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.
