As audio engineers, we work in a business that is driven by passion and emotion. While audio engineers — in a perfect world — should have a zeal for their work, many required operations that are performed are devoid of such animated fervor. Flying a speaker array, setting frequencies for wireless units, running cables, patching a stage and ringing out a speaker system are a few of the things that come to mind that do not require a great or enthusiastic commitment on behalf of the engineer.
We are the support team hired to provide a means for the “talent” to reach their audience by amplifying their emotionally charged program, be it a corporate/political speech or a theatrical/musical production. We are the conduit for ensuring that the on-stage dramatics are properly conveyed to a specific audience and — while our job is technical by nature — it is important to understand that once an engineer masters the technical side of their job, they can then provide an emotional mix for either the audience and/or the on-stage “talent.”
I cannot emphasize the importance of mastering the technical side of our profession since the lack of working mechanics can also lead to an emotional mix of the adverse kind. Errant frequencies, uncontrolled feedback, a lackluster mix and poor speaker coverage can easily put a negative charge in the performer and audience alike.
Case in Point
A case in point is a Sebastian Bach show that took place at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on April 25, 2014. Our company had rented him backline equipment and, when the gear was returned to us, there was an empty guitar case, which should have included a brand-new Taylor 812CE acoustic guitar. On further inspection, we located an online video of Sebastian Bach taking the beautiful Taylor rental guitar and smashing it on stage until it resembled porcupine roadkill with its spiny spindles all akimbo.
Sebastian Bach, as one might remember, was the lead singer for the heavy metal rock band “Skid Row” from 1987-1996. By definition, rock ‘n’ roll and metal music is fraught with emotion —albeit rebellious anger and hormonal rage — and while on stage, Sebastian Bach is definitely the embodiment of that heavy metal, rock ‘n’ roll feeling. I viewed the guitar smashing video and it is a perfect example of how audio can create an adverse emotional reaction. As far as I can tell from watching the video, the guitar was feeding back in the on-stage monitors at around 160 Hz, which is a common problem when amplifying acoustic instruments. The guitar was even rented with a feedback buster. Therefore, whoever rented the guitar must have encountered the problem before. The low-end rumble emanating from the monitor stops the show three times before Sebastian Bach shouts “Whose guitar is this? It’s a rental?” he asks, before taking it from his guitar player and smashing it on stage, effectively ending the feedback and destroying a beautiful instrument in the process.
As far as I can tell, this act was a crime of passion; misplaced anger maybe, but a crime of passion nonetheless, for which Sebastian Bach needs to be held accountable. It was an emotional and theatrical moment, but instead of picking on a helpless guitar, he should have picked on someone his own size and beat the crap out of his monitor engineer. Then again, if he was thinking rationally and less emotionally, he would have gone to his monitor engineer and requested a high pass sweep up to 160 Hz plus a small input trim, and the problem would have been solved without the high drama. That would be my fix, but — for all I know — Bach may have anger issues and violent emotional outbreaks are the only solution he has for his unresolved problems.
Regrettably — if that’s the case —I would hate to think of what might happen if his babysitter were to bring his toddler home with schmutz on his face. Who would he blame for the dirt, and how might he rectify the schmutz problem?
The Emotional Mix
However infelicitous, the Sebastian Bach guitar smashing incident is a good example of how easily an audio mix can provoke a negative emotional response, while at the same time providing a clear example of why technical skills need to be mastered in order to avoid adverse audio situations. Conversely, just as technical know-how can be used as a preventative, it can also enable an engineer to create a positive emotional mix.
When I impart my audio knowledge to up and coming live-mix engineers, a few of the topics I stress as important items in one’s technical arsenal are: signal flow; gain structure and an ability to identify frequencies. Of course there is much more to the technical aspect of mixing than these three items, but a solid understanding of each is a step in the right direction for building a solid mix.
Where the signal is coming from and where it is being sent is also crucial, for obvious reasons. The skill of setting up a proper gain structure is an essential piece of knowledge to have so that one can avoid pissing off their artist or worse. Understanding and hearing the different frequencies in the audio spectrum from 20 Hz to 20 kHz is also pivotal to creating a good audio mix. For the audio technician, it is akin to a musician hearing changes and scales.
Much like the musician who masters their instrument, the idea of audio is to become adept at the required techniques so that one can convey an emotion and not just an empty display of technical fireworks. So, how does one construct an emotional mix from a bunch of knobs and faders? The reality is that our mixes do not stand alone, and if the orator or band leaves the stage, there is no mix — emotional or otherwise. So, if the program coming from the stage is boring (or worse), how is it possible to build an emotional mix? First of all, it’s imperative that the technical aspects are mastered and that the engineer is not at odds with his tools. After that, it’s about opening the channels and getting the right sounds and separation for the band’s instrumentation and vocals.
Unlike a studio mix, we are not creating an environment from an empty palette and manipulating it until perfection is achieved. Instead, we are working within a space that has its own distinct variables with a program that — on any given night — may or may not achieve an emotional connection with the audience.
Regardless of the performer’s ability to connect or not, we still need to provide a sonic emotion. If, for example, a politician is on stage giving a fiery discourse and we make his voice thin and nasally, he may be perceived as wimpy or even annoying, and his message — despite its brilliance — may not get through. On the other hand, if we impart that same voice body and depth, the lecturer then takes on the passionate, authoritative aural appearance of someone who is in control, despite the fact that they may only be reading the phonebook.
When mixing a band, we strive to enhance the emotion by getting satisfying sounds and clarity of individual instruments and vocals, thereby making a mediocre band sound good, a good band sound great and a great band sound amazing. Similar to the music played by the musicians, a good mix is dependent upon, both the technical ability and the intuitive “feel” of the engineer. This intuitive feel is the icing on the cake that can elevate a performance to the above and beyond realm of the emotional mix, and it is only achieved by the technician who has mastered their trade and refined their technique to an art form.
At the same time, engineers who disregard the basic techniques of the trade will never reach the dizzying heights of the emotional mix and will always be relegated to the lower worlds of angry musicians, disgruntled patrons and broken guitars.
