Poll: Mixing Musicals

[Ben Stiegler]

"I try to change my levels as little as possible after sound check."

Two problems with that:

1) most of these shows have casts under the age of 15; their levels jump all over hell, all the time, even intra-show. Of course, my experience is that that's true of the adults, too, in the environment I work in.

2) my house has 3 *really nasty* resonant peaks; to get enough GBF for the actors to be audible, even with only 2 or 3 mics open, I have to ride the hairy edge of feedback; there's no way I can just pick a level and leave it there.

The corollary, which is an answer to someone else's comment back there: I'm overhire; if I quit in mid show, it's the last gig I'll do for the house, and they paid slightly more than half my bills last year.

Eliminator Perhaps investing in a few hundred dollar feedback eliminator black box for your personal eqpt locker would be worth the insurance factor it can provide. Not a substitute for mixing but an aid, just like tuning the house, LF roll off on vocal mics, and tweaking speaker alignment/ levels and adding front fills to avoid driving the mains so hot when they ha e coverage of downstage actor areas.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Where would I put that, on a desk with 16 mics coming in, and main, front-fill and stage-monitor auxes?

 

[Ben Stiegler]

If you have a vocal sub mix, insert it there, return from it to an aux or Sfx return - then you can gain stage to mains and front full. I would be cautious about sending vocal mics back to stage monitors in a theatrical / actors on the move situation. Usually the rhythm part of the band (piano, bass, maybe some drums). What’s your exact console model? Let’s figure out how to best do this.

also ... look for a used dbx driverack 2 or lake processor ... your house eq, delays / time alignment between front fill and mains can be done and locked in there AND it has feedback Elim function baked in also. Bit of a pain to set up but once dialed in, your console can just be used for mixing and eq relevant to specific actors, mics, and wigs.

DM me if u wanna chat
Ben

 

[Jay Ashworth]

I don't (and on an LS9-32, I don't think I easily can) and I'm just an overhire anyway; I can't stretch the install that far, I don't think.

Our processor is an Ashly, but I don't have control over that either.

 

[Ben Stiegler]

Looks like you could send the mics out a Matrix mix to an external feedback eliminator, and return via one of the stereo inputs (possibly with a y adapter. Then send that stereo line input to the mixes for main, fills, and stage mons.

 

[TimMc]

Jay, the words I'd like to use will be changed by the forum's Word Nanny (for those delicate sensibilities, of course!)... but essentially you're between the rock and the hard place. You're not able to deliver the quality of work you are capable of and it's frustrating. The client sets you up for failure and your employer is content to let the client do this to you.

I understand that this client represents a significant chunk of income for you personally and your shop. I'd set a price on my personal sanity and professionalism, and I'd insist on a "Dont mess with me" contract that directly acknowledges that you are a professional and you were hired specifically because of your experience and training. And walk if they don't adhere to it. Withholding services is the only option when push comes to shove, or you're stuck with the situation and knowing that you enabled the outcome.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Well, probably not significant; they're a 4 day rental, out of our 200ish active days a year.

But in practice, I told my supervisor "absolutely not", and explained why, and then proceded to do it correctly, and all was well.

 

[TimMc]

Well, probably not significant; they're a 4 day rental, out of our 200ish active days a year.

But in practice, I told my supervisor "absolutely not", and explained why, and then proceded to do it correctly, and all was well.

Jay, you're such a rogue!

Seriously, glad it was easy to work out. Sometimes I forget that "touch the knob and smile" is the better answer.

 

[JD]

Faders when they are on stage, mutes if they are off stage. As said before, line jumping happens enough that you don't want to take anyone totally out of the mix if they are onstage. I just back them way off, but leave enough so something comes through if they jump a line. Once they leave the stage, then mute. (don't want any bathroom activities to come through the mix.)

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Yeah, JD, if I'm getting good enough cues.

But they meant "set the levels at sound check and never touch them again; use mutes for all entrances and exits."

 

[MNicolai]

But they meant "set the levels at sound check and never touch them again; use mutes for all entrances and exits."

Ask and ye shall receive.

I was mixing monitors some number of years ago for a piano act with a band and backup vocalists. The pianist was the star of the show but lost his bananas during sound check when I put a small amount of his own vocals into his wedge. Demanded I not adjust his wedge at all unless he further instructed me to. Got to the last number where he's the lead vocalist. Pretty sure not a single note he sang was in-key but since he had been adamant earlier I kept my paws off the console and watched him belt out the last number before taking his bow and storming off stage.

Really unprofessional act. Singer/dancers were 20' upstage of their wedges complaining that they couldn't hear the piano in their monitors so their production manager watched over my shoulder the entire time relaying feedback from the vocalists as they would stream on/off stage. I just threw their mixes onto my cue wedge and let her listen for herself. She apologized for her performers but kept trying to give me notes. Sorry -- can't protect your people from themselves. Should've told us you needed side fills and done a proper sound check instead of having a water cooler break around the piano.

(channeling my inner @RonHebbard today with stories from the past.)