🎸 The Sound of a Good Gig: Why a Reliable PA System Matters

There’s nothing worse than being at a gig where the sound just isn’t right. Maybe the guitars are buried, there’s constant feedback, or it’s so piercingly loud you can’t enjoy the music.

For musicians, it’s just as painful. When the sound is off, the audience feels it — and so does your reputation. A poor mix can mean complaints, missed opportunities, and sometimes not being invited back. In an industry where repeat bookings keep the lights on, good sound isn’t optional — it’s essential.

🎶 The “PA Provided” Problem

We’ve all had that sinking feeling. You turn up to a gig or festival, and you’re told, “Don’t worry, PA is provided.”You breathe a sigh of relief — until you find:

• no XLR cables,

• no microphones,

• a mixing desk older than your grandma,

• or a setup that’s completely incompatible with your gear.

Suddenly you’re scrambling, trying to cobble something together from whatever’s lying around. It’s stressful for the band, stressful for the venue, and definitely not the vibe anyone’s going for.

🔊 Our Solution: The Fake Out Live PA Setup

That’s why, whenever possible, Fake Out Live brings our own professional PA system — one that we know, trust, and have fine-tuned over the years.

We use the Behringer Air XR18, which lets us mix wirelessly across the venue without being tied down by cables. It’s reliable, powerful, and provides crystal-clear in-ear monitoring for our performers, so we always know exactly what we’re playing (and what you’re hearing).

Our setup includes:

• 2 × 600W active tops

• 2 × 1200W active subs

This rig easily handles venues up to 500 people, and we’ve even used it outdoors to cover half a football pitch with zero issues. We are able to hire in Sound Systems but bear in mind this adds to the cost which we ill bake into the quote.

If you’re booking us with PA, you can relax knowing that your event’s sound will be clear, balanced, and stress-free — every single time.

🧰 If You’re Providing the PA…

If you’re providing your own PA system, that’s totally fine — just make sure it’s fully equipped and compatible with our setup. You’ll need:

• Microphones (including drum mics)

• XLR cables and power supplies

• Mic stands and DI boxes

• Active speakers (or passive ones with amps and crossovers)

• A reliable mixing desk with XLR and line inputs, phantom power, and monitor outputs

And don’t forget to check out the band tech riders on the band pages — they list exactly what we need to plug in and play without a hitch.

🎤 A Story from the Road

Recently, we played a gig where the spec said, “PA provided, bring backline only.”

We arrived to find the mixing desk covered in dust, channel 7 actually controlled channel 6, and the case it was mounted in blocked the monitor outputs entirely. There were only five XLR cables for the whole band — and no sound engineer in sight.

The show went ahead (musicians always find a way), but it started late, and our lead guitarist nearly had a meltdown. It was one of those nights that remind you: sound setup makes or breaks the show.

💡 The Bottom Line

At Fake Out Live, we believe great sound shouldn’t be a gamble. Whether you’re booking us to bring our own PA or you’ve got one ready to go, we’ll make sure everything runs smoothly so the only thing your audience notices is the music.

If you want peace of mind, top-tier sound, and a band that knows their tech as well as their tunes, book us with PA — and enjoy a flawless performance from first note to encore.

Because when the sound’s perfect, no one notices… and that’s exactly how it should be.