We’ve said a lot in these pages about how digital technology has shaped our audio lives, including the ability to create scenes or snapshots for a digital mixer ahead of time, and then store or load them into a desk for show time. Mixing systems such as the Digidesign Venue, DiGiCo D5, Soundcraft Vi6 and Yamaha PM5D have the ability for true total recall of every setting, which means we can preprogram a show at a rehearsal, store the settings into some sort of memory and then load that data into another desk of the same type on location. This summer, I observed that — instead of carrying their consoles on tour — many bands requested in their rider that a particular console be provided by the promoter. Once the band arrived on-site, the engineer loaded their show into the desk, and off they went.
Wouldn’t It Be Great If…
As I was programming a Yamaha M7CL the other day at a sound check, I had a brainstorm: Wouldn’t it be great if I could load my scenes for the PM5D into the M7CL? In fact, it’d be amazing if we could have a universal storage format that loads our settings into any digital console regardless of make or model.
I don’t think it’s as far-fetched as it sounds. Not too long ago, the concept of one manufacturer’s keyboard triggering sounds from a keyboard made by another manufacturer was a dream. For 20 years, it has been called MIDI. It would be an incredible resource for engineers if audio manufacturers could create a universal file format for digital mixer settings. We could call it SAMFF — Standard Audio Mixer File Format. I’d like to see the manufacturers of digital consoles get together and create a common file format that would allow you to (for example) load a scene from your PM5D into a DiGiCo D5 Live.
Obviously, we can’t expect that every setting would be identical, or even that the desks would sound the same. But at the very least, we could have the more “utilitarian” aspects of a console scene stored to this format. Settings such as channel name, pan, EQ on/off, dynamics on/off, DCA and mute assignment, phase normal/invert and send levels could be translated easily from one desk to another.
I don’t think it’d be realistic to expect that your kick drum EQ on a Yamaha PM5D would be the same as on the Digidesign Venue — particularly when third-party plug-ins are involved. But simpler settings such as a high-pass filter should be easier to translate from console to console; we’d avoid the need for traveling with a bag full of memory cards, and it would give engineers a starting point when faced with a new console for the first time. Total recall? No, but at least it could save you setup time when you get to the gig. Mixers from many manufacturers can already be controlled via MIDI. It can’t be that far of a leap to somehow map that data from MIDI to whatever data format is used to file settings on their digital mixers.
And Now for Something Completely Different…
Over the past few years, we’ve seen a trend in loudspeaker design toward self-powered units. Active loudspeakers have a lot of advantages over their passive brethren. To start, there’s that often scary decision regarding what power amp to match with your new speakers. The designer of an active loudspeaker knows exactly “how much is enough” and will do the grunt work for you in this department. You don’t have to worry about setting crossover points, what type of filters to use and at what slope. The amount of cabling required to set up an act ve system is much less than that required for a passive system, and setup time for an active P.A. is shorter. There’s also less truck space required because you can likely lose the amp racks (especially advantageous when using active monitors). Since the amps in most active designs feature limiters or protection circuits of some type, chances of blowing up a driver are reduced, and because many active loudspeakers feature active crossover circuitry, amplifier muscle is used efficiently.
In the Land of Oz
Alas, all is not perfect in the “Audio Department of Oz.” Most self-powered loudspeakers are heavier than passive speakers of similar size, simply because the cabinet is housing one or more amplifiers. You’ll have to run AC service to wherever the speaker is located, and this must be done with care to avoid interference with audio lines. If something inside that active cabinet fails, you temporarily lose the entire unit.
You might be able to replace a defective cabinet more quickly, but it will probably be difficult to repair (replacing a broken amp in a powered array during a show is probably not going to happen). That’s a drag because it means that you need a spare for the entire active unit — which is often more expensive than having say… an extra power amplifier lying around. It’s worth noting that some manufacturers have addressed this problem by employing modular construction in their active speakers cabinets, whereby a power amp can be quickly removed from the cabinet and replaced without moving or disturbing the placement of the cabinet. Very clever.
So, if self-powered loudspeakers are the bomb, why (other than economics) are sound companies still designing P.A. systems with passive loud-speakers? There is one thing you lose with a self-powered loudspeaker — the do-it-yourself aspect of P.A. system design. I’d heard more than a few owners of sound companies bemoan the fact that using self-powered cabinets “ain’t like the old days.” One gentleman told me he was frustrated using a particular powered line array because he felt the low-frequency crossover was too high. In a passive system, he’d make a quick adjustment at the crossover to correct what he felt was an audible problem, but the active system did not offer access to such parameters, precluding the possibility for user-tweaking or fine-tuning. Of course, there’s always a possibility that if you dismantle that cabinet, you might find some control hidden inside…
Steve “Woody” La Cerra has been out on tour all summer mixing front-of-house for Blue Öyster Cult. He can be reached via e-mail at Woody@fohonline.com.
