Live Sound Mixing in Different Venues: Adapt Your Techniques
Approaches for different size venues.
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We look at live sound mixing in different venues, with some useful guidelines and tips to help your sound translate in a range of formats.
Table of Contents
Mixing live sound is always about scaling the stage performance to meet the specifications of the chosen venue at capacity. A mix created within the controlled boundaries of a rehearsal space, often doesn’t come off with the same clarity and punch in a club, theatre, or open-air arena.
This is because every venue has an acoustic profile with idiosyncrasies such as reflectivity, background noise, absorption, stage layout, and monitoring requirements. Navigating these pitfalls is the task of any pro FOH engineer going from one leg of a tour to the next, with the different venues they encounter.
Live Sound Mixing in Different Venues: Variables That Affect the Mix
Before we look at different types of venues, we need to be able to recognize the varying factors that affect venue acoustics:
- The geometric shape and size of the venue affect the decay times, reflections, and overall clarity
- The types of materials and surfaces used inside the venue contribute to absorption or frequency doubling
- The density of the audience and their position in the venue can change the high and mid-range frequency response
- The placement, configuration, and design of the PA system determine the sound coverage, potential hot spots or nulls
- The SPL level on stage can affect the clarity of the sound and determine the monitor configuration
- The SPL regulations in the local area tell us how loud the levels can go at any particular venue
An experienced engineer will gather this data by listening and using measurement tools to quickly get a reading of the venue and its problem areas.
Live Sound Mixing in Different Venues: Small Clubs and Bars
Smaller venues can pose the biggest challenge because they aren’t usually designed for amplified audio and can be unpredictable from an acoustic perspective. Most of the time, you’re dealing with high SPL stage environments, walls with reflective surfaces, low ceilings, and uneven corners in the room. As a result, these clubs can collect low mid-range frequencies, which results in a muddy mix with boomy kick drums and poor vocal clarity.
Techniques for Small Venues
- Stage volume: Loud drumming, overdriven stage monitors, and guitar amps angled towards the drum kit can overpower the PA system. Reduce spill by pointing amps sideways or backwards and elevating combo amps for decreased vibration.
- Mix around the vocal: Vocal clarity is essential in smaller venues. Cut through by using a high-pass filter (100-150 Hz) with a gentle slope and a slight midrange boost (2-6 kHz) for added presence.
- Clean up the low midrange: The low mids (200-500 Hz) can be volatile, building up easily. To combat this, we can clean up guitars, keyboards, and vocals with subtractive EQ. Meanwhile, don’t boost lows of the kick and bass unnecessarily.
- Minimize reverb: As the room is already adding reflections, use short delays and reverbs subtly to prevent clutter.
- Check for hotspots: Walk around the venue to check for areas where bass doubling is happening. Always aim for symmetrical balance with any compromises you make.
PA System and Monitors:
The house PA system might be old, mounted in the corners of the room, with insufficient coverage. Use the main EQ to reduce mud and harshness, but don’t over-EQ. With limited stage monitoring, use aux-fed subwoofers, and IEMs. Also, configure the stage for minimal feedback.
Live Sound Mixing in Different Venues: Theatres
Unlike bars, theatres are actually designed for stage performance, so you have far better natural acoustic clarity. Here, you’ll usually find acoustically treated walls, raked seating for stage visibility, and more predictable room reflections. Because the natural sound environment is good, we want to blend it with the amplified signal to achieve larger-than-life realism.
Techniques for Theatres
- Harness the room’s acoustics: The natural reverb of a theatre can improve strings and vocals, so go easy on digital processing. Go for clarity instead of just loudness.
- Even coverage is the key: From the front row seats to the balcony, the idea is that everyone should hear the same mix. Look out for dead spots and the balcony underhangs.
- System tuning: Theatres usually have decent PA system processing. Even with slight EQ tweaks, we improve clarity. Do a sweep for problem areas, which can be from 250 to 400 Hz or 2 to 4 kHz, depending on the room architecture.
- Feedback prevention: Use careful subtractive EQ on lavalier and headset mics to prevent feedback. This includes notch filters and subtle compression, as well as angling the stage monitors correctly.
- Vocal consistency is essential: Consistent dynamic range is important in theatres. Use light compression and automated fader rides over dialogue and instrumental passages.
PA System and Monitors
Most often, theatres use distributed PA systems with front fills, under-balcony fills, and side arrays. Make sure you listen to each area to keep the tonal range consistent. IEMs are generally preferred in theatres, but keep stage monitors to a moderate level.
Live Sound Mixing in Different Venues: Larger Venues and Halls
School halls, gymnasiums, ballrooms, and convention centres are notoriously difficult venues from an acoustic perspective. With the reflective concrete floors, parallel walls, high ceilings, and glass surfaces, you get harsh reflectivity and long decay times. The main priority for large, ungainly venues of this nature is clarity.
Techniques for Larger Venues
- Reduce reflectivity: Don’t boost frequencies between 200 and 600 Hz. Prevent low-midrange buildup with subtractive EQ on vocals, guitars, and keyboards.
- Directional mics: Hypercardioid or supercardioid mic resist reflections and feedback.
- Close mic’ing: To avoid room reflections, keep the mics close to sources, giving you more control.
- PA System tuning: Reduce resonant room modes with the PA system EQ. To isolate nodes and dips, sweep with a tone generator or pink noise while setting up.
- Vocal/speech intelligibility is key: Because the lead vocalist guides the performance, the signal needs to be crystal clear. Boost presence between 3 and 6 kHz, while reducing sibilance with a multiband compressor.
- Time-aligned speaker delay: When the room’s extreme length or width prevents even coverage, using supplemental speaker stacks with accurately aligned delay times creates seamless coverage without echo or phasing.
PA System and Monitors
The placement of your subwoofers is crucial in larger venues. For optimum control, use coupled or cardioid sub configurations, so you can keep the spread of low frequencies in check. Watch stage monitoring levels and keep spill to a minimum.
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