Live Sound Diary Essay

Over the christmas break i have been involved in many music events/shows and projects. These all took place in my hometown kent where several events are held in the christmas time. Kent is very historic place and is known for its stunning arcuterture and scenary. However Brighton is glorious city which has constant buzzing night life and music scene. So Brighton is on a much bigger scale when it comes to gigs and shows as the people are much more passionate and experimental with music and the industry. Brighton holds gigs all over the city, situated in big iconic venues as well as small venues. The part of Kent i live only host gigs in big venues rather than backstreet pubs like Brighton does. So the music experience is very limited in where i live.

17th December -Tuesday 1900 - 2300The first event i got involved in was a showcase at The Trinity Theatre in Royal Tonbridge Wells. This Theatre supports music, dance and drama acts. The theatre is very well ewipmented with all the nessccary technology needed to put on an exseptional showcase. I saw that they had two different types of microphones one was the dynamic and the other one was a condenser. In lessons I remember coming across these terms and understood that these were the main two types of micorophones that you will come accross and at any gig. Ribbon microphones were used in studios as they are very fragile so I didnt expect these types of microphones to be behind stage.Dynamic microphone are simpley designed to work in the same way a loudspeaker works but the other opposite way. I also knew that these microphones have a high SPL (sounds pressure level) meaning the they can handle high levels of sound before they distort. This was ideal as five of the acts perfoming were musicians, two of which solo artists and the other three were bands. These microphones would have to be good qwality and have a high SPL so the band can sounds there best. One of the bands was a rock/pop band and were expected to be very loud so a high level of SPL was needed in the microphones for the singer to actually be heard amount the rest of the loud intrumentation. One of the other performers was doing an acoustic set which just vocals and guitar. This is where the Condenser microphone became useful are these types of microphones as they are more reponsive than dynamic microphones because they pick up more sound. So this reforced what I learnt lessons in a practical way rather than theorectical way. When we were choosing the type of microphones were going to use i knew that it was important to think about two things. Firstly the frequency response, which is how our ears all pick up the frequencies at the same levels which gives us the true representation of sound. The secound thing i considered was The Polar Pick up pattern. I understood that this is where the microphone picks up all the sound from. Its how well the mic picks up the sound coming from different directions. The most comman ones are the Cardioid Super,cardioid and the Omnidirectional.The Cardioid This microphone is very sensitive from the front and sides. It doesnt pick up all the noisey background noises which is very useful if you are vocalist in loud band. This microphone would highlght the vocalists voice without that much disturbance from the the background sounds. This type of microphone was perefect for the rock band that was performing and it really helped us when we were trying to make the band sounds thier best. I actually reccomended this type of microphone to the sounds engeneer and he agreed that a cardioid would be the best thing to use for this type of band. The Super Cardioid This type of microphone has a much narrower pick up sound than a cardioid. It doesnt pick up as much sound from the sides of the microphone but also picks up sounds from the rear of the microphone. We considered using this microphone for the acoustic act which only had vocals and guitar. So this was worth considering for this this act as we really wanted to highlight the voice and having a super narrow microphone it would mainly pick up his vocals. The OmnidirectionalThis polar pattern microphone picks up the sound evenly in all directions. These type of microphones are not normally used in live shows because they are very unclear so this wasnt the type of mic we would consider using for the show. One of the acts was using a keyboard, so as a team we decided that we needed to use a DI box. I knew that DI boxs were a way of getting the the electrical signal into the mixing desk. This included intruments that dont normally go through the amplifiers. One of the acts was a rock/pop band and they had to drums, two guitars, bassist and vocalist. The guitarist and bassists plugged in thier intruments into the three amps avaliable using jac leads. I then suggested that they used a speaker cable rather than a jack lead it can take higher amount of signal after ampflication. We then thought about how the drums would be prejected and what microphones were suitable and where we were going to place them.Kick drumI helped to place the microphone in the kick drum facing the beater head. I did this because it would mean the kick drum would have a good low frequency reponse. Snare drumI placed the microphone of the top head at the edge of the drum with a cardioid microphone because it picks up good sound from the front and sides but at the same time it wont pick up all the noisey background of the rest of the drums. High hatsI discussed with the sound engeneer i was working weather or not to place a microphone within for inches of the symbol because for some reason the high hats were not coming though the front of house speakers clearly. In the end we decided to place a high qwality microphone at a distance if tge whole drum kit becauase we felt that it captured the overall sound of the drums better and could hear the high hats better. Tom toms We decided to place a super cardioid microphone slightly above and directly between two toms.Overheads.Flat frequency response condenser microphones will give accurate reproduction of these sounds. Having microphones with low frequency roll-off will help to reject some of the sound of the rest of the kit which may otherwise cause phase problems when the drum channels are being mixed.The common approach to capturing the array of cymbals that a drummer may use is an overhead stereo pair of microphones. (positions A and B)

http://www.shure.co.uk/support_download/educational_content/microphones-basics/drums_percussionOnce all the intruments were plugged in and had the suitable microphones it was time to move on to the mixing desk. I remember how important EQ( equalisation) was because it you dont get the right balance between the intruments it wouldnt make the band sound thier best and would probaly give off the wronge impression of the band. So not paying attension to the bands overall sound can affect not only how they sound but how the band was to be represented. I understood that each intrument had thier own lead and slider on the mixing desk. I would ask the band members induvisually to play for a few secound to see how loud they were in comparison to everyone else and i would adjust the slider according to correct volume. In order to balance the sound of the music we had to adjust the treble, bass and mid-range bands of each channel on the mixing desk with the equalizer controls. I did this help improve the sound quality in each intrument. The quality of its equalizers often determines the quality of the sound mixer. Then i panned each channel in the master mix as required. I did this with the panoramic potentiometer turning the knob left moves the signal to the left of the stereo field, while turning it to the right moves the signal to the right. For mixers with multiple outputs, the pan knob works in tandem with routing buttons. Each routing button enables a pair of outputs. If the pan knob is in the centre it goes to both outputs.20th December 2000- 2300Gig at a place called The Forum.This was a gig venue where many aspiring musicians come to play, sometimes they do competitions and chariety fun raisers. At the event i was helping out a band that was playing a 20 mins set that night i volunterred to help with the sound production. I already gained some extra knowledge and understanding from lessons about how to operate sound desks. The band consisted of 6 members so i felt that it was vital that each indevisual member of the band sounded as clear as possible otherwise if they are fuzzy it may just turn into one group of noise. So the EQ blanacing was extra important when your dealing with a big group of musicians. In the sound rehersals we ensured that we had all the correct eqwipment including cables, leads. speakers, mixing desk, spare leads and cables, cardioid and super cardioid microphones. We started off by connecting all the right cables and leads into the mixing desk. This is a diagram of a mixing desk from a website called all mixing access.

http://www.allmusicalaspects.com/In%20puts%20and%20Out%20Puts.html

This diagram of the mixing desk helped me in several ways it helped me understand the different types of cables they can be used in a mixing desk. The main cables that we used in the gig was the jack lead and speaker lead.Phatom powerI knew that the phantom power sends a voltage down the microphone wire to give power for your condenser microphones. Phantom power can provide up to eight different channels at a time. This was ideal as we needed power for 6 different channels. We needed a channel for vocals, guitar 1, guitar 2, bass, keyboard and drummer. So the phantom power gave us everything we needed. On each channel there are normally two channels on mixing boards. The XLR input for connecting a three-prong microphone cable. The XLR input is a 1/4" input jack labeled "line in - ball".Normally you would only use of these two inputs per channel. You also have to indicate on the mixing board which input you are using be selecting the little switch in between the two jacks.Direct Out slotFrom class i knew that this was for sending the signal out of the board and in to your recording interface.The fader controls the volume output for the direct out.The insert jack is an in and out in one jack. This is for adding an effect like compressor. I knew that you needed a special Y cable for using this jack. So if the band did want this effect then i would know what cable i was to use. Monitors Graphic equalisers normally cut frequency bands where feedback is becoming a problem. Using a model of graphic EQ with metering LEDs on each band will help identify problem frequencies if your ears cannot pick up the sound. After the frequency of the first 'ring' has been done you can turn up the system gain a little more until the next feedback point is discovered. This is what i did when we were doing the sound check to ensure that we were getting the correct level of sound.

The other option to a graphic EQ ( equaliser) is a dedicated feedback suppressor . This was worth having as we predicted that the feedback might be a problem in small venue. These are worth having if feedback is a particular problem as they automatically cut down feedback frequencies and stabilise the system without significantly affecting the sound.Snare bass drum over head We then carefully set up the PA speaker, microphone and stage monitor. The next thing we did was set up the initial mix levels of the band members. After getting the DI (Direction injection) feeds working I checked that we were getting plenty of signal from the close-microphone amplifiers and drums, set the vocal microphone levels and made sure that everything was balanced.The sound engeneer that i was working with showed me a efficient way to setting the vocal microphone levels. I set the master level fader just above maximum and the microphone faders at maximum. Turn the input gain all the way down.

I then gradually turn up the microphone gain one by one until the microphone just starts to ring. en, back it off just a hint.

When I had done this for all the microphones, I put the faders back down to the unity gain again. He said that this usually was 10dB. It left me with 10dB of headroom before feedback again becomes a problem.

I lastly balance the instruments to this vocal level by getting the band to do run through of the song whilst i was adjusting the balancing levels the sound check.

We realised that the guitar amplifiers were too loud we considered using smaller combos or power soaks at this small gig. We did this so that the guitar can be played at a lower level without affecting the tone. If you can run the backline at a level where the PA can be used to boost is slightly, I learnt that you will have far more control when it comes to turning up for solos in the song. . Using the correct microphone As i mentioned before the usual choice for live shows is either dynamic microphone of a capacitor model designed specifically with stage use in consideration. I remember covering hypercardioid microphones in class and learning that they have the most tightly controlled pickup pattern and are very sensitive to sounds coming from behind the microphone than cardioid microphones are. For our vocalist we decided that Hypercardioid microphones wouldnt work if they moved around a lot on stage as this type of microphone wont pick up the sound as effectively cardioid microphone. This is because these type of microphones have a wider pickup, so we thought that this would be a more appopriate microphone to use.

I made myself checklist of things i needed to take into consideration Turn up on time and ensure you have adequate spare cables and batteries, plenty of gaffer tape and basic tools.

Determine the best placement for the PA speakers and monitors, taking into account the microphones types and placement as well as potential sources of reflected sound, such as deep roofing supports, stage arches or hard walls. Use impromptu sound absorption at the back of the stage if possible.

In venues where the main speakers can not be positioned symmetrically, consider panning everything into mono. Alternatively, if a microphone close to one of the speakers is causing particularly bad feedback problems, try panning it slightly towards the other speaker.

If any cables are run in public areas, ensure that they are covered up with appropriate mats and that on-stage cables are taped down or routed out of the way of the performers.

Balance all your instruments and backline against the maximum safe working microphone level you have set during the sound check and leave yourself of few dBs of safety margin for making adjustments during the show. Backline levels do tend to creep up.

If more than one band will be playing, use coloured clips or labels to identify the various microphones, as the performers may switch them around. Also identify your DI boxes using large numbers or coloured stickers.

Mark up the mixer channels with marking tape of gaffer tape, and use an indelible pen. If you are using coloured microphone tags, sheets of self-adhesive coloured stickers can be used to mark the corresponding mixer channels.

Maintain 100 percent concentration on the band and their needs at all times. Do not hold conversations or wander to the bar, and do not expect to be able to do a good mix if you have had too much to drink.

Turn down unused microphones to clarify the sound and reduce the risk of feedback.

Use your own judgement to determine how much reverb to add, depending on the type of song - unless you have precise instructions from the band. Turn off reverb or other vocal effects between songs.

If you do not know the band or the songs, rely on body language to tell you when a solo is about to start and ride the gain manually for the best balance.

Establish clear sign language, so that the band can tell you if their level in the monitors needs to go up or down.

Mark the maximum monitor level before feedback available for each vocal microphone or acoustic instrument microphone. Close-microphone loud instruments or amplifiers are not likely to present a problem in this respect.

Be ready to deal with unexpected encores, and make sure the band has really finished before you pull down all the faders or unplug any cables.

Double check to make sure you have not left anything behind after the gig. If you can use coloured sleeving to identify your own cables, that always helps.

1 Make sure your masters are at zero 2 Select the channel - by pressing the PFL/ cue/solo buMon. 3 Adjust the gain so you can see that you have a good amount of signal coming into the desk to work with 4 Assign the channel to the master output 5 Bring the fader up