Picture this: You've spent hours carefully setting up a show, only to end up fighting the mix all night because of some annoying thing you forgot to check. Sound familiar? A year ago I worked on a very dynamic show with quiet talkers punctuated by a loud rock band. I did all of my normal sound system calibration procedures, but forgot one important detail. I never drove the system close to maximum show level. The show began. Kids started screaming and rushing the stage. I had plenty of … [Read more...]
Unlocking Precision in Distance-Based Crossover Alignment: 9 essential tips for accurate measurements
Using SubAligner for crossover alignment is simple, but sometimes getting accurate distance measurements is not. If you use a laser disto then you may have run into some challenges getting good data in direct sunlight. 😎 Here are some of my favorite tips to get accurate measurements: Delay finders struggle with subwoofers because subwoofers reproduce only a fraction of the audible spectrum leaving too little data for the delay finder to lock onto. The proxy loudspeaker's … [Read more...]
No Technical Element Should Distract You from the Story on Stage
Subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play or Stitcher. Support Sound Design Live on Patreon. In this episode of Sound Design Live I'm joined by the vice president of audio at PRG, David Strang. We discuss sound system design for Broadway and the challenges in the post-Covid audio industry. Notes Transcript This transcript was automatically generated. Please let me know if you discover any errors. [00:00:10.770]I'm Nathan Lively, and today I'm joined … [Read more...]
IEM: The Recipe for Failure and How to Avoid It
Subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play or Stitcher. Support Sound Design Live on Patreon. In this episode of Sound Design Live I'm joined by Beirut based freelance live sound engineer, tour/project manager specializing in IEM mixing, and tech specialist for the middle east and africa region for Meyer Sound, Sana Romanos. We discuss touring around Europe and the middle east and mixing IEMs. Notes Transcript This transcript was automatically generated. … [Read more...]
Sound System Setup: Why Subwoofer Crossover Alignment is Critical
I worked on a reggae festival 12 years ago where I fell asleep at the console and destroyed some subwoofers. I fell asleep because I just wasn't prepared for such a long day and didn't have anyone to take over for me. I'm still not completely clear on how the subs were destroyed, but I think it was a combination of improper limiter settings and over driving them on accident because I was mixing from a power valley and some issues with the crossover alignment. To avoid repeating this mistake, … [Read more...]