basics of mixing live sound mixing with greg hill avgenius.com copyright © 2011 av genius, llc

Basics of MixingBasics of MixingLive Sound Mixing

with Greg Hill

AVGenius.com

Copyright © 2011 AV Genius, LLC www.AVGenius.com

Who Are We ?

• Who is this Guy ?• Tell me about You• You are a Servant• Tech and Worship Teams have the same goal• Act like a Team• What is Your Job ?• Make Disciples.


What is Sound ?

• It’s a mechanical wave of pressure• It’s Energy transported by air• Similar to light waves, except in a vacuum• Hertz = 1 complete vibration per second• The Speed of Sound is around 1115 ft/sec• Calculate Wavelengths using speed• Mind Blower: What does sound do when

reaching an obstacle ?Copyright © 2011 AV Genius, LLC www.AVGenius.com

Microphones

• Mic Patterns Cardioid Super or hyper-cardioid Omni Figure 8

• Mic Types Dynamic Condensor Electret Condensor Ribbon


Microphones - 2

• Lapel (Lav or Lavalier)• Wired vs. Wireless• Inverse Square Law

Doubling the distance from a sound causes the SPL to fall by 6 db, or 4 times

75 % less energy Critical to knowing mic placement How close a mic is to a sound is the most important

thing when placing it. (Blasphemy, I know)


Mic Placement

• Good Mic Technique Know your mic Patterns Remember the Inverse Square Law How to Hold/Place a Vocal Mic Lav and Headworn position Drum Mics DI When Possible


Mixer Setup

• Organize from the Bottom Up• Vocal/Speakers at your Fingertips• Use Group Faders

What is a Group Fader ? Group sets of Mics that need to be adjusted together

• Drums• Backup Singers• The Band• Horns• Percussion


Sound Check Basics

• Start by Setting Levels Check one instrument at a time Musicians: Watch where the sound team is…

Don’t play your best powerchord when their head is in front of your amp !

• Go from the Bottom Up• Do Vocals Last• Musicians/Speakers: Use a range of styles• Make sure to check ALL instruments and voices


Mixing Basics

• What is a Good Mix ? You hear everything Clear Separation of all parts from each other Nothing “Sticks Out” - unless it’s supposed to No Frequency Range “Sticks Out” Smooth, Balanced, and not Irritating You can Clearly Hear the Vocals If It Sounds Good, It IS Good.

• Vocals are the Most Important• The Low End is Where it’s At !


Mixing Basics - 2

• Why Do You Mix ? Amplifying Music/Speech has changed everything You’re trying to make every instrument have it’s own

Space You’re trying to Separate Each Sound from the Others You’re Forcing a Stage Full of Separation through a

Couple of Small Points (Your PA speakers) You’re Trying to Contain the Dynamic Range


Mixing Basics - 3

• The 4 Ways to Get Separation Volume

• Can’t separate many instruments/voices• Can’t separate similar sounding instruments

EQ• The Most Effective and important• Gives each instrument it’s own musical space• Can remove “low end clutter” to reveal instruments

Panning• Only valid in stereo or surround PA• Yours is probably mono - and should be


Mixing Basics - 4

• The 4 Ways to Get Separation - cont. Effects

• Use Reverb and Delay to add space and Depth More effect moves sound “further back” Less effect or none brigs sound forward

• Limited effect in live spaces• Less effective than the other methods


Live Event Issues

• Feedback What is Feedback ? You should be able to hear it happening Mic Placement and Types Monitors can be a primary cause Sometimes a System Setup Issue that needs Outside Help

• SPL Meter Every Church should have one. Weighting (A and C), Speed (Slow and Fast)

• How Loud is Loud enough ? Or Too Loud ? Try to keep the music in the low 90 dBC range – or Lower? Speakers and Pastors around 75 dBA is usually good.


Questions, Questions

• Q&A• AV Genius Amplify SPECIAL • Churches - $ 249.99

Good until July 2012 Hi-def, multiple logins

• Individual - $ 99.99 Good until July 2012 standard-def, single login


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