Building a Microphone Plan for a Live Stage, Step by Step
A practical walk through drawing up a microphone plan for a concert or festival stage, from the input list to monitor positions, written for production managers and sound crews.
Callum Reid · · 6 minutes to read
Start with the input list, not the equipment
Every microphone plan begins as a plain list of sources. Before anyone talks about desks or microphone models, write down every person and instrument that will make a sound on the stage: each vocalist, each amplifier, each keyboard, the drum kit broken into its separate parts, and any playback feeds. Ask the band or the presenters for their own list and compare it with what you expect to see.
The list is worth getting wrong on paper rather than at the soundcheck. A band that says it has five members may carry a second guitar for one song, a backing track from a laptop, or a fiddle that joins only for the encore. Each of those needs a channel, a stand and a cable run, and discovering them with the doors about to open costs far more time than asking early.
Number the list in the order you would want the channels on the desk, drums first, then bass, guitars, keys and vocals. Note beside each line whether the source is loud or quiet, whether the performer moves about, and whether they sing as well as play.
- Ask for the performers' own input list well before the day
- Split the drum kit into individual sources
- Note which performers move around the stage
- Count playback feeds and laptops as channels
Draw the stage plot beside the list
Once the input list exists, sketch the stage from above and mark where each source will stand. A simple plan on one page is enough: the drum riser, amplifier positions, keyboard stands, vocal positions at the front, and the edges of the stage. Mark north as the audience side so everyone reads it the same way.
This plot does two jobs. It tells the stage crew where to put stands and boxes before the band arrives, and it shows you where cables must run. Long runs across the front of a stage are a tripping hazard, so route them along the back or sides wherever the layout allows, and group connections into a stage box near the performers rather than trailing many single cables to the desk.
Share the plot with the lighting designer early. Microphone stands and lights compete for the same space, and a vocal microphone that blocks a singer's face or sits in a light spill is easier to move on paper than at the rig.
Choose microphones for the job and the room
Microphone choice follows the source and the surroundings. Dynamic microphones cope well with loud sources such as snare drums, guitar cabinets and most lead vocals, and they forgive rough handling. Condenser microphones capture more detail and suit cymbals, acoustic instruments and quieter sources, though they need phantom power and more careful handling near loud stage volume.
The pickup pattern matters as much as the type. A tight pattern rejects sound from the sides and rear, which helps when monitors sit close to the singer or when several instruments share a small stage. In an echoing hall or a tent, a tighter pattern also keeps the room out of the signal.
Resist buying or hiring something unusual for every channel. A short list of reliable models that your crew knows well will sound more consistent than a varied collection, and spares are easier to carry. Decide what you can substitute if one fails, and put that on the plan.
- Dynamic for loud sources and hard-working vocals
- Condenser for cymbals and acoustic instruments
- Match the pickup pattern to monitor positions
- Carry spares for every microphone model on the plan
Plan the monitors with the performers
Monitoring is where many stage plans come apart. Performers who cannot hear themselves push their volume up, which raises the level on stage and brings feedback closer. Ask each performer what they need to hear: their own voice, the drummer, the bass, or a click track. Group people who need similar mixes onto the same monitor send to keep the channel count sensible.
Wedge monitors on the floor are simple and cheap to set up, while in-ear systems give a cleaner stage and more control but need transmitters, batteries and some patience from performers who have not used them. Choose according to the performers and the size of the show rather than what looks more professional.
Position wedges so that the microphone's weakest pickup angle points at them, which usually means directly behind a cardioid capsule. Ring out the monitors at the soundcheck by raising each mix slowly until it begins to ring, then pulling back a little.
Set up the desk and the soundcheck order
With the plan agreed, label the desk to match the input list exactly. Use the same names on the stage plot, the patch sheet, the desk scribble strips and the stage box, so that anyone on the crew can follow a channel from the microphone to the fader without asking. Save a blank scene with gains set conservatively.
Run the soundcheck in a fixed order. Line check first, confirming every channel carries signal from the right source, then drums, bass, the remaining instruments and finally vocals. Set gains while the source plays at its real performance level, and leave headroom rather than chasing a hot signal that clips when the audience cheers.
Finish by playing the whole band together at the volume they will use. Individual channels that sounded fine alone often need adjusting once everything is running, and this is the moment to fix monitor mixes before the doors open.
- Label every point of the chain with the same names
- Check lines before touching any sound
- Set gains at real performance level
- Rehearse the full band before the audience arrives
Write it down for the next show
After the show, keep a copy of the final plan with the changes you made on the day. Note the microphones that did not suit their source, the monitor mix that needed more of the vocalist, and the cable route that caused trouble. A plan that records what actually happened is more useful than the one you drew beforehand.
If the same performers return, you start from a working basis instead of a blank page. If you are handing the show to another engineer, the annotated plan lets them keep the stage consistent without a long conversation.
Over a season this habit saves real time. Soundchecks shorten, stage crews know what to expect, and visiting engineers can work from your documents rather than rebuilding the picture from memory.
A good microphone plan is mostly preparation: a complete input list, a clear stage plot, microphones chosen for the source and the room, monitors agreed with the performers, and a desk labelled the same way as everything else. None of it needs unusual equipment. If you are planning a stage for the coming weeks, send us the input list and we can talk through the plan with you.
Callum Reid
Senior Sound EngineerCallum specialises in live sound for concerts and festivals and in studio monitoring setups.