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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => LAB Lounge => Topic started by: Blair Waterous on May 11, 2011, 09:03:45 PM
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Hey guys,
I was in R/E/P with the same questions, and they were loads of help. They also suggested I come here.
So..
I'm new-ish to the sound industry. I work at a few clubs in my town, I've been learning the ropes since October, and have come quiet far. But my boss is leaving me in charge more and more. And in September, I take over as head/only Sound Tech for the clubs.
My problem, I haven't developed my ears as much as I'd like.
My 1st official mix was decent. No feed back (I never get feedback, my boss trained me well on that aspect). People danced, so it must have sounded half decent. But I wasn't satisfied with my mix. The Vocals were muddied by the guitar. The guitar didn't cut as much as I'd like it. And I think the Bluemax Compressor I was using killed the Kick drum.
So I'm looking for any advice, tips, or tricks that will develop my ears and help with my EQ. And any pointers on mixing.
*To update myself on here* I've gained a better understanding of how Compressors work. Haven't put it into practice yet. I've also gained a little more understanding of EQ. But I'm still challenged by it.
Thanks guys :)
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Hey guys,
I was in R/E/P with the same questions, and they were loads of help. They also suggested I come here.
So..
I'm new-ish to the sound industry. I work at a few clubs in my town, I've been learning the ropes since October, and have come quiet far. But my boss is leaving me in charge more and more. And in September, I take over as head/only Sound Tech for the clubs.
My problem, I haven't developed my ears as much as I'd like.
My 1st official mix was decent. No feed back (I never get feedback, my boss trained me well on that aspect). People danced, so it must have sounded half decent. But I wasn't satisfied with my mix. The Vocals were muddied by the guitar. The guitar didn't cut as much as I'd like it. And I think the Bluemax Compressor I was using killed the Kick drum.
So I'm looking for any advice, tips, or tricks that will develop my ears and help with my EQ. And any pointers on mixing.
*To update myself on here* I've gained a better understanding of how Compressors work. Haven't put it into practice yet. I've also gained a little more understanding of EQ. But I'm still challenged by it.
Thanks guys :)
Fail..... REAL NAMES NEEDED in this Forum
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Hi Blair, one of the best things you can do is put some favorite tracks on, insert a 1/3 oct eq. and listen, listen, listen, while playing around w/ the eq. Before long you will begin to be able to think of tone in terms of frequency. I use headphones to keep from bothering everyone, and to eliminate any arival time/phase error/room acoustic issues. If you get really good at this and can fix cable and noise problems you can work regularly in live sound for years
Best of luck!
Chuck
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Hey guys,
I was in R/E/P with the same questions, and they were loads of help. They also suggested I come here.
So..
I'm new-ish to the sound industry. I work at a few clubs in my town, I've been learning the ropes since October, and have come quiet far. But my boss is leaving me in charge more and more. And in September, I take over as head/only Sound Tech for the clubs.
My problem, I haven't developed my ears as much as I'd like.
My 1st official mix was decent. No feed back (I never get feedback, my boss trained me well on that aspect). People danced, so it must have sounded half decent. But I wasn't satisfied with my mix. The Vocals were muddied by the guitar. The guitar didn't cut as much as I'd like it. And I think the Bluemax Compressor I was using killed the Kick drum.
So I'm looking for any advice, tips, or tricks that will develop my ears and help with my EQ. And any pointers on mixing.
*To update myself on here* I've gained a better understanding of how Compressors work. Haven't put it into practice yet. I've also gained a little more understanding of EQ. But I'm still challenged by it.
Thanks guys :)
Fail..... REAL NAMES NEEDED in this Forum
Fail, capslock, Fail, you are discouraging the person that will take over when you retire.
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Fail..... REAL NAMES NEEDED in this Forum
Fail, capslock, Fail, you are discouraging the person that will take over when you retire.
Hello,
there's a few conditions of posting on this site, the most overlooked condition for new posters, is that one must use their real name. I thought it better to reply in some manner than to see this post deleted as others in the past have.
Now...to the original post... There are plenty of books and articles in regards to developing a mix. Take notice of the borders of this site , and you'll see an ad for a book on Mixing Techniques. James Yakabuski wrote a book some years back, more of a road diary, but has a ton of good information. (How he layered a mix) There's dozens of posts here and in the "fud" on "mixing techniques", or "getting a mix".
Developing the ears... as Chuck Clark posted...play with the gear, get a sense of how it changes the sound. There is a site that was posted in the "fud" that was a tone generator and the user would pick the correct frequency....maybe some other poster can recall the post's information....?
These things can help develop a knowledge of frequencies, but, the best method is by observing while actually doing. Sometimes...it is difficult because of room surroundings or the complexity of the music to determine an exact frequency that may be feeding back. This can be helped by hands-on experience.
Cheers,
Hammer
ps. I'm semi-retired now and only take a few mix gigs a year.
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My 1st official mix was decent. No feed back (I never get feedback, my boss trained me well on that aspect). People danced, so it must have sounded half decent. But I wasn't satisfied with my mix. The Vocals were muddied by the guitar. The guitar didn't cut as much as I'd like it.
That's a good start. Not liking your mix is actually a very good sign.
And I think the Bluemax Compressor I was using killed the Kick drum.
Where was the compressor patched, over the whole mix?
So I'm looking for any advice, tips, or tricks that will develop my ears and help with my EQ. And any pointers on mixing.
*To update myself on here* I've gained a better understanding of how Compressors work. Haven't put it into practice yet. I've also gained a little more understanding of EQ. But I'm still challenged by it.
Try Harman's How to Listen (http://harmanhowtolisten.blogspot.com/) software.
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Try Harman's How to Listen (http://harmanhowtolisten.blogspot.com/) software.
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+1
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Thanks guys.
Patrick: I had 2 Bluemax compressors. 1 was on the Kick drum channel. The other on my vocals subgroup (Comp and boost type set up)
Charlie: I will definitely start reading more of my mixing books. I know what i've read so far has put a lot of ideas in my head. And taught me a lot about how to properly use certain pieces of equipment.
I'll keep working hard. Much appreciated guys :)
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here's the simple feedback trainer software...
http://sft.sourceforge.net/
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here's the simple feedback trainer software...
http://sft.sourceforge.net/
Awesome,
Thanks man
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Patrick: I had 2 Bluemax compressors. 1 was on the Kick drum channel. The other on my vocals subgroup (Comp and boost type set up)
I tend to be conservative with compression in live mixes for a number of reasons. On kick I may set it as a limiter but with a high threshold just to keep the odd peak down but not to alter the rest of the dynamics, more of a safety net than a process meant to be heard. If you feel driven to compress the kick a lot you may need more rig than you've got.
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I tend to be conservative with compression in live mixes for a number of reasons. On kick I may set it as a limiter but with a high threshold just to keep the odd peak down but not to alter the rest of the dynamics, more of a safety net than a process meant to be heard. If you feel driven to compress the kick a lot you may need more rig than you've got.
It wasn't so much that I wanted to squeeze the kick drum to nothing. I think it was more the Bluemax compressor itself, because it was running on a preset.
And I've learned through trial and error to use Compressors more as a safety nets too. I find it makes thing.. less bright? Or thats what I was getting out of my Comps.