The best tool for live sound engineers?

We talk a lot about gear in our line of work - mixing consoles, speaker boxes, microphones. But personally I get weirdly excited about the little things, the gadgets that make my life and work easier. So I want to tell you about Sound Bullet, a rechargeable multifunctional input output audio testing device made by a company called Sonnect, which I have been using on almost every gig for a year now - and I love it. Here comes the disclaimer: I am not being sponsored by Sonnect, this item was a gift from a close friend and I am telling you about it because I really think you should try it out for yourself. The box it comes in includes the device, a ¼” jack adapter, a USB charging cable, a user manual, some stickers and a case.

Let’s start with the case first and this is where you see how well all of the details about this product have been made with the working sound engineer in mind. The case is equipped with a belt hook so you can quickly attach it to your toolbelt, it holds the jack adapter so you don’t keep looking for it and the flap a sawn-in magnet that when closed, prevents the tool from slipping out. It is really well made. I have had mine for a year now and you can’t see any signs of wear and tear. It has definitely been designed by someone who knows the needs of the people in the industry. 

Let’s move to the Sound Bullet itself. I love how compact it is. It is made out of a strong and robust alloy casing that ensures protection from impact and equipped with gold-plated Neutrik XLR connectors. There is one more benefit from this slim design - you can plug it into any multicore or patch panel, without needing extra cables. But - what does it actually do?

First, it is a signal generator. It can generate either a pink noise signal or a 1kHz sine tone and you can switch between the two by pressing the SEL button. By default it is sending the test signal to the male XLR, but if you press the TO switch, it reroutes the signal to the internal speaker, the mini jack out and the jack output. That way you can send signal down XLR lines, instrument lines, even wireless systems. The level of the output can be adjusted and you can choose between -40, -20 or -10 dBu.

Next, it is a 48V checker. Plug it into a balanced output of a console and it will measure presence of phantom power for pins 2 and 3 individually. If it detects 48V plus minus 4 Volts, the LED or the respective pin will illuminate, however, if the voltage is between 24 and 44V, the LED will flash slowly. It is a great way to test for phantom power issues.

Besides checking for phantom power, it can also check for signal presence on the female XLR. If the signal exceeds -25dBu, the signal LED will light up, and if there is an overload on the line, the peak LED will turn on. But the best part is, you can listen to the signal on your mini jack output, which is great for IEM monitor engineers, because we can quickly test for signals without taking our earphones out. In a pinch, you can also use the device as a headphone preamp, using the volume knob on the side as volume control for not only the mini jack out, but also the internal speaker.

Another functionality this compact beast offers is the XLR cable testing capability. Just plug in the XLR cable to both ends of the tool, hold the SEL button for 2 seconds and use the LEDs on the side to perform a continuity test. Switch between the pins with the TO switch.

My favourite thing about this tool is the ability to check DI boxes and instrument signals. Use the included adaptor jack to plug it into a DI box and send signal down the line, or better yet, just plug in the instrument jack cable and make sure your lines are correct. Plus, you can grab a quarter inch to eight inch cable and use the tool to test wireless bodypacks. It basically covers all of the functionalities we need when setting up a stage. And it is rechargeable. Just use the included USB charging cable and do like I do - after the stage has been set up and the gig is up and running, charge it during the show. That way you can always have it ready to go.

If you want to get one of these thingies for yourself, and I highly recommend that you do, just use this (affiliate) link.