LS9 Routing Techniques and Ideas - the ins and omni-outs

Hello again fellow audiophiles, ready for some more fun with the LS9?  I was hoping so.  In this installment we’ll tackle a bit of routing and show some possible solutions to situations that popup while mixing corporate events.  First we need to get our terminology on the same level.  Let’s start with some Digital Mixer vocabulary to get us all up to speed.

Now that we have some groundwork laid down, let’s start putting it to good use.  I’m going to layout some scenarios and give an explanation of possible scenarios that would provide a solution.

DISCLAIMER… I am only making suggestions here, so don’t get your faders in a bunch if I don’t do it EXACTLY the same way you do it, this is theory, not a rule book.  Please send all hate mail correspondence to…Chilloutman@itsnotthatserious.com

Thanks.

REMEMBER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE STEREO MASTER FADER IS DOWN BEFORE YOU RECEIVE SIGNAL FROM ANY SOURCE!!!!!!

Scenario #1

You’re mixing for XYZ Distribution Company at their semi-annual sales seminar series workshop. (Yes, that’s a lot of S’s and I did that on purpose.)  You’ve got 2 presenters on stage with 4 Q&A mics in the audience.  The presenters need to hear the questions but not each other.  You’re also taking pre-recorded questions from a video shot earlier in the day.

Possible solution:

Create a mix-minus that contains the 4 Q&A mics and the sound from the video feed.  Then route that through a Mix on the console, post fader so that any mutes or level changes you make will be reflected in what the presenters hear.

You can accomplish this by bringing up the MASTER FADER LAYER on the console and assigning a MIX to an omni out that is feeding the foldback speakers on stage.

After you’ve done that go back to the input fader level and double tap the button that corresponds to the MIX number you just setup.  (These are just off the left hand side of the display.)  See it flashing, this is called “flip to fader mode” one of my favorite modes on the LS9.  Make sure the flashing button is the same mix that you routed to the desired omni earlier and bring up the faders on the desired channels. 

Voila!! You’ve just created a fold back mix.  You also want to make sure that these are set to POST FADE, you can do this by touching the ENTER button while the mix button is flashing and using the wheel to highlight ALL POST in the top right hand corner of the window, then press enter again. 

Note: The LS9 defaults to pre-fade, so if you are starting your programming from factory default, you will need to set your mix to post-fade.

Here’s a picture to help you navigate this area.

Scenario #2

You’re designing a system for Conglomerates Unlimited in a 2000 seat dome in Minneapolis.  You need to cover an area 200’ deep and 130’ wide.  You have a line array for the mains, front fills across the edge of the stage and delay lines about 140’ back into the room.  You also need to route signal to subs for some rockin’ tuneage they have in a video playback for the CEO.

Possible Solution

I use the matrix in this situation, since you will not need a mix-minus, and it has a “set it and forget it” quality that leaves you with all of your MIX sends available for record feeds, green room playback and such.  I would also setup an independent omni out for each bank of speakers so you can exercise both delay and volume control over each “zone”.

Start by labeling your outputs in the MASTER FADER LAYER for MATRIX 1 through 3 (The sub is going on a separate fader so don’t get ahead of me!) Matrix 1 will be our Mains, 2 our front fills and 3 the delay speakers.  While you’re in there select a patch point, I like to use start with omni 1 for matrix 1 and so on.  Keep a notepad handy and write these down, it will make the next couple of steps a lot easier and faster.  That should take care of the primary speakers.  Now we turn our attention to an oft forgotten ally in the audio onslaught, I’m referring to the subs.  The method I use for feeding subs entails using the MONO fader on the MASTER FADER LAYER.  (It’s just to the left of the red stereo fader, says MONO on the labels underneath it.)  Select the Mono fader and set your patch point like you did for the Matrix section, for instance omni 4.

Now that we’ve got everything wired together it’s time to do some mixing.  From the MASTER FADER LAYER, double tap the MATRIX 1 button to “flip to fader” the sends.  I like to route through the stereo fader since you have an easy visual reference in input fader mode as to what is routed there, and then to your matrix.  So grab the Stereo Fader and set it to unity.  Hit the Select button on the Stereo fader and move that fader to unity.  Repeat this step for MATRIX 2 and 3, this tells the console that you want to send signal FROM the stereo bus TO the Matrix.  While you’re on the MASTER FADER LAYER go ahead and turn up the MONO fader to about -15.  Now navigate back to the INPUT FADER LAYER and let’s do some mixing.

Let’s start at the video playback that I mentioned earlier. Select the channel and you’ll notice two buttons near the pan knob on the screen.  Select both of those, this will tell the channel that it needs to hit the Stereo fader and Mono fader.  Voila!! You should be hearing something now, but it probably doesn’t sound right. Here’s why, you need to set delay times for your mains and delays based on their distances from the front fills.  May need to do this for the subs also.

“Sounds great Joe, but how do I do that?!?!”

I’m glad you asked…

Under the SETUP menu you’ll see SYSTEM SETUP tab.  In that tab you’ll see OUTPUT PORT SETUP and a button for OMNI 1-8. Select OMNI 1-8.  That will display a menu like this…

Select OMNI 1-8 then you’ll see this window…

Set it to feet on the top of the menu and highlight DELAY, then select each knob and turn it to the desired distance.  Remember you want to start your measurements from the box closest to the back stage area.  For instance if your front fill are on, or in line with the lip of the stage that is your “zero” point (your line of speakers the does not require delay).  If your subs are 3 feet in front of them your delay time on the subs will be 3 feet (make sure to measure from the front of your “zero” speaker to the front of the next speaker in line).  Then your will measure from your “zero” line to the next set… perhaps your main stripe of line array… then from “zero” to your delays.  This will give you the same reference point for every zone of speakers you are using.  Remember also when you delay sound you are not just bringing the actual sound into alignment, you are bringing the speakers phase into alignment as well, this is a subject requiring its own set of articles, so suffice to say, if you think 3 feet will not make a difference in sound quality… think again.  That sounds way better now, right? Now that you’re hearing sound from all the boxes you can adjust their levels from the MASTER FADER LAYER.

 If you’re one of the really cool people, you’ve read my article on wireless control of the LS9 and you can walk around the venue and adjust your levels. You haven’t read my other article?!?!?! Ok fine, scroll down when you “get some downtime” and you can read how it's done wether you have a PC or a Mac.

Application time

Now that you’ve seen a practical application of some techniques let me tell you a little about why they work.

Using a Mix-Minus approach to Scenario #1.

It’s called Mix-Minus because it’s the mix minus an element or two.  Since you can’t normally send lavs or podium mics to a stage monitor (Because of dreaded FEEDBACK!!) this is a great technique to give the speaker on stage a way to hear and interact with the audience and make it look natural.  Plus the speaker doesn’t have to worry about straining to hear (or walking into your front fills), they already have a stage wash blinding them don’t give them anything else to stress out about.

Using the Matrix in Scenario #2

Using the Matrix is a fast and easy way to route and time align the Mains and Delays with the Front Fills.  In this instance it makes sense to setup the Matrix this way because it acts like a distribution amp. It’s taking a single source (The STEREO MASTER) and sending it to multiple outputs (MATRIX 1 – 3) while giving us independent level control of each output.  Plus it frees up all of the MIX outputs to be used for other sends that have different mix requirements.  (Fancy way of saying they want to hear different things and not be bothered with what’s happening in the PA.)

Well that’s about all I have to say about that, I hope you feel a little smarter and more confident about using the LS9. If you don’t then read it again!!!  Kidding, this can be some intense stuff if you’re not familiar with digital consoles.  If you have questions or just want to say hi, feel free to email me at joem@jsav.com.  I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, may your faders run true and compressors refrain from pumping.

Article by Joe McLellan

Audio Technician/Engineer

J&S Audio Visual

Show Services

Originally from Florida Joe moved to Texas 2006 after graduating from Full Sail in Winter Park, FL. He formed an interest in a technical career at the age of 15 after taking up the bass guitar, and came on full time at J&S in 2007. Besides his duties designing, engineering, and running corporate events for J&S Audio Visual Show Services division, in his free time he records for local musicians and podcasters. He is also a music hoarder and frequents local record shops for the latest in obscure bands and music.