Back Page: Touring Sound With Studio Roots?
Observations on the morphing of two disciplines

By Fletcher

Sound reinforcement systems have traditionally differed from recording systems in the tools they’ve employed. On the reinforcement side, there’s been more attention on the economy of rack/truck space with a vigilant eye on “getting the job done.” On the recording side, meanwhile, systems have focused more on the depth and resolution of audio. Over the past few years, however, the two disciplines have come to share more in common than ever before. I’ve been a “studio rat” for 20-something years, but also did some live work over that time.

While my regular gig is still consulting with recording studios, over the past few years I’m getting more and more calls to work on the reinforcement side of things.

During this time, I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in what were once considered “studio-only” tools being adapted in the live realm, as “the show” comes closer and closer to sounding like “the record.”

LIVE OR MEMOREX?

Signal routing flexibility has increased; effects of greater power and higher audio quality are now virtually interchangeable. I’ve been asked to supply effect “patch parameters” to more than one artist for whose album I mixed. These effect patches are now employed in the same tools for the tour as were used for the album.

I’m now often surprised to see more compressors, and of higher audio quality, in tour environments. Previously, these were pretty much limited to the studio.

With the proliferation of in-ear monitoring systems, what was once thought to be a fairly suicidal undertaking - “mix bus” compression - is now fairly commonplace. This is done with the intention of helping the live mix “congeal” better; again, the primary goal seems to be bringing the presentation closer to the sound of the record.

Ribbon microphones have found their way in front of live guitar rigs across the world. (While on the other hand, load-bearing guitar direct boxes have found their way into recording studios.) More tube-based equipment can be seen in the lead vocal chain, offering the live mixer the potential to achieve a depth and presence once found only in the world’s top recording facilities.

And more than ever, our firm has been contacted to assist with the design and implementation of “understage recording rigs” with the capability to record each and every microphone to a discrete track which will later turn into a DVD of the performance. The stability of these systems, audio quality of the analog to digital conversion process, and ease of backup are as important to the touring professional as the studio professional.

PULLING OFF VOODOO

While it’s still very difficult for a strictly studio-based engineer to pull off the voodoo required to adequately present a live sound performance, and microphone selection and placement techniques of the road are still very different from recording techniques (and there is still no “rewind button” in live performance!!) the two disciplines have been slowly morphing in directions far more similar than perhaps we could have imagined just five years ago.

The end result? The audience often gets the best experience possible. This, after all is said and done, is really the point of everything we do, regardless of any of our respective disciplines.

Fletcher heads up Mercenary Audio and also hosts a popular forum on ProSoundWeb’s Rec Pit. He can be reached at fletcher@mercenary.com

October 2003 Live Sound International