easy – push a few faders, receive a paycheck, people were happy. I’d become complacent, and at such an early stage in my career.
This should be seen as a warning sign at any point in an audio career. If you feel you’re at a point where you can just “ride it out,” perhaps it’s time to take a step back and reconsider your position. The pro audio industry is ever changing. We work in science, and science is ever evolving. If you aren’t learning, you’re most likely getting left behind.
For example, I once knew a guy who was the audio department head at a venue, and he knew his system inside and out. When the time came to purchase new gear, which was extremely infrequent, he would research a few options, discuss them with friends and colleagues, and finally make a decision. He didn’t have any need to study anything beyond the scope of his system.
Eventually, though, he got a bit bored and decided to go back on the road. The problem, he discovered, was lacking in knowledge that was of any real value to a touring company. He only knew his rig, which was many generations behind the standard. He also hadn’t kept up to date on the practices and changes in the industry.
On Your Way
If one is to be of value, one must be aware; aware of what you know – and perhaps more importantly – aware of what you don’t know.
“How am I to know what I don’t know?” Good question. Nicolaus Copernicus said, “To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.” In understanding this statement, you’re well on your way to finding out just what it is that you don’t know.
We are now in a true golden age of information. It’s a wonderful place to be. We have access to so much knowledge since the advent of the internet; simply type a question into a computer, tablet and other portable devices and there will be literally thousands of responses within a fraction of a second.
It’s a great place to start; it’s simple to say, “Look it up and do your research,” but you have to actually do it. If, during a conversation, a question is posed, research it. Did you have a problem at the last show? Research it. Is there a component in your audio system you don’t give much thought to? Research it.
Always seek to know more. Doing so will most likely cause you to have more questions, and thus begins the process of truly knowing what you don’t know.
