How to tell if kit needs replacing
You can tell if your kettle needs replacing and it's pretty similar with PA Kit, though we don't work so often with PA equipment so it can be hard to tell.
Look After It
This doesn't directly answer the question, but reduces the problem as obviously looking after kit can extend its life. Some simple things can add a year or two before they'll fail:
- Put microphones in bags, wireless and fragile kit in protective flight cases (you can get basic ones with customisable padding for £20 or less)
- Store stuff in a place that doesn't need moving and ensure only people who have been trained in how to move expensive items (like speakers, mixing desks and amplifiers)
- Keep key bits of kit (eg. amplifiers) out the way of being accidentally knocked, for example by children (this is also key for health and safety)
- Train people to not drop microphones, especially mobile ones
Testing
Most kit is pretty easy to test with a few principles:
- keep the test rig a simple as possible, i.e. use only one cable if you can and avoid going through multicore/snakes
- compare it to something you think works by only changing what you think is broken
- do it twice
- wiggle everything!
If you think a DI Box is broken then use cables you know work to check it and then change the DI Box with one that does. Likewise if a microphone sounds dodgy try it in place of one that sounds good and compare the difference.
Likewise with larger kit like a mixer set up two channels exactly the same (with the same cable) and see if there is a difference. You may find that one channel is broken but the rest aren't.
Also don't forget to trust your instincts. If you think it's getting worse it probably is, though do get a second opinion as they might hear something different.
Before you throw it ...
Remember that often kit isn't actually broken. You might just need to replace a battery in a wireless mic (which looks healthy but isn't) or tighten up the head of a microphone.
XLR cables can get slightly bent pins and just a gentle tweak with needle-nose pliers can solve it. Perhaps there's something silly like an bug across the pins causing a short which could be removed with a knife.
Finally, don't forget to switch everything off progressively and listen to the change. The hum you think is coming from the speaker might not be, in fact we know of one story when the actual source was a leaking helium cylinder!
Expect it to break when you buy it
Yep, kit will break. But if you buy kit with more channels than you'll need, eg. an 8 channel mixer when you can only imagine needing 6.
Indeed you might find that one input on a speaker isn't working as well as it might but changing it from the XLR input to the jack input solves the problem and you get an extra year out of the system.
