Sorry, this may get long...
Not claiming that I do everything "right", I'd like to share how I approach set-up and tear-down of a "club-size" PA system. Some of what I do, I've learned from others (what not to do, in many cases!) and some I've developed on my own. I currently play regularly or as an occasional sub in several bands, where my PA contribution ranges from nothing to sometimes providing a full PA, but usually somewhere in between. I also provide full PA regularly for an open mic, and every now and then for another band or multiple acts (bands or solo acts) in a small "festival" environment.
Load-In: I know lots of people who just dump gear wherever, without much thought about where it ultimately needs to go, or what else might need to go in that spot. Often, several pieces of gear need to get moved 2, 3, or even more times before they end up where they're going to be used. What I do: I set everything near where it's going to be finally placed. If that's not practical (such as setting a mixer where a table needs to be set up first) then I'll set things close but out of the way. The goal is to have everything handy, but out of the way, when it's time to actually set up. Setup doesn't start until everything is loaded in.
Setup By Layers: I think of everything in terms of "layers" covering the performance space. Everything on the lowest layer gets set up first, then everything on the next layer, and so on until everything is ready. There's a scheme behind the order of layers: Items that are least likely to move go on the lower layers; things that are more likely to move (such as mics) go on the top-most layer.
- Large item placement is the lowest level of things that need to go where they need to go, and includes speakers, lights, mixer, outboard racks, as well as any stands or tables that they need to be placed on. Floor wedges are left standing so it's easy to plug in cables & configure their DSPs. I usually set up the FOH position first, so that any computers involved can be loading while I set up the stage. Stage box is set at a downstage corner and the snake unrolled.
- Power is extended to everything that needs it, including any extension cords and outlet boxes that might be needed. On stage, I always start at my stage box and extend power across the front of the stage, as well as down the side and across the back.
- Connect power to everything that needs it. I keep all my IEC power cables together in a case (placed conveniently close but out of the way at load-in), rather than trying to keep a cord with each piece of gear. I use cords with right-angle female ends for floor wedges - a lesson I learned the hard way - I've had people step on cords and pull them out. First time was a fluke, but after the second time I switched to right-angle cords and haven't had it happen since.
- Connect signal cables to all speakers. I use all powered speakers, so I use my pool of XLR cables to connect them. All of my XLR cables are either 25' or 6' (20' cables always seem to come up 2-3' short!) so I can combine them to make any length I'm likely to need. I hook up starting farthest from my stage box first, working to nearest, along each "line" (across stage, upstage and across the rear). As each speaker is connected it gets powered up, configured, and wedges set on their sides. Once all the speakers are connected, I can do a system check by playing recorded music through FOH and making sure that I can route it everywhere I need to.
- Place DIs were they'll be needed (for open mics & multi-band shows I'll place several across the front & rear to cover anything likely to come up) and cable them back to the stage box, again starting farthest from the stage box first and working back along each line.
- Place and cable mics, again working from farthest to nearest to the stage box. Working farthest-to-nearest means that I don't have to work around/over already placed mics/stands. If I worked near-to-far, I'd have to be working around every other mic and stand that I'd already placed. This is the main reason that I've picked this order. Once all of the mics have been placed, the system is ready for line checks. The stage is nice and clean, ready for drums, amps, keyboards, and other instruments and gear.
Tear-Down: I believe that one of the keys to a good set-up is a good tear-down the gig before! I know a lot of people who, when it's time to start tearing down gear, immediately head for the large items first - they disconnect all the cables from each piece of gear and move it off, leaving what will very quickly become a tangled mess of mixed cables that somebody will have to sort out someday (probably later, when they need to use them again). Not only is this a time-waster, but the process of separating cables from a tangled mess puts a lot of stress on their connectors, causing more problems that will have to be fixed later (or not even discovered until the next gig setup, when stuff doesn't work). What I do: I start with the inglorious task of wrapping cables! I remove each cable one at a time, in reverse order that they were installed. Because I set everything up in "layers", as well as connecting far-to-near on each layer, it's easy to remove them in the reverse order, and each cable comes right up without tangles because it's laying on the top of the cable run. This is also a great chance to check each cable for damage.
- Mic cables first, starting nearest to the stage box. Remove the mic from the stand and return it to the mic case, and stow the stand in the stand case. The next one comes up just as easy, with its cable on top and no mic or stand in the way to work around/over.
- DI cables next, starting nearest to the stage box. Stow the cables in their case and the DIs in theirs as I go, just like the mics.
- Remove signal cables from all the speakers, again starting nearest the stage box. Because they were connected farthest-first, the near ones are on top.
- Remove power cables from each piece of gear. As the last cables come out, each item can come off its stand (if it's on one) and moved off to a "staging" are for load-out, or straight out to the truck/trailer.
- Power distribution comes up last, again in reverse order from how it was placed (near-to-far).
Most of my gear gets stored in a storage locker, so I load vehicles in an order that lets the most-commonly used items end up closest to the unit's door.
Like I said, that's how I do it, not necessarily what's "right". I'd be interested in hearing what others do. I like to have a plan, and can always improve.
Not claiming that I do everything "right", I'd like to share how I approach set-up and tear-down of a "club-size" PA system. Some of what I do, I've learned from others (what not to do, in many cases!) and some I've developed on my own. I currently play regularly or as an occasional sub in several bands, where my PA contribution ranges from nothing to sometimes providing a full PA, but usually somewhere in between. I also provide full PA regularly for an open mic, and every now and then for another band or multiple acts (bands or solo acts) in a small "festival" environment.
Load-In: I know lots of people who just dump gear wherever, without much thought about where it ultimately needs to go, or what else might need to go in that spot. Often, several pieces of gear need to get moved 2, 3, or even more times before they end up where they're going to be used. What I do: I set everything near where it's going to be finally placed. If that's not practical (such as setting a mixer where a table needs to be set up first) then I'll set things close but out of the way. The goal is to have everything handy, but out of the way, when it's time to actually set up. Setup doesn't start until everything is loaded in.
Setup By Layers: I think of everything in terms of "layers" covering the performance space. Everything on the lowest layer gets set up first, then everything on the next layer, and so on until everything is ready. There's a scheme behind the order of layers: Items that are least likely to move go on the lower layers; things that are more likely to move (such as mics) go on the top-most layer.
- Large item placement is the lowest level of things that need to go where they need to go, and includes speakers, lights, mixer, outboard racks, as well as any stands or tables that they need to be placed on. Floor wedges are left standing so it's easy to plug in cables & configure their DSPs. I usually set up the FOH position first, so that any computers involved can be loading while I set up the stage. Stage box is set at a downstage corner and the snake unrolled.
- Power is extended to everything that needs it, including any extension cords and outlet boxes that might be needed. On stage, I always start at my stage box and extend power across the front of the stage, as well as down the side and across the back.
- Connect power to everything that needs it. I keep all my IEC power cables together in a case (placed conveniently close but out of the way at load-in), rather than trying to keep a cord with each piece of gear. I use cords with right-angle female ends for floor wedges - a lesson I learned the hard way - I've had people step on cords and pull them out. First time was a fluke, but after the second time I switched to right-angle cords and haven't had it happen since.
- Connect signal cables to all speakers. I use all powered speakers, so I use my pool of XLR cables to connect them. All of my XLR cables are either 25' or 6' (20' cables always seem to come up 2-3' short!) so I can combine them to make any length I'm likely to need. I hook up starting farthest from my stage box first, working to nearest, along each "line" (across stage, upstage and across the rear). As each speaker is connected it gets powered up, configured, and wedges set on their sides. Once all the speakers are connected, I can do a system check by playing recorded music through FOH and making sure that I can route it everywhere I need to.
- Place DIs were they'll be needed (for open mics & multi-band shows I'll place several across the front & rear to cover anything likely to come up) and cable them back to the stage box, again starting farthest from the stage box first and working back along each line.
- Place and cable mics, again working from farthest to nearest to the stage box. Working farthest-to-nearest means that I don't have to work around/over already placed mics/stands. If I worked near-to-far, I'd have to be working around every other mic and stand that I'd already placed. This is the main reason that I've picked this order. Once all of the mics have been placed, the system is ready for line checks. The stage is nice and clean, ready for drums, amps, keyboards, and other instruments and gear.
Tear-Down: I believe that one of the keys to a good set-up is a good tear-down the gig before! I know a lot of people who, when it's time to start tearing down gear, immediately head for the large items first - they disconnect all the cables from each piece of gear and move it off, leaving what will very quickly become a tangled mess of mixed cables that somebody will have to sort out someday (probably later, when they need to use them again). Not only is this a time-waster, but the process of separating cables from a tangled mess puts a lot of stress on their connectors, causing more problems that will have to be fixed later (or not even discovered until the next gig setup, when stuff doesn't work). What I do: I start with the inglorious task of wrapping cables! I remove each cable one at a time, in reverse order that they were installed. Because I set everything up in "layers", as well as connecting far-to-near on each layer, it's easy to remove them in the reverse order, and each cable comes right up without tangles because it's laying on the top of the cable run. This is also a great chance to check each cable for damage.
- Mic cables first, starting nearest to the stage box. Remove the mic from the stand and return it to the mic case, and stow the stand in the stand case. The next one comes up just as easy, with its cable on top and no mic or stand in the way to work around/over.
- DI cables next, starting nearest to the stage box. Stow the cables in their case and the DIs in theirs as I go, just like the mics.
- Remove signal cables from all the speakers, again starting nearest the stage box. Because they were connected farthest-first, the near ones are on top.
- Remove power cables from each piece of gear. As the last cables come out, each item can come off its stand (if it's on one) and moved off to a "staging" are for load-out, or straight out to the truck/trailer.
- Power distribution comes up last, again in reverse order from how it was placed (near-to-far).
Most of my gear gets stored in a storage locker, so I load vehicles in an order that lets the most-commonly used items end up closest to the unit's door.
Like I said, that's how I do it, not necessarily what's "right". I'd be interested in hearing what others do. I like to have a plan, and can always improve.
