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Just got in from this event. It was a wedding reception for an old musical buddy and his wife the booking agent. So it was pretty much an excuse for the happy couple and a couple hundred of their close friends (all musicians) to get together and party.

I had asked for a set list with a quick description of the acts and numbers of players. The maximum number of folks expected for any particular act was 6 or 7. So I called in some favours and got 6 Systems on the stage.

The main space was about 50x50 and through the French doors it opened onto covered space the same size. We were set up on the wall facing the French doors. Amazingly you could hear the music at the far end of the space... beatifully.

The plan was - as one act finished and cleared the gear, the new act would stand just in front of the stage area roughly where they would be performing. This would give me a chance to ask what they would be doing and what they needed.

We had enough Systems. Except for one act, each performer was able to perform directly in front of the L1™ through which s/he was being amplified.

We had a few problems:

The keyboard turned out to be a well used upright that was pressed up tight against and facing the wall (leaving the Pianist facing the wall not the band). In my 'just in case' bag I had a Mackie 1202 and a couple of tiny diaphram condenser mics (AKG something smaller than at typical clip on). So I looked up mic techniques for upright pianos. We didn't have room or time to move the Piano out from the wall so I slipped the mics in behind and duct taped the wires to the frame. This left the mics dangling an inch or two from the soundboard. I put them approximately 1/3 along the way from each side.

I had some trouble with low end feedback but I'm sure this is because the B1 was too close. So I rolled back the lows and the piano seemed just a little strident and bright. But when things got going - it was pretty good with lots of presence in the mix.

Overall it went very well and I'll write a little more about this after a few zzzzzs.

If you ever have to do sound on a rotating stage (lots of different acts), if you can get one System per person (for largest act). It will be relatively simple to make it work.

Some of the highlights:
Steel Drum Band
Eastern European Gypsy/Jazz Band
Traditional Jazz Quintet (used the Piano)
Bagpipes
Acoustic Groove / Electric Jazz
Traditional Folk Flute (it was about 5 feet long).
Drum Circle
Disco/Funk Band
Unplugged Folk/ R&B Band

Oh - and I heard a Ned Steinberger "Stick".

Good to hear everything turned out okay ST.
Quite a variety of stuff to deal with.

Hi Drumr (Pete)

The first Sketch was the plan. The one below is how things actually turned out. The players were closer to the Systems than I would have liked but we really needed the floor space in the room so we got compressed a bit.

To create a little bit of a barrier I ran the cables for the lights (lights on sticks on either side of the stage - not shown) across the front of the stage area. These were heavy duty cables with a bright yellow outer casing. It made for a perfect 'border' for people to help them understand where the boundaries of the stage.


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Here is a link to the full sized version.

is the Upright Piano. I didn't remove the panels. Didn't know how and there wasn't anyone around to help. Instead I just hung a couple of small condenser mics from the top, dangling down in the space between the back and the wall (about 3 inches) - they ended up just below the moving handles a few inches away from the sound board. For lots of reasons, moving the Piano was not an option.

is the Mackie 1202 into which I ran the small condenser mics and a CD player for tunes during the breaks. We didn't end up using this because the breaks were also filled with music. Our hosts kept inviting people up on the stage to play us through the breaks. This made the transitions a lot more challenging because the stage was live and running almost non stop all night. Tom, if you are reading this, you've got to know how tough this was.

The Large Diaphram Mic

With the wide shallow stage, one of the Drummers was having trouble hearing the other side of the stage. I duct taped an AKG C3000 to one of the mic stands at the far left and ran this into the L1 closest to the Drummer. It was an ugly solution but it worked for him.
One of his comments was - "Why do I need to hear the Drums through that thing on this side. I need to hear the Piano." I think part of the issue was that the Piano player was 'leading' the set, and he (Drummer) couldn't see the Piano player at all through the other players. He was okay once I got that other mic strung up. If I had it to do again, I would probably have run a line from the mixer. I just couldn't get to the mixer (on top of the Piano) because this was all going on during the set. I could crawl around and stick the mic on the stand.

Gypsy Violin
This was ugly at first. He had a contact pickup on the body of the Violin and I ran it into the PS1, Channel 2. Everytime he played the G string (lowest) it sounded like someone has leaning on a car horn. This was probably because he had used the Remote to remove all the highs and mids and had cranked up the Low. I think that he was not accustomed to hearing the Violin so clearly and he was finding it too bright. Anyway I tried several presets, and finally put a small Acoustic Guitar Preamp in line. This helped a bit but it was stil pretty annoying. About halfway through the first song he tried the mic and then by adjusting the balance between the mic and the pickup he found his way to a really nice sound. Note: He had not used the L1™ before and he did this while playing.


More in a bit.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ST,

The people in the audience...

Almost everyone there is either a performer or lives with one.

There were also several people who 'do sound'.

The players and their companions were extremely generous in their comments. Lots of those mystery-arm-around-the-shoulders-from-behind and a word in the ear about how great it sounds. For the most part, these come from people who speak about how the whole ensemble sounds.

The other comments came from people who want to suggest that I fix things. It was almost always an observation followed by a suggestion.
"the Steel Drums are too bright; can you roll off the highs"
"her vocal sounds thin; she needs more 300k"
"he needs more volume; bring him up in the mix"
"his Guitar is too bright; can you roll off the highs"

I have a rule about this and it's pretty simple. Except for feedback, I do NOT touch a performer's Remote while they are performing.

Most of the time the performer will hear the problem (if there is one) and either fix it themselves or make eye contact with me and I'll point at the Remote. If they remember the 30 second mini-tutorial I gave them about the Remote, they'll adjust things on their own. If not

• I'll slip onto the stage between songs and ask for if I can help with the sound.
  
• I point out which control I am changing.
  
• Explain what I'm doing as I change it.
  
• Re-assure him/her that s/he controls the Remote and the sound
  
• Get him/her to tweak something
  
• Get off the stage

That sounds like a lot but it rarely takes more than a minute.

So the people who make 'suggestions about how to correct the sound' get a mini tutorial. It goes like this...

Do you see any monitors?
- No

Do you see any mains?
- No

Okay, so she (pointing to the performer) is listening to herself through the tower behind her, just like we are.
- uh huh

Let's give her a chance to hear it and she can change it if she wants to.
- but ...

I can't change what we hear without changing what she hears. Let's not do that to her in the middle of a song.

If I am talking to a performer, at this point there is usually an epiphany.

If the person making suggestions is not a performer, I'll just repeat that the performer on stage is in control of her sound and that ultimately the 'sound' belongs to her.

I am constantly pleasantly surprised how quickly people on stage figure all of this out - by themselves.


edit:

The background to this story is in But I never wanted to be the Sound Guy

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ST,

Hi ST,

Nice report. You have my empathy.

Dan

ST,

I AM reading this.

My experience at Sisters (running multiple-act sound) was mostly a dream. I had dreaded it for weeks, but the actual experience was much closer to everyone having a nearly ideal experience than I thought it would be.

I think your attitude has a lot to do with the performer's relaxation with the L1 concept & their perception of the experience. The simplicity of it all is the clincher.

I didn't handle the tutorial with quite the grace you did (I had your notes from the wiki on introducing new performers to the system), but it all went well anyway. The sheer physics of what we're working with in the L1 makes most sound jobs a breeze.

I would always say to "not complicate things" to any performer using the L1 & just enjoy it & the music.

ST,
Sounds like things went great overall for you and Tom.....still, I hope I never end up in a multiple act situation. Unless it's my band with our L1 systems, and the rest of the acts with the house system!

But if I ever need someone to run sound, you would be my first choice (Now, doesn't that make you feel better)?

Congratulations

Jeff
www.theunmentionables.com

quote:

Originally posted by ST:

"her vocal sounds thin; she needs more 300k"

More 300K??
I can never get enough 300K.

ST, you did an amazing job. On top of the huge amount of work you did to set this up, I am especially impressed by your patient tutorial for the helpful auxiliary sound engineers in the audience.

I may even have to give up using my own favorite method, which is to pretend to adjust the fader, then ask, "How's that?". The usual response: "Yeah, that's much better"

Just kidding, of course (or was I . . .?)

Bill

ST,

The "how I handle suggestions for improvements" section should be in the Wiki. It's PERFECT!

I remember doing multiple acts at the two Folk Alliance conferences I attended. I think my approach with the performers was very close to ST's but his approach with audience members is something much, much better than anything I've done. I usually just say, "tell the musician" but I realize now that falls far far short of what's possible.

Thanks for this ST.

How was the music?

Ken

Perfect, Ken!

ST, How WAS the music?

Thanks ST,
That was wonderful reading, I look forward to using your methods
for dealing with the audience as well as the performers, fantastic ideas.

Hi Bill,

quote:

"her vocal sounds thin; she needs more 300k"

That was pretty much a quote verbatim from someone in the audience. You know how it goes when people try to help.

Hi Ken,

"I usually just say, "tell the musician" but I realize now that falls far far short of what's possible."

This is a special group of people and I probably invest more with them as individuals than I might in a different group.

At least half of the people there are performers. Many of them will have their first experience in front of the L1s at events like this. I see every L1 related conversation as part of the arc of the story. If I can help someone to understand it when s/he is in the audience, then s/he will probably have a better experience with it on the stage. And it only gets better from there.

How was the music?
Flat out astounding. These were all great players that you find working the better and best local rooms and events in my town. There were funny moments too - the kind that happen in a friendly house.

I just can't take you anywhere
One of the smooth jazzers invited his girlfriend (a wonderful singer) to come up on the stage for a few songs. When she sang you could sense a quiet in the audience.

She did something really odd though. Whenever her boyfriend was soloing would tip up her arm (at the end of which was the hand with the microphone). This would leave the microphone resting on her shoulder pointed straight back at the L1™ behind her. There would be a little squeal, her boyfriend would give her a look, she'd sit up and hold the microphone in her lap and all would be good again.

The third time this happened he reached over, gently but sternly took the microphone out of her hands, and planted it with firm conviction in the mic clip on the stand.

Intimacy
One of the groups learned just how intimate the experience was with the audience. They were playing a little loud (at least to my ears). I asked them if they thought they could bring the people back into the room (as many had moved to the 'outer' space). One "Aha" and a "big grin later" there was a quick huddle on stage. They brought it all down a notch or two, drew the people in, and got them dancing.

Setup / Teardown
In case anyone is wondering, I set no speed records here (at least not L1™ speed records). It took me just under 90 minutes to setup (including going on the web to look up how to mic the Piano, and then making that happen). That was 6 L1s, 12 B1s, an assortment of preamps and processors (including my mighty monster McIntyre rack with the G-Force processor), XT Live, and on and on and still more. The Remote, a mic, two XLRs and a ¼ inch cable leading to every mic stand (the 2nd XLR cable was in case we needed to mic something). I'm certain I could have done it faster if I hadn't hurt myself earlier in the week.

Twelve hours later, teardown took just over an hour. I was moving slower but didn't have to pause to think.

For those not familiar with what it does and doesn't take to set an L1™ stage - That's one person (who cannot lift more than 40 pounds) 90 minutes to set a stage for six performers and their instruments. This was up to six performers in 8 different acts. Then later 60 minutes to tear it all down.

Now that I'm in the mindset of what it might have taken to do this in other ways - it just struck me -
Every act hit the stage running. That is - no soundcheck - just, "Is everything working? Great, then do the intro and count 'em in"



I finally have everything back here and my space is looking normal again. The phone rings and guess what... we're doing it again in eleven days. It's a party for all those who didn't get to play at the first one.

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Its official from now on the saying is “He has the patience of ST".

Since you've elevated him to saint status, does that mean we refer to him as St.ST ?

Wonderful stuff, ST. (Cue Brooklyn accent from the HoJo's on Utica St.) I'm dyin' over heeah!

May I be blessed with a trace of such grace at this here shindig ! Wish me luck, dear friends...

quote:

Since you've elevated him to saint status, does that mean we refer to him as St.ST ?

g-j

FUNNY. FUNNY. FUNNY!!!

(How would you pronouce that?)

Reminds me of the character in Catch 22, Major Major Major Major.

You made my day and it's only 9:30!

Ken

quote:

Since you've elevated him to saint status, does that mean we refer to him as St.ST ?

If this is a poll my vote is yes and it would be pronounced Saint ST(This comming from a not so good Catholic) All kidding aside this is a great report ST and I learned a lot just from reading it.
Thanks Rick

Ken
Was it a coincidence that they honored ST on All Saints Day?
Rick