Each and every sound engineer has their own tricks to help make their mix sound the best. Whether it be a specific EQ for an instrument or voice, a specific mic or placement or using all of the above and effects at their disposal for the best optimization.

The base of every mix with a drum kit are both the kick drum and base guitar...if the specific genre of music allows. I have found a priceless tool that is built into the Digidesign series of consoles that allows you to make your kick drum sound the best it can...all with the help of some Plug-Ins that the console has built in.

First and foremost, proper mic placement within the kick drum is always the first step in obtaining a good overall mix. I would always recommend double mic'ing the kick if you have the necessary equipment. Secondly, proper EQ and compression (Smack compressor is my favorite for vocals and kick) on the channel will allow your kick drum to "pop" and not sound like a soggy noodle. Third...the Digidesign consoles have a built in "Signal Generator" within the Plug-Ins that ship by default with the board. Place this Plug-In on the Direct-Input of an unused channel at about 50Hz. Add a gate to that, and key it to the kick drum channel. Configure the gate accordingly, and mix the key and the drum together for a solid and impactful "kick" impact for your mix.

Again, Digi always amazes me with their top of the line products. I love their stuff. What tips can you share for others to use? Would love to hear them. If you have any questions with this process, send me questions. I love this stuff, so maybe we can learn something together. Hope you find this useful.

-Ken

Labels: art, audio, digidesign, drums, effects, enginnering, foh, front of house, kick, mix, mix down, multi-track, music, oscillator, plugins, profile, protools, sc48, venue

As most of you are aware...and for those that do not, nothing is more fun and relaxing as mixing audio. I would consider mixing audio one of my most favorite jobs to do. It is a creative art form and the operator is always learning something new! You can always learn factors by listening to music and the mixes of others. Yes, there are theories and practices that go into play, but at the end of the day you mix what sounds good to you. Everyone has a different technique to their mix.

I want to focus on a jewel that I have discovered recently...Digidesign. Digi, a division of Avid Technology, is in no way new to the audio world. They have been top of the industry for multi-track recording for many years, since their introduction of ProTools. ProTools leads the industry in editing digital audio tracks. The engineers at Digi released their live sound reinforcement console in the spring of 2005. They called it the VENUE. The VENUE is not just limited to a front-of-house console. Many have used the Venue for monitors, broadcast, recording and Post-production.

Since the debut of the original Venue series, they have had a couple of different releases of specific desks. First and most is the most popular which is the D-Show. This is primarily my favorite console to work with...not only from Digi, but from all console manufactures. It mimmicks a full spectrum analog console the best that I have seen. Since then, they have released other models within the Venue family, such as the Profile system and SC48. Both are of high quality, and it is giving other manufactures a run for their money.

The fact that the D-Show is backwards compatible with ProTools is a major plus. This means you can record a session from the desk then instantly play it back and remix it with complete control through the desk. They have a few varieties in rack units for your specific need.

Digidesign is hands down doing great things, and I believe are basically reinventing how digital consoles play within our industry, while setting a standard that others have not. I love the ease of use their systems have. It makes sense. The plug in effects are great...even the ones that are shipped from the factory. Of course, you can purchase additional ones. The effects that are state-of-the-art in ProTools are available for the digital desks. Digi has worked hard to engineer effects that function close to the outboard analog classic gear that many engineers have come to love. All available on the Venue systems. Above all, the effects are also easy to manage and configure. These desks are very common. In fact, many of my favorite artists are using this consoles for their front of house mix. These include John Mayer and Dave Matthews Band.

My apologies for the nerdy post. I just get all excited about toys that I play with. Feel free to leave feedback on what you think. Would love to hear back from you!

-Ken

Labels: art, audio, avid, digidesign, effects, front of house, mix, mix down, multi-track, music, plugins, protools, venue, Yamaha

Last night, I had the opportunity to go to my instructors church. I
was under the assumption that he was going to simply show us around
the reinforcement systems they had on campus. It turned out that was
just a little bit of what we were able to do there.

In fact, they have an entire system and staging they have to setup for
the Sunday overflow and childrens services they have on Sunday! I was
able to assist in this process. I must say, it was a great experience!
Vince is using a DigiDesign FOH console in that venue. I must say,
looking at that control surface for the first time may throw a person
into a confused state, but once you take a minute or two to sit down
and play with the control surface, it really makes sense.

This experience made me think of the first time I did a show on a
Yamaha digital console at my previous church. It was just
installed...the installtion was the finest part! I knew how to use the
system, and made it through the dress rehearsals just fine. I was
scared to death though...I was scar3d that somethingwpuld happen
during the service that I could not correct, but could if the same
thing happened on an analog console! The show turned out fine, and by
the end of it I was fairly confident with my abilities with that desk.

Digital consoles are wonderful. In some scenarios, I prefer them over
analog systems. Many people tend to be scared of them, but in reality
you can do exactly the same thing on a digital system that you can on
an analog. Most of the time it is even easier. There is criteria that
make up a good or bad digital console, and that is a factor you have
to figure when going out to make the purchase.

Ken Miller, Jr.
Sent from my iPhone.
Web: www.kintmiller.com
Moblog: www.kintmiller.mobi

Labels: analog, audio, church, control surface, digidesign, digital, foh, future, upgrade

In audio, we use "Phantom Power" to allow Condenser microphones to function which need an additional +48vdc of power. These microphones are more sensitive that traditional dynamic mics or ribbon mics. The fascination I have with this type of technology is the incorporation of the audio signal that is traveling through the cabling and also the added +48vdc of current.

Everyone has friends...or hopefully so. The degree of those friends (how much you speak...see each other...things you have in common, etc) is a variable factor from each friendship to friendship. Some, you can't go a day without speaking or being in communication with each other and the extreme being you can go months and months between conversations. The later is what I refer to as a "Phantom Friend." That term is not being used in a negative or condescending way.

In this "social networking age," we are able to instantly have communication with people from all around the globe in fractions of a second. This can keep is connected through whatever medium we choose to. In fact, many of my friends that I have are a great distance away! From Tampa, FL...Atlanta, GA...Nashville, TN...New Orleans, LA.

Yesterday, I received a message from a friend a few hours away. It has been at least six months since we had a real conversation. It was really great hearing from him, and what is even better is I am glad to see his success.

Even though we had not had a conversation in a number of months, that does not mean that the friendship was null and void. I am sure that there was at least one time in that number of months that we had thought about calling each other, but for some reason, that did not work out. That to me is the fascinating part of this topic...just as phantom power secretly powers microphones, "phantom friendships" secretly powers support and concern for those you call your friends.


-Ken

Labels: application, audio, friendships, phantom, social networking