FRONT OF HOUSE
THE PROS AND CONS OF TILT AND SQUASH | Kent Morris
When sound systems became more than simply a public address system designed to deliver clear announcements , the opportunity for improvement accelerated . Today we have an unprecedented ability to create and deliver exceptionally powerful and detailed sound to audiences of any size . Line arrays , digitally controlled amplifiers , extensive DSP , and efficient power supplies all combine to make it easy to build the sound system with any parameters and options we desire .
Two of those options currently in vogue are tilt and squash . Tilt is the recent tendency of system techs to preconfigure the system response not in a linear fashion , but in a tilted variant with extended low frequency response as the new norm . Imagine the response ruler angled up on the left side starting about 100Hz and that is tilt . The reasons for tilt vary but come down to the perceived audience expectation for exaggerated bass impact from the kick drum , bass guitar , and keys / tracks . The thinking goes , if the FOH engineer is going to increase the levels below 100Hz across the board anyway , the system engineer can do in within the Loudspeaker Management System ( LMS ) and then the FOH engineer can mix linearly . While tilt works for certain genres , its use in worship , aside from edgy situations , is suspect , for it creates a normal outside the normal which then becomes the new normal . In other words , once the newness of the tilt wears off , flat sounds thin . A better approach is to use low end emphasis ( tilt ) dynamically from FOH , with ebb and flow of subwoofer energy made as the moment requires . Simply making everything thump all the time is not conducive to worship .
Squash is a more usable option . Dynamics processors , such as compressors and limiters , reduce peaks and thus allow the average level to increase . If the dynamic range of a signal exceeds the operating range of the equipment , or if the signal varies dramatically , dynamic range reduction is in order . Typically , the reduction is modest to moderate and allows the majority of the signal to pass unhindered . A common scenario is to apply a ratio of 3:1 soft-knee compression at a high threshold on vocals with enough lag in attack and release as to leave it intact . However , when a particular effect is desired , the squash option comes into play . By placing extreme settings on the order of a 15:1 ratio , hard-knee approach at a low threshold with fast attack and slow release , and assigning the compression to the collective drum group , a rather useful effect happens . When used in parallel with the uncompressed
drum group , this squash channel can add punch and density to the drum mix without additional level bumps .
On backing vocal tracks , a squash channel can fill out the breadth of the stacks and help them fit into the live voices more convincingly . In addition , they can help bolster the thickness desired at the crescendo of the last chorus . On pads , squash can broaden the palette and help cement the organ patches on keys .
With both tilt and squash , the focus is to deliver something beyond a basic and bland mix and move into the world of creative sonic environments where the output moves beyond a louder version of the input . For some , this is anathema to the role of the mix , but for most current engineers , it reflects the artistic bent now available and usable within worship circles . Without pushing the narrative forward , the mix reverts to that of a public address system , just with better signal-to-noise and frequency response . A mature outlook is to consider the use of FOH processing such as tilt and squash as an extension of the mix applicable when and where it contributes positively to the end result .
Kent Morris Kent Morris is a 45-year veteran of the AVL arena driven by passion for excellence tempered by the knowledge all technology is in a temporal state .
102 October 2024 Subscribe for Free ...