FOH for Ben Rector in Oklahoma City. Photo by Jordon Connor
Listen on iTunes Podcasts // Subscribe to The Prodcast on iTunes
Listen on The Village Church website
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Brad Wygle and Chris Sterrett from the Village Church in Dallas, TX for their podcast series “The Prodcast.” I genuinely enjoyed getting to know Brad and Chris & it was truly humbling to be asked for an interview (and much of our hang was not recorded in the podcast, so I promise it wasn’t ONLY me talking the whole time).
I love learning AND I love teaching, so I have a tendency to ramble and spill out as much information as possible when asked a question about audio…often forgetting the original question. So, honestly, I was surprised that anything I said in the interview made sense; at least I think I sounded mildly coherent :) I DID, however, leave out some very key points and observations that I feel compelled to mention:
While mixing a live show, I mention that I am relaxed and mixing mostly from muscle memory. WHAT I DID NOT MENTION: Obviously, listening is the most important job of any audio engineer. I am always listening critically and making minor adjustments here or there to steer the mix in the right direction. More on this in point #2. The muscle memory comes from intimately knowing the arrangements and mixing the same show night after night.
SOMETHING I DID NOT MENTION AT ALL: Excellent Preparation is key to a successful show. During a show, I only want to have to focus on the most important elements - the lead vocal, solos, and how the PA has changed with an audience in the room. I have the entire mix dialed in as best as humanly possible before the show begins (from extensive time spent at rehearsals, multitrack playback, previous shows, and that day’s tuning and soundcheck), so once the show starts, the tweaks I make on the band should only equate to about 5% of the mix. That leaves a lot of bandwidth for me to focus primarily on the vocal, the PA, and troubleshoot problems when they arise.
I mention that I rarely make changes or adjustments to instruments from show to show and I know when and how much I am going to ride a fader for a solo. WHAT I DID NOT MENTION: This is only possible because the guys in the band for Ben Rector are all phenomenal musicians and the source material from each instrument is virtually the same night after night. I make my fader ride up for Nate’s guitar solo and I am within 1-2dB of where it needs to be because he is such a consistent player. Even so, I am riding the fader during the entire solo, listening critically to every note and adjusting by feel.
I mention while I am mixing a show, I usually rest my left hand on the lead vocal and my right hand on the vocal effects. I spend a lot of time talking about what I do with FX, but WHAT I DID NOT MENTION: My left hand resting on the lead vocal is the most important part of the show. I am carefully listening to the way the lead vocalist (in this case, Ben) is singing every word and listening for nuances in the phrasing. Meanwhile I am riding his vocal fader up and down (sometimes for specific consonants or syllables inside words) to make sure the vocal translates musically and intelligibly. I like a good clean vocal, warm and crisp at the same time, and I believe (for most artists) the audience should be able to intelligibly understand every single word sung or spoken by the artist. That is my biggest goal while I am mixing the show - that everyone can hear and understand the lead vocal.
Alright. Now that that’s off my chest, here are a few links to the interview. I hope you enjoy it!
