Quote:
Sorry if out of place, I didn't know where else to ask YOU guys.
When doing a large and loud live mix is it proper to mix it significantly warmer that you would if it was a recording?
Why?... In attending several very loud concerts I started noticing that people were mixing much warmer (less highs). It seemed to allow for louder volume with less pain. The downfall is some lost intelligebility. So is this a standard practice?
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Quote:
Originally posted by Steve Smith
There is a fine line between "harsh" and "dull" I think the key about live sound is to really be extreme with how you "fit" things into a mix.. I do way more high and low pass filtering on a Live mix than I do in the studio.. I find if you leave lots of room on top for the definition of the vocal and guitars, you can get crisp without being harsh..
NYC Drew, any suggestions?
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1. The first constraint I face is usually...the PA. A lot of "well" designed systems do weird things with your pristene audio if you're
a) out of the "sweet spot"
b) beyond the "normal" throw of the PA (under or over)
c) outside the coverage area of the PA (say it has a horizontal dispersion of 90 degrees from each stack)
Many, many, many, many times I've had to fall back on my headphones to hear what the sound is like out of the console, sometimes there's just so much you can get out of the system components....sometimes for the required SPL you have to deliver, the processors/crossovers are already limiting/compressing
2. The second hurdle we (ok then, me :eek: ) face is ...the acoustics of the venue. Sometimes you just can't have all that HF bouncing around in an arena, or a nice unpadded concrete hall - without feedback.
For whatever reasons, sometimes cabinets are flown/ hung / scaffolded
behind the "mic line", so ya gotta do some drastic surgery to avoid those said high freqs taking off.
Even if the speakers are properly located, any myraid of factors can cause leakage from the PA to the mics on stage.
I've seen systems that use (for example) the Sabine feedback exterminator that also adversely affect the fidelty of a system in an attempt to curb feedback.
NYC Drew