About us
Livewire is a small PA hire company run by myself, Mark Burton. I am also a freelance Sound Engineer. Since seeing Metallica playing St Davids Hall in Cardiff in 1986, I have been passionate about live sound. I went to a lot of gigs at this time and began to develop a (healthy?) obsession with PA systems. Aside from my love of making things loud it turns out that my fascination with technology, my patience and adaptability together with my ability to listen and respond to the needs of my client means that the role suits me perfectly.
I started trading as The Bath PA Company in 1990 when I was 19, hiring out a small PA system and expanding it. I had a number of setbacks (including having all of my equipment stolen) so decided to concentrate on my work as a freelance Sound Engineer. I have worked for the Gloucester Guildhall for 18 years, Seckou Keita SKQ for 6 years and Baka Beyond since 1997 (see history or bands I have worked with for further details). However, my obsession with PA systems got the better of me and I began once again to build a system from scratch in 2006. I couldn't help it - it wasn't my fault!
I knew that I wanted to build a small system which didn't compromise on quality. I thought "if I'm going to go to the trouble of building this PA system, I'm not going to cut any corners." I didn't want to be doing the sound for a band thinking "I wish I had a better ....." It has therefore taken a long time to get to the point where I am satisfied enough to announce that I have a PA for hire.
Every component of my PA, of which there are many; speakers, microphones, mic stands, cables, graphic equalisers etc. had to be genuine - no cheap copies and all of very high quality. I like to think of my system as the Mercedes Benz of the PA world!
My philosophy is this: a quality PA system will ensure that I am satisfied as a Sound Engineer, that I can do the best job possible with a combination of my skills and my equipment. This will, in turn, make the performers happy and they will therefore be able to deliver to their best ability which will please the audience. So everybody is happy.
Livewire aims to get the best out of a performance whilst remaining invisible to the audience, so they come away having not just seen a show, but actually had an experience.