Most of my experience came from Theatre in college and then live mixing shows once I got a real theatre gig. SJCC does have a great setup. I think Little Joe y La Familia won a Grammy for an album recorded there.
We didn't win a Grammy, but the album we recorded there came out great production-wise. Les has a great ear as a producer, and it didn't hurt that I was the co-engineer on it. :grin: Gotta say that tesseract couldnt be more wrong. You may *think* you can learn everything you need to know online to become a good engineer...but there is a HUGE difference in theoretically knowing how the expensive gear works and actually getting your hands on it in a real world situation. I had the advantage of doing over 10 years of live sound reinforcement before I went in to learn how a studio really works, and even I learned a *****-ton from the classes. There is no substitute for great instructors and a kickass learning environment.
Except a kickass learning environment in a real world working situation. Unfortunately in this industry those are few and far between (as are those willing to starve long enough to gain the knowledge). Schools have their place - but there is no substitute for hands on real world experience. Your comments about learning on the internet are very accurate. You can read volumes on certain topics and not be any closer to understanding those than when you started if it isn't mated with hands on experience. For example: dynamics processing.
ya rudy left. then they hired the recording dude who got a degree from Full Sail..he had no clue what he was doing. they let him...so some other dude runs it. gosh it sounds like crap. all i hear is the hihats. the whole system sounds quiet now..someone please turn it up a little bit so i can hear it. i guess thats what they are going for now with the whole electronic drumset and all. Do you know Justin or Jerin? see above
Yeah, Me and Rudy like our mixes thick and juicy (swoly ). I like to make people feel the music during P&W. To each his own but I have a feeling it's the Pastors preference. I know Justin. He's good people. Smart guy.
drummers and bassists used to love it when I mixed for their bands, I always make sure they get their due space in the mix. Alot of live sound guys pay more attention on the guitars and vocals but as a bass player, it doesnt sound right to me if things arent more properly balanced. I think they are just too lazy to properly mike up a kit and ensure it doesnt override the rest of the mix.
I'm a drummer myself so I'm with 2K when it comes to dealing with live sound. Some people just like to set it and forget it but I always start with a GREAT sounding drum kit. Beta 52 and sometimes even a 57 inside for attack. I feel it's all about making a foundation and that's what your D&B are. You can always float your guitars and keys while mixing and manipulate but If your drums sound like **** then it's like spraying cologne on a bum. You know how to musicians see music when you have to run monitors for them. Talk about the strangest requests. I love talking mixes though. It's a little nerdy but oh well
you and me both buddy. it always starts with drums. bass and drums are the meat and potatoes of a mix. they bring emotion and energy to a mix. the problem is most people dont know how to mic a kit and compress it. too many people are worried cranking up guitar solos..
AFAIC, there is no better all around mic than a 57, as long as you know what you are doing you can record damn near anything with a SM57.
The 57 is a workhorse on any source. Mated with the proper mic pre (in respect to input impedance) and they can be downright magical. The SM7 being another step above in universal use. No better all around mic in my opinion, even better than the SM57. Live sound is all dictated by the room and the band's stage volume, so while most start with the drums when mixing it isn't always the best idea. I typically start with the vocal, depending on the style of music, and then once those limitations are known work on building the mix around that element. When I say "bass and drum solo" I mean it. That is typically where most mixes end up when I show up to a show with an inexperienced operator.
The bit about stage voluem is very true....that is something I always had a hard time getting across to most rock musicians...they are used to having their amps blasting so it doesnt feel right to alot of them to have it turned down. I gotta disagree about where to start, but when you work with alot of metal acts like I have over the years, getting that bottom end clean and clear is of utmost importance. Im sure your mileage varies.
It certainly does. And there are no rules other than "if it sounds good it is good". For metal and punk I would typically take the same methodology as you simply because the vocals are not the most important part of the mix in most of those cases. Stage volume is something that most musicians will never understand, unfortunately. For example: If a decent stage monitoring system exists it is much better for a guitar player to use a low wattage amp that he can crank up and get some tone out of and let the monitors fill in what additional volume he may need. That way the room sound doesn't have to compete with his/her amplifier in order to achieve a decent mix. The more control you can give to a qualified sound guy/gal the better off the audience is going to be. I personally like to use a Princeton Reverb with a 57 and let the monitors help me out when I need it. I can get amazing tone without being a detriment to the FOH engineer and all he has to do is deal with whatever yahoo on stage can't control his volume - but at least I'm not part of the problem. It is much easier to play when everyone can hear each other - and even better if you are playing with musicians who actually listen (of which there are astonishingly few). If you ever get a chance to check out the SM7 go for it. It is like a sexy SM57 and just as versatile. Probably one of the best dynamic microphones ever created. Domo, Mr. Roboto
As an aside - that is also one way a live sound engineer can give the musicians a helping hand in respect to stage volume. If you have a deaf bass or guitar player that can't control his volume, and he is killing your ability to mix properly for the room, use the monitors to fold it back at him until he has to turn down on stage and give you room to work. When he asks you to turn down his instrument in the monitors you ask him to turn down his instrument on stage. He may not like it due to his tone suffering by his ability to not use his (4x) 4x12 cabs and two 100w marshall heads to their potential, but close micing the cabinet and feeding it back to him will give him some low end thunk from the proximity affect which will help beef up his tone some to compensate. Won't do much for gain though. What good is it for the guitar player to have excellent tone at the expense of the overall mix of the music anyway?
i don't get why guitar players buy these expensive heavy huge amps to use at level 2. then they complain to me when i ask them to turn it down because they can't use the amp to its fullest extent. now their new idea is to put the amps off stage but still crank it up. we don't have in-ears yet and probably wont due to irresponsible people. which way do you guys turn the amp towards in a medium sized room with only wedges?
They buy those amplifiers because they don't know any better and think they are going to be playing in an arena next week. Off stage doesn't help much. You can turn it around to face the back wall if it is a closed back cab, but that still is going to have limited affect and the player isn't going to be any happier unless you can supplement with stage monitoring. The best advice I can give is understand the inverse square law as with most of these types of problems the solutions, as well as the problems, lie within. The inverse square law is your friend and your enemy - understand how this relates to live sound audio and things start to become much clearer and solutions appear. It is hard to convince young players that they would probably be able to get better tone on stage with an overdriven 5 watt amp with an 8" speaker mic'ed up with the monitors doing the work than they will with their 100 watter and 4x12 cab. Power tube distortion is where it's at. Just ask Jim Kelley... Domo, Mr Roboto
