People often say that FOH mixing more and more resembles studio production, which is true in some ways, yet in other aspects is about as far from the truth as you can get.
These days, more often than not, you’ll find a recording system at the mix position, whether it’s a hardware capture device like the JoeCo BlackBox recorder or a DAW running Pro Tools, Logic, SONAR or PreSonus’ Studio One. And other than vocal microphones, many of the instrumental mics used onstage are pretty much the same as you’d find in any well-stocked studio, with the exception of the studio technique of doubling-up with a second distant mic (usually a large diaphragm condenser model) used for room ambience. Not much need for that in a live situation, where we have so much ambience that somebody needs to figure out a way to seal it in a can and sell it to our studio counterparts. Meanwhile, back at the console, on-board effects and a plethora of plug-ins take the place of outboard racks in many cases — although not always so, as evidenced this month’s cover shot of the impressive FOH setup for the 2013 Muse tour.
Two Worlds Apart
However, one major difference that sets apart the worlds of studio and sound reinforcement comes in the general lack of vintage gear in the live environment. It’s not entirely true that vintage equipment has no place in live performance, but if you encounter older gear at a concert, it’s more like to be guitar amps, guitars, pedals, basses, drums (but rarely cymbals), a Hammond B3 and perhaps a Rhodes or Wurlitzer electric piano and a favorite analog synth or two — but rarely in the racks & stacks or at the mix position.
Worshipped and adored in studios, older gear can deliver a certain audio je ne sais quoi, but if truth be told, dropping (probably the right word) a Fairchild 660 compressor or an EMT 250 reverb into a road case and loading these into and out of trucks every night is surely a recipe for maintenance disaster. Yet some vintage pieces do show up on the road or in installed racks, and among these are “money channel” items such as Neve 1073’s, Eventide H3000 UltraHarmonizers, and the lowly but still popular Yamaha SPX90.
The Carnage of Cartage
Even in the studio, some vintage items may not work from day to day — and that’s without suffering the carnage of cartage. Certainly, the same applies to microphones. Let’s face it, the road can be tough on mics — particularly handheld models and regular replacement is assumed and just another line in the budget. And while studio tube mics of the 1940s and ‘50s have their allure, there are few — if any — dynamic live performance mics of that era that have any real use on today’s stages. Of course, if you want that vibe from an earlier day without the hassles of a 60 year old mic, just snag a couple of Shure’s SH55 “Elvis” reissue mics and you’re set to go.
The same goes for live gear in other departments. If you’re looking for big bass, you could load a couple trucks up with vintage JBL “W” boxes powered by racks of Crown DC 300s, but somehow I’m sure a couple of the DrivePack-powered VerTec VT4880ADP subs on each side of the stage could replace a whole semi-trailer of the W bins — and sound better as well. It would sure make for a fun A/B test someday. While we’re on the subject of subwoofers, be sure to check out this month’s Buyers Guide on page 26, which looks at a selection of double-18 subwoofer boxes that offer high-end performance that — thank goodness — is nothing like the low-powered and inefficient bass cabinets of old.
When it comes to consoles, there’s no contest in the vintage-versus-modern argument. This year, Yamaha is celebrating its 125th anniversary — an impressive accomplishment for any company. But Yamaha also recently marked the 40th anniversary of its entry into the pro console market with the 1972 debut of the PM200 — a mono mixer with unbalanced inputs and outputs. The PM400 that followed added balanced I/Os and stereo operation, but the revolution arrived with 1974’s PM1000 (shown here). The PM1000 was a hit, with its modular design, transformer-balanced I/Os, 4×4 matrix, 3-band channel EQ and rock-solid construction. Although long-since replaced by the newer PM2000, PM3000, PM4000 and PM5000 analog designs and the PM5D digital console, the PM1000 laid down the future of Yamaha as a world standard.
Vintage Where You Need It
Of course, anyone who’s searching for that vintage sound in live performance needn’t have to look too far. Emulation plug-ins (and hardware recreations) of classic gear — particularly UREI LA-2A’s and 1176’s; Pultecs; Fairchilds; API, SSL and Neve modules; Lexicon reverbs and more are all available in modern forms without the hassle and uncertainly of wondering whether a classic piece will either boot up — or even show up. And this month, David Morgan delves into checking out Waves NLS (Non-Linear Summer), which bridges the gap of old and new, by offering the behavior and sonic footprint of classic console input modules and summing buses into a plug-in format.
In many ways, doing sound production has a lot of similarities to driving a classic car. Everyone wants the coolness and the flavor of vintage, while sidestepping the drawbacks of older designs. A ‘55 Chevy might seem cool, but sometimes the perks of modern automobiles — power windows, deluxe sound system, air conditioning/heating that actually work (along with little touches like self-adjusting brakes and sealed bearings that don’t need constant lubrication) — are luxuries we get used to and don’t want to give up. And while we might not get that retro feel in our new Mazda, at least we we’re not far from accessing an affordable and reliable vintage vibe when we need it at today’s FOH position. And I like that.
CHECK OUT GEORGE’S VIDEO PREVIEW OF THE MARCH ISSUE OF FOH
