It's Just Logistics

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Getting Loud Without Getting Yelled At

I've been quoted over the years as saying "Freedom of speech includes volume". And in my younger days I tended to view sound pressure level as a tool for impressing audiences...since I wasn't really impressing them with my playing.

Time and technology have tempered that with me. That, and taking a lot of hearing damage in the process (although I can probably blame years of radio with blaring headphones on for hours on end for most of that).

The lesson that a lot of people miss out on is that there's a difference between "loud" and "repulsive". It's all about striking a balance in not only the mix, but the spectral content of your system. Oh yeah, having an understanding of how the ear works and how the brain processes sounds (psychoacoustics) will put you in a good position to be able to tweak your system.

First, here's a really quick lesson in psychoacoustics and the mechanical functions of ear. There will not be a quiz afterwards, and I'll spare you a lot of the medical jargon:

The Frequency Response Of Our Ears Is Anything But Flat
Evolution has adapted our hearing to be most sensitive between 300 to about 3000 Hz. Coincidentally, that's about the range of human speech. Pretty cool, huh?

We're especially sensitive between 1000 to 3000 Hz, because that's where the cues our in our speech patterns to discern between "P", "B", "T", and so on. So, if you've got a lot of energy in your mix in this region, you're going to sound louder than you really are. In other words, you could be reading a sound pressure level (SPL) of only about 90dB (which is kind of quiet for a rock band), but still driving people out of the room.

I'll almost always cut 2200 to 2800 Hz by a few dB, even if room analysis says I don't need it. What you're essentially doing is counteracting the ear's response curve, and that allows you to bring everything else up.

One of the funniest statements I've heard was from the sound man for Houston-based rockers King's X. He said something along the lines of "those frequencies should have never been invented".

Convey Power With The Low End
Down below about 150 Hz is where some real magic lives. This is where you can really convey a sense of power without hurting people's ears. But, you've got to have the speakers to support it. Trying to coax 60 Hz out of a 10" speaker is just going to guarantee you that you'll have to recone that sucker sooner than later.

On my big systems, I'll usually run RTA (Real Time Analysis) on the room and get everything fairly flat (with the highs falling off starting at about 8 kHz). Then I'll crank the send to the subs up about 6dB. For most rooms, that seems to be the recipe.

Be Careful In Power Alley
"Power Alley" is what a lot of sound guys affectionately call 200 to 500 Hz. That's where you can deliver a lot of punch in a mix. It's also where you can turn a mix to mud very quickly. Why? If you stop and think about it, every instrument (including the voice) has fundamental frequencies in that band.

See how you can quickly get a build up in that space? On top of that, guess what the average 30' x 15' x 8' room starts resonating at? About 250 Hz depending on who's calculation you're using.

The room resonance will usually show up on RTA, but you have to be aware that it's easy to wind up in a null of the wave...and then the analyzer is going to tell you to add in even more energy. Even if you don't have an RTA, make yourself a CD or MP3 of pink noise and play it back through your system. Then, just walking around the room you can hear where the nulls and peaks are in the response. Unless you're using a multi-zone PA system, the best you can do is compromise here. Just remember if your mix feels like it's starting to get away from you, this is where I usually make a cut to try to clear things up.

Keep this in mind when you're setting up your mix...if you find yourself cutting the same frequency on every channel then you've got a system issue. Fix it with your main EQ and then go back to your individual channels.

The Case For Compression
It used to be that compressors were really luxury items. On my big systems back in the 80's I think I might have had just a couple of channels worth across the mains (it was a Symetrix that set me back several hundred dollars). Flash forward to the late 90's, and you can get 8 channels worth of better compression (along with gating and expansion) for less money (the Presonus ACP-88 is still a favorite). Now, it's pretty easy to find consoles with compression built into at least the sub-groups if not every channel. The Presonus StudioLive console I just deployed has the digital equivalent of 30 some-odd compressors and limiters in it...just amazing.

Adding just a bit of compression (say 1.5:1 or 2:1) across your mains will tighten everything up and add density to the mix. Again, giving the impression of power without actually pummeling your audience. Plus, it makes you sound more "like the record" for those of you interested in such things.

On a very simple level, compression reduces the dynamic range of music (the difference between the softest and loudest sounds). It literally lets you cram more sound into a smaller space. Radio stations have been using it for decades, and then about 10 years ago (when MP3's really started to proliferate) mastering engineers starting using it on recordings. There were repercussions, and we'll delve into that later.

Make The Volume Fit The Room
Just my opinion, but there's some music that demands to be loud (most rock-n-roll), and then there's music that shouldn't be. I remember going to see Willie Nelson back in the late 70's. I wound up leaving after 4 songs....he was louder than Black Sabbath (who I had see a couple of weeks before). That, and the system wasn't tuned very well. Didn't matter...I found out later that's the way Willie wanted it. Sorry, but "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" at 112 dB was just silly.

What ever your music and wherever you're playing, watch the audience. If they're retreating, then you probably need to address something.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against bumping the master up a bit as the night goes on and people's inhibitions get lowered. Just don't go past what the room / music dictate. And definitely don't go beyond what you're system can deliver cleanly.

It Sounded Better At Sound Check Earlier...
As you up the volume, funny things start happening to your hearing. Your middle ear actually has a limiter function engineered into it. And remember how I said your hearing was anything but a flat frequency response? Well, as things get louder that response curve tends to flatten out. That was discovered by a couple of dudes named Fletcher and Munson all the way back in 1933.

I won't repeat their research, but check out the idea behind the Fletcher-Munson curves on Wiki-pedia. This is the reason you need to EQ your system at the level you intend to play out. If you EQ it loud and then turn it down, the lows and highs will be weak. Do the opposite and EQ at a reduced volume (because the bar staff doesn't want you to run their regular afternoon drunks off), when you turn it up it's going to be overly boomy and strident.

Have you ever wondered what that button on your stereo marked "Loudness" or "Loud" was doing? Well, that's it...it's correcting for the change in our hearing when the the volume is turned down. You can scratch "Find out what that freakin' button does" off your bucket list now.

I realize it got a little heady in this article, and I appreciate the folks that made it through!

I've mentioned some things about compression this week, and that's probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of audio processing. Next week, we'll talk about using compression in a live setting. We'll also talk about compression's cousin, limiting.

Until then, keep the meters out of the red.

Ken

Ken Carver has been a musician and performer since the early 70's, and involved with live music production since the mid 70's. He worked for 15 years as a broadcast engineer, building numerous studios and transmitter sites around Texas. He's also worked in Critical Care Communications for the medical industry, R&D for an automated lighting manufacturer, and owned Project Lighting & Sound in the 80's. He currently heads up an R&D Hardware Technician Team at National Instruments in Austin, and still performs on the weekends in the Central Texas area. You can reach Ken at itsjustlogistics@gmail.com

Saturday, December 29, 2012

2012 In Review

Here's another year in the books. And music-wise for me this year, it's been quite a bit different than past years. Since everyone does their end-of-the-year wrap ups and "best of" articles about now, I felt somewhat obligated.

So, in no particular order in my Top-10 Music/Gig moments of 2012

In March, The Rhythm Dawgs take their first extended break in their 13 year history
The same Rhythm Dawgs reunite in December and play to a packed house, basically picking up exactly where we left off.
After roughly a year, I parted ways with Triple Play. Still love the folks and will support the band wherever I can....things just weren't panning out like I had hoped.
I did my first major PA upgrade in 10 years, discovering the beauty of digital consoles and modern power amps that weigh a fraction of what they used to.
Proved that it's possible to get frost bite from bass strings by playing an outdoor wedding reception back in February.
Once again confirmed at the same gig that the more upper class a venue is, the more they treat their bands like crap.
Via the Michael Ingalls Band, have seen first hand that Motorhead is a guilty pleasure that more people than let on really really like.
Drank the Apple Kool-Aid and found out that iPads are all they're cracked up to be...especially when they let you replace 3 large notebooks of music.
Proved to myself once again that I'd much rather play with good musicians who are great people than great musicians who are full of themselves.
Rush will finally be inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of fame. That doesn't have anything to do with me, but it's freakin' cool!

So, what's ahead in 2013 for me? The Rhythm Dawgs will be playing out albeit at a much reduced pace from previous years. In the next week or two, I'll be starting work on an album with Michael Ingalls which should be cool. And I'm planning on continuing writing these tidbits weekly. Oh yeah, I'm sure there will be a new gadget in there somewhere.

Thanks to all who have taken to reading this blog...it's much appreciated. And to all my friends, band mates, clients, and lurkers out there I wish you all the best in 2013.

Until next year, keep the meters out of the red.

Ken

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Is The Party Over There????

'Tis the season. Whether it's office parties, house parties, or Grand Openings this is the time of year a lot of bands find themselves in the position of getting out of the clubs and performing at privately hosted functions. It's a welcome change of scenery for a lot of us, and it's usually better money than you'll pull down at a club. And of course, there's the opportunity to play in front of people that haven't seen you before (and possibly recruit some new fans).

But these affairs can also be royal pains in the neck. If you're lucky and it's a pretty big shindig, then likely the host will have hired someone to put the party together for them. Those people will usually have had experience dealing with bands, and have some idea what goes into putting on a great performance. But then again, there are folks who while they might be good at planning appetizers and center pieces, may have never dealt with a band (or think it's the same as a DJ), and then be totally shocked with you roll in with 20 or 30 road cases. This is where you have to be as much a diplomat and counselor as an entertainer.

I've played parties at those two extremes and everything in between. So in the spirit of the holiday season, let me pass along to you a few of my survival tips for playing private affairs:

You're Not The Center Of Attraction
Just get over it now. As much as our fragile egos want to think it's all about us, it ain't. Unless you're an established artist, your importance falls somewhere between the crab dip and the door prizes. Depending on the agreements (and you got everything in writing, correct?) you may be anything from background music during dinner to the jukebox for the company limbo contest. No, it ain't about us tonight, it's about the guests and making sure they have a good time.

Take Your Usual Set Up Schedule...Now Double It
Hotel gigs are the most notorious for this, but be ready for delays at any party. I've waited two hours for the stage to be erected, only to be delayed another hour because the party planner wants everything moved 12 inches to the left. You'll wait on dance floors, decorations, and sometimes skit rehearsals. On second thought...better triple your setup time....she might want it all moved back where it was.

Find Out Who The Boss Is Early
That's the wonderful thing about private parties...you'll get conflicting information from several well meaning folks. This is why when I book these things I specify that there's one person for me to deal with throughout the night. And that's either the person writing the check or an appointed representative that has the authority to make decisions on the spot. That way, when the cousin of the CEO's neighbor's brother comes and tells you to move something, you simply say "I'd be happy to do so...I just have to clear it with the boss".

Make Sure They Know What They're Getting
Once the deal is put together, I send 'em a contract, rider, and stage diagram. They're required to sign everything and send me a copy back. Make sure they know exactly what you need in order to put your production on (stage size, power, set up / tear down time, sound levels, etc). That's saved my bacon many times, but two that really stick with me are:

The event coordinate starting raising holy hell with us when we put the front of house console in place. "That can't go there...it's ugly. Does it have to be out front?". Well lady, that's why it's called "Front Of House". I pulled out the contract package and showed where the client had signed off on it. I said we would be happy to pack it up, along with everything else, take our money and leave (that's how it was spelled out). That ended that discussion.
I booked a company Christmas party with a young lady, making sure she understood we're a rock-n-roll band (and including that in the contract). We got the deposit and contracts back and thought we were good to go. We show up for the gig and start rolling in. The owner of the company comes up and says "Y'all don't look like a country band." Well Billy Bob, there's a good reason for that. He tried to start a fight with us for misrepresenting ourselves, but I showed him the contract his representative had signed. The asshole wrote us a check for the balance and sent us on our way (fine). He also fired the girl that hired us right there (not cool). His company went bankrupt in 6 months. Karma, baby.

Now, don't get me wrong...if the client needs something moved or changed and we can do it in a reasonable fashion then fine. In the case of setting up front of house, I've suggested to event coordinators that they could drape the racks with table linens and add other decorations to the area as long as it doesn't impede our sound man. That's smoothed over a lot situations. But putting artificial Christmas trees on the stage that we have to maneuver around...I gotta draw a line there.

Make Sure You Know What You're Getting Into

If there's anyway to advance the gig...do it. Go to the venue and look it over. If you're playing at a hotel, talk director to the special events manager. Find out where you're loading in and out from (don't assume it's the closest door...we had those blocked by catering before). Ask if they've had other bands with production similar to yours and find out how they set up.

If you're playing a venue that's out of town, talk to the manager there. Most places that host a lot of parties will be able to send you a drawing of the room with dimensions, location of power, and load in/out locations. It's better than nothing.

And review my post from September 30 (Before You Leave For The Show). Don't be a rookie and have to ask for an extension cord.

Trust, But Verify
If you've negotiated for the client to provide sound & lights for you, be sure to get the name of the company / person providing that and call 'em at least 2 weeks prior. Just because you send a technical rider to the client doesn't mean they're going to send it to the sound company.

One such incident happened several years ago. I negotiated sound and lights for a party we were doing. I sent a very detailed rider along with the number of channels we needed (16 minimum), mics, monitors, effects, etc. Being the thorough guy I am, I called the sound company 2 weeks early and asked what they were bringing. The guy on the other end of the phone said something to the effect of "they said there was 4 of you in the band, so I figured I could just bring a Peavey 6 channel mixer and we'd be good". When I asked if he had seen the rider, he said that the client had attempted to read it to him and he quoted a price, but they said that was too much and asked what was the cheapest thing he could bring (yet, they thought nothing of a $3000 ice sculpture for the affair).

I called the client back, and tried to explain how that was going to severely limit our ability to deliver the best performance we could, but they just said "oh, we just want some noise to fill the background at the party". At that point I told them that we were not the band for their event, cancelled the gig and sent their deposit back. As Kenny Rogers once said "...you've gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em."

Be Prepared To Be Interrupted
You know that killer set list you wrote out? Be ready to toss it out the window. Between awards, door prizes, "thanks for a great year" speeches and such, count yourself lucky if you get to play 3 songs in a row. But hey, they ain't paying you by the song...so just smile and take the money. I can recall one Christmas party I played where we contracted for 3 hours. By the time the evening was over, I think we had played 9 songs.

You're Not A Guest
As a rule, I don't approach the guests about anything. Now, if they come to me and strike up a conversation, I'm more than happy to talk to 'em. But it's their party, let 'em enjoy it. And don't assume you've got access to the open bar or buffet unless you're specifically told that it's cool.

Welcome To Amateur Hour
If the function is like 99% of the ones I've played, you're going to have a room full of people who are not very good at holding their liquor. The drunkest and most abusive a-holes I've ever played for are 7-figure company executives with 4 shots of tequila on board. Keep in mind that these folks will have no recollection of what they did the next day, and unless they try to get physical with you best just to nod your head every now and then like you're agreeing with them, and then excuse yourself.

"Thank You...Good Night"
Wrap the show up at the agreed upon time, and no encores unless your "boss" says OK. Then load up and get outta there. The guests who haven't passed out yet are lookin' for the hook up, and the rest of the hired help for the party want to get out of there too. Don't linger and talk. If someone asks how to hire you, hand them a card and explain you're on a dead line to get out but you would love to talk to them next week about their event. Nine times outta ten, you're never going to hear from 'em.

Private parties can be fun if you don't stress over 'em, and as I said are usually much better money than club gigs. Just be prepared to earn it.

This year has been a little unusual for me. My band of 13 years, The Rhythm Dawgs, took a break in March and just picked back up a couple of weeks ago. Consequently, I've done more "band hopping" this year than I have in quite a while, and also played a lot fewer gigs than the typical. I was thinking about sharing some of my "lessons learned" for 2012 in next week's installment.

Until then, Merry Christmas (there...I said it). And this time, just for the holidays, you can let the meters go into the red a little.

Ken

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Go Go Gadget...

A few weeks ago, I did a post on some of my "must have" gadgets I keep in my tool box. With us being in the thick of gift giving now, I thought I would throw out a few more of my favorite things to get me through a gig. And by the way, I'm not compensated in any way for this...these are just things I like and consider quite handy.

LED Flash Light
Man, when these things came out I thought they were a bunch of hype. Was I ever wrong. My son gave me one about 5 years ago, and I wouldn't take anything for it. And here's a real kicker...I've only changed the batteries in it once in that time (and it gets used a lot, even when I'm not gigging). The color rendering on LEDs is so much better for actually reading the back of a power amp in a dark club. The Maglite XL50 is the replacement for what I'm carrying. About $30 at Frys.

Cab Grabber Mic Holder
If you're a sound man, or a guitarist who mic's up his cabinet then you'll love this. It's a fairly new offering from Audix, and will run you about $50. But then you've got something that holds the mic in place and you don't have to worry about knocking over a stand (and I'm all about getting rid of as many mic stands on stage as possible. You can find 'em at Musician's Friend online. And if Santa doesn't bring me a couple of these, I'll use any cash I get to score some.

Portable Guitar Work Stand

I've got a pretty nice bench at home where I can work on my guitars, but every now and then you find yourself having to restring at a venue. Rather than try to balance your guitar in your lap and support the neck at the same time, just grab this little gizmo from your work box and set your guitar neck in it. From Planet Wave, the Headstand Instrument Workbench Stand is one handy little tool. You can find 'em for $10 at all of the major online music dealers.

Music Management Software

A lot of musicians I know are carrying iPads...myself included. I originally got mine for remote control of my mixing console, but it's morphed into a whole lot more. My iPad has now replaced 3 large notebooks of charts and lyrics, and made them more usable on stage then ever before.

There are several programs out there, but the one I'm using is called OnSong (http://www.onsongapp.com/) , available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod. It not only lets me organize all of my lyric sheets, but also lets me build sets and then scroll through the songs in order. You can import Word, PDF, and most image files directly, but the magic really happens when you take the time to put your cheat sheets into Chordpro format. Then, you've got display control of the fonts for the chords and lyrics separately. You can even transpose the key of a song on the fly. It's the best $8 I've spent in a long time.

The program also supports Bluetooth pedals that will scroll the page and advance to the next song hands free.

Mic Stand Drink Holder

'Cause you know you're gonna drink something. Saves you from spilling your beverage into your amp or knocking it over on the floor. Plus, you don't have to bend down or turn your back to the audience (unless that's part of your stage persona). There's lot's of 'em out there for $10 to $20.

Hope this gives you a few ideas.

Next week, we'll talk about something a little different. This is the time of year a lot of bands are getting out of the clubs and into private parties. They're two very different gigs, and we'll discuss how you should be approaching each one.

Until then, keep the meters out of the red!

Ken

Saturday, December 8, 2012

OK...Let Me Hear The Kick

PA in place...everything tested and working...monitors set. Now, it's time to build the mix that you'll be presenting to the audience this evening.

If you've got 3 vocal mics, this is going to be real quick. If you're fully mic'd up with all the instruments going through the PA, this is going to take a bit.

Before you start mixing, you need to have some idea what you're going for. It's no different than if you sit down to draw something. If you just start, there's no telling what you're going to wind up with or even when you're done. If you're a band member that running sound, you should have some idea what you want to sound like.

If you're working with a sound man, take a moment to convey some idea of what you would like in the house mix. If you're a country band, you don't want a death metal or funk kick drum dominating the mix. Likewise if you're a rock band, you don't want the vocals 12dB in front of everything else. Try to put it in general terms, such as a well known band. One of the best examples I've heard was from Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens when he told the house sound man "make it sound like The Beatles...just louder". That gave the sound man an instant point of reference to start his mix.

For vocals only, get things balanced and intelligible, add a dash of reverb and away you go. Don't get really hung up on a lot of effects on the vocals unless you have a way to turn them on and off. Otherwise, if you're talking to the crowd between songs with a lot of echo on your voice, it's just silly.

And don't forget to use the low-cut on your inputs if you have it. I pretty much use it on everything except kick, bass guitar, and keys. Your voice has no useful information below 100Hz...the only thing down there in a vocal mic is rumble and bleed from other instruments.

If you're running instruments through the PA, there are entire books written on various mixing techniques. How you set this up, again, depends on the band, the style of music, and the room.

Just remember that unless you're in a huge room, you're not trying to displace the stage sound completely with the PA...you just want to build on it. The idea is just help the instruments project into the venue.

Somewhere down the road, we'll go a little more in depth on different ideologies of building a mix. For now, just keep these bullet points in mind:

Make sure the vocals are present and intelligible. People like to hear the words to the song so they can sing along.
If you're a Cookie Monster-vocals death metal band, you can forget about the above
Fortunate enough to have a stereo PA? Keep the vocals, bass, kick, and snare in the middle and pan guitars to the side. If you have keyboards and enough channels, run 'em in stereo and pan 'em 9:00-3:00.
If you're playing to a dance crowd, then a solid kick drum in the mix is very advantageous. But keep in mind that the kick you hear on a lot of recordings is either electronically generated or is a result of a complicated chain of multiple mics / EQs / Compressors. It's more important that you make it work well with the bass guitar than it is to have this huge monster sound all by itself.
In reference to the above, don't burn 50 minutes of your 1 hour sound check on the kick drum...nobody has ever left a show humming the kick drum part from a song.
If you notice you're cutting the same frequency on every channel, then you've got an issue with the house EQ. Make your system adjustments there...not on the individual channels.
The idea is to make the instruments fit together like a sonic puzzle. If you have both the kick drum and the bass guitar trying to dominate the low end, it's not "heavy"...it's just mud.
Likewise, if you have 2 guitar players with similar tones then you just wind up with a bunch of white noise. EQ them slightly differently and pan them if you have the option.
You can always cut what you don't want, but you can't add back what isn't there. Guitarists who insist on scooping all of their mids out are guaranteed to be totally covered up by the drums in the PA. The midrange is where the majority of a guitar's sonic information is...don't throw it away before your sound man has a crack at it.
Once sound check is done...don't touch the input levels on the channels!!! If you do you've not only jacked up the main mix but the monitors as well (unless you're using a separate monitor board...and if you are you don't need these articles).

Having a sound man is a luxury, that you can't always afford. Heck, there are some rooms I play that there wouldn't even be a place to set up a front of house console without knocking out 15% of the seating. And running back and forth between a mixer on stage and listening out front is a pain as well.

But there are a lot of technologies out there now that let you drive your console by remote control. Behringer (those guys again) just introduced their X32 digital console that lets you set the fader levels through an iPad wirelessly. Presonus steps that up a notch with their Studio Live consoles by giving you access to every channel function via iPad remote. I just built a new PA around the Studio Live 24.4.2...it's an amazing piece of gear that not only sounds good, it replaced the equivalent of a 24 space rack of compressors and EQs.

Granted, those solutions will set you back from $2000 up to over $15,000. Mackie, however, has broken the $1000 barrier with a 16 channel host frame that uses an iPad as it's user interface and mixing engine. The DL1608 is a game changer...it's the first digital mixing system I know of at that price range and in a small console format. If you're looking to upgrade or replace your mixer anytime soon, you at least owe it to yourself to look at some of the digital solutions.

That's enough for today. I gigged last night and still have to clean my instruments and gear.

Next week, we'll take a step away from the heavy duty tech stuff. A few weeks ago in the "What's In Your Tool Box" post I talked about a few of my go-to gizmos that I have to have in my tool box. I'll share a few more of my "gotta have" things next week...still in time for you to drop hints for the holidays!

Until then, keep the meters out of the red!

Ken

Saturday, December 1, 2012

More Me!!!!

In our last episode we got the stage mic'd, did a line check to make sure everything was connected and working, and now we're ready to start making some noise.

Now, there are two schools of thought in the audio world as to what you do next...dial in the monitors or start building the house mix. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Building the house mix first does get the most important thing out of the way first. However, you're asking the musicians to perform without monitors. I've been on the stage end of this arrangement, and I can tell you that it's uncomfortable...especially in a big hall. And as far as I can tell, the only other advantage to it is that it lets you build the monitor mix on top of what you're hearing in the room.

Personally, I prefer to get the monitors out of the way first. In my book, the advantages are:

The performers can hear themselves and will play/sing with more confidence
The house mix can then be built on top of the monitor bleed off of the stage

What happens now depends on how many monitor mixes you have to deal with, and how much is actually mic'd up and going through the PA. As a bare minimum, you hopefully have 2 monitor mixes...one for the vocalists and one for the drummer (who, since he/she is usually in the back won't be able to hear the PA as well).

I like to get the vocalists set first. And here's a secret I'll let you in on when you're dealing with one monitor mix across several vocalists...there has to be one person louder than everyone else. Logic would dictate that the lead singer (or whomever is singing the bulk of the songs) would be that person. But, if one of band members is doing this job then he'll likely make himself the loudest. It never fails. Trying to make everyone "even" in the mix will only result in a volume spiral throughout the night. Someone has to be the king of the mix, so make the decision and get over it.

The drummer's mix depends again on how much is actually mic'd up and going through the PA. If you're mic'ing everything, then they usually like a "full" mix...almost what's in the front of house with their kick and snare on top. Some guys just need vocal cues, and maybe a guitar if they're not close to the amp. In most rooms the bass is next to the drummer so putting that in the monitor is redundant.

If you're in a position where everyone can have their own mix, you don't have to make near the compromises. And it's not near as expensive as it used to be to have multiple mixes...a lot of consoles now in the $500-$1000 range have 6 or more aux sends. Just keep in mind that the more stuff you put into a monitor mix, the better quality your monitors have to been. Putting kick, snare, bass, 2 guitars, and all vocals into a $60 Pyle monitor is just going to leave you disappointed. The idea is not to displace what you're already hearing on stage, but only add what you can't hear.

On the vocal monitors, you're probably going to have to do some kind of EQ on them to suppress the feedback. We previously discussed the importance of pointing the monitors at the null point on the mic, but that only gets you so far. To really crank the monitors, you're going to need either a graphic or a parametric equalizer. Graphic EQs are a little easier to understand and set, but in my book the parametrics are more powerful.

If you're using a graphic EQ, the more bands you have the more "surgical" you can be about your cuts. First, I usually cut everything below 100Hz and above 12kHz. Unless you've got drums and bass in the monitors, there's not really any useful information there.

After that, the process is pretty simple...raise the volume of the monitor just until it starts to feed back, and then start pulling down sliders. After a while, you develop an ear and kind of know what frequencies to grab on the EQ. Once you find the frequency, just pull it down 4-6dB...don't bottom it out all the way. Extreme EQ moves introduce other artifacts, and there's just no need to cut anymore than you have to.

Up the volume, and repeat. You may have to bring down the same frequency, or a different one.

So...when are you done? Once you've touched about a third of the sliders between 100Hz to 12kHz...STOP. You've reached the point of diminishing returns. All you're doing after that is just turning everything down.

For setting a parametric EQ, I'll up the gain on the mid-high band about 6 dB and then sweep the frequency. If nothing feeds back, I'll turn everything up and repeat. Once I find a frequency that feeds back, I'll cut it 6dB. Then if you have a bandwidth control (also known as "Q") I'll alternate between turning up the monitor and adjusting that until I can get the most volume with the least amount of bandwidth. I'll repeat for the the low mid and high bands as well.

I've been asked about in-ear monitors. I'll tell you that I think their great personally, and I've been using them in some of my bands since around 2004. The take some getting used to. Scratch that...they take a lot of getting used to. But my hearing was taking too much damage from stage volume so I had to do something.

If you decide to go this route, keep in mind that you can't share monitor mixes. You're also shut off the room, so if you're mixing yourself from the stage you have to have at least one person that's not using them. Otherwise, you have to have a front of house sound man. I've built a couple of in-ear systems for bands, and if there's interest I'll cover that in a future article.

It's been a long time comin', but next week we're ready to tackle the main mix. We'll look at mixing from the stage as well as using a sound man. And we'll touch on some new technology that I'm using now that will give you the best of both worlds.

Until next time, keep the meters out of the red!

Ken

Friday, November 23, 2012

Check 1, 2...

The next time you're in front of your mixer or console, take a look at all the knobs. You've got the usually bass, mid, treble, and maybe a frequency sweep if you've got parametric EQ on your board. There are probably Aux sends, Effects sends, and the overall channel volume. But one knob I've never seen on a board is a "Sucks" knob. You know, something you can turn down if the sound sucks (or turn up if it's your last night as the band's sound man).

So if the sound coming into the board sucks, there's not a 1-knob solution to fix it, is there? There's only so much you can do with EQ (and extreme EQ moves have their own drawbacks). So what's a sound man on a budget supposed to do?

If you have a crappy sound source or a crappy mic on it, you're pretty much just trying to polish a turd from then on.

Bad sources...sometimes we can do something about that, and sometimes not. If you're trying to mic up a drummer who has a kit that the heads haven't been replaced in this century or doesn't know how to tune them, your hands are tied. Likewise, the guitarist who thinks that a $100 Fender Squire into a Behringer distortion box and a Roland Cube is "his sound" is going to come through like an ice pick to the forehead. But at least you can avoid making it worse than it already is.

And for the musicians that have great gear and know who to use it, so much the better.

A great guitar tone can be ruined by putting a cheap (or damaged) mic in front of it. Likewise, your vocalist could wind up sounding like the speakers at Sonic Drive-In with a $19 no-name mic. No, these days there are a lot of great mics for under $100, and those mics will last you for years if you take care of them.

It's no secret that I'm an old school Shure guy when it comes to mics. In fact, I've done shows with nothing but SM-57's on everything (including the kick drum), and it sounded pretty darned good. An SM-57 will set you back $80, but for the money there's not a better mic in my book for guitar, snare, and toms. Some vocalists like 'em too.

For vocals, the $100 SM-58 (very similar design to the 57) is the industry workhorse. When you see bands on arena shows that could use any mic they wanted still using those for vocals, that's says something. Plus, they're tough as anything....you can darn near pound a nail with 'em and then start singing (note: Please don't try this yourself...I can't be responsible for your mic if you do).

I've also got to give props to Audix for their offerings in vocal mics now...I'm starting to see a lot of them on major shows. In one of my bands, the lead vocalist has started using the OM-7, which was tailor made for a rock-n-roll band with a lot of on stage volume. You get right up on the mic, and it punches right through. But, it's designed so that it doesn't pick up a lot of instrument bleed when you step away from it. It's pricy (about $230 on the street), but if you're a singing guitar player with a loud amp right behind you it's the perfect mic.

I like good ol' dynamic mics on male vocals, but for females I really like to put a condenser on them. One of the best I've heard is the Shure Beta 87C. Great output and a wonderfully open top end. You do have to be a little careful with it...it's got a lot of reach and will pick up the drummer's cymbals very well (which may or may not be a good thing). It's about $250, but if you're a female vocalist and serious about your sound you owe it an audition.

If those prices are a bit much for you, then look at Shure's PG series of mics. They're about half the price and pretty close in quality. Truth be known, the PG-56 has become my new favorite on toms. It's a compact design with a built-in stand adapter. In fact, for about $65 you get the mic and a rim-mount mic holder that attaches to the edge of the drum. For the average drum kit, that's 3 or 4 mic stands that just disappeared from your stage!

If you're wanting to mic the kick drum (and this actually should be the first drum to get attention), then take into account what your PA system will support. If you have a couple of speakers on sticks with 12 inch woofers, you're not going to be able to carry any appreciable amount of low end through them. You could stick a 57 in the kick and pick up a little bit of the beater sound just to help convey the presence of the kick, but that's about all.

But, if you've got some decent full range cabinets and some subwoofers then you've got some options. There are a lot of mics out there now optimized for kick drums. They already have an EQ curve built into them that has a cut between 200 to 400Hz, and a boost up around 3-5kHz.

My favorite kick drum mic is the EV 868, but a lot of people like the Audix D6. The AKG D-112 is a long time standard for mic'ing kick drums as well (I used them back in the 80's). You're looking at around $200 for any of these mics, but they will save you a lot of time at the board trying to dial in a decent sound. The D6 is probably the most aggressive sounding, followed by the 868, with the D-112 being the most mellow of the bunch.

Most sound guys don't worry about overhead mics on a drum kit except on a big stage, but they're missing a lot. A couple of condenser mics up over a drum kit add a lot of space and air to the sound...it really opens it up. In fact, in smaller rooms I'll bring the overheads up first on the board, and then use individual mics on the drums to fill in.

Again, you could spend hundreds (or even thousands) on those mics, but for club and regional work I've found some really good, inexpensive options. I know I rag on Behringer a lot (but hey, most of their rack mount gear that I've bought has crapped out on me). But one thing they got right was the C-2 condenser mic. It's an omni directional with a nice flat response. And get this, you can get a pair of them for about $60.

I know that this post read like a Shure and Audix commercial, but I'm not making any money from 'em. This is just the gear that I've had experience with and has had a good track record with me.

And oh yeah..last week's trivia question....

Q: What's the best song to end your sound check with?
A: The first song of the night!

Think about it, whatever tweaks you make to that tune means that you're starting from much more of a "known" point. Of course, if you're running late and have to sound check in front of an audience this doesn't work. In that case you want to check with a "dense" song....lots of vocals and heavy instrumentation....unless you're an acoustic band:)

Next week, let's get our hands on a console and get the monitors for the band set up.

Until then, keep the meters out of the red!

Ken