Microphones Couple Problems | Dress Tonight

[SteveMcQueen]

Howdy everyone, new guy here.

I have spent the past 2 days on here and the interwebs and can't find exactly the answer I'm looking for.

Details are in my signature.

1.) Gain on mic pack: PGX have a wheel gain right on the pack. This show has the mostly vocally untrained performers whispering, talking, singing, yelling, & screaming. Through the Tech Rehersals, I have had the gain on the pack about 30%, and i crank up the gain at the board, and ride the faders low with the master output a tad low. The director don't want the actors amplified to much on the dialog, but just there for support, and boost them up for the songs. Muted Piano, harp, and guitar is the band at stage right. With this current setup, there isn't much gain, when they are singing, barely hits 30 on the meter, see below.

The end of the big tunes , most actors hit 18 or 12, and the screams sometimes clip, but i mute the mics for that, so I'm not worried about that. Anyway, what should the gain structure be. I have a recording background, so i would add a little compression, and then add the gain, leaving faders at 0. But should the meter peak at singing level, and what should I set the gain on the actual mic pack at? So actors or a lot louder than others, so should i compensate the gain at the board or the mic pack.

2.) Compression: What is the appropriate compression on the Vox. I compress each channel separately. This is my default on my board.

Anyway, since I'm just there for support, I'm thinking more compression is better, but what ratio?

3.) Mic Check: I have never done a mic check with actors before. What is the protocol? Each one is in the space, talks and sings? Have then say a few of their lines and sing a chorus or two? I then adjust the gain, make any adjustments to mic placement? And who puts on the mics. The the tech rehearsals they have been doing them themselves, since this a traveling show, they all know where they want it, and for the most part it has worked. Also are they in costume for Mic Check? I'm sure it depends and there are no hard fast rules like this, but this is my first time in this environment, so any and all advice would be most greatly appreciated. Also any other suggestions about anything would be great. Thank you very much.

 

[DaveySimps]

You are asking a lot here, so I am going to just take a stab at some of this to get the ball rolling and, hopefully, help you on your way. Unfortunately there is no right or wrong answer to most of your questions about compression and gain. There are 1000 different ways to go about it, all with countless variables. You are correct about sound check with the actors. Each one should check their mic in the space once they have warmed up their voice. Setting a level for speaking lines, and singing with the band is a good start. I always ask them to wear any head pieces, hats, or costume pieces that could effect mic placement, or interfere with the sound of the mic, so we can make sure they are placed appropriately.

If it were me, I'd like to have more gain control on the board side, not the transmitter. If the transmitter is peaking out, it is much more difficult to adjust during a performance than it is to adjust the gain on the board. Keep an eye on your receivers and make sure you transmitter gain is not too low, or distorting before it gets to the board. The huge variation in signal you are experiencing is, unfortunately, not all that uncommon for musical theatre. That is one of the many elements that makes mixing a musical such a unique challenge. Mixing a musical is a VERY active process. To be successful, you are constantly riding faders to make things sound as natural as possible. Certainly avoid peaking at the channel at all costs. It is really less about what the readings are on the board (to an extent) and more about how the end result sounds to your ears.

I hope some of this is helpful. Good luck! If you are still having issues, giving us some more specific information would help us help you.

~Dave

 

[SteveMcQueen]

Thanks Dave. Rehearsal was fine tonight. Mic check was fine, and all sounded well. I just played by ear for the compression, saw who yelled louder, and was more reserved. In general, I used a lot of compression, some was more of a limiter. Since I shouldn't be consciously amplifying the dialogue, the huge amount of compression helped a great deal. This will allow me to fine tune when i ride the faders, instead of being all over the place. Just have to learn the show a little bit more and it will all work out. I also added a tad of plate verb. This filled things out in the small theatre.

I think tonight I thought about it from a music recording stand point. In my head, I have tried to detach my process, really trying to forget everything I know about music recording. Well i just used my instincts, and it worked fine. And I fell into the trap recording as well, that I mix and master with my eyes. The audience/listener can't see the meters, or the gain structure. If it sounds good, it sounds good, and bad is bad.

Anyway, thanks for the help Dave. Just really thinking out loud there.

Cheers,

Steve

 

[DaveySimps]

Glad it was helpful. I hope the rest of the run goes well. Something to keep in mind, the meters read outs on a lot of digital boards are a bit different than on analogue boards. What you are seeing visually on a screen for an EQ might actually look more drastic than what you would be doing on an analogue board. Also, gain structure is a bit different too. In the analogue domain, you can run into the read a bit and just get a different sound (some even use this as a technique to get a different sound in some cases). In the digital world, peaking is terrible and sounds terrible. It is always best to let your ears be the final judge in the digital realm, not your eyes. Just food for thought for others who might read this as well.

~Dave

 

[SteveMcQueen]

Definitely. I like to think of it in a compression/limiter metaphor. Digital is like a limiter. Nothing is above 0. You hit a wall, and it hurts, it chops off the top of the waveform, breaking the waveform, and starting again when the level comes below 0. One of the hang ups with using just 1 & 0. Or think of it as if there are 24 bits, it's 24 bits. There is never a 25th bit.

Back to the metaphor, analog is compression, there is a little room left after 0, doesnt just brickwall. Just realized that wasn't the best metaphor, but it still sounds kinda cool. Anyway, yes I know 0 dB is 0dB. And that's it. Really just +1 to your comment, and stressing again to not clip. That's about rule #1.