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How To Tune A Sound System In 15 Minutes

By Nathan Lively

sound-design-live-professional-sound-system-setup-15-minutes-MAPP-8k

Even professionals often skip sound system setup and go straight to mixing because there just isn’t enough time. Unfortunately, you can’t go directly to your artistic place without first passing through science. The good news is that even the smallest amounts of time can be put to good use. 

How? With a plan.

Simple Sound System Goals

The goal for tuning a sound system is very simple: manage interactions to reduce variance across the listening plane. Put another way: provide the same sound in every seat. Setting the master EQ for perfect sound at the mix position does not meet this goal. Instead, we need an order of operations to help us make changes that will benefit the entire listening area, or at least mitigate damage. The order of operations is:

  1. Verification
  2. Placement
  3. Aim
  4. EQ
  5. Crossover alignment

It might seem like you don’t have 15 minutes to spare to check all of this, but the most important items are listed first. Completing a few is better than nothing.

You will need a dual channel analyzer like Smaart, SATlive, SysTune, Tuning Capture, RiTA, Open Sound Meter, etc..

Here are the speakers we need to set up: (2) CQ-1 (wide coverage main), (2) 650-P (2x 18-inch sub) in an uncoupled symmetrical point destination array. It’s your standard left/right mains situation (see diagram below). This is the most common professional sound system setup that I run into; it is not good or bad, just common. 

Our job as a waveform delivery service is to minimize phase distortion that causes comb filtering. Comb filtering makes a swooshing sound in the high frequencies as you move your head and should never be fed after midnight. Unfortunately, any array with speakers facing in towards a destination will produce some amount of combing. We would prefer a single CQ-1 and 650-P flown above downstage center to match the room. This design often doesn’t happen because of hardware and time limitations. I could complain about it and waste your time, but those speakers will still be sitting there, bored as hell.

Download the MAPP XT project if you would like to follow along with each step.

Disclaimer: This is a highly simplified example with minimum microphone positions to give you an idea of the structure for verifying and calibrating a professional sound system. There are many factors at play and details that I do not cover, like how to operate an analyzer. For a more in-depth analysis of this subject listen to my interview with Bob McCarthy.

Minutes 0-4: Verification

Do you think a lighting technician starts running a show without making sure that each instrument responds at the correct address? No! Better make sure all of your speakers play what they are supposed to play.

  1. Set all outputs to unity.
  2. Play pink noise and isolate one speaker at a time. In this setup we are unable to solo individual drivers, but do it if you can.
  3. Is the left output playing from the left speaker? If not, track it down. Many times it’s just a case of faulty patching. If you’ve got lines wrong inside of a closed box, you’re going to need more than 15 minutes, so I hope you have a backup. Repeat for each speaker/driver.
  4. Listen. Are there any obvious problems like noise, distortion, or Left and Right sounding different?
  5. Measure phase response on your audio analyzer at on-axis of each speaker/driver. Confirm matching relative phase. A phase offset of 180° indicates a polarity inversion. Any point in the signal chain could cause a polarity inversion so either track it down or simply invert phase anywhere else so that they all match in the end.

This step is the most important. It will be a sad dance party if your subs aren’t working.

Placement

In this situation there’s not much we can do with placement. We would like to move each speaker closer to the center of its coverage area, but we have a stage in the way and no rigging hardware or points.

Minutes 4-8: Aim

We only have a single measurement microphone, so we’ll need more time on this step to move it between positions. If I were running late and needed to cut one step from this process, I would cut this one and instead estimate the aim with a laser.

  1. Compare Main Left solo at OFFAXL and OFFAXR.
  2. Adjust aim until OFFAXL = OFFAXR in the HF (high frequencies).
  3. Repeat for Main Right.

Minutes 8-12: EQ

  1. Measure Main Left solo at ONAX and set output EQ filters to match your target trace.
  2. Listen to the filters in and out while playing your reference tracks. Are you going in the right direction?
  3. Copy the Main Left output EQ to Main Right output EQ.
  4. Measure Main L+R at ONAX and set EQ filters to return system response to your target trace. 
  5. Listen.

Minutes 12-15: Crossover Alignment

  1. Measure Sub Left solo at ONAX.
  2. Compare to Main Left solo. Are phase measurements within 60º through the crossover region? If so, move to step 7. If not, fix it. (for more, see How to verify main+sub alignment in Smaart)
  3. Measure MainL+SubL and check the combined response to make sure you have summation throughout the spectral crossover.
  4. Apply any necessary combined EQ.
  5. Listen to the result with your changes in and out. 

This is a stripped-down example of one of the most common sound system setups that I have encountered in the field. It skips steps and makes assumptions, so use it at your own risk. There is a lot more to do to be thorough, but I wanted to demonstrate that even a small amount of time can be put to good use.

How to Update Snapshots on the SD5 in the Middle of a Show

By Nathan Lively

sound-design-live-how-to-update-snapshots-digico-sd5-middle-show-featured

UPDATE: This article appears in The Ultimate Guide to Creative Mixing on the Digico SD5.

In this video I describe how I used snapshots to automate my mix on the Digico SD5 as head of sound for the Out Of This Word tour for the Ringling Bros. Circus. In it, I walk you step-by-step through how I implemented snapshot creation, global scope, recall scope, update selected, auto update, cross fades, add to group, relative groups, update group, recall times, and midi list for Qlab control.

One of the most important things you need to know how to do on the SD5 related to snapshots is how to update a snapshot in the middle of the show. There are many times, especially while building and refining a new show, when you’ll need to make a small edit. You need to continue mixing the show, though, so you don’t have time to create a new snapshot and type in a name for it or scroll back up to the correct shapshot and take care that you are updating the right elements.

The SD5 makes this very easy, but it’s also dangerous! Here’s my process:

  1. Fire snapshot
  2. Press auto update.
  3. Rest your finger next to the button. This is critical!
  4. Change the necessary elements of the snapshot.
  5. Press auto update.

The key here is not to move your finger away until you have disengaged auto-update. Why? Because every change you make while it is engaged will get written into the snapshot. So if you forget, which I did only once, and keeping firing snapshots and mixing the show, you will record all of those changes.

What if I need to go back and change one thing in every snapshot?

This happened to me more than once: You change a microphone position or another way affect the gain staging and all of a sudden 127 snapshots are wrong. Normally, you would have to go through and adjust these one-by-one or find a workaround, but the Update Group feature solves this pretty easily.

  1. Add all affected snapshots to a group. There cannot be a break in between them on the list.
  2. Enable Relative Groups.
  3. Recall any snapshot from the group, which includes the element you want to change.
  4. Make the change.
  5. Click Update Group. It will take a second if you have a lot of snapshots.
  6. Remove all snapshots from the group.

The most time-consuming process here is adding the snapshots to the group. You might think: Why don’t I just leave all of my snapshots in a group so that I can update them at any time? Well, you could do that, but then you put yourself in a dangerous position if you accidentally hit the Update Group button. The undo button does not fix this!

How to use Recall Time to mix your show for you.

In Out Of This World, the first three acts were executed with the same timing every night. There were some fader movements that needed to happen at specific times so I automating them using Recall Time. As long as I fired the first snapshot at the right time, the mix would be in sync with the show. And if for some reason that didn’t work out, I would simply skip the timed snapshots and mix it manually.

The main benefit here was that I could convert the energy from my pre-show jitters into useful work, like double checking plugin settings and refreshing my memory of upcoming cues and changes. Another less import benefit was that I could fire the snapshot to take us into intermission and immediately run to the bathroom since I had the next set to fire by Recall Time. This is important when you need to beat an arena full of 20,000 people who are also rushing for the bathroom.

Is IATSE worthwhile for sound engineers?

By Nathan Lively

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Subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

Support Sound Design Live on Patreon.

In this episode of the Sound Design Live podcast, I talk to Nat Koren about his audio career with the San Francisco Opera. We answer these questions:

  • What are the pros and cons of working with the union?
  • How do you mix an opera?
  • What does a sound designer do for an opera?
  • What specialized gear do they use at the opera house?
  • How do they mix the show and operate 12 cameras without any humans in the room?

sound-design-live-iatse-opera-sound-engineer-nat-koren-park

Show notes:

  1. All music in this episode by The Nagual Orchestra
  2. IATSE = International Alliance of Stage Employees
  3. BAFTA = British Academy of Film and Television Arts
  4. Meyer Sound CQ-1, CAL96 column array
  5. Pyramix, Horus
  6. Dante, AVB, CobraNet
  7. Quotes
    1. The benefit of working with the union is that I am able to make a living and have healthcare.
    2. I could be here from 8am to 11pm. I often am.

Are you a sound engineer or an artist?

By Sam Fisher

sound-design-live-sound-engineer-or-artist

sound-design-live-sound-engineer-or-artistArt and engineering don’t just intersect; they don’t bump into each other on a dimly lit street and exclaim about how coincidental it is that they happen to be at the same place at the same time. The truth is that art and engineering are siblings. They share the same blood, they grew up together, they like to bicker and argue, and they not-so-secretly need each other to thrive.

Like everyone else, I spend a good amount of time wondering who and what I am. The common methods and ideas I’ve encountered that claim to evaluate a person’s cognitive type are generally reductive and more than a little boring. This is not good news for anyone hoping to find themselves in the looking glass (or a series of online personality tests).

Here’s an example: for years and years I stuck by the idea that “I’m just not a math person“. This year I decided to approach that statement armed with a little curiosity and a willingness to try, and my relationship to math completely changed. Now I’m a math person in a big, nerdy, passionate way–I get to be that!

Similarly, I meet people all the time who claim that creating or performing music is entirely out of reach for them. Why? This seems extremely particular to our culture, where performing music is so damn exceptionalised. Why make such a weird, big deal of the simple act of making a beautiful sound? Everyone likes to listen to music–we should be making it, too! (Spoiler alert: It’s really fun.)

These perceived boundaries by which we identify ourselves create a huge loss for us collectively. The things that we close ourselves off to are likely the things with the greatest potential to teach us new ways of thinking. Those new ways of thinking can then enhance the things we’re already confident in. Just like a body of water stagnates when isolated from incoming streams, our mind can stagnate when we place overly-strict boundaries on the things that interest us. The potential for growth is alive inside of each of us, waiting for an invitation to flourish.

It helps us claim our agency as learners when we decide not to think of ourselves primarily as a job, a position, or a function, but first and foremost as human beings. Let’s challenge the people we think that we are. Let’s enjoy the adventure of life-long, multi-disciplinary, creative learning together. Follow a curious itch and start experimenting!

Silence: The secret ingredient to sound design in advertising

By Nathan Lively

sound-design-live-silence-secret-ingredient-advertising-munzie-thind-featured

Subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

Support Sound Design Live on Patreon.

In this episode of the Sound Design Live podcast I talk with Munzie Thind, post-production sound designer at GCRS in London. Thind received the Creative Circle Silver Award in Sound Design for the project National Autistic Society: Sensory Overload. We discuss the career path of a London sound designer in the advertising industry, and the production process of TV commercials.

sound-design-live-silence-secret-ingredient-advertising-munzie-thind-headshotIf I can get silence into a piece of work, that’s half of my job done.

Show notes:

  1. All music in this episode by Steve Knots except for Heer Di Kali by Kuldeep Manak.

 

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