DCAs versus Stereo Masters

rochem

Well-Known Member
Hey guys,

I had an interesting discussion with a touring A1 the other day that kinda threw me. She was touring with a Yamaha PM5D on a Broadway-style musical tour, and she had DCA 8 permanently designated as the Band fader in all the scenes. On shows I've done, we route the band into one of the Stereo faders to the right of the DCAs, which frees up another DCA for vocal mics. When I mentioned this to the A1, she said that there's something different about the way DCAs and the Stereo faders fade levels such that you don't want to be doing that. I know that the DCAs don't get routed, but just in terms of fading levels, are DCAs and the Stereo masters the same?
 
I know that the DCAs don't get routed, but just in terms of fading levels, are DCAs and the Stereo masters the same?
That depends on how the DCAs are assigned. DCAs are simply controls, they control other faders. You could have just the Stereo A and/or Stereo B fader(s) assigned to DCA 8, in which case there should be no real difference since the DCA would only affect the stereo bus fader. However, you could have multiple channels or mix buses assigned to DCA 8 such that instead of affecting the stereo mix it affects the channels assigned to the stereo mix and/or a number of mix and matrix outputs.
 
The channels are still assigned to the stereo main outs and the DCA just controls how much of the level is sent. This is one of the differences between a DCA and a subgroup. Another huge difference is that the DCA controls the aux/matrix sends as well. I will often use DCA 8 as a band control as well, especially in places where it's likely someone will complain about the volume level. This allows me to being down the overall volume without effecting the vocals.
 
I don't think I'm being clear enough, so I'll try again. In this example, nothing is plugged into the Stereo A/B outputs - the fader(s) act only as another handle. For example, lets say Vocals come from Mix 1 and Band comes from Mix 2. I can route all of the band inputs directly to the Stereo fader, then route the Stereo fader to Mix 2, and output it from there. Then I can route all of the Vocal inputs directly to Mix 1, and regulate the levels sent to the mix via the DCAs. But when I fade the Stereo master fader, will the levels all fade proportionally in the same way that they will do so on a DCA?
 
I don't think I'm being clear enough, so I'll try again. In this example, nothing is plugged into the Stereo A/B outputs - the fader(s) act only as another handle. For example, lets say Vocals come from Mix 1 and Band comes from Mix 2. I can route all of the band inputs directly to the Stereo fader, then route the Stereo fader to Mix 2, and output it from there. Then I can route all of the Vocal inputs directly to Mix 1, and regulate the levels sent to the mix via the DCAs. But when I fade the Stereo master fader, will the levels all fade proportionally in the same way that they will do so on a DCA?
So are you simply via inserts patching the Stereo bus faders in place of Mix bus pot level controllers? I would guess that instead of adjusting the overall level of a "band" mix bus they were assigning all the band input channels to DCA 8 then controlling the assigned channel levels as a group via DCA 8. That way as you adjust the "band" levels with DCA 8 you are actually adjusting the channel faders and thus not just the one mix bus overall level but also any post fade sends for the assigned channels.
 
Hey guys,

I had an interesting discussion with a touring A1 the other day that kinda threw me. She was touring with a Yamaha PM5D on a Broadway-style musical tour, and she had DCA 8 permanently designated as the Band fader in all the scenes. On shows I've done, we route the band into one of the Stereo faders to the right of the DCAs, which frees up another DCA for vocal mics. When I mentioned this to the A1, she said that there's something different about the way DCAs and the Stereo faders fade levels such that you don't want to be doing that. I know that the DCAs don't get routed, but just in terms of fading levels, are DCAs and the Stereo masters the same?

This has also been how it's done on the two Broadway-style musical tours I've done, and I've been led to believe that it's basically a standard thing. (My current show has ten VCAs, so the band is #10, but same idea. We also always have the band reverb on #9 and the vocal reverb on #8.) Routing/fading-wise, as has been brought up by Brad, the DCA/VCA will also control any post-fader aux sends on those channels. I think that if you're only assigning the channels to the mix, moving the mix fader instead of the DCA/VCA would be basically the same, in the same way that if you only had one channel assigned to the mix you would experience similar results if you move the channel fader or if you move the mix fader.

There might also be a physical layout advantage, as the mix faders might be differently positioned than the DCA section and it may be beneficial to be able to move the band fader at the same time as other faders with the same hand.

Kevin McCoy
 
I don't think I'm being clear enough, so I'll try again. In this example, nothing is plugged into the Stereo A/B outputs - the fader(s) act only as another handle. For example, lets say Vocals come from Mix 1 and Band comes from Mix 2. I can route all of the band inputs directly to the Stereo fader, then route the Stereo fader to Mix 2, and output it from there. Then I can route all of the Vocal inputs directly to Mix 1, and regulate the levels sent to the mix via the DCAs. But when I fade the Stereo master fader, will the levels all fade proportionally in the same way that they will do so on a DCA?


If I understand your question correctly you are asking:
"Is routing a bunch of channels to [STEREO A] (forgetting where stereo is routed to) the same as routing the same channels to a DCA?"
The answer is no.
[STEREO A] in this case will act like a mix bus master and not a DCA. Since it is not a DCA, the levels sent to any post fader mixes (on the channels assigned to [STEREO A]) will not be adjusted (as stated above).

Hope this helps...
 
This has also been how it's done on the two Broadway-style musical tours I've done, and I've been led to believe that it's basically a standard thing.

Same for my last tour, and most every show I've had a hand programming. Fairly safe to say it's a fairly standard thing for musicals.
 
Same for my last tour, and most every show I've had a hand programming. Fairly safe to say it's a fairly standard thing for musicals.

It's definitely a standard thing. The reason I brought it up is that, at least on the PM5D, the two Stereo faders are JUST to the right of the DCAs, so assuming that DCAs and Stereo Masters acted the same, it would be a great idea to throw the Band on a Stereo fader and then you have one extra DCA for vocals. But this makes a lot of sense. Thanks guys.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back