Volume issues throughout scenes

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PupmaTz
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed May 26, 2021 5:50 pm

Volume issues throughout scenes

Post by PupmaTz » Tue Jan 25, 2022 1:45 pm

In my project for my function band, I got around 40+ scenes for different songs of the sets (of course automated on/off to save CPU etc.). Some of the sounds of certain scenes seem to be quieter than others as punters would tell me after the gig, and I was wondering if there's a way to have all sounds on the same volume level? Obviously, I try to get them on a good level individually in rehearsals and it's working alright but it seems to be different during gigs - is it because we use a different PA plus the different room sizes in each venue etc.?

Did anyone deal with this issue before?

Thanks for the help!!

Greenapples2019
Posts: 283
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 6:43 pm

Re: Volume issues throughout scenes

Post by Greenapples2019 » Tue Jan 25, 2022 9:02 pm

Hi, we have something similar with our band (I guess you're talking about wav/aif backing tracks?) and after some experimentation we found the best way was to put a limiter on the tracks before we then exported to use in our live set (at say -14 LUFS). That way we at least knew the tracks would be consistent with each other going into the scenes. That rules out one variable but one of the other key variables (as you point out) is the PA system - what sounds the same through headphones/monitors can be wildly different when through a PA which will have different frequency responses, plus people are listening at different distances so will hear different mixes because high and lower frequencies travel differently. Same goes for the room, the furnishings and the crowd size which will all affect how the different frequencies then sound. Another variable is the type of song (and where in the set it is) and how loudly the musicians play - they naturally alter their volume/intensity and if the tracks are the same volume, the mix will be different again.

To summarise our approach:
1. Get the tracks to a consistent level before importing to our live set
2. Tweak the gain for each track to suit the genre/how loudly others play
3. Use a reference track that you know really well and play this when setting up the PA. If you know how this track, and yours, sound on your home/practice system, then you can tweak the EQ at the gig so that the reference track sounds "right". That way your tracks will sound similar. For a reference track use one that is a similar style to your own band (we use tracks by Van Morrison and John Mayer)
4. Use the same song each gig to soundcheck to, and try to have one of you stand out front and listen.
5. Have a friend move round the room and make notes at a gig so you can tweak the gain/EQ settings accordingly.
6. If one of the band can listen to the front of house mix on in-ears, they can hear any major changes to the mix during the gig.

Without a dedicated sound technician it's a constant tweaking of an imprecise science but I hope some of this helps, and good luck. Feel free to ask if anything needs clarifying.

Cheers

D

PupmaTz
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed May 26, 2021 5:50 pm

Re: Volume issues throughout scenes

Post by PupmaTz » Fri Feb 18, 2022 12:35 pm

Thanks for the detailed response D!

I will try out your steps but have a feeling that it is indeed a matter of tweaking the volume during the sets and just trust my ears with the mix from the monitors. We're not using backing tracks, I'm talking about i.e piano/organ/synth plugins that I'm playing live which are difficult to level out correctly, especially throughout different genres as you mentioned.

Thanks again!

fishmonkey
Posts: 4478
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:50 am

Re: Volume issues throughout scenes

Post by fishmonkey » Fri Feb 18, 2022 1:09 pm

you need a FOH sound engineer...

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