Insights from Two FOH Engineers
Production Notes
Val Gamarnik spent years as head FOH at Manhattan's B.B. King Blues Club, doing sound for a slew of blues and rock legends like Jerry Lee Lewis, Etta James, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and B.B. King himself. In this installment of Production Notes, Val tells us about Waves MultiRack's latest contribution to world peace and harmony.
"The life of a sound engineer is truly unpredictable; you never know where you're going to find yourself twisting knobs.
A few weeks ago, I got my first taste of high diplomacy and international intrigue: I was called to do event celebrating the opening of an embassy in Los Angeles, held in the towering, majestic foyer of LA City Hall."
"Two problems immediately arose:
1. Granite. The whole place was made out of granite; the sound bounced around endlessly. It was clear that I would have to work at low volumes, to avoid having everything swallowed by reflections.
2. The 'Front-of-House' position was actually located at the BACK of the stage, behind some speakers and a percussionist. Oh, and the stage had no curtain, so if I were to stay by the board, I'd be on camera as well. To say I wasn't dressed for an onstage appearance would be something of an understatement."
"Part of the scheduled entertainment included a performance by two singers accompanied by a small band. Complicating matters was the fact that singers were not from the country actually opening the embassy, but from a neighboring country. I really had to get it right; otherwise, I might be held responsible for triggering an international incident. Talk about pressure!"
So how do you mix a show without being by the board?
"First, I wired in my MultiRack Native to the provided run-of-the-mill analog board.
My sound card has 8-ins/8-outs, which I routed like this:
- I/O 1-2: C6 on the Master Insert
- I/O 3-4: SSL Compressor on the Band Group Insert
- I/O 5: Vocal Rider on the Singer 1 Insert
- I/O 6: Vocal Rider on the Singer 2 Insert
- I/O 7-8: Renaissance Reverb on the
Vocal Effects Aux
"Next, I tuned the room using the C6 Multiband Compressor. It helped me shape the overall EQ, focus on trouble spots and keep the dynamics in check."
"Luckily, the band arrived early and we got quickly to it, guys played nicely so we powered through. The SSL G-Master Buss Compressor did a great job of focusing the band's sound while keeping it low (remember the granite...)"
"I wasn't so lucky with the singers, who were set to arrive with the dignitaries, meaning: no sound check. So, taking center stage in their place, I played around with the microphone and Vocal Rider, singing loud, soft, up-close, and off-axis until I found some good settings. After a few more small adjustments, I was ready to leave the board and watch the magic happen (and hope for the best.)"
"Dignitaries from around the world filed in. After short and sweet speeches from the podium by LA City officials and diplomats, we got to the entertainment portion of the evening's activities."
"The band members took their places and began playing. The singers took their mics and moved to the front of the stage. So far, so good."
"The singers began singing, and as the performance progressed, I was blown away by the evenness of their dynamics: not too soft, not too loud, just right. I glanced at the laptop screen and watched Vocal Ride navigate the dynamic range, staying on top of the level changes without sonic artifacts."
"All in all, the performance went off without a hitch, and we owe it all to MultiRack."