i REALLY need some advice. i do a mix of pre-recorded tracks and live guitar and have scored my first gig (outdoor venue). it's a big deal for me and i want to do all in my power to get it right.
i've only heard my songs on home systems, studio monitors and car stereos. now it will be on a pretty big PA system. i'm wondering how people mix for louder systems and if there's anything i should do (with my mix) or watch out for.
i have two audio tracks of the songs (so they can overlap when needed), a guitar track and two or three midi tracks. most of the overall sound is from the pre-recorded audio tracks. it all sounds really good on various small and home systems. if i could be confident that it'll translate well to a PA i'd be able to relax a bit. please, if there's anyone knowledgeable in that area i would be so grateful for a reply.
home sound vs outdoor PA - help!
Re: home sound vs outdoor PA - help!
The best solution will be to do a soundcheck on the pa... there's so many variables that its hard to guess them all in advance. Compression and frequency boosting always sound more intense on loud PAs. Trance always sounds good on outdoor systems, as does nu dubstep. I do a b testing against a record to figure out how my frequency response differs from the pro mastered track and fix deficiencies with a master eq (or my mix). I always have a eq on my master out for live gigs... so i can make last minute adjustments.
Re: home sound vs outdoor PA - help!
I´ve learnt that it might be good to reduce the playback from a high trackcount. Also the amount of fx can be dialed back. For some reason it is good to send out different sub groups if possible. I usually give the PA-guy drums (2), bass (1), pads (2), melodic stuff with attack+guitar (2), voc (1). I use a motu interface with 8 mono outs.
In the bass department I am also pretty conservative when routing out to a pa-system. An Eq on the master bus is a very good tool to adapt to the specific environment.
The homework I do before soundcheck is
a) to get rid of "additional tracks" leaving the "essence of the song"
b) dial back compressors, reverb, delays to make the mix "dry"
c) reducing subbass, bass in general
It might sound thin and kind of empty at home but I made the observation that the live sound is more powerful on pa systems because not so many signal compete each other atthe same time to come through the speakers. Hmm, well. Maybe you know what I mean.
der Ivo
In the bass department I am also pretty conservative when routing out to a pa-system. An Eq on the master bus is a very good tool to adapt to the specific environment.
The homework I do before soundcheck is
a) to get rid of "additional tracks" leaving the "essence of the song"
b) dial back compressors, reverb, delays to make the mix "dry"
c) reducing subbass, bass in general
It might sound thin and kind of empty at home but I made the observation that the live sound is more powerful on pa systems because not so many signal compete each other atthe same time to come through the speakers. Hmm, well. Maybe you know what I mean.
der Ivo
Re: home sound vs outdoor PA - help!
hey, thanks so much for the quick responses. very helpful. i have few tracks and few effects - it is truly lean and mean. keeping it very simple until i learn more.
i've now spoken to a lot of people and the consensus seems to be - make it as sweet as possible to your ears (done, really) and you can't do much about unknown variables. i hope to get a sound check but this place will be crawling with big egos and it's easy to get nudged out in that environment. i'm the new guy.
frankly, it's possible i am not ready and have bitten off more than i can chew, but this was an opportunity i couldn't pass up. it fell into my lap. i didn't even seek it out. i'm going in like a warrior and hoping not to be wounded.
again, i appreciate you guys taking the time to help.
some songs here if anyone's interested: http://www.reverbnation.com/lovedup
i've now spoken to a lot of people and the consensus seems to be - make it as sweet as possible to your ears (done, really) and you can't do much about unknown variables. i hope to get a sound check but this place will be crawling with big egos and it's easy to get nudged out in that environment. i'm the new guy.
frankly, it's possible i am not ready and have bitten off more than i can chew, but this was an opportunity i couldn't pass up. it fell into my lap. i didn't even seek it out. i'm going in like a warrior and hoping not to be wounded.
again, i appreciate you guys taking the time to help.
some songs here if anyone's interested: http://www.reverbnation.com/lovedup