Achieving the crisp audio heard on the radio and at live performances requires expert sound engineering.
From setting up microphones to checking audio levels, many essential details must be coordinated properly to set a band up for success.
Behind the booth is where the magic happens, though.
Video: The Calgary Journal’s Gabriella Lindland reports on a Calgary audio engineer’s passion for making sweet sound
Sound engineers like Cam Sieferd from Calgary’s CJSW radio station and Chris McEwen from the Palomino Smokehouse are necessary to light up the airwaves.
Both Sieferd and McEwen share a passion for seeing the work they put in come to life for an audience that will hear the music.
Sieferd, working with live radio, is directly connected to what the listeners hear live through devices or their vehicle’s radio.
“I do it because I love the music, because the music is what I come here for,” Sieferd says.
Meanwhile, McEwen is often posed with a question from avid live music enjoyers: What’s the most rewarding part of doing sound when you get a good mix?
“When you get it sounding exactly the way you wanted it, and you can hear every element perfectly, and you know that there’s nobody in the audience struggling to hear the vocals or any particular part of it,” he says.
Sound Engineering is what brings it all together. Without experts like Sieferd and McEwen, the sound everyone knows and loves wouldn’t be possible.