Pre-Game Prep
When working a venue for the first time, I do everything possible to make a site inspection beforehand. This provides valuable information in a variety of areas, such as the electrical power situation, where snakes and subsnakes will run, the path from the loading area to the stage, the parking situation, and so on.

If I can’t physically get there before the event, I call the venue to ask about these things, and/or check with other sound company friends and bands that have worked the venue.

All too often at other shows that I go to, I see the main snake head placed next to the drums because that’s where the most inputs come from. This is not a good idea for several reasons.

First, it’s an eyesore. Having that mass of XLR right in the middle of the stage is ugly. And what happens if a bad cable needs to be replaced during the show? You have to go right to the middle of the stage, that’s what!

So put the snake head off to the side. I place mine with the power amplifiers, bringing all inputs from the stage to the snake via subsnakes. This is a convenient place to work from, plus I don’t have to get on my hands and knees to plug things in. It also keeps the cable mess out of the way, which improves safety and further cleans up the stage.

Definitions can vary, so to be clear, I define subsnakes as shorter 4- to 12-channel cables with an input head that accommodate short XLR cables from the actual input sources.

Every once in a while, I encounter a keyboardist with four DI channels plus a vocal, so I run a subsnake right to those inputs. Larger stages sometimes call for a subsnake on the far side to take care of inputs “way over there.” For a typical rock/country band, I usually run a 12-channel subsnake to the drum set, handling drum inputs plus any instruments that may be close by. I also put a 6-channel snake on the front line to handle any vocal and DI inputs.

The message is simple. It’s better to have shorter cable runs on stage while keeping longer runs off the stage. It’s safer (less chance of tripping), and it’s cleaner. Providing a clean stage is professional and it gets you noticed – in a good way.

Fewer mic stands on stage further cleans things up. I use all manner of claws, clamps, hangers, and Z-bars in place of stands, and it’s also a benefit not having to buy and transport so many stands.