Just wanted to share with the community a few techniques I've made a habit of using involving a simple system DSP controlled at FOH via PC. A lot of you are already familiar or beyond this working method (digital console guys and LAKE users) but In my analogue world I find them very handy. Please to enjoy....
1. You've got a crowd around the mic act following a more traditional act perhaps with drums and regular 58 for vox and what not. I make a DSP preset that's full range tops w/no subs and use the PEQ in the DSP for ringing out the crowd around act with the digital PEQ's real narrow Q's and save it. I switch back to my standard preset for the electric act and use the house graph for EQ'ing. This keeps me from hacking up the house graph ringing out for the crowd around act and have to deal with it for the other acts. You can do the same for multiple crowd around acts that insist on using vastly different mics and techniques. Such as the rookie opener that comes at you with a bunch of crappy LDC's that came in a box of crackerjacks and insists you strike the Neumanns the Headliner has up.
2. Headliner's BE has hack the house graph all to hell getting his 110db mix to show level in an empty room. Or worse, he's walked the empty venue listening to a lossy MP3 on his phone/ipod and tuned to death (I've got pictures of a few of these graphs.. simply stunning.) Headliner soundchecks and heads to dinner leaving you to deal with the other 2 openers on a less then stellar sounding rig. In this case I just bypass the house graph all together and use the PEQ in the system for my shift if I even have too. I recall the original DSP preset for the Headliner and put the house graph back in and ear plugs
Aside from those headache solvers I keep several presets in the DSP tailored for different situations. One is tuned slightly for a standing room only show and another for a fully seated show. One is full range tops with no subs, One for backline aligned, one for downstage aligned and so on...
A note about aligning to the back-line: In my smallish venue and with my mixing style stage volume is always part of the mix. If you've ever had the opportunity to time align DURING a show and hear the mix "pop" together you'll probably be a nerd about it like me. I know people have varying opinions on it so I though Id recommend you try that some time if you DSP will let you do it w/o audio dropouts.
Any other tricks I should know about?
