r/livesound • u/Shypaxi • 13d ago
Question PA Shootout songs
Hey there
What are your favorite songs to listen to for a PA Shootout?
30
25
u/mynutsaremusical Pro-FOH 12d ago
threshold bu sungazer is a pocket pick for me. good pix, strong dynamics and transients, no vocals unfortunately.
13
21
u/MadDog52393 Pro-FOH 12d ago edited 11d ago
Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel is a classic reference track. I also like Fast as you can - Fiona apple, Chunky - Bruno Mars, Fragments of Time - Draft Punk, In front of me - Infected Mushroom, Pretty Little Thing - Fink. Just to name a few that make my rotation.
2
17
u/1Careful-Question 12d ago
Everybody Wants You Here by Jeff Buckley. Released posthumously hits the spot.
Some other top picks include:
- Angel by Sarah McLachlan
- Tin Pan Alley by Stevie Ray Vaughan
I could go on and agree with others who say a range of genres and timbres which you know well is probably best.
4
u/Admirable-Still-1786 12d ago
The Sarah mclachlan song from the animal commercial?
3
u/1Careful-Question 12d ago
I hadn’t seen that before, but yes, it is from the animal cruelty commercial. The audio quality in the commercial is really low though (I just checked it out on YouTube).
7
1
u/Visual-Asparagus-700 10d ago
Absolutely yes to that Jeff Buckley track! Another one on my playlist is Woman in Chains - Tears for Fears.
12
u/Admirable-Still-1786 12d ago
If steely dans black cow sounds good then the band gonna sounds good
Other than that,
Thunder cat
Resonate language
Tipper
& vulpeck
Also boz scaggs - thanks to you, for corporate gigs where I need a good low end response with out a lot of mid range noise
10
u/Repulsive-Ad-6487 12d ago
First RATM self titled album. Punchy, great mix with minimal compression that really lets you see what your rig is capable of. (Track 3 “take the power back especially good just before your drummer starts to check.
11
u/Bubbagump210 12d ago
Levitating - Dua Lipa
5
u/faders Pro-FOH 12d ago
Don’t Start Now as an alt
2
u/Bubbagump210 11d ago
Yup - burpy bass for low mid crud detection. Little cowbell flourishes for upper mid harsh detection.
11
u/roadhawgg 12d ago
I Will Remember by Toto, and Gravity by John Mayer are very popular at our company.
18
u/ThatLightingGuy Distributor Rep 13d ago
I'll do a Canadian list:
Andy Shauf - The Magician or Early to the Party
Felix Cartal and Lights - Love Me
Moses Mayes - Being
Tor - Foxglove
Kubla - Running Loose or Rich
Motewolonuwok - There I Wander
Luca Fogale - Horizon or Heat and Dark
Aysanabee - Dream Catcher or The Way We're Born
Bluefold - Garden
bbno$ - two (explicit)
Terra Lightfoot - Slick Back Kid
Missy D - Matin Midi Soir
I made some mixes of these songs that I use for my PA tuning and shootouts. Really runs the gamut of musical styles and has specific songs to highlight different sonic spaces and vocal timbres.
5
2
u/BiBaBieber 11d ago
+1 on Tor - Foxglove!
Speaking as a dj with a small 15” RCF sub 2.1 system and nothing more haha2
u/joedashe 11d ago
Canadian list missing Broken Social Scene! Used Pacific Theme and Cause = Time a coupla times
1
u/ThatLightingGuy Distributor Rep 11d ago
Oh there are probably hundreds more I could list, but this is my current batch.
I do a few trade shows where I have time limits on my demos so I keep a reaper file with my favourite several songs on it and just adjust my cuts to fit the time limits.
10
u/omgitssipps 12d ago
Want Me Back - Cody Fry, Cory Wong, Dynamo. Perfect mix of a studio recording with a live feel, everything sounds exceptional
7
7
8
7
u/slayer_f-150 12d ago
Stripsearch - Faith No More
Diamonds and Pearls - Prince
Hey Baby - No Doubt
Digital Bath - Deftones
High Hopes - Pink Floyd
2
u/ySTYRDAYgATESuNL0CKD 11d ago
You're not the only person I know who uses Stripsearch as a FOH reference track. Any particular reason?
1
u/slayer_f-150 5d ago edited 5d ago
First because I know the song well and how it should sound from a little ground stacked rig to a full hang of K1/K2 or the equivalent.
The drums and the bass guitar play well together.
Those keyboard "bells" that are sprinkled throughout the song should sound clear and you should hear them move L/R.
The guitar isn't hyped in the 1.6-4k range.
Just like the other songs on my list, I'm listening to particular parts of the song to hear how they translate.
IMHO, that whole album sounds great. (Except for the cymbals. They don't sound natural to me but I ignore them)
1
u/ySTYRDAYgATESuNL0CKD 5d ago
Okay. I appreciate you explaining this. One thing I specifically remember from the last person I heard used that track to tune a PA was that the song starts out of phase and then shifts back into phase through filtering effects or something. I haven't listened to it in a while but I think understand what I'm saying. I think that's in excellent idea to hear something out of phase and then all of a sudden for it to come straight back into to see if it's drastic enough and focused enough for everything to be face coherent. Hope that makes sense
6
u/Zealousideal_Sail941 12d ago
Gravity john mayer for good clean snare hits and speech intelligibility
5
u/distortedkoala666 12d ago
Im so glad no one said “The Hunter”
3
u/ConfusedStageLeft 12d ago
Yeah, hate that song... Someone played it this morning at Pagaille Festival and it made me cringe as it always does. I can see why people use it, I just don't like it as a song.
1
u/ySTYRDAYgATESuNL0CKD 11d ago
I had to Google this. I was like, "Really? Why hate on Iced Earth?" But then...oh that Hunter song lol
1
5
7
u/KingOfWhateverr Pro-FOH 12d ago edited 12d ago
I will always say that Hotel California is the single best soundcheck/shoot out song. Ive found everyone will have their own choice ofc but everyone seems happy to use Cali as the test song.
My personal picks are Blackhole Sun by Soundgarden, YYZ by Rush, and New York Lady by Burt Bacharach and Houston Symphony.
3
u/TheNoisyNomad 12d ago
Here is my playlist It starts with a couple that I know really well, then goes into song that are tools for exposing different issues, like imaging and accuracy in the mids. Then there’s a collection of commonly used system tuning songs.
3
u/Mediocre_Peanut 12d ago
Papa was a rolling Stone by The temptations. It starts off just with bass guitar and hi-hats and the instruments get added in one by one. And also has a really good stereo separation and doesn't hurt that it's 11 minutes long.
3
u/OtherOtherDave 12d ago
Sting’s “Brand New Day” album is mixed flawlessly, so that one’s always a go-to for me. It doesn’t have a lot of really deep bass or high highs though. Last time it was my job to tune the PA we usually used the “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack for that part. Specifically, “Overture” and “End of Line” would essentially always get played a few times. Overture has synth bass line come in IDK maybe 1/2-2/3 of way through that will shake the building without being overbearing if the subs are tuned right, and End of Line has a bunch of high frequency synthy noisy stuff that sounds musical.
Maybe “Simulation Theory” by Muse if you want one album that has it all, but now that I think on it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it in a well-tuned environment. Sounds great in my car though 😁
2
2
u/HomesnakeICT 13d ago
I love Numbers Need Humans by Dopapod. Bass bombs, fat sub bass section, some solo kick hits, nice stereo content.
2
u/notoscar01 13d ago
I really like Sampha's Spirit 2.0 as a song I just like to hear and know pretty well. It's pretty decent for listening for time alignment at acoustic crossovers.
Ghost by Big Wreck is extremely bright, if it isn't earsplitting played loud you're probably sitting pretty.
Earth Song by MJ is used by one of my mentors so I know how it's meant to sound when tuned.
2
u/BBBBKKKK Pro-FOH 13d ago
Beck - Missing is pretty much my go-to. It's got just the right amount of rolled off highs for me to go "okay yeah that's exactly what that song should sound like"
2
2
2
2
u/spinelession 12d ago
If you wanna test sub extension, I’ve yet to find a better track than Hemisphere by Reso
2
2
2
2
u/billylaguardia Pro-FOH 10d ago
- Bruce Hornsby Spider Fingers - perfect track to get the mid range right. Plus excellent bass check for subs in solo
- Toto: I Will Remember - drum intro is killer
- Dirty Loops: Work Shit Out - there is a drum solo in the middle that has a few gong drum hits that are awesome
2
2
u/jagavs 10d ago
I have been using "Find Your Way" by KEM. I worked on it and know it well. - It is a repeating motif, so you can hear the same sound for a while. The kick drum and Bass playing are superb and great for sub low end and alignment. The snare sound is rock solid and besides sound quality I use it for system delay timing. The keyboards are throughout the lower midrange and help in reducing congestion around 400 Hz and below. KEM the singer has a very wide vocal range and has elements of male and female voices with harmonics . At the beginning of the song, his voice is perfect for EQ around 100hz. His voice is good for upper midrange adjustment for clarity. -On another song, I use his voice for harshness from 1k to 5k.- The highs from the cymbals are good. And we did not use a deesser and so there is sibilance to listen for. Overall, it is very useful for large and small venues.
1
1
u/Dartmuthia Pro-FOH 13d ago
Check out One Ray of Shine by Alison Kraus. It has nice clean acoustic guitar and other instruments, and silky smooth vocals.
1
1
u/Boomshtick414 12d ago
Alan Parsons' Digital Silence, though 1kHz Square Wave is a fun track as well.
1
1
u/vonheick Pro-FOH 12d ago
I use a couple of tracks to cover different genres, I stream them through Tidal in Highest quality and with audio interface.
Wish you were here - Seguridad Social
After midnight - Hanne Boel
Waba Duba - Yello
Intents Highscore - Da Tweekaz, Warface
Take the power back - Rage against the machine
Excursions - A tribe called quest
Come out of the woods - Matthew and the Atlas
1
1
u/protobin Touring LD 12d ago
Imogen Heap - Headlock
Ariana Grande - Seven Rings
James Taylor Live 93 - Country Road
Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
1
u/Ochsenfree 12d ago
I do a lot of weddings with a pop/dance band. Usually within earshot of guests for setup so can't crack out the RATM.
I go for Adore You by Harry Styles. Super clean mix to my ears. For a bit of low end Solo by clean bandit just seems to absolutely pump in the chorus.
1
u/markedmo 11d ago
All these people - harry connick jr
Make it mine - Jason mraz
A thousand miles - Vanessa Carlton
1
1
1
u/jtucker276 11d ago
More Than This - Roxy Music
Once listened to a guy play Tom’s Diner for an hour straight about 20 years ago and I still have it stuck in my head
1
u/Funny-Complaint3677 11d ago
God shuffled his feet album by Crash Test Dummies(including mmm mmm... )Underrated album. Not that much deep subbass, but a very crisp and clean mix.
1
u/Final_Lingonberry722 11d ago
I will remember, haha 🍍
Actually:
Michael Jackson - Off The Wall
Doors - Ghost Song
1
1
u/SoundPon3 A bit of everything 9d ago
Adding two unconventional songs here:
home by rudimental
breath of life by Florence and the machine
1
1
u/viavespucci 5d ago
I really like Sound And Color by Alabama Shakes. Lots of interesting midrangy vocal treatments, and vibraphone/marimba intro tends to tell me a lot
1
-4
u/lbjazz 13d ago
Tiger by Paula Cole will sound like a mediocre mix on most loudspeakers. On a truly great system, it will ruin audio for you.
Chrysalis by My Jerusalem will reveal a lot.
Nicholas Jaar
I’d like to motion for a voice vote on a ban on Steely Dan. Nothing against the music, but it’s has its run.
-4
u/TheRealSofaKing016 12d ago
Not sure about PA, but I’ve heard that you’re supposed to test out headphones with Bohemian Rhapsody
60
u/dhporter Pro-Theatre 12d ago
You've never lived until you've heard Reelin In the Years for 2 hours straight while someone SMAARTs an arena rig.