Recently, it was asked in one of the several groups we’re part of online about sharing sound systems with the teams that play in that venue. It was primarily posed to facilities that host a multitude of sports like gymnasiums. The teams want to be able to use the house system for their practices. While there were quite a few people who said “absolutely not”, with today’s technology, you can actually make this a possibility.

First thing to understand is that the sound levels when there is an event going on are MUCH louder than when nothing is going on. When the arena is full, the bodies are absorbing sound, there are other sounds from game play, bands, and even general conversation going on that makes it necessary for the sound tech to turn the levels higher and higher as the game progresses. But those levels would be way too loud for a regular practice and your sound system can also be easily defeated with someone misinterprets what loud is versus what the system knows what loud is and that can cause damage to both the system, and the people inside the building.

To go back to the original question, it is now possible to allow for a practice setting as there are many different ways to do this. With digital controls and Bluetooth, it can be set-up to only allow certain levels at certain times of the day. Please note, if you have a system like this and are relying solely on IT to control this, IT and sound are two completely different languages. I can walk you through a digital/wireless sound set-up, I cannot and will not try to set up your IT. There’s too much of a difference and there are facilities that are struggling because of this mismatch of communication being wired to a person or group of people who only understand one of the languages.

Here are some recommendations for setting up your sound system for use by others without risking damaging the system.

1. Create a channel on your mixer that connects via Bluetooth and give the teams that password. To set it up, turn down the channel, set up your Bluetooth to connect and bring the volume all the way up on your device. Now, set the volume in the facility at the loudest you want it to go. Typically, I will set it just a little lower than I feel comfortable, allow for others to give their feedback, then raise it to the level I wanted anyway, which is louder and most of the time this is effective.
2. If you have a digital mixer that allows you to connect via Bluetooth, same thing, though leave that channel up.
3. If you have a system that allows you to control it through a computer or other outside source, or through a schedule, do something similar from item 1 and then complete the schedule accordingly.
4. If they must bring in their own DJ to pipe in through the house system and they need an input, ALWAYS use an XLR input. Sometimes they want to add a microphone and that’s ok, however same as item 1, route it to a channel that you have set and they cannot access.

The key with sharing your sound system is to be willing to work with those that want to use it but also be certain that they are going to follow the rules…and if they don’t what the exact consequences are going to be. No matter what level you set, they’re going to want more, it’s human nature. The best way to win this battle is start low and come up. Remind the end users that the sound system is there for the games and larger events in the building. You want them to use it properly and nobody wants to have a sound tech on staff 24/7 to control the volume so they will work with you to come up with a solution.