Adding to the compression in monitor question - I’d caution using compression on monitors as the performers, especially vocalists, will base their dynamic performance levels on their monitor mix and will be battling the compressor. Let them hear their raw dynamic performance in the monitor and compress if needed in the mains.
Yes, there have been other discussions of this in the comments and I do agree that compression for vocals is not ideal, but for other instrumentalists (I’m usually a drummer) it can be helpful.
I have plenty of videos based around broadcast mixes for live stream and the necessary routing. If you provide more context I can point you in the right direction. Here is the most popular way to setup your broadcast mix based on having only one sound tech at any event. ruclips.net/video/pMnaiuC55RY/видео.html
Pre-fader IEM send? Yes please! I have worked both on stage as a guitarist as well as FOH mix for 20 years in a large church worship setting and as a member of the worship team. Once I have my personal IEM mix set during sound check I am good for the day. It makes me completely CRAZY if the IEMs are post fader, post EQ and all of a sudden the lead vocal gets boosted 8db blowing my ears out while the drums drop out of the mix losing my snare cues while performing worship. My hands are pretty busy so making adjustments on the fly is a no-go. I usually just give up on the IEM and pull out one ear so I can get drum cues. FOH mix fail. @4:20 When performing with electric guitar I often spend time dialing in my tone to emulate the original recorded track as closely as possible. This track has already been compressed and EQ'd by the pro recording engineer so it sits right in the mix and is usually screaming with midrange tone and highly compressed. If the Sunday morning FOH tech fails to notice this in my tone they may get heavy handed, push the mids and compress the signal to death thinking it is "needed" to make room for other instruments. Now instead of sounding like the epic original recorded track my guitar sounds like a banjo or mandolin instead of an electric guitar. Aaaak!! This can really be disconcerting if I play a 4 bar song intro and everyone on stage is looking around for the banjo player. I just have to shrug my shoulders at this point. FOH mix fail. As FOH mix tech for the weekend I figure my most important job is to serve the church by serving the worship musicians performing on stage. This means making sure the gain structure is right and they have plenty of signal to work with to get all necessary cues in their IEM. This means plenty of signal from all vocalists, instruments, click or backing tracks, and the pastor's mic. It requires a pre-fader send whenever possible to free the FOH to mix independently without affecting the monitor sends. When musicians can hear themselves and each other really well, marvelous performances happen on stage. In some cases we run an outreach program and do live worship out in the community with a much simpler sound system. In this case I need to be very mindful that the musicians can always hear themselves and if the only monitor send I can give them is post fader, I need to take a much more set-it-and-forget-it approach to the FOH mix so I don't screw up the IEM mix critical to the musicians while performing live.
Yeah, these details are super important and unfortunately, most mix engineers haven't been on stage to know the impact of their changes. The goal is to educate and elevate the level of each engineer since they play a huge role in how the band hears and feels on stage. Thanks for the comments and sharing with the community.
The DCA will digitally control your input fader… without it actually moving. If your monitor is set to PreFader then a DCA move will not impact the volume. If your monitor is set to Post Fader then a DCA move will impact the volume. I hope that helps.
Each input and Bus offers the channel strip which consists of a compressor and EQ. These items can have their order swapped in case you want the EQ before the compressor in this channel strip. Also, you have the ability to insert an FX rack from the built in effects. In your Bus settings you can select to have the tap point be "pre EQ" which will come before the channel strip, "Post EQ" which comes after the channel strip, but before any inserted FX rack (if it is inserted at the end of the channel strip) Then you have Pre-Fader which would be after the channel strip and inserted FX, but before the fader or finally Post Fader which will have the entire channel strip, inserted FX and the fader level impacting the final output volume. You do not have the ability to have a different EQ for each input going to the main and a monitor, but this video might provide some insight into how I use Buses to alter EQ settings. ruclips.net/video/1WPltFnKnhs/видео.html
If I understand your question right you are trying to get reverb into a specific IEM, but not all IEMs. To do this, select the BUS, hit Sends on Fader and then go to the right side of the console to the 3rd layer (AUX FX returns). On this later you have the ability to adjust the FX returns and how much goes into a specific IEM via a MixBUS. If this isn’t what you were asking about, feel free to tease the question in a different way.
The console does default to a stereo type layout, but if I need to interact with it to change these sends to something different from Bus to Bus, I tend to use X32-edit software. If provides a slightly easier interface to get these in-depth details handled.
I have my p16s getting pre fader, but seems setting gate is affecting the in ear mix on the x32. Is that correct? Also what’s the best gate starting point for getting rid of mic bleed mics or should I not worry too much about that. Am using se v7 for my lead vox. I typically only hear bleed through my bass players mic nearest to the drum. Will compression affect their air mix as well?
When you select PreFader as a tap point, this will include all of the channel strip effects (gate,EQ,comp) in the signal being sent, but will leave before your fader impacts the signal. When you set the tap point to Pre-EQ this will have the signal leave before the e channel strip effects providing a more raw signal to your P16s. This is typically the desired setting since the P16 offers an onboard EQ and limiter (compression) for each channel as well as the main P16 output. This gives the musician some good flexibility to dial in their desired sound for their mix. In terms of using a gate, I personally only use gate on drums and bass (to remove buzz) in most environments. While using a gate on vocals can clean up the bleed, it also can create a choppy sound that is very unnatural. The SE V7 has a pretty tight pickup pattern so you should have a good bit of rejection with those, but any mic close to a drum kit… is instantly a drum mic. 😂 I tend to setup a downward expander which still lets the signal come through, but it turns it down to have less impact on your mix. I don’t have any general settings to offer, but would recommend setting up a virtual sound heck environment where you can multitrack record your musicians and then push them back through the console when they are off stage. You can then isolate each mic and mess with the settings to get it to a good starting point where it minimizes bleed, but doesn’t provide a choppy vocal.
Adding to the compression in monitor question - I’d caution using compression on monitors as the performers, especially vocalists, will base their dynamic performance levels on their monitor mix and will be battling the compressor. Let them hear their raw dynamic performance in the monitor and compress if needed in the mains.
Yes, there have been other discussions of this in the comments and I do agree that compression for vocals is not ideal, but for other instrumentalists (I’m usually a drummer) it can be helpful.
do you have any video made for live stream
I have plenty of videos based around broadcast mixes for live stream and the necessary routing. If you provide more context I can point you in the right direction. Here is the most popular way to setup your broadcast mix based on having only one sound tech at any event. ruclips.net/video/pMnaiuC55RY/видео.html
Thank you. That does make sense.
Awesome. Let me know if you have other questions.
Thank you very much to the quick reply and also can I have you email u would love to request some assistance as regards my sound setup
Head over to my website and look at the contact card to start a conversation outside of RUclips. sound.AllamHouse.com.
Good questions!
Thanks for the encouragement.
Pre-fader IEM send? Yes please! I have worked both on stage as a guitarist as well as FOH mix for 20 years in a large church worship setting and as a member of the worship team. Once I have my personal IEM mix set during sound check I am good for the day. It makes me completely CRAZY if the IEMs are post fader, post EQ and all of a sudden the lead vocal gets boosted 8db blowing my ears out while the drums drop out of the mix losing my snare cues while performing worship. My hands are pretty busy so making adjustments on the fly is a no-go. I usually just give up on the IEM and pull out one ear so I can get drum cues. FOH mix fail.
@4:20 When performing with electric guitar I often spend time dialing in my tone to emulate the original recorded track as closely as possible. This track has already been compressed and EQ'd by the pro recording engineer so it sits right in the mix and is usually screaming with midrange tone and highly compressed. If the Sunday morning FOH tech fails to notice this in my tone they may get heavy handed, push the mids and compress the signal to death thinking it is "needed" to make room for other instruments. Now instead of sounding like the epic original recorded track my guitar sounds like a banjo or mandolin instead of an electric guitar. Aaaak!! This can really be disconcerting if I play a 4 bar song intro and everyone on stage is looking around for the banjo player. I just have to shrug my shoulders at this point. FOH mix fail.
As FOH mix tech for the weekend I figure my most important job is to serve the church by serving the worship musicians performing on stage. This means making sure the gain structure is right and they have plenty of signal to work with to get all necessary cues in their IEM. This means plenty of signal from all vocalists, instruments, click or backing tracks, and the pastor's mic. It requires a pre-fader send whenever possible to free the FOH to mix independently without affecting the monitor sends. When musicians can hear themselves and each other really well, marvelous performances happen on stage.
In some cases we run an outreach program and do live worship out in the community with a much simpler sound system. In this case I need to be very mindful that the musicians can always hear themselves and if the only monitor send I can give them is post fader, I need to take a much more set-it-and-forget-it approach to the FOH mix so I don't screw up the IEM mix critical to the musicians while performing live.
Yeah, these details are super important and unfortunately, most mix engineers haven't been on stage to know the impact of their changes. The goal is to educate and elevate the level of each engineer since they play a huge role in how the band hears and feels on stage. Thanks for the comments and sharing with the community.
Very insightful. Question: Please does change in volume of DCA affect monitor volume or it affects only the FOH?
The DCA will digitally control your input fader… without it actually moving. If your monitor is set to PreFader then a DCA move will not impact the volume. If your monitor is set to Post Fader then a DCA move will impact the volume. I hope that helps.
What's the difference between pre-dynamic and pre-EQ on an aux send? What's the best way to send a different EQ to FOH and the monitors.
Each input and Bus offers the channel strip which consists of a compressor and EQ. These items can have their order swapped in case you want the EQ before the compressor in this channel strip. Also, you have the ability to insert an FX rack from the built in effects. In your Bus settings you can select to have the tap point be "pre EQ" which will come before the channel strip, "Post EQ" which comes after the channel strip, but before any inserted FX rack (if it is inserted at the end of the channel strip) Then you have Pre-Fader which would be after the channel strip and inserted FX, but before the fader or finally Post Fader which will have the entire channel strip, inserted FX and the fader level impacting the final output volume.
You do not have the ability to have a different EQ for each input going to the main and a monitor, but this video might provide some insight into how I use Buses to alter EQ settings. ruclips.net/video/1WPltFnKnhs/видео.html
Great tips 👍
Thanks for the encouragement. Feel free to drop any questions you might have as well.
How can I add effects such as reverb to an IEM mix for only some channels?
If I understand your question right you are trying to get reverb into a specific IEM, but not all IEMs. To do this, select the BUS, hit Sends on Fader and then go to the right side of the console to the 3rd layer (AUX FX returns). On this later you have the ability to adjust the FX returns and how much goes into a specific IEM via a MixBUS. If this isn’t what you were asking about, feel free to tease the question in a different way.
hello. I have a question. If you look at the sends section at 3 minutes and 26 seconds in the video, there is a linked channel. Can't this be removed?
The console does default to a stereo type layout, but if I need to interact with it to change these sends to something different from Bus to Bus, I tend to use X32-edit software. If provides a slightly easier interface to get these in-depth details handled.
I have my p16s getting pre fader, but seems setting gate is affecting the in ear mix on the x32. Is that correct? Also what’s the best gate starting point for getting rid of mic bleed mics or should I not worry too much about that. Am using se v7 for my lead vox. I typically only hear bleed through my bass players mic nearest to the drum.
Will compression affect their air mix as well?
When you select PreFader as a tap point, this will include all of the channel strip effects (gate,EQ,comp) in the signal being sent, but will leave before your fader impacts the signal. When you set the tap point to Pre-EQ this will have the signal leave before the e channel strip effects providing a more raw signal to your P16s. This is typically the desired setting since the P16 offers an onboard EQ and limiter (compression) for each channel as well as the main P16 output. This gives the musician some good flexibility to dial in their desired sound for their mix.
In terms of using a gate, I personally only use gate on drums and bass (to remove buzz) in most environments. While using a gate on vocals can clean up the bleed, it also can create a choppy sound that is very unnatural. The SE V7 has a pretty tight pickup pattern so you should have a good bit of rejection with those, but any mic close to a drum kit… is instantly a drum mic. 😂 I tend to setup a downward expander which still lets the signal come through, but it turns it down to have less impact on your mix. I don’t have any general settings to offer, but would recommend setting up a virtual sound heck environment where you can multitrack record your musicians and then push them back through the console when they are off stage. You can then isolate each mic and mess with the settings to get it to a good starting point where it minimizes bleed, but doesn’t provide a choppy vocal.
@@AllamHouse Thank you sir. I appreciate the thorough reply and suggestions here.