Live Sound
LIVE SOUND
Tim Price FdSc 2A
15th January 2010
D4: LIVE SOUND ENGINEERING.. THEORY
The role of an audio engineer is no longer exclusive to the recording studio. The skill set of a modern engineer extends to video, radio, graphics and many more. One of the key growth areas for finding employment opportunities in the sector, is that of live sound engineering.
The theory of live sound is one which combines the two things present in most musical engineering, technical ability and intuition. Each one is as important as the other, a live sound engineer has to be able to be a master of both their equipment/set up, and of the live sound mix which can differ vastly from an in studio mix, applying different techniques and principles. At the core of the live sound set up are 2 things, the mixing desk and the speaker system/rig. The applications of the mixing desk in a live situation show many differences compared to its use in a studio, even in the earliest stages such as choosing the type of desk! For instance, in most instances a live engineer would lean towards using a digital mixing desk as apposed to the generally more desired analogue desk in the studio situation. One of the prime reasons for this is that a digital desk can contain audio processing equipment within its interface, such as gating and compression. These are available at the touch of a button, as apposed to the outboard equipment used in a studio. This feature can help save valuable time when mixing a live event, this example shows one of many advantages of using a digital desk for live.
‘Live in Cotgrave...’ An image capturing the digital yamaha desk, courtesy of Merlin PA’s live sound engineers.
[1]
As well as there being 2 types of mixing desks, in the live sound sector there are 2 main uses for a desk. The most obvious is for bringing all the signals to the main speakers and creating the mix, this is known as front of house (FOH). The other is for stage monitoring, creating a mix or
Tim Price FdSc 2A
15th January 2010
D4: LIVE SOUND ENGINEERING.. THEORY
The role of an audio engineer is no longer exclusive to the recording studio. The skill set of a modern engineer extends to video, radio, graphics and many more. One of the key growth areas for finding employment opportunities in the sector, is that of live sound engineering.
The theory of live sound is one which combines the two things present in most musical engineering, technical ability and intuition. Each one is as important as the other, a live sound engineer has to be able to be a master of both their equipment/set up, and of the live sound mix which can differ vastly from an in studio mix, applying different techniques and principles. At the core of the live sound set up are 2 things, the mixing desk and the speaker system/rig. The applications of the mixing desk in a live situation show many differences compared to its use in a studio, even in the earliest stages such as choosing the type of desk! For instance, in most instances a live engineer would lean towards using a digital mixing desk as apposed to the generally more desired analogue desk in the studio situation. One of the prime reasons for this is that a digital desk can contain audio processing equipment within its interface, such as gating and compression. These are available at the touch of a button, as apposed to the outboard equipment used in a studio. This feature can help save valuable time when mixing a live event, this example shows one of many advantages of using a digital desk for live.
‘Live in Cotgrave...’ An image capturing the digital yamaha desk, courtesy of Merlin PA’s live sound engineers.
[1]
As well as there being 2 types of mixing desks, in the live sound sector there are 2 main uses for a desk. The most obvious is for bringing all the signals to the main speakers and creating the mix, this is known as front of house (FOH). The other is for stage monitoring, creating a mix or