Today we are back at the Hockenheim race track for Rock ‘n’ Heim. We had a show last night at Sziget Festival with our B rig, but today is the A rig. We have two sets of equipment, as often the distance between the festivals is greater than you can drive in a night, so a second set is needed to do the show. We arrived today at lunchtime and luckily we also have a second system tech who had put everything in place.
This summer I have three different system techs working with me. This is a sound engineering job that doesn’t actually involve any mixing of bands, but all three are very competent engineers. On a show like The Prodigy we carry a reasonable amount of equipment to each festival. Along with all the guitars, drums, and of course keyboards, we also carry a lot of audio gear. We have mixing desks at Front of House and onstage plus a small stage box and all the stage cables. We carry Liam’s monitor fill, a large stack of speakers that stands behind the man himself and helps create the monstrous vibe on stage. I also carry extra subs to add to the festival rig. Not just ordinary subs, but eight D&B Infra subs, each cabinet containing three 21″ drivers. They make a difference and help get me that Prodigy sound! But without extra techs who help us set this up it would be too much to do in the limited amount of time we get at the festival.
A good sound engineer needs to know not just how to mix bands but also how to set the stuff up and get it working, quickly and without fuss, get and keep it working. Sound engineering jobs like this are difficult to fill as on a show like this you need a clear head and the ability to solve problems under pressure. The summer is coming to an end but a big thanks to all the unsung system techs behind the scenes who help engineers like me make it happen!
