FRONT OF HOUSE
ROUTING FOR FUN AND PROFIT | Kent Morris
Routing is a vital aspect of live mixing . While it is possible to wrangle a small mix just from the inputs , it is far easier and wiser in a large mix to group signals together within sections where their similar characteristics allow the mix to come together in a cohesive manner . Let ’ s look at some popular routing schemes for the live production environment .
The simplest routing is to take every input and send it to the “ two-bus ” which is geek-speak for the left-right main output . As noted , while this scenario works well for eight inputs , it will not work for eighty . On a small wedding , it makes sense to send each input directly to the stereo output , but a full worship event requires a different approach .
When we take similar signals , say eight channels of drums , and put them onto the same bus and drop them off at the same bus stop , we are using sub-groups , or bussing , as a routing method . Each of the assigned audio signals is routed to a single location prior to the main outputs . The key to remember is the actual audio is running through that one subgroup .
On the other hand , if we have a sophisticated console , we will likely be using VCA / DCA routing . This process uses Voltage Controlled Amps on analog boards and Digitally Controlled Amps on digital mixers to essentially remote control the input channels assigned to them . It ’ s similar to groups , but does not route the actual audio through the fader .
On the output side of things , we often use other bus types to make things simpler or to allow us to build more complex mixes . For instance , we can create a speech bus to assign every spoken word channel to one location which is then easily sent to the livestream , house and TV feeds throughout the church campus . If the speaking pastor ’ s input gets near clipping in a tense moment of the sermon , the wireless body-pack sensitivity can be slightly reduced via Wireless Workbench while , at the same time , the bus output is slightly increased to compensate without altering the final level .
Routing also expands the ability of monitor mixes to meet the needs of the musicians . For example , if the band is on personal mixers , such as Aviom , P16 or M48 , we can assign one channel as vocals and then drive individual vocals to that channel bus from the console as different singers take leads on different songs .
The band never has to adjust for vocals ; we do it for them .
On broadcast mixes , it is handy to route all the audience and ambience mics to a separate stereo bus with wide panning spread and then drive it into the main bus in an inverted manner so that when the music and sermon are loud , the ambience is soft , but when the music and sermon are quiet , the ambience mics ramp up , making the broadcast mix feel alive and natural to the listener .
Routing is essential and newer digital desks make the process easy . Typically , the inputs and outputs are arranged in an X / Y grid pattern with a simple click all that is needed to assign one to the other . Better systems alert the user to double patching and will drop warnings of any additional mismatches made in error .
Once the routing is complete , the smart move is to line check everything by testing to be certain all inputs and outputs actually go where we think they go .
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 .