About Me

Personal Background

My name is Steve Bunting. I am 26 years old, was born in Nottingham in 1983 and lived there until the age of 18 before moving to Guildford to learn about audio full-time.

I graduated from the Tonmeister degree course at the University of Surrey with a 2:1 (Hons) with distinction in the summer of 2005, and have been working as a full-time freelance live sound engineer ever since.

Audio Background

I have been interested in music from an early age, taking up the organ when I was 7 before starting to learn the guitar at age 11 and switching to bass guitar a few years later. I started to take it more seriously when I was 14, forming a band and learned how to use the school PA system for rehearsals and gigs. Soon I started learning how to use sequencers, recording equipment and was running the sound for bigger school productions from behind my bass and/or keyboards.

When I was 16, I had been playing in the Nottingham youth city big band for 2 years and was operating their sound as well. I started a Music Technology 'A' level course at my school to gain experience and learn technical theory about audio, while continuing to play gigs around Nottingham with various bands.

I went to university to study music and sound recording full-time when I was 18. I joined the Student's Union Stage Crew on a voluntary basis after just one week, starting out in the deep end with a huge amount of equipment at my disposal, mixing loads of bands and learning the hard way how not to do things! Shortly after, I also started working at the Guildford Civic, doing sound for their local bands nights, shows touring without production, but also doing lighting, follow spot and general local crew work for bigger tours until they closed down for refurbishment in December 2003 (still to be refurbished!).

I moved to north-west London on a work placement from university for my third year at a company called Technical Earth, where I worked as a trainee technical engineer. I learnt a lot about practical techniques used in professional audio such as equipment repair, studio installation and wiring, as well as gaining a good insight into how the pro audio industry works.

I graduated from the degree course in June 2005, moved back to London and have been working as a freelance live sound engineer full-time ever since. I have gained a great deal of real world experience across all types of event, from bands to comedy to corporate. When not on the road, I have worked in various PA companies warehouses prepping/de-prepping shows or just sitting on the wiring bench. I feel I have gained a wealth of relevant, varied experience from my past, and am still gaining new experience on a day-to-day basis from whatever project I am working on. I still have the passion for my work that I have had from day 1, and continue to feel privileged that I can make a living doing what I love.