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Old 05-18-2018, 11:02 AM
Bob Womack's Avatar
Bob Womack Bob Womack is online now
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Between Clever and Stupid
Posts: 26,989
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Hey, Jack!

These days there's little excuse for a bad mix. For example: I work with an engineer who spends long weekends touring with a company that does those "A Night of" shows. You know, "A Night of Pink Floyd," "A Night of Queen," etc. They tour a ten--to-eleven piece rock ensemble that pairs with a fifty-piece ensemble from the local symphony at whatever city they land in all over this and other countries. He has his "show" entirely on a couple of thumb drives, including mixes and feeds. The company owns a sound system with a specific console or the venue supplies a choice of that particular console or one other. He carries a flypack with his laptop, calibrated mics, and a few other goodies. There's analysis software on the laptop. He does as many as four concerts in a long weekend. The band is entirely on in-ear monitors so the monitor mixes don't change. The road team does the setup. On a leisurely date he arrives the day before and has plenty of time to tune the system to the hall. On a tighter schedule he flies in on the day of. On those four-concert weekends he's likely to arrive an hour before the show, load his console and show, and do a quick room tweak. He's actually just before the show, loaded from the thumb drive, and tweaked on the first couple of numbers.

As he's worked with the company for years he's saved hundreds of hall tweaks and now needs less and less setup time. And he's a real pro. His mixes are GREAT and he works the 90-95db range, which the symphonies love. But I saw a show by that same company that was mixed by another guy and it was just as I described: the guy started at about 90db, got his feel going, and it hit 110db after the second song. My ears distorted, all clarity disappeared, and in went the plugs. Gotta save the money makers.

Did I tell you I did ONE rap recording session in my life? The producer/artist walked in, said, "I can't hear," yanked the monitor control up to about 115db, and said, "Keep it there." Done. I've lasted another twenty years by not exposing myself if I don't have to.

Bob
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