Flexible engineering
Published: MEA
The work life of a live sound engineer can range from small corporate events to stadium-rock gigs, but there is one vital trait that links it all together – the ability to troubleshoot. James Ling reports
For sound engineers, the ability to think on your feet and solve problems as they arise is as vital as any piece of equipment in the truck. Events rarely run to the original plan, and late additions or missing and equipment broken in transit can lead to challenges in getting the show to sound right.
Covering this role for two recent productions in Abu Dhabi was Trevor Cronin, a 30-year veteran freelance sound engineer working in this instance for SLS Productions. ‘With the SLS team we always have a fair amount of flexibility. They generally turn up with some extra capacity, so more microphones and stands and things because at the drop of a hat there can be a request for something,’ he explains. ‘At SLS we always allow for gear to look after these last-minute requests.’
The event Mr Cronin was working on was part of the Belarus Cultural Festival held in the UAE’s capital and consisted of two separate classical performances – Romeo and Juliet by the Belarus Ballet Company and Chamber Orchestra and the Belarus Youth Orchestra, both supported by a Belarusian folk group.
Both shows were split into two parts. The first event, held at the Emirates Palace, saw the Khoroski – a Belarusian folk band and dancers made up of a 20-piece band and 20 dancers – followed by a ballet consisting of 40 dancers and a 60-piece orchestra. ‘The traditional folk band had a very interesting rider,’ says Mr Cronin. ‘It was all Shure SM57s and 58s, and that makes a lot of sense in a certain way, because when you have a load of the same microphones and you turn them up, you know what you’re dealing with. If you happen to have a condenser microphone on this and a large diaphragm on that, every channel you start to push up is a bit different and it increases the chance of feedback.’
‘We used the Yamaha PM 5D mixer, and a JBL Vertec system consisting of eight VT4888s, six 4880A subs and four 4887s. Martin Audio LE 400 floor monitors were used on stage. I did a left-centre-right mix with the centre being the smaller self-powered Vertecs in front of the orchestra.’ Power came from Crown amps with FOH and monitor control from two XTA DP226s and one DP488. While this setup was used for the folk band, it was decided that the orchestra should perform acoustically.
Mr Cronin also covered the recording of the concert. ‘I used my new “little system” which is a netbook with a Firewire card running audacity software, and an RME Fireface 400 interface with two Neuman KM84 microphones,’ he explains. ‘I actually did the recording part on spec, as I heard they were filming it, and a recording from just the desk never sounds correct. I thought I’d do a good ambient recording just in case, and as it worked out it was used and needed.’
The main challenge of approaching the recording this way was microphone placement. ‘There was no opportunity to place microphones where perhaps I would have liked to. It was where I could, which happened to be the meter bridge of the mixing console, so I had to remind my crew to keep quiet and not to tap on the desk or bump it. I set the microphones on a bit of foam rubber and off we went.’
The second day saw the folk band return, this time accompanied by a 20-piece Youth Orchestra playing a selection of Mozart and popular classical music in the Abu Dhabi State Theatre. For this event there was a similar setup including the JBL speakers and Yamaha desk, but some different microphones were in use. ‘We used AKG414 microphones for the orchestra, and I spent quite some time positioning them to get the right balance and mix.
‘There was a piano as well which I used two SM81 hypercardioid small diaphragm condenser microphones, and I had the same microphone type down the front of the stage as a soloists mic. The pianist and soloists were very dynamic, so I used the PM 5D onboard compressor limiter on those channels just to make things sit correctly in context with the mix of the orchestra.’
Mr Cronin is a strong advocate of analogue consoles but for two events he could see the benefits and practicality of taking the digital path. ‘I had a discussion with Martin Luiz from SLS, which has a nice Midas Heritage 3000, and I said I’d like to use that. But he pointed out that with two shows, the recall facility would work really well.
‘Digital fitted the bill because of the two dates, and I had my valve Avalons on hand, he recalls. ‘For both shows I used Avalon VT 747sp valve compressors because they transform the sound coming out of the digital Yamaha into what I feel is a nice analogue sound. I strapped the Avalons on the main outputs, they’ve got a nice EQ function and I did a bit of global tweaking, it was a little bit harsh in the top-end so I brought it down a touch.’
The acoustics of the room meant that Mr Cronin didn’t need to use any reverb, just some of EQ and a bit of filtering. ‘For instance, we had four double basses and I did a little bit of filtering of those to get a good sound and enough safe level out of the system,’ he explains.
The job of the engineer at a classical show is very much in the background.’ You go about and do your job in a manner that doesn’t intrude on anything. Obviously when the orchestra are rehearsing that’s when I scamper around and place the microphones, and we have a quiet discussion with the conductor and he’ll come out front and have a listen.’
It is also the chance to ensure the system has enough head-room to cope with the needs of the live show. ‘I will turn things up a bit too loud in the rehearsal and get attention from the conductor or the production manager and go no I’m just testing my limits and I’ll pull it back 6dB from this,’ says Mr Cronin. ‘At least now I know it’s safe and if they wanted to go louder, I have somewhere to go safely.’
The trouble shooting nature of a sound engineer’s job is something that will never go away, but it can be managed. Knowledge and preparation will put the show in a good position, but it is flexibility that will ultimately make an event successful.