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A speech and a band need different sound.
Deep South Productions designs, supplies and operates audio for concerts, festivals, tours and corporate general sessions. The same crew can cover all of them. The design goals aren't the same. Plan a keynote like a concert, or a concert like a keynote, and the audience hears the mistake.
Speech is judged on intelligibility
A band can be a little off and still work. A speaker can't. If the audience can't follow the words, the session has failed, however loud the system is.
We design speech audio for intelligibility. Every word has to be clear in the last row, not only at the front. That depends on coverage more than level. Coverage starts with the room or site: where the array hangs, where coverage falls off, and where front fill and delay positions go.
Music is judged on impact and balance
Live music needs level, low end and a stage that can hear itself. That means a PA sized to the room or field, wedge or in-ear monitor mixes, and an engineer working from your rider, stage plot and input list.
For multi-artist days, send every rider and input list early. Fast changeovers depend on having each act's stage plot and input list in hand before show day.
Where the two plans diverge
Microphones
Speech runs on podium microphones, lavaliers, handhelds and panel microphones. A band runs on a patch built from the input list.
Monitors
A band needs monitor mixes. A speaker at a podium usually doesn't.
RF
Wireless microphones and in-ear systems share spectrum with comms and the video department. We plan RF for the site, then scan and coordinate on the day.
Lighting
A presenter needs clean white key light. A band needs looks. See our lighting services.
Redundancy
We plan spares into both. When a wireless pack fails, a replacement is already staged.
Programs that carry both
Many events don't pick one. An awards night with a live act. A festival stage that opens with a welcome address. A house of worship with a sermon and a choir in the same hour.
Build the sound around the run of show. Tell us who speaks, who plays, and where the changeovers fall. The spoken-word segments shouldn't get whatever is left after the band is set. Each segment gets its own microphones, its own levels and its own check.
Outdoor and municipal events
Outdoors, sound has to stay inside the permit. Noise ordinances, curfews and measured SPL limits at defined points all shape the design. Tell us the permitted number early. We design the system to hold it instead of turning it down at nine o'clock and hoping.
What to send your audio producer
The run of show, even in draft
The number of speakers, and whether they stand at a podium, walk or sit on a panel
Any band riders, stage plots and input lists
Headcount, and whether the audience is seated, standing or both
The room or site, including any permit limits
Any playback, such as walk-in music or video with sound
Include the corporate event details if the program sits inside a larger production.
Frequently asked questions
Does a speech need a smaller system than a concert?
It needs a system sized to the room and the audience. Smaller rooms get an appropriately sized system, not a stadium rig turned down. Coverage design matters more than the size of the rig.
Which microphone should our speaker use?
That depends on how the speaker works. A podium microphone suits someone who stays put. A lavalier suits someone who walks. Handhelds suit Q&A, and panels need their own plan. Send us the run of show and we'll recommend one for each segment.
Can one engineer mix both a keynote and a band?
That depends on the program. Tell us the run of show and we'll staff to it.
What happens if a wireless microphone fails mid-session?
We don't promise nothing will fail. We plan redundancy, scan the spectrum on the day and keep spares ready, so the swap is quick.
How early should we share the program?
As soon as you have a draft. It will change, and that's fine. An early draft lets us survey the site and plan coverage before load-in.
How do we get a quote for event audio?
Use Request a Quote. We reply within one business day, usually sooner.
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Send us
the program and the room
Tell us the date, the venue and who is speaking or playing. A date and a city is enough to start. You'll get a real producer, not a form response.
Call 337.626.2235, weekdays 8:00am to 5:00pm.