AUDIO
A VIEW WITH A ROOM : MAKING THE LEAP FROM STUDIO MIXING TO LIVE SOUND | Jeff Hawley
With the explosive growth over the last few decades of home recording software and compact ( and great sounding !) affordable hardware , it is highly likely that there are at least a few congregants in the pews with some experience in basic audio mixing tasks . I ’ m frequently asked about just what it takes to make the leap from the land of controlled studio ( or bedroom ) environments to the exciting world of live sound mixing . Rather than simply spout off my own opinion on the matter ( which will come later , don ’ t worry !), I thought it could be interesting to tap the brain of one of my live sound brethren , Ryan John , the recently appointed Senior Product Manager for hardware at the famed purveyor of all things audio , Universal Audio .
As Universal Audio has been “ setting the tone ” of audio since 1958 , they certainly pop up in both pro audio spaces , equally at home in a suave studio setting as they are in a stickerclad touring rack case ( in hardware or virtual software form ). Ryan begins with drawing out the core distinction between ‘ studio ’ and ‘ live ’ with what I think is THE key difference — the room .
According to Ryan , “ The delivery medium for all of these is the biggest difference , in a room with a PA , you can use physical energy ( SPL ) to convey intensity or impact , but in the context of livestreams or albums , the means for presenting energy and intensity has to be different , as you can ’ t simply control someone ’ s listening environment . As a mix engineer your live mix can be dynamic using SPL as a tool for intensity , but your livestream or studio mix needs to be more dynamically controlled , so that a listener does not have to change the volume in order to hear all of the elements . This effectively means more controlled dynamics of individual elements , and typically a ‘ mastering-sytle ’ signal chain on the entire mix . For someone like me that loves dynamic and punchy drums I don ’ t always jump straight to compressors to pull the dynamics together , but rather tape and transformer saturation .” He adds in a recommendation on just how we might look to tackle this sort of task , noting “ the UAD Ampex ATR-102 plug-in is masterful in the way it can provide glue to a mix , tame some transients , but never feel like the transients have been squashed .”
I ’ d add that many digital live sound consoles
do include a number of ‘ in the box ’ solutions to achieve a similar effect , with a very slight application of a more mellow compressor ( likely a model or an inserted version of a famed UA device !) at the end of the signal chain as Ryan describes . I ’ ll echo his key point here , it is important that this type of overall mix dynamics control is done in a subtle manner or you risk ending up with a lifeless and overly ‘ dull ’ mix going out to the crowd . [ If you are looking for a quick primer on the various styles of compressors , head over to
this article to learn more .] We ’ re looking to achieve mix ‘ glue ’ between the individual elements , not covering the mix in glue to constrain its overall dynamics . Gotta be careful with the glue I guess … just like in elementary school . Apply juuuust enough and in the right way and good things can happen . Apply too much ( or eat the glue ?) and you ’ re likely in big trouble .
Picking up where he left off , “ the next biggest factor is the bleed . In some cases , it ’ s drums bleeding into every input , in others it ’ s monitors , and in some cases , it ’ s just crowd noise — but in all cases … the implications of the bleed affect your choices in capturing the sound , as well as the methods you can use to mix the