Unit 49 brief 1 Setting up equipment for a live performance

Setting up equipment for a live performance:

Process/steps taken:

The first step we took was taking the boxes apart, to do this we lifted the clips on the sides of the box and rotate it until we could pull them off. Then place the lids in a safe place at the side of the room in order to prevent a tripping hazard. When moving the mixing desk it needs to be kept on power supply and moved into position. When we put the desk in the correct position we locked the wheels so that the desk would not move around when we were setting it up and using it. Our next step after that was to get all the speakers into position, we did this by first moving the 2 base bins to their position at the right and left side of the room using 2 people to lift them for health and safety reasons. We then screwed in the pillars to the top of the base bins and again used 2 people to place the 2 main speakers on top of the pillars and the same height. We then checked everything was tight and secure before moving on to the next stage. Our next step was to connect the speakon cables to the power supply by pulling back the lever, inserting the cable then twisting it to the right until it clicked into place. For safety reasons we taped the wires to the floor out the way to prevent causing a trip hazard. After that we used ¼ inch jack leads to connect the desk to the amps ensuring that they were balanced with a left and a right. Our next step was to plug it into the mains using a kettle lead. We then made sure the desk was flat lined before turning it on to ensure we did not get any feedback. We then added an XLR cable for the microphone of which we used the Shure SM58 mic. We then turned on the desk and checked it over before then turning on the speakers. Our final step was to test the levels on the desk.

 

Equipment list:

Ø  Mixing desk- Yamaha EMX 5016 CF

Ø  Power Amp- ASX 18 dB Technology for mixing desk, the t.amp A1400 for main speaker, the t.amp A2400 for the sub speakers.

Ø  Sub Speakers (dBs)

Ø  Main Speakers (dBs)

Ø  Support pillars

Ø  XLR cables

Ø  Speakon cables

Ø  Jack cables

Ø  Masking tape

Ø  Power leads

Ø  Shure SM58 microphone

Risk assessment

Risk	How it can be minimalized/avoided
Lids from boxes	The lids can be kept away from where people would walk and kept separately for the equipment. This can be achieved by leaving the lids flat and tidy to minimise the risk of people tripping over them.
The boxes moving	Locking the wheels on the boxes can prevent this risk.
Tripping over wires	Ensure that all wires are taped down or kept out of the way where no one will fall.
Unwanted/bad noises	Flat line the desk before adding power to the desk and amps.
Exposure to live wire	Ensure that all cables used are safe and are not broken before using them.
Plug sockets	When not using power from plug sockets, turn off power.
Water near electric	Keep food and drink away from the performance area. But if water is required ensure that it is in a secure water bottle to avoid spillages.
Health risk	Ensure that when lifting equipment you bend your knees and keep your back straight; this avoids damage to the back. Also ensure that you use 2 people to lift/move heavy items such as the base bins.
Noise levels	It is important not to go over120dB due to social laws. Using sound sensibly and checking the noise level, which is being outputted by the speakers throughout the performance, can prevent this.
Feedback levels	Feedback can be annoying and also can hurt some peoples ears, as when sound travels back and forth the noise levels get louder and louder. This can be prevented by not pointing the microphone towards any speakers and keeping the microphones behind speakers.

USING MICROPHONES AND EFFECTS.

Microphones- Different types and how they work:

DYNAMIC MICROPHONES:

At the front of the dynamic microphone there is a plate known as a diaphragm, which is attached to the coil inside the capsule. When the diaphragm vibrates as it receives incoming sound waves, the coil moves back and forth over the magnet, which creates a current in the coil, this process is called electromagnetic induction. This current is then transferred from the microphone along the XLR cable.

Examples and their uses:

Shure SM57: This microphone is ideal for use with instruments; it has an extremely effective cardioid pickup pattern, which isolates the main sound source while minimizing background noise. In the studio, it is excellent for recording drums, guitar, and woodwinds.

Shure SM58: This microphone is ideal for vocals, both singing and speaking because it has a highly effective, built in spherical filter minimises wind and breath “pop” noise.

AKG D112: the D112 can handle more than 160 dB SPL without distortion. Its large diaphragm has a very low resonance frequency that delivers a solid and powerful response below 100 Hz, this makes it ideal for use with drums, especially the kick drum because of its low pitch.

CONDENCER MICROPHONES:

A capacitor has 2 plates with a voltage between them, in the condenser microphone (pictured left), the front plate is made of very light material and acts as the diaphragm. When sound waves hit the diaphragm they cause it to vibrate which changes the distance between the 2 plates and therefore changing the capacitance. When the plates are further apart it causes the capacitance to decrease, which causes a discharge current to occur. When the plates are closer together the capacitance increases and a charge current occurs.

Condenser mic requires a voltage across the capacitor for the process to work. The voltage is supplied either by an external phantom power through the XLR cable from the mixing desk or simply from a battery.

Rhode NT2A: The NT2-A is a professional large capsule condenser studio microphone with variable pick-up pattern, variable high pass filter and variable pad. These features provide greater creative control and versatility. Threw position switches located on the mic body provide the freedom to step from Figure 8, cardioid or Omni polar pick-up patterns

AKG c1000s: The c1000s is suitable for recording and live sound application and also video productions. It has a gold sputtered capsule housing which give a high immunity against humidity. Another reason for its high popularity is its versatility as it can be powered by phantom power or 2 standard AA batteries for up to 120 hours. The polar pattern can be easily switched from cardioid to hyper-cardioid and the three different frequency settings add more clarity to speech and instrument sounds. 

Effects, how they work and different types.

EQ – stands for equalisation. It is an effect, which boosts or lowers frequencies within a sound wave. There are 4 main filters, a high pass/shelf filter that is normally used on higher pitched instruments to boost these frequencies and make them stand out. Another type of filter is a low pass/shelf filter, which boosts lower frequencies; this is used for instruments such as bass guitar and a kick drum. The third filter is a notch pass filters lower a very narrow number of frequencies and can be used to reduce background noise or a particularly harsh frequency in a recording. The final filter in the band pass filter that does the opposite of notch pass filters and boost particular frequencies, these can be used on kick drums and other percussion instruments.

Graphic Equalisers modify particular frequencies within a sound. They are more commonly seen as hardware on mixing desks. These are great for modifying sounds in particular areas very quickly. However, it is difficult to make smooth filters such as high or low pass as these can alter more than one frequency.

Parametric processors are commonly found on software-based technology and alter multiple frequencies quickly and easily. They also make it much easier to add filters such as high/low shelf, which can alter lots of frequencies creating a smoother sound. However, due to this it can make it difficult to alter one specific frequency.

Compression: This alters the dynamic range of a sound, this allows the dynamic range to be controlled and either lowered or boosted to sit well in the mix. The Range is altered by ratios after a threshold is passed. For example, if the ratio was 2:1, when the sound reaches the velocity of 2 (for example 200dBs) it is dropped down to 1 (100dBs).

Gain boosts the overall sound, but without going over the set ratio so the sound is louder but does not clip. Threshold is how loud the sound has to be before the compression kicks in, if it  is low then it will begin to compress the sound at a lower dbs. If it is high then it will not begin compression until it reaches a higher dbs. A knee determines how soft/hard the threshold point is. If the knee is hard it will suddenly kick in, however if it is soft then it will take a longer time to kick in and will be more of a fade in which it makes for a smoother compression.

Reverb: is an effect, which reverberates a sound to create atmosphere and simulate a room. Pre delay is a setting, which determines how long it takes for early reflections of the original sound to happen. If the pre delay is short, the sound will be repeated quickly, however if it is longer there may be a gap between the dry sound and the reverb. Reverb is how long it takes for the sound to reach -60dB from the original velocity, the longer it is, the longer it will take for the sound to fade. Longer reverb time is better on longer notes so the note sustains for longer. Early reflections is the term given to the first few reverberations. These are normally of a similar velocity to the dry sound and equally spaced apart and occur straight after the pre delay kicks in.

Plate reverb: this is a technique used before software reverb was invented. It was a simple set up. A metal plate placed in a frame with 2 pickups (left and right) and a driver was placed in the middle

Spring reverb: works by inputting a signal to a transducer which then sends a current through 2 springs to another transducer at the other end creating a retro reverb sound.

Setting up Recording studio

When setting up a recording studio you first need to turn on all the needed equipment and log in to the mac and then open Cubase 7 and click cancel on any screens that pop up. When Cubase has loaded go to file and select ‘New Project’ at the top bar, then select ‘Empty’ from the tab on the right. When the project is open, check the devices are set up correctly by clicking on Devices at the top of the mac, then selecting ‘Devise Setup’ and check the audio driver in connected to the ‘Onyx Firewire. Then open devices again and select VST connections and under the inputs and outputs the preset should be on Onyx.  When the devices are set up Add tracks by clicking ‘Project’ then ‘Add Track’ and add as many mono audio tracks as you need, then change the input for each track using the bar on the right, which says mono in. These inputs respond to the inputs on the mixing desk. To check the tracks are set up correctly, click monitor on the track to test the audio is coming through. When the desk is set up you need to connect the microphones to the wall box in the studio using XLR leads and then set the gain on the desk, to do this, get the performer to play or sing as loud as they will for the recording and get the gain to sit at 0dB on the mixer, if it is too high then it will clip. When these steps are complete press the red record button on the transport bar to begin recording. 

Dholder comments 23/09

Put in title Unit 49 brief 1