One of the things I've noticed mixing at pretty much every club in Dallas is that the system EQ seems to be the same everywhere.......HARSH with trashy low end. House of Blues was the only place I went where I only had to make like 3 or 4 adjustments to the system. Every where else it's like there's this obsession with 2.5k,3.2k,5k,8k, being 4db louder then everything else! Lets not even get started on low end.......on place had their subs crossed over at 400hz! This was not some small club either! Needless to say my growing communications skills I was taught in the police academy helped a lot! In every venue I've walked into I've been able to get the house guy to let me either tune the system a bit before the doors opened or store my own presets in the FOH processor or graphic. The most recent show I mixed at was this past Saturday at Trees in Dallas.(pic on the left) Soundbridge line arrays(XYON™ 7208XY) and Soundbridge subs. The system processor was and Ashley Protea 4.24C with QSC amps for the tops and Powersoft amps for the subs.....not too shabby. Definately the most beefy system in the local club scene. FOH console was a Yamaha LS9-32. While I was happy to break away from the mid-size analogue desks that are found at all the other clubs, I almost started wishing for one during sound check. Unlike the M7CL...NO TOUCHSCREEN! Very big speed issue when you wanna move quickly but you have to tab up,down,left,right with arrow keys instead of a trackball or touching the screen. If I ever mix here again I will definitely be using the StudioManager Yamaha offers and setting up my show before hand to make it easier on myself. One thing I tried at this show was using the house mic package. Trees is probably the best equipped club so I felt relatively comfortable with their selection of Sennheiser and Shure stuff. It definitely cut my time in half in terms of any EQ adjustments on the channels just because they were relatively close having been used with that system in that room all the time. I think with the exception of lead vocal mics, or just a horrible mic selection I may leave my mic package at home next time to help eliminate some time before the band starts. I'm looking forward to some shows that we'll be able to bring our own console and mics and be completely independent of the house setup. More then likely that will be another House of Blues show in late August. Until then, I guess I'll keep mixing in the trenches! Yes, I know I'm spoiled, but what can I say?! I love the VENUE and would it, well an SC48 even for a 4 channel wedding if I could. Musicians have their favorite brands and models of instruments, FOH guys have their favorite mics and consoles. Anyways, hope I can start being a resource for people all over as I start posting alot of the stuff I've been learning lately and dealing with on the job as an audio director. Also if you want to follow me on Twiter my ID is just JamesButera.
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