After two decades of FOH mixing for everybody from The Replacements to Prince and Nirvana to Julio Iglesias, Monty Lee Wilkes has seen it all. At press time, he was rehearsing for Britney Spear's new tour, which starts this month.
“A well-known living legend once advised: ‘Listen. Listen to what's coming out of your speaker.’ I listen to events in the room during the course of the day. When I enter the building, I grab some coffee, go to where I'll be mixing — and elsewhere — and I listen! What room effects do the forklifts cause when they drive by? What does it sound like when lighting guys are banging truss? All of these give you an indication of what the room will sound like or what you may be trying to correct when you excite it with thousands of watts of your ‘art.’ Regardless of what wondrous tools you have, at the end of the day, you must take the room on its terms — not yours!
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