JY: What mix techniques and approaches do you use to help keep Billie’s vocal on top of the music and audience?
DT: There isn’t an option for being on top of the crowd volume when they’re averaging 110 to 116 dBa between songs at 100 feet from the stage. I think one technique has been EQ’ing my house music before the show, and then slowly and gradually reducing its volume before the start of the show, giving a stark contrast between pre-show music and my mix. This technique also depends on the crowd, of course.
Vocal chain is obviously very important, but the last year I’ve been focusing on getting the other channels to sit nicely around her which also helps me stay in the pocket. I’m constantly trying to achieve a full and powerful RMS and using as many frequencies in the spectrum in order to provide a seemingly loud show when the meters might suggest otherwise.
Lastly, being very purposeful in the tuning process. Understanding how loud I can go with the mix and current stage design as well as making sure I’m tuning the PA at show volume in order to try to fix things without overdoing those fixes, which in turn will hopefully allow me headroom to either raise the show volume or release EQ once people are in the space.
JY: Do you like to personally use measurement tools and software or do you prefer the system engineer to get the system “ready for line check”?
DT: You know, I’ll admit that my knowledge of [Rational Acoustics] Smaart isn’t as vast as I would like. But that’s mainly due to my past experience of doing shows with engineers that rely heavily on what their computer tells them to do rather than how things sound. I do believe Smaart is a very valuable tool, but I try to focus more on referencing and target SPLs these days.
As for a preference on the system tech approach, I haven’t gotten to the point where I feel comfortable just walking up and starting a line check. Over the years I’ve learned certain things that have allowed me to understand not only how my mix should sound but how the PA should sound in order for that mix to translate. With learning those techniques, it might have also ended up making me a little more finicky when it comes to the tuning process – which is why I prefer to be working with the system engineer.
JY: Aside from your great series of “A Sum of Two Busses” videos on YouTube, what have you been doing to keep your audio chops sharp during this extended break from our careers?
DT: Thanks for the kind words! Since I finished the first 11 episodes, I’ve been kind of just tooling around. The series was more labor intensive than I imagined. I was doing everything from building the platform and getting the tech side sorted, to writing the scripts for making it quick, clear, and concise, to jumping headfirst into video editing, and even making my own theme music.
So lately I’ve been trying to take a breather. Currently I’m doing some compatibility testing and some personal nerd favorites like plotting how to reimagine my show files, improving workflow, and working through some recent updates.
JY: What do you miss the most about mixing live music these past 10 months?
DT: There are so many things to miss. I miss our crew, the energy of the show, the professional growth – you know, that feeling that you’re progressing in your ability. I also really miss that moment right after you tune the PA. The moment where the drummer sits down to hit the tubs for the first time while the PA is open, and everything just sounds right… Ugh… I miss it so much.
JY: What band or artist do you wish you could have the chance to mix live?
DT: You know, only once in my career have I proactively reached out to a band to see if they needed someone. It was maybe three to four years ago The band is named Royal Blood. I’ve been a fan for a while and was just fascinated with a duo sounding so full and rocking.
I also thought they’d be really fun to mix – not only because I love the music but also because the bass player is splitting his signal somehow and using his bass guitar for both the lower register as a typical bass and sending it to a couple guitar amps for an overdriven sound. It really makes me think about how I would approach that mix.
JY: Feel free to share some personal favorite stories of audio or your career in the music business.
DT: I’ve been lucky to have some really incredible moments in my career, but there’s one that stands out specifically with Billie. It was right after Coachella and we flew to New Zealand for a headline show at Spark Arena. I’m pretty sure it was her first headline arena show ever, and we rolled up with a 12-person crew and our little fly audio rig and crushed the show. While on stage, she mentioned that last year she played the 200-cap club right across the street.
At that moment, I realized how incredible music can be and how fast things can move. It’s definitely a moment I will never forget.
Bonus: Yak Hacks
Here’s a straightforward way to create “instant recall” buttons for tight or loose noise gates on drums:
• Create two “user buttons/macros/soft keys” with different gate thresholds stored for drums;
• Set noise gate thresholds “loose” on the toms (and/or kicks and snares) and save those settings to a user button;
• Do the same but with “tight” gate thresholds and save to another button.
The Payoff: if the drummer is playing very lightly you can click on the “loose” user button so you don’t miss the delicate hits, and then when the drummer is really bashing away, click on the “tight” gate user button to help keep bleed out of the tom mics.
— Jim Yakabuski