Dynamic EQ etc
SHC WR
Posts: 13
I am the sound guru for our church and am having a few problems with obtaining optimum settings for our system. We have various people using the various mics and would like to run unattended. We run a wireless lapel for our priest and handheld wireless for our cantor. We have a BLU-80 and a BLU-32 (20 inputs/12 outputs). I plan to use presets to select the matching EQ and possibly a leveler for each beforehand.
The real problem is the pulpit. It is used by two readers, the priest, and the cantor all in the same service. It also pickups up the choir at a low level and gives that mic’ed far away sound you hear from camcorders even with a higher clean level coming from the choir mics.
We have mumblers, clear voices, essssers and use it for both reading and singing.
Plan B is to preset multiple settings, determine the best setting for each user, and have someone in the back select a parameter preset based on who is up next. There has to be a better way.
My Plan A solution is to first use a threshold to eliminate the choir, maybe preceded by a 5 dB or so ducker activated by the choir “group” with a long hold time. The ducker should effectively lower the threshold level a little when the choir is singing making the threshold kick in lower. We need to protect against soft readers dropping out.
Next I was thinking of using a crossover to divide the frequency spectrum.
Use a 10 – 12 kHz side channel controller compressor to eliminate the sibilants (essssing).
Use a leveler in the 2 – 10 k Hz range to boost intelligibility for the mumblers, but to keep from sounding “tinny” for those with a “radio voice”.
Cut everything below about 80 Hz to eliminate the thumps from banging books.
I am trying to do this with a minimum of processing since we are pretty well loaded already.
The real problem is the pulpit. It is used by two readers, the priest, and the cantor all in the same service. It also pickups up the choir at a low level and gives that mic’ed far away sound you hear from camcorders even with a higher clean level coming from the choir mics.
We have mumblers, clear voices, essssers and use it for both reading and singing.
Plan B is to preset multiple settings, determine the best setting for each user, and have someone in the back select a parameter preset based on who is up next. There has to be a better way.
My Plan A solution is to first use a threshold to eliminate the choir, maybe preceded by a 5 dB or so ducker activated by the choir “group” with a long hold time. The ducker should effectively lower the threshold level a little when the choir is singing making the threshold kick in lower. We need to protect against soft readers dropping out.
Next I was thinking of using a crossover to divide the frequency spectrum.
Use a 10 – 12 kHz side channel controller compressor to eliminate the sibilants (essssing).
Use a leveler in the 2 – 10 k Hz range to boost intelligibility for the mumblers, but to keep from sounding “tinny” for those with a “radio voice”.
Cut everything below about 80 Hz to eliminate the thumps from banging books.
I am trying to do this with a minimum of processing since we are pretty well loaded already.
0
Comments
I would recommend the Automixer. Activate \"Voice Band Filters\" in it's properties. (This will make it less prone to activate on non-vocal frequencies)
I also prefer to attenuate the \"Off Gains\" in the automixer, usually 10-20dB. (This will make the \"non-active\" channels attenuate by set amount in addition to the automix algorithm attenuation)
The Leveller is kind of processing intense. I wouldn't use one on each mic input, maybe on the master output. Instead you may try using compressors on the inputs to prevent loud talkers sounding too much. Be careful with the gain though.
The idea of having dedicated presets for each talker has crossed my mind as well but I haven't done it yet though. In my mind the optimum control panel for such a thing would be a touch screen with London Architect custom control panels. (See my other reply to your post on BLU10 buttons) pm me if you want some examples of such control panels.
/Chris
I´m a churchward at our medieval church in Finland, Porvoo with a musician- and music technology background amongst other things BUT a really new user of Soundweb London.
My idea was to ask YOU advice on where to begin with learning to use our equipment since I saw your post about also working in a church using SWL(soundweb london).
Me (and the whole parish I suppose) would highly appreciate you helping out a bit!
As you can imagine the company(who built our whole sound system) with their pro´s cost a lot to have come over..
The situation is: I´m the new guy in the church and no one else is really familiar with the technology there. Even after two \"teaching\" sessions by the company i´ve heard..
Our equipment:
The swl-system is newly built in the church this spring. With 3 akg wireless mics, 3 akg mics with stands, an analog mixer unit(not really in use?), state of the art cd player/recorder, 2 speaker amplifier and some other rack units.
I called the guy in the company and he gave me the hint that the BLU-10 with the touchscreen is (one of) the key in using the equipment.
In fact I did manage to get the sound from a wireless mic to our two balconies by using the touch screen (the balconies were silent before). But still.. now it seems I´m stuck.
I dont know for ex. how to control the altar mic sound. It just sounds wich is of course good, but the signal at least doesn´t run through the analog mixer since the slides are all down and no leds blinking.
So my question is:
Is the BLU-10 all I need to control the sound from the microphones? OR.. do I really need to hook up a PC to the swl?
Best wishes!
Tommy(Afrehley)
Tommy
I'm sure that there are many people you'll find on these forums who are willing and happy to help but the first thing that will be asked / suggested is that the London Architect design file running in the hardware holds the key to all of your questions. Without that file it's unlikely that anyone will be able to give you any detailed answers....
Do you have access to the London Architect file for the venue?
Martin
Hi Martin!
thanks for your comment.
No I don´t think I have access to the London Architect file as of now, since we don´t even have a computer hooked up to the hardware gear. There is a computer we are going to have installed there especialy for other purposes, hopefully I will also be able to connect it to the whole London sound-equipment. Or did I missunderstand what you are talking about?
Thanks again
And yes of course I´m open to anyones suggestions and comments ;o)
Tommy
Of course the File and/or the London device itself may be password protected, which will be of limited usefulness; in those cases you'll need to contact the deisgner for that information.
Otherwise, you COULD start from scratch and build your own file, then you'll know whats in it, but I would strongly recommend that you don't want to do this unless you *really* know what you are doing. You also need to be willing to take responsibility for your actions. If you get into the design file and break something, don't expect the contractor to come in and clean up your mess without charging you for it. For this reason its always a good idea to keep a backup version that you KNOW works, before embarking on any change. That way you can, worst case, still get yourself back up and running in time for Sunday Morning.
Any advice we could give you, as Martin said, will be extremely limited without access to the design file. More importantly, without access to the design file, you won't be able to make any changes to settings that weren't included on the Blu10.
A Blu-10 is kind of a programmable remote for a Soundweb london. When the design is built, the designer will put controls he thinks you need into the blu-10. I'd expect that the system is designed to automix all of your microphones, and you can most likely affect the overall volume with the knob. Most likely, they put in a kind of \"bypass' mode that allows you to use the analog mixer instead, and uses the outputs of that, but it is hard to say (I can only say what I would do!).
Beyond that, because the system is so flexible, it is hard to speak with any certainty (press this button; then press that button, then press some other button, and you'll be on the screen you want). Everything is up to the designer, and to find out more, you'll have to see whats in the design file, or have the contractor come out and show you how to do everything you need.
I´m slowly getting the picture. Will have to wait for the computer to arrive to get into it.
But at least so far I found the volume controls for the mics and other devices from the blu-10 as you mentioned, so that´s a good step forward compared to where I was a few days ago. I will file and treasure your advices.
Thanks again
Tommy