Just more ramblings

Things you should know when applying…

Right, here we go… You’ve decided to have a stab at becoming a Light or Sound Tech on the mysterious ships. You’ve read stories, you’ve trawled the internet for info. But what do you really need to know?!

First of all, as in all jobs you at least should know what youre talking about. If you say you know how to do the job then you sure as hell should be able to do it. Its amazing how often you see someone who come aboard and has no idea how to do anything. So here first of all you should know what gear you’ll be expected to run.

Mostly the Analog consoles are on their way out. They are being replaced with a variety of digital ones. Consoles you’ll come across would probably be:

1. Analog consoles:

Midas

Yamaha

Crest

Mackie

Allen &Heath

These would range from the tiny format 16 channel consoles to the big suckers where you have between 48 to 72 channels under your control.

2. Digital Consoles:

Yamaha (O2R, O1V, DM2000)

Digico (D5, D1, SD7, SD8)

Digidesign Venue (these are few and far between, VERY far between)

Midas PRO 6 (there are rumours)

Other than that the PA systems will vary from company to company. But youd be expected to be at home with any of these. Don’t worry, you wont have to be able to fix everything, but at least know how the suckers work… Long live the internet!!!!

Outboard gear would also vary and with the digital consoles youd not have a lot of outboard, then again, do you really need it? Microphones would also be up in the air. You can look at the few things that youd expect to see though. Shure, AKG, Senheiser and in some case I ran across a lot of Crown stuff.

The different venues also have their own challenges. The guys who become Lounge Techs need to be a lot more involved with a wide variety of the gear seeing that you might find a LS9 in one lounge and then a O1V in another venue.

But in the end its your job to run all of those.

What else. Well, be sure to you know what youre getting in to when you get onboard be sure to have your head examined. If you show mild traces of insanity then its your place to be!! You must be able to work with a wide variety of people and aim to get the best out of all your team!!