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Egos and Feedback
Our reader Tim asks some really deep philosophical questions, while Adam merely wants some advice on how to perform proper equalization...
OSM -
Why do audio people have such HUGE egos?
BECAUSE WE ARE MENTALLY DISTURBED.
Why do they always "know more than everyone else?"
BECAUSE WE DO!
Why do they say a certain piece of equipment is "crap" or "the best on the planet" when different people seem to get different (including wonderful) results from the same gear?
THAT IS A QUESTION THAT HAS ALWAYS BOTHERED ME, TOO.
I am an "A/V" guy who knows a little about a lot, yet they curse me (and my A/V cart) and claim "It's not pro sound !!!" Well excuuuuze me, but a lot of things they spend hours and $$$ on aren't even going to be heard or noticed by the masses. They just burn up profits!
HOW DARE THEY!
Go ahead OSM and others, hit me up hard and tell me where I'm wrong! Then I'll kiss your fat ass like all the other "sound guys" I have to deal with.
Love and kisses,
Tim the A/V Tech
TIM, MAYBE YOU ARE NOT AWARE OF MY DISCOMFORT AT THE EXPRESSION OF SAME-SEX AFFECTION. I WILL HAVE TO ASK YOU TO LIMIT THAT IN THE FUTURE.
Dear Old Soundman,
YES, ADAM!
I am young and quite inexperienced in the finer methods and subtleties of mixing and EQ-ing, and I have seen several schools of thought on the proper way to eliminate feedback through vocal mics.
AS HAVE I. PROBABLY A LOT MORE SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT THAN YOU HAVE! SOME WERE SUCCESSFUL AND INVENTIVE, OTHERS CLUMSY AND, TO BE FRANK, DISASTROUS AND PAINFUL TO THE EARS OF BOTH PERFORMER AND AUDIENCE.
Some engineers use a 31-band graphic and remove the frequency range from the whole system, others use the sweepable (but fixed Q) EQ on their console, others use a parametric on the offending channel. What is the best way to eliminate a feedback frequency on a particular mic?
- Adam
ALL OF THOSE ARE VALID.
ALTHOUGH, IF YOU SEE YOURSELF REMOVING THE SAME FREQUENCY ON MULTIPLE CHANNELS, IT'S PROBABLY BEST TO DO IT ON THE GRAPHIC.
IF YOU ARE DOING MONITORS, BE AWARE THAT EVERY MIX A GIVEN CHANNEL IS BEING SENT TO WILL REFLECT ANY CHANGES YOU MAKE ON THE CHANNEL ITSELF. THIS IS USUALLY COOL WHEN IT IS JUST WEDGES, BUT NOT WHEN IT IS IN-EARS.
ONCE I WAS DOING MONITORS FOR A VERY FAMOUS FEMALE KEYBOARDIST. I MADE THE MISTAKE OF HITTING THE BONG BEFORE THE SHOW, AND IN THE MIDDLE OF IT, FOUND MYSELF LEISURELY TUNING THE KICK CHANNEL TO SOUND NICE IN MY LISTEN WEDGE. I LOOKED UP AND SHE WAS GLARING AT ME, DUE TO THE FACT THAT SHE HAD IT IN HER WEDGE, AND HAD NOT ASKED FOR IT TO BE CHANGED!
IF YOU HAVE A SINGER THAT RUNS ALL OVER THE STAGE, TUNE EVERY WEDGE, SIDEFILL, AND DRUMFILL TO THEIR VOCAL MIC. IT IS ALSO A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE THE ACTUAL VOCAL MIC TO THE HOUSE MIX POSITION AND TUNE THE MAINS TO IT, IF THE SINGER IS GOING TO GET OUT IN FRONT OF THEM.
LUV –
- THE OLD SOUNDMAN
