Live Sound: Live Sound Tips
Abstract (summary)
Presents
guidelines on sound management during live
performances, with emphasis on the importance of checking the talkback
microphone in all live
sound situations, placement of the crossover in front of the house rack and of
the mix position in the centre of the room. Discusses the significance of using
similar microphones and further suggest specific ways of eliminating low end
frequencies and stage rumble.
Full Text
the
talkback mic
in ALL live sound situations, make sure
to get the talkback mic happening to the stage. Make sure this is one of the
first things you do before line-check and soundcheck even begins. This one
thing will make the band's life easier, the crew's life easier and YOUR life
much easier. Once a venue fills up, the FOH position (at times) becomes
literally impossible to leave. The talkback mic becomes your source to the band
and crew on stage, especially during set changes.
Try to
use a mic with a switch on it. I've used Shure SM-58s, which have a switch, and
it can then also be split to the FOH console and used for both the mains and
making announcements.
the cross
over
Always
request that the crossover is in the FOH rack so you don't have to spend most
of your time tuning the PA running back and forth to the stage to make
adjustments if needed.
the mix position
If you're
running your PA in stereo and have a lot of instruments that are panned hard
left and right, try to avoid mixing
from all the way off to one side of the room. Always request that you mix position is in the centre of
the room (preferably not under a balcony or near the bar or rest rooms).
Try to
never mix on a riser in the
middle of the floor. A lot of what you're going to hear is going to be
unrealistic. Once you have all of your gear around you, you've created a little
bass trap. Being on the floor and listening to what the audience is ACTUALLY
hearing, will be a strong advantage to you.
If you
have a singer that likes to run in front of the PA or dive into the crowd, by
all means learn to use panning to avoid potential feedback. If he or she goes
runs in front of the PA on either side of the stage, pan them to the opposite
side (if you're mixing in
mono, your only defense is to keep your eyes open and bring their fader down
whenever they get close).
In most
clubs, you'll find that they won't have enough compressors or gates. Try
patching one comp or gate on the group outs of your console. This will compress
or gate everything assigned to that group output.
Make sure
to have a fan (no, I don't mean your girlfriend or boyfriend!) at the mix position. It's always going
to be hot back there.
similar
microphones
In all
instances, try to use the same type (and model if possible). One cheap mic on
stage that is sensitive to feedback can totally cause havoc for the rest of the
good mics you may have. Another reason is if you're using different types of
vocal mics, your monitor engineer is going to spend considerably more time
EQing the bad mic over all the better ones.
cushioning
Try using
rugs on your stage to keep the sound of people walking back and forth down.
This little trick will also cut down on the "liveness" of the stage.
To
eliminate low end frequencies and stage rumble, try leaving your bass and
guitar rigs in their trays (on casters) to get rid of low end rumble through
the microphones bases of the vocal mics.
Another
neat trick is try placing the guitar and bass rigs in isolation boxes off to
the side of the stage. This also gives your stage a very clean presence and
lowers your stage volume overall.
plexiglas
Surround
your drumkit with Plexiglas to keep the bleed of the drums out of your vocal
mics. I've had much success with this one. (NOTE: One drawback to this is that
sometimes other musicians don't really dig this. Bass players are notorious for
saying that the can't feel the groove and you may have to do a special monitor mix for your bassist.)
miking
Mic one
speaker on each 4 x 12 cabinet because I've found that miking several speakers
on a single cabinet - can cause a lot of phasing problems. If you're guitarist
has two 4 x 12 cabinets, find the sweet spot (individual speaker) on each
cabinet and mic those respective speakers.
I'm sure
that each and every one of these tips
will make you a better engineer. Give them a try and see!
David
Norman has Tour/Production Managed and/or Mixed FOH for such acts as Roger
Daltrey and the British Rock Sympbony, The Newport Folk Festival Tour, Arrested
Development, Michael Hedges, The Fugees, Diana King, They Might Be Giants, The
Neville Brothers featuring Aaron Neville, Better than Ezra and many others. He
is currently preparing to tour with The Black Crowes as Tour Manager and
Production Manager. You can reach him online at David 994@aol.com.
Word
count: 807
Indexing (details)
Narrow
subject
Broad subject
Title
Live Sound: Live
Sound Tips
Author
Publication
title
Volume
Issue
Pages
61
Publication
year
1999
Publication
date
Jan 1999
Year
1999
Publisher
Norris-Whitney
Communications Inc
Place of
publication
Toronto,
Ont.
Country
of publication
Canada
Journal
subject
ISSN
0708-9635
Source
type
Magazines
Language
of publication
English
Document
type
Instruction/Guidelines
ProQuest
document ID
1357228
Document
URL
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1357228?accountid=144516
Last
updated
2012-09-17
Database
International
Index to Music Periodicals Full Text
No comments:
Post a Comment