To accomplish anything in life, we, as humanly creatures, must utilize an assortment of resources to accomplish any given task.

For example, going to a store to purchase something involves brain time in making the decision to venture out, “wear and tear” on our vehicle, and the depletion of our finances – all are expenditures of resources.

Even something as simple as watching TV, in which our visual and auditory perceptions are held captive or distracted, can be viewed from the perspective of having a resource cost.

According to our grade-school teachers, we possess the ability to perceive via five methods: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. Though these seem a bit oversimplified to me - and our ability to sense things like tension, fear, and acceptance seem awkwardly overlooked - the primary five will do for the points at hand.

If indeed we have this somewhat limited array of perceptions, and not unlike a computer, we also possess a finite ability to process the data supplied by our five input data ports at any given point in time, then theoretically the fewer things we focus on, the better we can be at them. Put another way, there are only so many things we can pay attention to, deal with, and effectively manage at any given moment.

As sound engineers, we do our best not to be distracted, to focus on listening and turning knobs to achieve the desired sonic outcomes. Watch, listen, adjust, repeat, over and over again, perhaps hundreds and hundreds of times during the course of a single show.

In a way, sound engineers for rock shows do not differ that much from the musicians we reinforce. Imagine a drummer, mid-drum solo, being asked to do some math calculations or give directions to the next gig - how would that affect his/her performance?

Think about the best shows you’ve ever seen. Were the musicians distracted or purely focused in the moment?

Guiding Force
We’re faced with the challenging task of immersing in two parallel realities. Usually we deal with a band playing or a person speaking whose primary focus is to communicate and connect with an audience. Our ability to stay in tune with that connection, whether riveting or disconnected, is the guiding force behind the technical decisions we make.

Meanwhile we control the sound the audience hears using a myriad of complex and technical tools. Again, also not unlike the musicians, we use physical items to transfer our thoughts into realities that can be experienced by others.

If we let ourselves become too focused on the performance, we may miss cues and lose our ability to preempt corrections that need to occur. If we let ourselves burrow into the methodic and technical control of the audio equipment, we may also miss the opportunity to enhance the connection between performers and audience.

It all comes down to our ability to maintain a macro awareness of the whole picture whilst micro controlling the sonic presentation in the most efficient and ergonomic means possible.

Every move or alteration of every equipment control requires our humanly resources. Every resource required is one less we can dedicate to awareness of our surroundings.

What does it take to add some high frequency to a vocal microphone? First we realize it needs to occur, requiring awareness of the show, then we locate the right knob and physically grab it, turn, listen, mentally compare the results, maybe readjust and finally, completed task. Perhaps the knob can adjust no further – is this a physical sensation where it stops moving, or a visual one where it continues to spin and we also must use our “sight resource” to confirm?

Where was the knob when we started? How much rotation remains should more adjustment be needed? Was it also necessary to call up a screen to see? Is the knob even controlling the correct thing? How much thought power did that minor adjustment take? Did we, at any time, lose focus of the bigger picture?

Now do that hundreds of times in situations where performance expectations are high, and it can quickly become apparent that equipment that draws heavily upon our humanly resources can compromise the quality of our craft.

Less Complexity
What I’m discussing here actually applies to two groups of people - sound engineers and equipment designers.

For the engineers, I’m highlighting the importance of minimizing the operational complexity of the equipment, in addition to increasing the awareness that indeed having to look at the controls we touch, however briefly, dilutes and distracts. Not unlike a guitar player who must watch his or her fingers to play, or a singer that must read the lyrics, total immersion is lost.

As a result, it behooves us to push for and demand equipment that allows us to see what is going on and instantly grab control.

For equipment designers - no, it’s not O.K. to access key aspects buried down multiple menus. Yes, there are engineers who mix great shows on complex cumbersome gear, but I’ll venture to say that those same engineers will mix even better shows on gear that requires less resources to operate.

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of digital consoles, yet I also know that they’re are an important and valuable mixing tool that are here to stay.

My issues with digital consoles are not sonic, but rather, are about control.

I want my mix control surface to parallel what I experience while driving a car. I want to see all relevant information at a glance and have instant access control over the vehicle.

Pressing a button that switches the windshield into the car stereo screen, or a video monitor allowing me to see what is in the trunk, is unacceptable. Would you be happy with a rotary encoder for a steering wheel? Well, perhaps, but some sort of motional feedback would be important.

Eye On The Ball
Digital gear designers, how about a little nub on the rotary encoder knobs and an “analog mode” that allows us to feel the knob position with motional feedback end stops, freeing up our eyes for other tasks? How about making some outboard rack units with assignable metering and knobs so we can move critical controls and visual indicators out of the console catacombs and into the racks?

How cool would it be to have eight meters, with three knobs per meter, in a separate two rack-space unit where we could cluster all of our gates? (Hey look – all of my gates are right there, clear as can be, always!) I’d also love to have a few more of those two rack-space metering/knob units clustering my compressors into logical visual groupings as well, rather than splattered and buried into the abyss of menus.

Or how about a single rack-space unit as well that has a screen and some knobs that can be assigned to control a single effect unit?

Plugin companies could make “plugout” units that offer control and look like the physical realities of the units they’re trying to emulate. With a rack of plugouts we could actually see the settings as well as what a multitude of compressors are doing all at the same time, while also not hijacking the console’s “windshield.”

Though digital consoles are renowned for amazing metering accuracy, really, who would ever want or need more than six or eight LEDs to show a 100-plus dB dynamic range? (Ha, just kidding!) But outboard metering alone seems to warrant the creation of assignable outboard hardware.

In sports, the mantra is “don’t take your eyes off the ball.” When driving, everything is designed to minimize diverting your eyes from the road. All I’m saying is let’s get our audio setups back on track so we can keep our eyes on the show.

Dave Rat heads up Rat Sound Systems, based in Southern California, and has also been a mix engineer for more than 25 years.