FRONT OF HOUSE
NEW YEAR, NEW APPROACH | Kent Morris
It’s 2020 and the time has come for audio and certainly not cheap. It also has issues of its but are included in the purchase of the desk. A
techs to re-evaluate our approach to live own and there is still AVB as an alternative and dedicated 1176 compressor in software form is
sound mixing. For many years, we have been even CobraNet is still floating around. So, why just a few dollars away instead of over $2000 for
in transition from familiar analog protocols and do we need to embrace this madness? the hardware version. Naturally, the temptation
have simply overlaid digital methods onto what
to use compressors on every channel is there,
Here are some answers: but it can be overcome with mature thinking.
and cumbersome, with erratic results. That 1. THEY AREN’T BUILDING ANALOG CONSOLES 4. DIGITAL MAKES THE COMPLEX MANAGEABLE.
time has now passed and the era of native ANYMORE. The fact is the components needed to When live theaters used analog consoles, the
digital has begun. Even for us “old timers” it is make large-format analog mixers are obsolete. cue list was many pages long and required a
imperative we cast aside analog norms if we Since they are no longer in production, there second person to stay abreast of the show.
are to realize the full potential of digital audio in can be no new mixers using them. The last Today, digital allows us to store all the console
the live realm. We need to embrace digital in its large format analog console designed and settings, plus our notes and cue points, making
own flow and parameters. This move, however, manufactured was the Crest LV20 from 2014. life almost as easy for us as it is for the lighting
is far from easy or simple to make if you are “old As a result, if you want to continue mixing, learn operator. In church, the biggest Christmas
school” in any way. Here’s why: digital. program can be broken down into scenes and
we knew how to do. Unfortunately, combining
the old with the new has made mixing unwieldy
snapshots and then stored internally as well as
Every analog console from a small Mackie to 2. THE GLORY OF RECALL. Initially, we used grease a massive Midas operated along the same pencils to mark knob locations in order to lines. We all understood the signal flow process remember where the settings needed to be 5. DIGITAL SAVES YOUR BACK. A concert grade
and routing was WYSIWYG (What You See Is for a particular event. Later, we used digital analog mixer in its flight case weighed several
What You Get) simple. Even if you had never cameras to take photos of settings and then hundred pounds and took at least four hands to
mixed on a Yamaha PM4000, you could walk had to physically restore each control to its put into position. Digital consoles, on the other
up to it and survey the landscape enough to indicated location. The process could easily hand, are small, take up fewer seats and are
determine how to build the mix. There were no take an hour to complete. Digital consoles of easy to transport in a minivan. For seasoned
hidden features or multi-step screens needed all stripes store blanket parameters and recall techs, these are all good things.
to access a function. It was all right there. them in one second. Life is so much easier Every I/O (Input/Output) was dedicated to when the board can be set for every application Digital is here to stay so it is time we start
one task and the power supplies were stable with the push of a button. building layers based on frequency of use and
enough to use in practically any environment.
on external thumb drives as safeties.
not antiquated ideas of channel one being kick
Additionally, you could take any snake from any 3. THE EXPANDED DYNAMICS AND EFFECTS drum. We also need to enjoy mixing on iPads
manufacturer, tie it into any console, and even UNIVERSE. When we wanted to compress a and having the ability to program our next show
split signals in a straightforward manner. The vocal channel, we had to buy a physical box while sitting on the couch watching NCIS. It’s
universality of analog contrasts deeply with the and insert it with cables into that channel. If we a brave new world so get out there and mix it.
splintered approach digital mixing has taken. owned six channels of compression, we could Every manufacturer has their own protocol, compress six channels. Now, every input has set-up, operational controls and functionality. a dedicated dynamics control suite with gates, Nothing translates from one brand to another downward and no one can tie a Soundcraft stage box limiters available from a drop-down menu. Even into a DiGiCo console. While the advent of the configuration and layout can be chosen Audinate’s Dante system has brought some from a list of presets. Effects are no longer sense to the digital world, it is far from universal limited to which Lexicon or SPX we can afford,
160
expanders,
January 2020
compressors
and
Kent Morris
Kent is a 40-year veteran of the AVL arena driven by
passion for excellence tempered by the knowledge
digital is a temporary state.
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