We put the question of volume control strategies to the ProAudioSpace tribe (still not a member? Go to www.ProAudioSpace.com – now!) and obviously hit a chord. We got almost 100 responses – some of them very detailed – outlining individual approaches and strategies. Here are just a few excerpts from those responses. You can find them all in the Forums section of PAS.
An SVCS Laundry List
Stage Volume Control Strategies (SVCS)
SVCS #1: A well trained and experienced FOH operator.
SVCS #2: An Aviom system.
SVCS #3: Roland V-Drums
SVCS #4: Professional musicians and vocalists.
SVCS #5: A stage director with the force and impact of a P.O.'ed drill sergeant carrying a baseball bat.
SVCS #6: IEMs.
SVCS #7: DIs.
– Robin Parker
PAN, PAN, PAN
The more realistic you can make their ear mix, the better chance you will have they will cooperate. PAN, PAN, PAN. When you stand on a stage, sounds come from all around you naturally. You have to reproduce that to the best of your ability if your gonna make it feel natural.
– Chris Boyd
Raise dB Awareness
We have a dB-restriction. and we check on that with portable dB meters (like phonic DAA3) or fixed systems (like Apex Hera). We think that "awareness" is very important (towards engineers as well as audience). Shortly, we distribute earplugs for the audience (using something like a sweet-dispenser). The Hera has a large display on stage, so monitor guys, musicians and DJs, as well as hall managers, can keep an eye on volumes in the hall. The Hera also keeps a log file, so we can check on the printout how loud an evening has been. For some situations, (like dance-events and student parties) we are considering using a dB restictor, as it seems harder to communicate with DJs and organizers on those kinds of evenings. Since we have this Hera plus display installed, we got a lot of positive responses from local sound-rental guys, who actually wanted to control the volume more but were afraid to get into arguments with their clients.
– Peter Misschaert
Aiming the Monitors
One trick I use when working that room is clever aiming of the monitors. This room is not a common configuration. but the principle can be used many places. Instead of aiming the monitors directly in front of the artists and reflecting off the back wall, turn them so the angles of reflections don't go directly back towards the congregation. Even with dynamic cardioid mics. I've never had an issue with feedback when the angles are all set up thoughtfully.
– Brian Greenwood
Switch the Phase of Some Mics
If your desk has phase switches, alternate your vocal microphones phase switches, your overhead mics and even guitar amp mics if you have more than one guitarist. Low frequencies from bass amplifiers, monitors (if reproducing low end – usually not much in monitors), kick drum, etc. – permeate the whole stage area and tend to arrive at different microphones – more in-phase than out-of-phase. A muddy mix – caused by the low end spill that you can't quiet put your finger on as to where it is coming from – can be addressed by switching the phase of some mics. Playing around with the phasing of these mics does not in any way affect the individual guitar or vocal pick-up in the mic, but will help cancel low frequency spill. This can be more or less effective depending on the actual distances between and placement of microphones. Play around with the phasing and use it where it makes a difference.
– Lyndon Stuart Dunbar
Attitude Adjustment
THE PRIMARY TOOL!? Attitude adjustment. Worship music is about helping the congregation worship God. Uncomfortable volume for the congregation does not facilitate worship…it distracts. So musicians are to be encouraged and assisted in accepting new ideas on how to keep stage volume – therefore FOH envelope – under control, in spite of, "It doesn't feel natural…It doesn't quite have my ‘sound.'" Musicians sometimes need to be reminded that they are the only ones who can tell the difference between a $1,200 modified Marshall head and a Line 6 Pocket Pod, or a $100,000 Steinway C from a digital piano. The average congregation member won't know the difference sonically. Tell them to approach the new concept like a new instrument. Spend time with it, practice with it, and "if you're as good as you think, you can make it work."
– Steven Ayola
Quit Coddling Musicians
If the player knows what needs to be done and "gets it," they play. If they can't understand what the problem is, or refuse to work to improve the product because it "compromises their sound," find somebody else very quickly – even if the replacement is not as hot, the product will be vastly improved. You know you don't have to be a member of a Church to play in one….
I am one, so I can say this: QUIT CODDLING THESE MUSICIANS.
– Bob Workman
Great Sound Can Be Louder
There are no tricks and no gadgets to solve this problem. Every widget has its cost and impact on the music. It takes a comprehensive approach and some different ways of looking at things along with team-building with the band. We don't use drum shields, we don't turn amps around, we don't use IEMs, we don't gripe at the guitar players about levels, and yet we get great sound. One secret is that great sound can be lots louder without complaints. Too many churches have rock bands in them and expect 85dB average levels. It's absurd, and even if you manage it, there is rarely any life to the music.
– Don Cicchetti
Positioning the Drummer
I usually try to have the drummer set up off to one side of the stage, instead of center. This way, I can place a plexi shield between the drummer and the rest of the band, which helps keep the level of guitar amps, etc. at a lower volume on the stage. This tends to keep the drummer happy, since most drummers I've personally worked with hate being behind a full shield. I've also found that in the majority small to mid sized church venues, having the drums off center seems to reduce the overall volume of the direct drum sound in the room.
– Bobby Spangler
Give ‘em a Demo
Whenever someone complains the monitors aren't loud enough, I bring them back to FOH and play a CD through the monitors at the settings they asked for. I turn off the mains and they quickly realize that monitors that are too loud really mess up the sound in the rest of the room. Most people are very gracious after the demo and work with us to keep the monitor levels reasonable.
– Robby Wright
Budding Migrations
Not all musicians like to use in-ears.
A couple of things that can help migrate folks to buds.
1) Make a recording of the person's monitor mix and give it to them to listen to on their iPod. That way, they can get used to hearing themselves in buds without the pressure of having to perform as well.
2) Sometimes introducing 5-6 ms of delay into the mix helps. This provides the same delay they would normally hear when using a stage wedge.
3) Introduce a pair of ambient mics into the mix, panned 50 percent stereo.
Lastly, if you are using a performer mixed system, like Aviom, you might want to consider running a feed of your FOH mix into the system as well.
– Ian Robertson
Senior Solution
Simple solution… make sure the guy on the board is over 60! Old farts like me don't like it when our ears hurt. Just ask my son!
– Kirk Merley, Merrily Productions
Gear That Helps the Cause
There is no magic piece of gear or gadget that is going to take care of your stage volume issues. But there are tools that can help. Here are some that were mentioned consistently by our valiant HOW engineers.
Guitars
The bane of many of us is the guitar player who has to turn it up to get "his sound." Try a low-power tube amp like the Blackheart Handsome Devil that is switchable between 7 and 15 watts so you can open it up without blasting the entire room. Or have a specialized direct box like the Radial JDX or HK Red Box sit between the amp and speaker and employ a feedback loop to emulate the behavior of a real speaker in a direct signal. Just keep the amp low and give the guitar player plenty of him (or her) self in the monitors. The JLH Axe Track (reviewed in the Aug. 2008 issue of FOH) provides a real speaker and mic in a sealed enclosure. Easy to use and virtually no stage volume. Finally, if you want to get things really quiet, get both the guitar and bass to use a modeler like the Line 6 POD or similar units from VOX and others.
Drums
A cage can help, but only if it properly designed and implemented (i.e., don't put the drums in a corner covered with sheetrock and put a cage on them and expect it to make a big difference.) If you can get the drummer to use an electronic kit like the Roland V-Drums or the Alesis DM-Pro then do it. If cymbals are the problem, then Cympads (www.cympads.com) can shave a few dB off the cymbal volume without adversely affecting the tone.
Personal Monitors
Virtually everyone agreed that getting wedges off the stage and their performers on PMs made a bigger difference than anything else. Here are some tools that may make the switch from wedges to PMs easier for your band and for you.
Ambient microphones: Good room mics fed into the PM mix can help alleviate the "boy-in-the-bubble syndrome that many performers complain about.
Personal monitor digital mixers: These mini mixers (Aviom, Samepage, MyMix, Hearback) give the performer control over their mix and can go a long way in PM acceptance.
Buttkickers: One of these transducers mounted to the drum throne will allow the drummer to "feel it" – and some people mount them to the stage right under the bass player for the same sensation.
