Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Miguel Dahl]

When doing mons from FOH and I see I need more or less gain on a channel, I usually wait until between songs, re-gain the channel and also compensate the monitor sends. +5dB up on the preamp = flip to sends on faders and dial all the sends down by 5dB, then also compensate comp/gate threshold. If it's a sudden crisis for some reason, I don't give a damn about different levels in mons for 4 seconds and just regain and compensate in the middle of a song.

What David said about gain mixing on "local talent show" is imho the best way to do it. You know you have a balanced monitor mix as default, just look at the meters or listen to how loud something is up front and use the gains to get back to where the levels should be, then the monitor levels will be perfectly matched too. Pre-finalist TV-Idol-competitions is one setting where one learns this, where there's maybe 30-40-50 etc acts which have 3-4 minutes each on the stage

[Brian Jojade]

With today's digital boards, it's far less critical for gain structure to be perfect.  Back in noisy analog days, it was very important in order to keep noise levels tolerable.

Generally speaking, as long as the signal level is somewhere between moderate and not clipping, you're good.  Some like to maximize gain on each channel and then have their faders show the difference in value for each. Others will adjust the gain so it's not perfect and have the faders hang around near zero.  There are pros and cons to each.

One thing though is that you need to realize where in the signal path each thing is.  If you have compressors in your mix, that typically works off of a level after the gain, but before the fader.  If you adjust the gain, the compressor will change along with the volume level.  For that reason, once gain is set on a channel, that's where I keep it, unless something was drastically and wildly off.

[Alec Spence]

When doing mons from FOH and I see I need more or less gain on a channel, I usually wait until between songs, re-gain the channel and also compensate the monitor sends. +5dB up on the preamp = flip to sends on faders and dial all the sends down by 5dB, then also compensate comp/gate threshold. If it's a sudden crisis for some reason, I don't give a damn about different levels in mons for 4 seconds and just regain and compensate in the middle of a song.

I, too, have tended to do this if the gain is really out on a channel.  But always a little risky when running monitors from FOH.

However, with X32 and XR12/16/18 mixers, the Mixing Station software has a "Re-Gain" option which allows you to adjust the gain, and will automatically make the corresponding adjustments to the channel fader level, mix-bus sends, gate/compressor thresholds.

[dave briar]

I, too, have tended to do this if the gain is really out on a channel.  But always a little risky when running monitors from FOH.

However, with X32 and XR12/16/18 mixers, the Mixing Station software has a "Re-Gain" option which allows you to adjust the gain, and will automatically make the corresponding adjustments to the channel fader level, mix-bus sends, gate/compressor thresholds.

Yup, works well and is quite handy on my X32s but is unfortunately not available on the QU series that we have at my normal venue.  My understanding is that some upper-crust consoles have the same function natively.

[Scott Olewiler]

I am not arguing to mix in that way, but I will offer when it is beneficial.
"'Locality' Idol" event.  20 singers with their own CD tracks or phone .  Vocal power and mic technique are all over the place and track levels are too.  No rehearsal.
Once the monitor mix comparative levels are set and the house's are set, gain knob mixing is the best way to maintain all those workable for the performers and the audience.  (We'll assume that someone stole all the headphones you brought, and the event organizer said you can't have an actual stage mix monitor at the mix position, so there's that.) 

... and what Bob said.

What you're describing is not really mixing with the gains, IMO; just resetting the gains to keep the mix you have already established, which could be done with any mixing style; faders that visually reflect the mix or all faders at unity.

  Any time I see a sudden change to the input gain that I know is sourced based and not a fleeting thing, an adjustment to the gain level is the most efficient way to preserve all the mixes, but I don't see that as the same thing as "mixing" with the gain knobs. 

Perhaps I misunderstand what most people mean by that?

[Mal Brown]

When doing mons from FOH and I see I need more or less gain on a channel, I usually wait until between songs, re-gain the channel and also compensate the monitor sends.

That is I think generally accepted ‘best practice’, particularly when gaining up.  When gain has to come down, I am more inclined to do it mid song.   

[David Allred]

However, with X32 and XR12/16/18 mixers, the Mixing Station software has a "Re-Gain" option which allows you to adjust the gain, and will automatically make the corresponding adjustments to the channel fader level, mix-bus sends, gate/compressor thresholds.

I just looked and can't find this feature.  How do I get to it?

[David Allred]

I just looked and can't find this feature.  How do I get to it?

Nevemind.  Found it online.

[David Winners]

I never knew that existed. That's amazing!

[Miguel Dahl]

That is I think generally accepted ‘best practice’, particularly when gaining up.  When gain has to come down, I am more inclined to do it mid song.

Indeed, that's one of the "crisis" situations i also wrote, like if it's clipping, or is just way to low, or way to loud. Because if something sounds way to loud or way to quiet, it's not correct and probably is too loud or quiet in monitors as well and just has to be fixed right away with the gain pot.

[ProSoundWeb Community]