About Michelle...

Hi there I’m Michelle Sabolchick and I'm a Professional Concert Sound Engineer

For the past 30 years, I have had the wonderful pleasure of helping people enjoy great live performances from their favorite artists all over the world.

During that time, I’ve spent an average of 250 days/ year on tour as the sound engineer for some of the likes of Melissa Etheridge, Goo Goo Dolls, Thievery Corporation, Jewel, Elvis Costello, and more.  

In 2013 I co-founded Soundgirls.org to inspire and empower the next generation of women in audio and music production and in 2015 I was inducted into Full Sail University's Hall of Fame.

I am an active mentor and coach to those pursuing a life in music and audio, and have been a frequent speaker on industry and university panels and conferences.  I’m a self-admitted sci-fi geek and addicted to coffee. I’m also den mother to far too many cats, but that’s a whole other topic.

Over the years, I’ve mixed the sound for thousands of live performances in everything from the tiniest clubs to some of the biggest stadiums in the world. In all kinds of situations from the freezing cold at the X Games in the Austrian Alps, to military bases in the African desert.

I’ve been part of some incredible musical events and even realized my dream of mixing some of my favorite bands!

But life wasn’t always so exciting…

I grew up in a tiny town in Pennsylvania where there was no music scene to speak of.

How a little girl from a small town in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania got it into her head that she was going to break into the music business, is beyond me but that was my dream and I had big dreams- I wanted to be a creative part of great music!   

I discovered my passion for music when I was very young, and in high school announced that I was going to be a recording engineer!!!

Everyone told me that I couldn’t do it and had to get a real job, or real degree to make a living.  I’m glad I didn’t listen, because a few years later I was mixing live concerts for one of the hottest bands and not only that, we were on tour supporting The Rolling Stones in some of the biggest stadiums in the world!

But it wasn’t an easy road…I was on my own.  I had no money, no background in audio, and no support from anyone.

One thing I did have was a belief in myself and my dream of traveling the world bringing great music to the masses.

There was a lot of trial and error, moving around, a couple of audio schools, and a TON of hard work taking any and every audio job I could get. I finally got my foot on the tour bus when a friend offered me a job as the sound engineer for Spin Doctors.

Timing is everything and shortly after I began working for the band, their album skyrocketed up the charts!  We toured endlessly in support of it.  It was also the start of my professional career as a concert sound engineer and I never looked back.

That was the early 1990’s and I was one of the very few women working in the male dominated industry of concert sound which years later led to me co-found Soundgirls.org

I’ve been making my living as a full time sound engineer for a very long time, but I remember how intimidating it was when I first got started.

Many aspiring sound engineers, musicians, and producers I meet are overwhelmed with the amount of information and technology there is to learn.  They just don’t know where to begin.

When you’re trying to learn about audio and music production, it’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole with google or youtube and waste hours, even days trying to find the answers you need.

Let’s face it, when you are just starting out, you don’t know what you don’t know, right?

Or you could go about it the hard way, by trying to learn every individual piece of gear from mixers to DAWs to plug-ins and all stuff that goes with them.

But there is an easier way.

And that’s why I’ve created Mixing Music Live.

You have a lot of options when it comes to finding answers to your audio and mixing questions:

• ‘Influencers’ and Self Proclaimed ‘Experts’ who are great at making cutesy videos but have little or no real-world experience.  
• Google and Youtube can easily lead you down a rabbit hole of wrong information.
• Trial and error just wastes your time and money.

OR

You could learn directly from someone with a successful career doing exactly what they are teaching you.

I’ll help you cut through all the noise so you can get the professional results you need in the shortest amount of time.

With my programs, you’ll learn directly from me- a professional sound engineer with decades of experience and a successful career doing exactly what I’m teaching you.

Through the resources on this website you’ll have access to decades of the knowledge, tips, and techniques that I’ve accumulated throughout my career.

• Get a quick primer with my FREE ebooks, videos, and guides.
• Go in depth with my courses.   
• And enjoy my blog which is full of tips, insight, advice and the occasional road story.

So...

IF

-You want to learn how to mix live sound

-You’re in charge of the soundboard for a band, church, or theater and you'd really like to know what ALL of those knobs, sliders, and buttons actually do

-You’re a performing musician who has to run your own sound for your live shows…

I invite you to check out Mixing Music Live

IF

-You are recording and producing music from your home studio and want to improve the quality of your mixes

-Have been doing live sound form some time but still can’t get things to sound the way you’d like

-Are ready to start creating great sounding mixes that wow your friends and fans

I invite you to check out LISTEN!

It was really hard for me to find my way into mixing and live sound and it would have been a lot easier if I had someone to guide me. But once I got started I was lucky enough to have some really good teachers who were incredibly generous with their knowledge.

Now I want to be your guide and share my knowledge and experience with you, so you can achieve your dreams of working in audio and mixing great music.  Welcome to Mixing Music Live and Hear’s to great sound!  - Michelle

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