Labeling your Mixer

Last week I just about had a heart attack and died when I watch a musician put masking tape on his Brand new Yamaha mixer to label the channels. As a seasoned sound guy, I set him straight – for which he was eternally grateful. But it got me wondering, how many other musicians and sound guys really don’t have a clue??? Yes, I had better enlighten them.

So here’s the thing:

When I first started out as a sound guy, yes I was using the old nasty grey Duck tape to identify and label each of my channels. Each time, I pulled the tape, I pulled paint off the mixer as well as leaving some gummy glue. Masking tape was NO better, still the same problem.

Then I saw an ad in Recording Magazine for a package of Mag-Tags (56 Printed & 40 Blank 1" x ½" White Magnetic Mixer Labels - $25) great idea so I bought them – only one big drawback…none of the soundboards I used or mixed with were metal, so these magnet labels wouldn’t stick.

Then I met a Key Grip from a movie set who introduced me to a really cool product – Gaffer Tape. Now it looks like Duck tape, but the cool thing is when you pull it up to remove it, wow, like magic, NO Glue or sticky residue is ever left. So for the next 5 years, I was using Gaffer tape (now it comes it a lot of cool colors beside dull grey). Anyhow this professional Audio Engineer told me what he uses out in L.A. on the big movie soundboards - White Artist Tape, as it leaves no residue and he writes on it with a Black Sharpie pen. Hey I learned a very important rule years ago, when a very successful person tells you something – LISTEN, because they are trying to mentor you.

So I took his advice to heart, the next day went to Michaels and bought me some White Artist Tape 1 inch wide by 60 yards long for $8.00.  OMG, in the dark or dim light, the black Sharpie pen against the White Artist Tape can be seen very well. So now, that is what I use here in the studio and out live. So save your mixers, let them enjoy a healthy long life by using Artist Tape.

 until tomorrow,

Rory

http://www.thenextsoundyouhear.com/