How To Mix Live Music Chapter 16 - Auxes — Transcript

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1. 0:07How to Mix Live Music: We’re at chapter 16 now,
2. 0:11thanks for joining me so far.
3. 0:14This time we are looking at how to use the AUX buses
4. 0:18to create monitor mixes for the band on stage.
5. 0:22AUXes are a versatile set of output buses, found on most mixing consoles.
6. 0:29They can either be mono or stereo, pre-fader or post-fader,
7. 0:34and they all have a variable level control for each input channel.
8. 0:41Generally speaking, mono pre-fader AUXes
9. 0:44are used for making monitor mixes
10. 0:47for the musicians' loud speakers on stage.
11. 0:51“Pre-fader” means the channel’s fader level
12. 0:54does not affect the sound on stage:
13. 0:57so what the musicians hear is independent from the mix made for the audience.
14. 1:04Stereo pre-fade AUXes
15. 1:06are used for making in-ear monitor mixes for the musicians.
16. 1:11When they are wearing earphones,
17. 1:13they are isolated from the acoustic ambient sounds,
18. 1:17so making a stereo mix is important to give them perspective and orientation.
19. 1:24On the other hand, post-fade AUXes are mostly used for sending input channels
20. 1:31to effect units such as reverbs and delays.
21. 1:35We’ll use those in a later chapter.
22. 1:38MGP32X is equipped with 6 AUX buses.
23. 1:44They can all be post-fader, but only AUXes 1 to 4 can be pre-fader.
24. 1:51So we can create 4 effective monitor mixes for the musicians.
25. 1:57TF series is much better equipped, with 8 mono and 6 stereo AUXes,
26. 2:04all of which can be configured as pre- or post-fader.
27. 2:08So TF series will provide a much better mix on stage
28. 2:12for large bands and for performers wearing earphones.
29. 2:17Let’s look at the MGP mixer first,
30. 2:20because its signal flow is easier to follow.
31. 2:24The sound comes into the mixer, through the EQ,
32. 2:29and then if you press the PRE button by the AUX knobs,
33. 2:33the sound will travel along the AUX bus to the AUX SEND MASTER.
34. 2:39Adjust the overall output level there,
35. 2:42and press the AFL button to hear it in you headphones.
36. 2:48AFL means “After Fader Listen”:
37. 2:51the sound you are listening to is dependent on the level of the send master.
38. 2:57For the post-fade AUXes, the sound will travel through the faders
39. 3:02before coming back up to the AUX bus,
40. 3:05then along to the right, and up and out.
41. 3:08To get started, make sure the main instrument or vocal for each monitor
42. 3:13is at a good level.
43. 3:15Start with the amps for the monitor speakers turned down low.
44. 3:19Then raise the AUX Master to around 0 dB, which is the 3 o’clock position.
45. 3:27Then raise the AUX send level from the relevant channel to the 0 dB mark,
46. 3:33which is at the 1 o’clock position.
47. 3:36For the singers, hearing their own voice will be most important.
48. 3:40For many keyboard players, they are completely reliant on the AUX send,
49. 3:45because their instruments are not acoustic at all.
50. 3:49The singers’ microphones and monitor speakers,
51. 3:52there are the ones most likely to cause feedback at high levels,
52. 3:57so begin by adjusting those.
53. 4:01With one mic input sending to each AUX master,
54. 4:06raise the amplifier levels to provide a satisfactory sound for the musicians.
55. 4:11And make sure it is not too high to cause feedback.
56. 4:16All other levels will need to be adjusted in relation to this.
57. 4:21Next, blend the other instruments the musicians want to hear,
58. 4:26one AUX at a time.
59. 4:29Ask the performers what they want to hear in their monitors,
60. 4:33and dial in the AUX send levels, little by little.
61. 4:38Each musician will want a different balance,
62. 4:41depending on their proximity to each other
63. 4:43and to the other acoustic instruments.
64. 4:48In my experience, everyone on stage will want to hear the lead singers,
65. 4:54but the main singers may only wish to hear one melodic instrument,
66. 4:58to help them pitch their own voice.
67. 5:00Everyone else will probably need a bit of rhythm guitar and keyboard.
68. 5:06Acoustic drums will not need much reinforcement
69. 5:09into the monitors at small venues,
70. 5:12maybe just a bit of hi-hat and snare
71. 5:15to help the bass and keyboards keep in time.
72. 5:20On larger stages the kick drum may also need to be reinforced.
73. 5:25And if an electric guitar or bass cabinet is used on stage,
74. 5:29that could carry enough sound already for most of the performers.
75. 5:34Experienced performers will know what they want to hear,
76. 5:37and will be able to guide your adjustments well.
77. 5:41Less experienced players may rely more on your own judgement.
78. 5:46So use the AFL switch and headphones to listen to the mix,
79. 5:51and check if the performer’s own sound
80. 5:54can be heard clearly enough above the other sounds.
81. 5:59At this point, it should be mentioned that in smaller venues,
82. 6:03the level of the monitors
83. 6:04should be reduced compared to that in larger venues.
84. 6:08Otherwise the sound from the monitors will be heard too much by the audience,
85. 6:13and will reduce your ability to create a good sound for them.
86. 6:18Also in smaller venues,
87. 6:19the performers can rely on hearing more of the sound from the main PA system.
88. 6:25So in smaller venues, it is good to keep the main PA on
89. 6:30while setting AUX levels,
90. 6:33to judge the blend of sound between stage and audience.
91. 6:39Always a balance needs to be found between pleasing the musicians,
92. 6:44so they can play confidently, and pleasing the audience,
93. 6:48so they get a good quality sound.
94. 6:51But remember that a musician who hears a good sound on stage
95. 6:55will create a better performance for the audience anyway.
96. 7:00It is important during a rehearsal or sound-check to spend some time on stage,
97. 7:05listening to the mix at each musician’s position.
98. 7:09So you can experience what they hear,
99. 7:11and understand if some adjustment is requested.
100. 7:15If the performer asks for something to be made louder,
101. 7:19it will be safer to not turn anything up,
102. 7:22but instead turn everything else down a little, to get the same effect.
103. 7:28Feedback howl and squeals can be caused
104. 7:31between the monitor speakers and microphones.
105. 7:35Be sensitive to it.
106. 7:36If it occurs, turn the AUX MASTER level down a little.
107. 7:40And make sure the rear of the mic is facing the speaker.
108. 7:45Without an EQ on the AUX, there is little else to be done.
109. 7:50That’s where the TF series has an additional advantage:
110. 7:54every AUX Master channel has an EQ available,
111. 7:58to shape the sound on stage and to combat feedback,
112. 8:02like we discussed in chapter 8.
113. 8:05It's worth noting that the AUX sends are normally always post-EQ:
114. 8:12so any EQ adjustment made will affect the sound in the monitors.
115. 8:18And it’s the same for input Gain.
116. 8:21So it's best not to adjust these once the musicians’ sound check is complete.
117. 8:26Otherwise all the performers could be complaining
118. 8:29about an imbalance to the sound!
119. 8:32However, more experienced performers,
120. 8:35and musicians in venues with difficult acoustics,
121. 8:39will be asking for different EQ adjustment in their monitors
122. 8:43than which is ideal for the audience.
123. 8:46That is why many larger venues have a completely separate mixing console
124. 8:51for the stage monitors, with a dedicated sound engineer.
125. 8:56It is the way to keep the sound shape and balance
126. 8:59completely separate between stage and audience.
127. 9:05If you are using just one mixer for both purposes,
128. 9:08like many smaller venues do,
129. 9:11then hopefully the advice I have given you in the previous sessions
130. 9:15will allow you to find a suitable EQ setting to suit everyone.
131. 9:20Just remember an EQ cut is more effective than a boost.
132. 9:28Now let’s see how to adjust AUX sends with the TF mixers.
133. 9:32They have a great feature called “SENDS ON FADER”.
134. 9:36Press the AUX key you want to view, and all the faders move,
135. 9:40to show the send levels from the input channels,
136. 9:45and the AUX Master level on the red fader on the right!
137. 9:49All the sends are pre-fader by default,
138. 9:52but can be changed on the screen, in the “SEND TO” and “SEND FROM” windows.
139. 9:59It’s a fast and highly visual way to manage your AUX mixes,
140. 10:03and it allows for finer level adjustments.
141. 10:08Later in this series
142. 10:09we’re going to refine our mix with compressors and effects,
143. 10:13but next time we’ll take a look at how to use the other outputs on the mixer:
144. 10:19the "MONO" or "SUB” master, and the matrix outputs.
145. 10:24Join me again then.