What is that SOUND? High School Auditorium Arrays

Last year I had to deliver wireless microphones to a local high school for their upcoming musical production. In the past they had some issues filling the entire auditorium with consistent sound and getting enough volume without feeding back. A few times I had provided them with speakers to use as front fills but this year they rented equipment to try in their space because they were going to renovate and wanted to see if the line arrays that would be installed with the new system would work properly. In addition to that, they rented lights as well.

The company they rented from came in and set everything up a few days before I arrived with the microphones. When I got to the auditorium, I immediately noticed the large box truss that was flown from the ceiling above the area in front of the stage. It hung just in front of the first row of seats and was where they had rigged many of the lights that they rented including some intelligent lights they used for effects.

I asked about the line arrays and was told they were hung in place of the old cabinets; in the coves in the wall on either side of the stage. The old speakers were typical 15" full range speakers that were installed into the wall and covered with a black thin material to match the walls and remain invisible to the audience. This is what the space looked like.

When I heard the news about the line arrays I was shocked. I couldn't believe that a professional company would have done this. I was told that the technician who installed the line arrays had done calculations with his computer program and determined that this setup would work well. I told the high school diector and the crew that this would never work and that their system now is worse than before and that a major change to this setup needed to take place in order to get the best sound possible. Keep in mind that we are using omni-directional body mics and that was something that the sound company would have known when they brought in their equipment. But rehearsal would need to go on anyway so the actors were mic'd up and on went the show.

It was painfully obvious throughout the rest of the day that my prediction had come true. So at the end of the day, we made the change necessary to give us the best sound possible and the show was a success.

What was the issue that was created with the new equipment and what do you think would be the change that we made to solve the problem? Go to our website to submit your evaluation. Click here if you need to download the picture of the stadium for a better view. Post any comments or questions that you may have, or email me. You never know, I may be feeling generous that day and offer some helpful advice. Good luck and have fun. We look forward to seeing your submissions!

What is that SOUND? Football Stadium

I was asked to evaluate a local high school's stadium sound system. They were getting a lot of complaints about inadequate sound and needed to find a solution quickly. When I arrived at the facility, I was met by the Athletic Director and escorted into the stadium. I immediately went out to the 50 yard line and looked to the press box to get a better view of the space. Here is what I saw:

Looking at the press box, I noticed 2 full range speakers on the roof spaced pretty evenly and directed out at the bleachers. On each end of the bleachers was a light pole with a speaker attached to it, directed back toward the bleachers. These speakers were all weather horns, not full range cabinets like the press box. The bleachers spanned almost the entire length of the football field; approximately 220-240 feet. The distance from each light pole to the press box was approximately 80-100 feet.

The opposite side of the field, which was at my back as I faced the press box, had only a small set of bleachers that appeared to be for the visiting marching band. There were no speakers on this side of the field, only the 2 main cabinets on top of the press box that were facing that direction.

As I stood at mid-field processing everything that I was looking at, I turned to the AD and said, " I don't even need to hear your system at all, I guarantee you I know what your biggest problem is". He was eager to hear my assessment. What was it? And what would be the solution?

Go to our website to submit your evaluation. Click here if you need to download the picture of the stadium for a better view. Post any comments or questions that you may have, or email me. You never know, I may be feeling generous that day and offer some helpful advice. Good luck and have fun. We look forward to seeing your submissions!

The first 2 correct submissions will receive a new Good Sound Studio T-shirt.

Remember: If it can't be heard, it can't be Good!

What is that SOUND?

This is a new segment of our blog that allows readers to find solutions to everyday problems that we encounter in our business. A situation will be described with just enough information provided that should allow you to identify what the significant problem is; provided you have some background in sound reproduction. Describe what the problem is in detail and then how it would be corrected. Some situations may have several possible problems and/or solutions while others may only have one.

Simply read the scenario and then click the link to complete the form and submit your evaluation and solution. At times there will be opportunities to win free stuff or receive special discounts. Have fun and lets see if we can figure out the answer to the ever perplexing question: "What is that SOUND?"

Running Sound for Houses of Worship: Keep It Simple!

If you are someone who is involved with running sound for your church then you know how hectic and chaotic it can be when several people have their hands on the sound board. Many churches have to rely on volunteers to handle this responsibility and while these folks truly have a desire to serve, they lack the basic fundamental skills required by sound technician to adequately provide quality service. And of course everyone has their own opinions about how to do things. So when you have 6 different people taking turns at the sound board, it can only lead to disaster!

But, it doesn't have to be that bad. With a little bit of time and attention to setting up the board correctly, you can greatly simplify things so that sound can be consistent from week to week. Here are a few tips that might save you some time and aggravation.

1. Set all channel volumes with the faders at Unity (0)
2. Turn up the Trim (Gain) until feedback and then back down to comfortable level
3. Make slight volume adjustments with fader if needed and then return to Unity
4. When system is sounding great, take pictures to record all parameters

Let me explain how this works and how it can save you some headaches. Setting all the channel volumes at Unity (the little 0 on the fader line) can be beneficial in a number of ways. First of all, having all the faders at one level is far less distracting to the engineer than looking at a board where the faders are all over the place. Second, it keeps things consistent from one engineer to the next because everyone will know that the level is where it should be. Third, it will eliminate a lot of confusion and expose those people who tend to get trigger happy with playing with the settings.

If the faders are at Unity, then adjusting the volume with the Trim (Gain) knob until the channel feeds back will let you know where your limit is. You never want to have to guess how much louder you can make the Pastor during their sermon. Once you get feedback and then back it down to a comfortable listening level, you now will the have the confidence that you can raise the fader to get more volume if you absolutely need it without making the congregation wrench in pain from the horrible squealing of feedback. This will help to keep things simpler for those at the board.

If some minor volume adjustments need to be made to mix some channels for any reason, do that with the faders and then return them to Unity. For example, if several handheld mics are being used for a music performance, you may need to adjust volumes to mix the sound well. That would mainly be because you would want harmonies to blend together well under the lead voice. But don't leave those channel faders there, put them back to Unity because that may not be the place for those channels every time they are used. Again, this keeps everything consistent from engineer to engineer, week to week. The less knobs and buttons have to be touched, the better off everyone will be.

Finally, if the system is sounding the way you want it and you are using an analog board that can't save settings, take some pictures that will show where everything is set. Its not a bad idea to print them out and have them somewhere that engineers can access them. Pictures don't lie and if the system sounded great with those settings, then it should continue to sound great without any changes.

As a sound engineer, I want to keep things as simple as I can. The less I have to think about something, the better. I use these methods every time I run sound and encourage others to do the same or something similar. Taking some time to set up your system this way will make everyone's job much easier and more enjoyable and allow the congregation to enjoy the service the way it was intended. Isn't that what we all want anyway?

Check us out on the web at www.goodsoundstudio.com for more ways to help your sound sound Good!

And remember:
If it can't be heard, it can't be Good!

New Powered Speakers from EV and Mackie

When QSC released their K Series line a few years ago, they revolutionized the way people thought about powered portable speakers. No longer was it necessary to build a 4', 80 lbs cabinet to get the performance that you wanted. Now it was possible to pack 1000W into a box not much bigger than a studio monitor. Well everyone knew that it wouldn't take long for other manufacturers to follow suit if they wanted to stay competitive in the portable speaker market.

At the winter NAMM show in Anaheim, CA this past January, Electro-Voice (EV) released their new line of speakers; the LIVE X series which includes both passive and powered boxes. The powered line consists of a 12" ELX112P and a 15" ELX115P speaker, both with 1000W Class D amplifier and an 18" subwoofer with a 700W Class D amplifier that is optimized for performance with both the ELX112P and ELX115P.

These speakers start at just $599 for the ELX112P and the 15" EPX115P is just $699. The 700W subwoofer sells for only $799 which provides customers with an incredibly affordable option when looking into a fully powered, portable sound system. These models will be shipping very shortly so get your order in today! But it doesn't end there.


Mackie introduced their powered High Definition (HD) line back in 2010. They had tremendous success with their SRM series of powered speakers but needed to update their line with more power and function. The result was the HD series that packs a whopping 1200-1800W into their cabinets ranging from 12"-15" speakers and 15"-18" subwoofers. You have to see and hear these things to actually believe it!

The HD1221 and the HD1501 are 12" and 15" respectively and both offer 1200W of power. The 1221 is a full range, 2-way loudspeaker and the 1501 is a compatible 15" subwoofer. They start at $799 for the HD1221 and the sub goes for a mere $849.
Moving up the line to the HD1521 sees an increase in power rating with this baby packing 1600W. The neodymium woofers and compression drives with heat-treated titanium diaphragms are consistent with this line of speakers and deliver unsurpassed clarity, quality and power previously unseen in such a small cabinet.

The HD1531 steps up to a 3-way, 1800W speaker that sells for $1200. The 1521 goes for just $999. They also have an HD1801 18", 1600W subwoofer and an HDA 12 high powered line array to complete the series that sell for $999 and $1699 respectively. Never before has power and portability been so affordable!

Give us a call today at 1-888-346-0085 to order your Mackie HD speakers.   

And remember:
If it can't be heard, it can't be Good!

QSC System for a new Mad Mex restaurant.

I've just completed a design for a sound distribution system that will be installed in a newly constructed Mad Mex restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA. The foundation is built around the QSC Acoustic Design series of loudspeakers; specifically the AD-S282H dual 8" high powered cabinets. The expectation from the owner was that the sound be consistent throughout the space and perform well at volumes louder than the typical eatery. This system should accomplish that easily.



The main dining areas will be covered by 7 QSC AD-S282H dual 8" high powered loudspeakers, hung at 18' from the beams in the open space ceiling. The coverage pattern for these speakers is 90 degrees horizontal x 60 degrees vertical. The horns will be rotated on some of the cabinets in order to provide better coverage, based on the direction they will be mounted. These mains will also cover the small mezzanine section toward the back of the restaurant.

2 AD-S28Tw subwoofers will be mounted in the ceiling directly over top of the bar area, one facing the front of the restaurant and one facing the back. The speakers will be enclosed inside the overhang and ported with black mesh across the front of each opening. The architect included bass traps inside this area to help reduce unwanted reverberations. Mounted to the ceiling of the bar area will be 3 AD-S82H single 8" loudspeakers, arranged in a U-shape for the 3 active sides of the bar. This should help to fill in any gaps from the mains being blocked from the bar overhang.

Some AD-S52 s will be mounted in some private seating areas as well as a private room. The power will be provided by several QSC PLX3102 Powerlight amplifiers. The entire system will be controlled by the QSC DSP 322ua system processor. Some features of the 322 are:



Features:

• Universal inputs – mic/line with pre-amps and phantom power
• Configurable DSP functions and signal paths
• Fixed latency DSP engine
• Ethernet controllable
• Each unit can store eight design configurations that can be changed on the fly
• Snapshots can recall config or block and/or parameter settings
• THX Approved

  
DSP Functions:

• Matrix mixer – any size, up to 24 x 24
• Automixers – gain sharing
• Routers – any size, up to 24 x 24
• Gain controls – any channel count, up to 24
• Graphic equalizers
• Filters – high-pass, low-pass, all-pass, shelf, parametric, parametric shelf, Butterworth high and low-pass, Linkwitz-Riley high and low-pass, Bessel-Thomson high and low-pass
• Crossovers – Linkwitz-Riley, Butterworth, Bessel-Thomson in-phase, Bessel-Thomson symmetrical, 2-way, 3-way, and 4-way general purpose adjustable
• Compressors, peak limiters, AGC's, gates, dynamics processor
• Duckers – up to 8 channels, up to 60 seconds fade in and fade out times, priority mix
• Pink noise, white noise, sine generators
• Delays
• Macros – user-definable custom blocks with password protection 

As we progress through installation, I will update with pictures. Stayed tuned.

And remember:
If it can't be heard, it can't be Good!

PreSonus StudioLive 16.4.2 Digital Mixer Review

The cleanest, most intuitive digital console I've ever used!

As a live sound engineer, I have to admit that I am one of those guys who has fought the transition from analog to digital with a vengeance. I love the digital world, don't get me wrong, but not in the live arena. And I'm sure it is for all the same reasons that every other sound guy fights it:

1. Too many menus/buttons to get what you want
2. Too many menus/buttons to get what you want
3. Too many menus/buttons to get what you want
4. Too many.........well you get the idea.

But along comes PreSonus with the determination to change the minds of us analog dinosaurs. And guess what? This old fossil has given in!

I recently brought the StudioLive 16.4.2 on board to add to our rental inventory and sound system packages. I figured I would give it a try and offer it to folks who wanted a digital console in their system. I even thought I may use it to run sound in a pinch if I had to. Well, I'm here to say that I don't know if I ever want to use anything else! This board is absolutely amazing for more reasons than I have time to explain. But I will give it a shot.

Great reasons to love these boards!

Intuitive-Intuitive-Intuitive

Upon opening the box, I was impressed at what a sharp looking console it is. I set it up and immediately began working through some functions ( without looking at the manual of course; what can I say, I'm a typical sound guy!) I was able to navigate very easily around the board because it reminded me so much of an analog mixer. After about 5 minutes I worked my way up to the Aux Sends section. This was where I was stumped for a bit and forced to look at the manual. I know, I know, I can admit it! But in less than a minute, and I'm not kidding when I say that, I figured out the Aux Sends and pretty much everything else that this board could do.

I think it is fair to say that 90% or more of this board's function lies on the surface, meaning that you don't need to access menus to do anything. Everything is there at the push of a button and I mean everything! You would swear that this is an analog board. I was blown away at how easy it is to navigate around and access any function you want, unlike so many other digital consoles out there where so much is hidden away in menus and sub-functions. Just this intuitiveness was enough to sell me, but it keeps getting better.

Functionality-Functionality-Functionality

When you look at this board, you are almost immediately drawn to this striking blue section in the middle PreSonus calls the FAT channel section. It is the heart and soul of their StudioLive mixers. This is where you will spend a great deal of time working and with a smile I might add. When I mentioned earlier that I had to look in the manual, this FAT channel was the solution to my problem, and man what a solution!

In a nutshell, this section provides you will all of your EQ, and dynamics processing. There are 16 different pots to adjust HPF, Gate, Compression, Limiting, and EQ for each of the 16 channels. That in itself is cool but what else it provides is really cool. Those rotary knobs convert to send knobs for each of the 16 channels when you push the SELECT button on any of the AUX channels. I thought this was fantastic. These knobs are also used for the 32 channel EQ for the mains. Again, very cool. PreSonus certainly made great use out of this FAT channel section.

I also like the bussing on this board and how the FAT channel can be assigned to every output including the aux sends, the group outs and the mains. You know how much gear you would have to use to get the same results, right?

And the FX are incredibly easy to use and route. This is really the only place where you need to use the menu (except for the 32 channel eq for the mains). In terms of capability, you are mostly limited by your imagination.

Expandable-Expandable-Expandable

Another function I love about these StudioLive boards is that they can be linked to expand your channel capability. You simply connect multiple units together with a firewire cable and assign master and slave status and off you go! The FAT channel functions are operational on each board and the outputs are operational on the master. Very simple and very cool!

I absolutely love these boards and highly recommend them to anyone wanting digital capabilities with the functionality of analog. PreSonus really hit a home run with these consoles in this price point. A StudioLive 16.4.2 (or StudioLOVE as I like to call it) can be purchased for under $2000 and considering what this board offers, that is a steal!

Do yourself a favor and check out these boards. You will fall in love with them as I did! You can see these boards at: http://www.goodsoundstudio.com. And remember, if it can't be heard - it can't be Good!