System EQ and the Big Picture

My friend Dave Stagl recently posted this on his blog and I think it really gets the point across on why I like to tune my PA a certain way and will open the door for maybe a few more posts regarding system optimization and tuning. I Know I'm always searching for the flattest response so that what I capture is reproduced with the least amount of coloration from the PA allowing me to have the cleanest starting point to create my mix. So read Dave's post already! :) Oh, and please follow his blog, it's full of amazing info and knowledge that will definitely help anybody in the live sound world!
Harsh Reality: Part 1 – All Things Not So Equal

Snapshots,Snapshots, Snapshots......

Well today was a day that reminded me why I absolutely love the VENUE's snapshot automation! Granted I had to put in the time to setup the snapshot and test it to make sure it would fail me in a live situation, but it was totally worth it. I have a lead singer that sing's once a month, and when she sings there is usually BGVs singing parts that don't normally have to cover with our other lead vocalists. The reason I needed a snapshot for this vocalist was two parts. First my own, almost lazy reason: I don't want to have to re-label the input,FX channels,IEM outputs, and FX sends, or have to recall my saved EQ for her channels and IEM output. Second reason being that she likes a totally different style of stereo mix in her ears as well as her mic level needing to be different in the rest of the band. Oh, almost forgot; all her FX plugins themselves. So all that being said, I created a snapshot called "AMBER LEAD". I scoped pretty much everything but 'midi" and "vca" and took the time to dial in the bands IEMs during a rehearsal with this vocalist. After about an hour in rehearsal with this vocalist and the band, I felt comfortable using it live. So this morning as I was bring the board online I just scrolled down and recalled "AMBER LEAD" and everything to do with the lead vocal section changed for her and the band required zero monitor adjustments and her vocal needed to dynamics or EQ adjustment. What a time saver on a already packed Sunday morning! Now if you are wondering why with a VENUE I can't just have a separate set of channels for each vocalist and their FX returns here's why: I have the drums, main vocals, and rest of the band all on bank 'A' just like you'd find on a traditional analogue console. I do this because when I work with a band I want all my main stuff on top so to speak. Fader bank 'B' is BGVs,Loops,iPod,DVD, speak mics(headsets) and other items that will only be touched at specific times. Bank 'C' is the entire band and vocals double-patched to be EQ'd,compressed,gated,and tweaked for the band's IEMs just as if I had a separate monitor console. That's a whole other topic/post so I'll save that for next post......maybe tomorrow. Also I'm going to try my best to take a lot of pics to help describe visually what I'm writing about here. Especially since I just got the iPhone 4 with the HD camera. That's all for now!

Local Club Trends

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.

LONG TIME NO BLOG!

Wow my last blog post was Febuary 22nd of 2008! I can honestly say I just forgot I have my own blog. I've been so busy since Febuary of 2008, really busy. For starters I got married; August 8th of 2009 to Audrey Katherine Butera. Well she's Butera now but her last name was Young. I've also attended a regional police academy and become a certified Texas Peace Officer.....aka cop. I'm still the audio director of Church in the City in Dallas, and going to be reserving with Dallas Police Department that way I can still do all my audio work and get to do police work once or twice a week. I've been doing more freelance audio work for corporate events, weddings as well as working with several local bands regularly. It's been a huge technical growing experience just because in all the clubs around Dallas even the nice ones you don't get to have all you boutique stuff even if you bring you own mic package it's still low quality in everything else. I have to say though if you have the chance to get out and mix "in the trenches" do it! It's made me a better engineer and a better communicator. Now every time I mix on the VENUE I appreciate it WAY more! Lot's more stuff has happened since then and I promise to start posting regularly to keep this thing updated.