Simon Barz Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hello all! I'm interested in what tracks you all are using to demo PA systems and familiarize yourself with a system you're about to engineer on. I understand the idea is to use songs you are very familiar with this way you can quickly determine certain characteristics of a new system. I realize that this is not a replacement for measurement. Here are a few tracks on my current playlist: Fragments of Time - Daft Punk Bad Blood - NAO Pulp Culture - Thomas Dolby Rainmaker - Keb' Mo' Africa - Toto Higher Love - Steve Winwood Dreams - Fleetwood Mac Do It Again - Steely Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 This isn’t really a typical hang out for PA engineers. Some here do live sound, yes, but generally no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Reineke Posted January 27, 2018 Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 I work with bands as a FOH mixer as well as PSM work. Thomas Dolby's 'Pulp Culture' is my go-to for checking a system's basic operation before anything else. This will usually ID a non-working sub, main, monitor or cabinet component. I'll sometimes use Steely Dan/Donald Fagen's I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World) for something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bash Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 A mate of mine - a bit of a legend of setting up PA systems, uses Mercy Street, by Peter Gabriel!! sb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tourtelot Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 Eagles Hotel California. Google it. D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungo Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 Check the bass with India Arie - Back To The Middle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiophile Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 Hangin on to the Good Times - Little Feat Bird on a Wire - Jennifer Warnes Heavy Fuel - Dire Straits Home at Last - Steely Dan Point of View - Eldar Don't Wait Too Long - Madeleine Peyroux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 Donald Fagen: "I.G.Y." !!! Used so much it is almost a cliche anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Rowand Posted October 2, 2018 Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 I worked with a sound designer that would only tune systems with a particular Tori Amos album. I remember having to run out and buy another copy when he'd forget it at home on multiple occasions. This was before lossless audio files were a thing. Another one looped the acapella version of Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega to tune vocal systems. Like, for an hour. Do do doo do, do do doo do… Thanks to another FOH engineer I can't hear Dido ever again. On my last tour we negotiated split dinners- I don't need to annoy the crew with my music and pink noise, and I don't need people running power tools while I'm analyzing a transfer function of the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tourtelot Posted October 2, 2018 Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 Allen, haha! I remember it well. House crew putting up the steel barricades while we were ringing out the FOH. Clatter and din. D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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