Live sound engineers have been very lucky. We've able to get away with being relatively lazy because the fundamental operation of our tools hasn't changed much in the last 20 years. Sure, there have been developments in speaker and crossover technology, amplifier reliability is greatly improved, microphones are better than ever and consoles provide more 'bang for the buck' than in the past, but that's all 'background' technology. We've been able to lay our hands on an analog console and been able to fl y it without having to work at it–even if it's a console we've never used. Kinda like driving a car. Sometimes the headlight switch is in a different location, but it still functions the same as on that Plymouth Satellite my dad owned when I was a kid. Unfortunately, you're going to have to get up off yer arse and fire up your brain cells because your audio life is changing whether you realize it or not.
Much like the digital revolution that rocked the studio world in the early 1990s, DSP technology has been causing ripples in the live sound world since the introduction of the first digital loudspeaker processors. The difference is that now, the changes are going to be under your hands and you're going to need to deal with them. Now you'll have to learn how to drive a rocket ship.
The first time I encountered a digital console in a live situation was a show in Oklahoma City about five years ago where I mixed on a Yamaha DM2000. The P.A. was promoter-provided, and when I advanced the gig, the sound company asked if I'd be willing to try the DM2000 instead of their trusty PM3000, along with a traditional assortment of FOH loudspeakers, amps and processing. It was clear that the only difference in the P.A. system would be the "front end" (the DM2000), which was–for me–the business end. They explained that if I wanted the PM3K, they'd have to spend more money to send out the big truck because the 3K wouldn't fit into the smaller truck. Never having used the DM2000, I was intrigued and went along for the ride. Luckily, I have a Yamaha 02R in my studio, so I wasn't completely lost in the sauce, but working the show was a tad on the uncomfortable side. I like big consoles with lots of knobs and faders (whether I need them or not) and big ugly VU meters. Consoles that throw an extra 15 degrees of heat at you when you're mixing a show at an outdoor festival in the summer…consoles that have 56 sets of EQ knobs even though my hands can work only one or two channels at a time…that's what I love. The concept of having one set of EQ controls for a "selected" channel was a bit slow, but it's amazing how fast you learn where the radio is once you're flying that rocket ship.
Anyway, the last input from the stage was a backing vocal residing on channel 25. The DM2000 has 24 channel faders. Channels 25 through 48 are accessed through use of a "layer" button that shifts the faders between banks of 24. When the time came to add a pitch shift effect to the backing vocals, I promptly miscued the fader layer and added a three-and-a-half semitone pitch shift to my kick drum which resided on channel one–same fader, different layer. Oh well, at least it wasn't the lead vocal.
What delivered me through that show relatively unscathed (save for the aforementioned pitch shift) was the fact I already had experienced and embraced digital technology in the studio. If I had to fl y the DM2000 "cold," the show surely would have been a disaster. What I got–in addition to a lack of knobs and buttons for control over my auxes and EQs–was a comp and gate on every channel and a couple of onboard effect processors (just like SPX990s!), plus the ability to set up scenes for songs where members of the band trade instruments or lead vocal duties. For once in my life, I did not have to compromise my choice of which channels could have comps and gates because the console wielded the processing muscle to run dynamics on every channel. My experience on the 02R made flying the DM2000 relatively easy, and the sonic improvement over older technology was clearly audible in the house mix.
The point of the story is this: If you want to remain competitive in the live sound market (read: if you want to keep working), you're going to need to embrace new technology and embrace it fast. It's changing under your fingertips. Here at FOH, we're going to help you walk that Bleeding Edge, and make it a lot less scary to dive into technology that may be unfamiliar right now, but that you'll be using within the year. Hold on tight, we're heading into the New World.
Steve "Woody" La Cerra is the Front of House engineer and tour manager for Blue Öyster Cult. He can be reached via email at woody@fohonline.com.
