A guide to tech like a tech....

So, everyone in the world says that the key to a great future is education. I don't argue that at all, education is impossible, but really, how much do you learn in an enclosed community that hasnt spent a day on the road or real world studios for more than 3 years. All my friends who know me know that I am quite vocal about my hatred for certain institutions that train technicians. In my defence, I am yet to meet a good tech from those places. Then again, Im still to meet someone as utterly useless as myself when it comes to understanding midi, maybe I should read up on that, but just maybe... So what is the aim pf this random rambling. Well, there are a few things that we look at when it comes to workong in the industry. When you enter it, clean out of college, please be aware that your naming of numerous pieces of equipment dont really impress anyone. Sure, telling me that the clock on the big ben provides a jitter factor of blah blah blah but you dont know how to connect that sucker up doesnt really help me at all. Knowing the Hz response and max spl of a MD421 is pretty cool, but if you dont realise that its a front adress mic and not a side adress mic does not help your cause as well. So what we look for is do you really know how to do the most rudementary things. Where does the XLRs plug in, why you use a DI and HOW to use it... How to switch on and off a tube amp... yes, switching on equipment also tells a lot. Why is a "stereo" cable and an unbalanced cable NOT the same thing. Yes they do share the same character, BUT how they break out? If you break out on a 1/4" cable do you still need a DI box if you have an xlr on it?
I had the chance to work with some really great technicians in my career, and a few of them ai will honestly say knew a hell of a lot more than I did. And they were pros. Then I worked with people who are way more qualified than me on paper but have not the slightest idea how to change the tubes in a fender twin. Everything can be learned, but you have to take the time to learn it, and not jist know about ot but why you do it. End of short rant. Oh and p.s read the manual, and then find out how and why!! How on earth did I learn that you have to run the midi software for a MOTU Midi Sync unit and not just say "well, it worked this way for years and now it doesnt work, and there is nothing about it in my handover notes" well, its because I read the manual and then also read the system diagram. Too many horror stories, way too many... well, while Im on it, here are a few...

1. (My favorite) a light tech not understanding why our show computer doesnt work... wait, ummmm, will it work if the midi device is switched on?

2. I cant get this microphone to work... ummmm, what is it? Oh its a handheld (lucky that means wireless on ships), is ot switched on? Yes i flipped the switch. Are the batteries dead? Wait... they use batteries? (Yes, actual phone call by a tech to me)

3. Im getting this crazy sound out of the PA.. ok, what crazy sound? Its this horrible  crackling sound on a channel, i think the console is fu**ed.. So i stroll over, look at the input and the guy is redlining that poor input so much that youre getting horrible distortion on the IP, and he keeps saying "look here, its busted, the fader is almost all the way down and its not working right" and then I teach him about the gain knob.

Way more, but Im drinking my coffee now and lostening to a mix I did for an artist that appreciates what we do so I decided to work a lottle over the weekend because I care about the project.

My ideas of mixing...

So… A run down of how to set up a Sound Mix for a ship…

A couple of things to remember… You have to realise that most of the people aboard would be over the age of 50... This makes for a little adjustment of how you approach the console and the show. You have to remember that most peoples hearing deteriorates over time, and even if you do feel the need to pump up the bass in a venue (as we all want to do with a rocking show) it is not such a good idea. Older people have an especially low tolerance for bass (which they perceive as loud) and Mid freqs tend to hit them even harder. So it would be a good idea to go and have a look at what the mix needs most. I have found that a solid mix driven with a kick, a little Bass and keys does the trick. Ad lets face it, on ships most guitar parts are actually not even really guitar parts, but more a derivative of what the horns play. I haven’t worked with a lot of guitar players on a ship where they actually are able to play guitar with a little bit of feel and improv.

Next up would be the microphone choice. Now I know that most people would immediately go ‘58s work’ but go and play around a bit. I once ran a show where I had 4 vocalists, and I must say that what worked best for me was actually giving one of the singers an 87. I was lucky to have quite a few of the suckers lying around, but I did listen closely to the vocalists when I did my pre show talk with them before I gave them a mic. This was probably most beneficial when I worked with a certain act who was notorious throughout the fleet about having loud levels on stage and who wanted everything as loud as possible. I figured out by the way he was turning his head towards me whilst speaking that he was deaf in one ear (well, almost) and so I took a 87 (everyone gave him 58s), and played around with the monitor EQ for him. This proved magical, and also made a fleet wide record for a sound check for him on an analogue console. The normal rehearsal would normally take 3-4 hours with him constantly adjusting things that made no sense at all, but I got it down to 45minutes, including the band playing through the music. So yes, its possible… Apparently the fleet record is 35minutes, they however cheated ;-) they had a digico D5 to their disposal.

OK.. Lets move to another act. This consisted of 4 gents singing old school rock and roll. With one of the singers doing some noodling on his Fender. Firstly I had to get them all actually hearing themselves on stage, so there were 4 wedges for them, each with their own send (yes, you sometimes do have the luxury of having a load of Aux sends), and no, there is no dedicated monitor engineer with console onboard. For our production shows we also run overhead monitors to keep sightlines clean, and so I also used those suckers. Creating a bit of warmth for them and also trying to keep stage levels lowish. This I also managed by pulling all the amps off of the stage. The Bass amp was on stage facing into the wing next to the bassist. The Orchestra guitarist’s amp was in the wing on its angle legs facing up at him, also playing across the stage. The special acts guitar was also in the wing, just behind the main curtains drop facing across stage. I just gave him a bit of guitars in his monitor.

The vocals were a combination of 58s and 87s, esp. the lead vocalist was on an 87 to bring out a bit of air in his vox, and to stop the congestion that 58s cause.

What other acts… Well, the production shows always proved to be a problem. See, there are no real floor wedges and side fills in the wings, but only the overheads. And because the orchestra is sitting in the pit right in front of them they were being blasted by that and also the need for backtracks in the monitors. So it took a lot of effort to try and get it just right. I actually despise working on those production shows, because of the inconsistency of the singers on nights. But there are ways around that. They didn’t want comps on their vocals, well, sorry to hear that. They had very little compression on their main vocals, but on my group send I had a tube comp cleaning them up and making them all more punchy combined with an EQ on that group as well for FOH purposes. FX was my main toy, and trying to keep the girls from screeching the ears off of the audience I would ride that reverb hard… It just drenched the problem. Well, you’d say that I could ride the group, and I did, actually quite a lot, but sometimes you need the punch and there you had to play around with the various tricks to your disposal.

Another thing in the house to try and make things a little better was to get the delay stacks to work just right. Now there are various ways to do it. My favourite was to play music through the mains and then walk around with a DB meter. And then try and match the DB level from the main PA all around the venue to what it is 10 rows back from the front of the stage. Other than that I would just walk around during the rehearsals and have a look at what the venue did for me for that particular act.

Just more ramblings

Things you should know when applying…

Right, here we go… You’ve decided to have a stab at becoming a Light or Sound Tech on the mysterious ships. You’ve read stories, you’ve trawled the internet for info. But what do you really need to know?!

First of all, as in all jobs you at least should know what youre talking about. If you say you know how to do the job then you sure as hell should be able to do it. Its amazing how often you see someone who come aboard and has no idea how to do anything. So here first of all you should know what gear you’ll be expected to run.

Mostly the Analog consoles are on their way out. They are being replaced with a variety of digital ones. Consoles you’ll come across would probably be:

1. Analog consoles:

Midas

Yamaha

Crest

Mackie

Allen &Heath

These would range from the tiny format 16 channel consoles to the big suckers where you have between 48 to 72 channels under your control.

2. Digital Consoles:

Yamaha (O2R, O1V, DM2000)

Digico (D5, D1, SD7, SD8)

Digidesign Venue (these are few and far between, VERY far between)

Midas PRO 6 (there are rumours)

Other than that the PA systems will vary from company to company. But youd be expected to be at home with any of these. Don’t worry, you wont have to be able to fix everything, but at least know how the suckers work… Long live the internet!!!!

Outboard gear would also vary and with the digital consoles youd not have a lot of outboard, then again, do you really need it? Microphones would also be up in the air. You can look at the few things that youd expect to see though. Shure, AKG, Senheiser and in some case I ran across a lot of Crown stuff.

The different venues also have their own challenges. The guys who become Lounge Techs need to be a lot more involved with a wide variety of the gear seeing that you might find a LS9 in one lounge and then a O1V in another venue.

But in the end its your job to run all of those.

What else. Well, be sure to you know what youre getting in to when you get onboard be sure to have your head examined. If you show mild traces of insanity then its your place to be!! You must be able to work with a wide variety of people and aim to get the best out of all your team!!