With over an hour before doors opening, I decided to get to the heart of what was going on.
To address the left/right level difference, I had added 3 dB to the right send.
So that issue was taken care of, but it bugged me that I have to do that to get the levels to match.
I began listening to some additional tracks on CD, and once again started messing with the 1/3-octave EQ. No matter what I did, the overall sound deteriorated and the “gack” remained present in the upper mids.
Frustrated I began hitting the bypass on the EQ to do some A/B comparisons. In general, both with and without the EQ changes, the system was still sounding edgy and aggressive.
How could these same CD tracks that sounded great just a few hours ago now sound so lousy? Were my ears failing me? Was I fatigued?
Then it hit me – did I really need the 1/3-octave EQ in line, or could I just EQ at the channel level?
With nothing to lose, I unpatched the EQ, and immediately, both the left/right level and the “edgy/aggressive” problems were gone. I found the worship leader asked him to come have a listen, and he confirmed what I was hearing.
The show ended up sounding beautiful. My front of house guy put together a well-defined mix and ran it at the perfect volume. I would say that it ended up being in the top five of the best shows I’ve either produced or mixed.
I also walked away with a big reminder. No matter what anybody else says, always listen to and evaluate the gear based on what you’re hearing.
The EQ I had patched in is made by a very reputable company, and I’ve even spec’d this particular model on a number of installs that we’ve done. So obviously it had somehow experienced some damage, whether from a power surge, lightning or whatever. What I do know is that I will never again insert it into the signal chain.
No matter the gear, it’s reputation, and what the spec sheets say, let your ears – and the ears of others you trust – be the biggest factor in your decisions.
Gary Zandstra is a professional AV systems integrator with Parkway Electric and has been involved with sound at his church for more than 25 years.