There are countless books out there on how to make a kick drum sound good, how to mix a band, how to record an album, and even how to pick the right vocal microphone. This is the first book that is designed to help audio engineers to become better equipped to handle the high stress position of mixing monitors for touring bands. It is not just for touring audio engineers, this book is helpful to monitor engineers at every level from working at the local club to halftime at the Super Bowl.
This book dives into several topics, such as dealing with the personal relationships the monitor engineer has with The Rock Star, The Diva, The Amateur, The Professional, and many other personality types. It also gets into the pitfalls that the author has seen himself and others fall into. Depression, poor attitude, excessive partying, and poor communication skills are some of those areas.
While much of the book deals with the psychological parts of this position, there is quite a bit of technical knowledge provided such as knowing how to choose the right equipment and how to troubleshoot it when it doesn't work as advertised. The author has also divulged quite a few of his tips and tricks.
What's different about the second edition? Glad you asked. Each chapter has been gone through with a fine tooth comb and updated with new content and two exciting new chapters have been added. The first new chapter deals with the deals, finances both personal and professional. The second new chapter handles may of the safety issues related to stagecraft, including a new section covering covid-19 along with various resources.
Michael Babcock is a respected industry veteran with over 30 years of experience in audio. For the last 16 years, he has toured the world as a Monitor Engineer, FOH Engineer, Production Manager, and Tour Manager. He has learned not only from his mentors and colleagues, but also from the mistakes he and others have made and is happy to share that knowledge.