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How to Be a Remarkable Sound Engineer by Being Honest

By Nathan Lively

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In this episode of Sound Design Live I talk with Kenneth ‘Pooch’ Van Druten, the FOH sound engineer for Linkin Park, Alice and Chains, Kid Rock, and System of a Down. We discuss:

  1. How Van Druten got his first job in audio.
  2. The number one skill that gets him in the door for every job.
  3. The value of microphone placement.
  4. Why speaker coverage is important beyond anything else.
  5. How to set gates using side-chains and virtual sound check.
  6. Results and trends from Van Druten’s annual hearing health check.
  7. Mixing monitors for Pantera.
  8. Van Druten’s SPL strategy for Linkin Park.
  9. How Van Druten managed to record and mix every Linkin Park show for two years solid.
  10. Whether mixing live show recordings is a viable second income stream?
  11. Good plugins for vocals.

sound-design-live-linkin-park-kenneth-pooch-van-druten-spl-speaker-coverage-gatesDetails from the podcast:

  1. All music by Linkin Park
  2. Van Druten on Twitter and Facebook
  3. Linkin Park community forum
  4. Berklee College of Music in Boston
  5. Smaart school
  6. RTA = real time analyzer
  7. Interview with John Huntington
  8. Waves Max Volume plugin, Waves 1176 compresser
  9. Miles Kennedy
  10. 808
  11. LEQ = a single decibel value which takes into account the total sound energy over the period of time of interest
  12. Quotes:
    1. “One of the things that you have to do to break into this industry is be willing to do anything.”
    2. “Often someone will ask me, ‘How’d you do that?’ And I’ll say, ‘I have no idea.'”
    3. “I worked with an engineer that made me spend an entire day moving an SM57 microphone centimeters around a guitar amp.”
    4. “The only kind of relationship I can have with an artist is an honest one.”
    5. “Being a great system engineer is a different skill set than the one I have.”
    6. “Coverage is important beyond anything else.”
    7. “The entire drum kit is an instrument. Not just the tom or the snare.”
    8. “There are situations when you just can’t win.”
    9. “I listen to 200 shows a year. It’s important to me not to listen to those at 106dB A-weighted.”
    10. “You mix at 100dB? That doesn’t mean anything.”
    11. “I don’t know if you’ve measured crowds recently. At a Linkin Park show, if there are 11 songs, there are 11 times where it goes to 107 dB A-weighted no problem.”
    12. “I feel responsible not only for my own hearing, but for the hearing of people that come to my shows.”

Takeaways:

  • Don’t wait till after college to get an internship. Van Druten started as a studio intern at a local recording studio when he entered school and by the time he graduated he was the head engineer.
  • Learn social intelligence and empathy (i.e., how to talk to crazy people) because you have to be able to get along with them before you can get the job.
  • Mic placement is important. Time spent learning it now will benefit you for the rest of your career.
  • People can sniff bullshit, don’t just say what you think people want you to hear. In a world of yes-men, you can be remarkable by being honest.
  • When talking to artists about making changes, remind them of the big picture of production quality.
  • Be precise and referential when talking sound level. E.g., “I mix at 102dB SPL A-weighted 10min LEQ at FOH 100ft from the downstage edge.”
  • The audience at a loud rock concert like Linkin Park can be louder than the show itself.
  • Mixing the live shows of the band you are working with is fun, but you won’t make much more money and it is a lot more work than you expect it to be.

Mixing The Biggest Festivals In Europe with Dave Swallow

By Nathan Lively

sound-design-live-audio-mixing-live-audio-dave-swallow-featured-image

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In this episode of Sound Design Live I interview Dave Swallow, the author of Live Audio: The Art Of Mixing A Show, about how he went from being the in-house sound engineer at a local music venue to mixing at the biggest festivals in Europe. We also discuss why graphic EQs are rubbish, time-aligning stage monitors for better vocal intelligibility, why lead singers use more than one stage monitor, how performers communicate with sound technicians, avoiding hearing damage, and why you should never defeat the ground on a power amp.

Never defeat the ground on a power cord, try using DI boxes or XLR adapters to lift the ground on one end of the connection.

sound-design-live-audio-mixing-live-audio-dave-swallowDetails from the podcast:

  1. Music by DJ Fresh, James, La Roux, Goldie Lookin’ Chain
  2. Clearcom
  3. Transient smear: Audio distortion caused by differences in the time domain. Imagine two speakers playing the same program material which arrive at your ears slightly out of synch so that there is no echo but there is destructive interference.
  4. Ear Defenders, Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO,  Ultimate Ears 5 Pro Custom In-Ear Monitors
  5. “Horses for courses”: the practice of selecting the best person for a particular job.
  6. XLR lift adapter, DI Box with earth lift
  7. Shunting: allowing electrical current to pass around another point in the circuit by creating a low resistance path.
  8. Midas XL8
  9. Quotes
    1. We don’t align time; that’s something Dr. Who does.
    2. If the audience isn’t having a nice time then there’s no point in you being there.

Behind Moldover’s Kickstarter Success

By Nathan Lively

sound-design-live-behind-moldover-kickstarter-success-thumbanil

Subscribe on iTunes or SoundCloud.

In this episode of Sound Design Live, I talk with musician and electronic instrument maker Moldover about the Kickstarter campaign for his new album. Moldover shares the mistakes he made with his first album and the important changes he is making this time around. We also discuss the new hardware he’s working on, in-ear monitors, and the importance of tragedy in art.

[quote picture=”https://sounddesignlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/sound-design-live-moldover-testimonial.png” name=”Moldover” align=”left”]Get as many people involved as possible.[/quote]

Details from the podcast:

  1. sound-design-live-behind-moldover-kickstarter-success-voice-crusherAll music in this episode by Moldover
  2. Donate to the Kickstarter!
  3. Pebble Watch
  4. Sound Design Live eBook
  5. Moldover’s last album with a built-in light theremin
  6. NAMM = National Association of Music Merchants
  7. Ultimate Ears In-Ear Monitors
  8. DAW = Digital Audio Workstation (like Cubase)
  9. UAD DSP hardware
  10. TED talk about tragedy in art – What’s A Kinder Way To Frame Success?

 

Turning Technology Into Performance

By Nathan Lively

sound-design-live-audio-cubes-tumbnail

Subscribe on iTunes or SoundCloud.

In this episode of Sound Design Live Podcast I talk with musician, synth expert, and social media addict Mark Mosher about creating compelling live performances with electronic music, music instrument technology, and how he gained thousands of twitter followers.

Details from the podcast:

  1. Mark’sMark Mosher
    1. Blog for electronic musicians, twitter feed, and Facebook page
    2. Discography:  Reboot (2009), I Hear Your Signals (2010)
    3. Shows
    4. Photo & Video
    5. Favorite Virtual Instruments: Waldorf Largo, Tone2 ElectraX, Camel Audio Alchemy, Ableton Sampler, Operator, SonicCharge Synplant, MicroTonic, U-He ACE, Zebra 2
    6. Sound sets and free patch stream
  2. Software: Ableton Live, “Sounds from a Distant Outpost” Ableton Live Pack plus compositions
  3. Hardware: Percuss AudioCubes, Novation Launchpad, Remote SL 25 Keyboard; Moog Etherwave Theremin (pitch-to-MIDI), Waldorf Blofeld, Novation UltraNova
  4. 9 Box and review 

Related Post: Moldover on Music Instrument Technology, Design, & Controllerism

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