raymond.faccini Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 We are a small theatre group doing mainly variety type shows, we usualy sight our sound desk near the front of the auditorium to left of the stage.Some people within the group are sugesting it would be better at the back of the auditorium,does anybody have any views on the best place to sight a sound desk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lee Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Best place usually is center back to give you a good idea of what the whole audience is hearing and give the operator a good field of view of the performance area. Normally it is a compromise between getting bums on seats and getting your desk in a good place. If you are at the front of the audience to the left (Stage Right) you will find that your mix is affected by the fact that you are not hearing the whole system and you have no idea what is happening at the back as far as levels are concerened. Saying that, I have done corporate gigs and run sound from back stage. Perfectly feasible if you have time to ring the system out so you know what it sounds like before hand and you are only dealing with presentations, but not nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 we usualy sight [sic] our sound desk near the front of the auditorium to left of the stage.Some people within the group are sugesting it would be better at the back of the auditoriumThese people are saying sensible things. The level of skill and experience required to get a good mix from a bad position is far greeater than that required when you can hear whats going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Bristo Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 I would suggest mixing from the back of the room for all the reasons mentioned above. Just remember that you're going to have to buy some longer cables, or a multicore if you're moving your desk to the back, then you need to think about how to "hide" the cables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
back_ache Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 +1 for the centre back position. The engineer needs to hear and see exactly what the audience is hear and seeing Even if it costs you a few seats the results will be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livesoundproduction Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 FOH engineering 101... Stage L/R mix positions for the sake of ease are usually the preserve of cowboy AV outfits who don't like the idea of investing in decent multicores or time to set things up properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Some Bloke Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Don't forget that wherever you mix from, the best thing you can do is to get up and have a wander round to other audience positions whenever possible. Maybe not possible in a theatre during a performance, but perfectly possible during the soundcheck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mksound Posted August 14, 2010 Share Posted August 14, 2010 FOH engineering 101... Stage L/R mix positions for the sake of ease are usually the preserve of cowboy AV outfits who don't like the idea of investing in decent multicores or time to set things up properly. In a perfect world...... I've had to do plenty of gigs from the stage, on the stage, behind the stage...... It's never ideal but you do what you have to do to get the job done. And I'm definately not a cowboy AV outfit :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lee Posted August 14, 2010 Share Posted August 14, 2010 Sometimes it is the client who insists either no tech in view or books a room to small for the job :D We live with it and get on with the job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Owen Posted August 14, 2010 Share Posted August 14, 2010 If you look at a sell out show like Lion King in the West End, the mixing desk is in the middle of the back of the stalls. It takes up a lot of space too. In fact, the space the desk takes up is worth thousands of pounds a week in lost seats and therefore lost ticket sales. If there was any other practical location to put the mixing desk, believe me, Disney would insist it go there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXbydesign Posted August 14, 2010 Share Posted August 14, 2010 Hasnt Lion King gone all digital now and so taking up a smaller footprnt in the stalls ? (( For those unaware - -Even being back center in west-end stalls is horrible becasue of the overhang of the dress circle in many venues. I was running sound once on a one-dayer event at the Shaftsbury (Thriller?) using their set / LX etc and couldnt belive how much the balcony overhung. The mix position wasnt taking up any seats though as it was set right behind the last row - and the gangway was wide. My favorite position for lights or sound used to be at Camden Palace (now Koko), where it was mounted on a built area 'sticking out' from the dress circle. Lovely. Great view, could hear everything properly, didnt get botherd by punters - and there was even a rack fridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted August 14, 2010 Share Posted August 14, 2010 Control position at the back and near the centre is good for the sound and lets the operator keep in touch with the audience, -they pay for tickets so they are important!! However do check with your licence holder and the licensing authority that the changes to the layout will be acceptable. Putting a console lectern in a gangway will likely not satisfy the need to keep gangways clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livesoundproduction Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 FOH engineering 101... Stage L/R mix positions for the sake of ease are usually the preserve of cowboy AV outfits who don't like the idea of investing in decent multicores or time to set things up properly. In a perfect world...... I've had to do plenty of gigs from the stage, on the stage, behind the stage...... It's never ideal but you do what you have to do to get the job done. And I'm definately not a cowboy AV outfit :P I have no doubt that you are a consumate pro... & I have also had to mix from stage-side positions which is why I made the distinction between those who do it for the sake of ease as opposed to necessity :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmyP1955 Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 To make the mixperson happy, put the mixer in the best sounding spot in the house. To make the audience happy, put the mixer in the worst sounding spot in the house (if the mixperson can make it sound acceptable there, it will likely sound great everywhere else). To make the promoter and/or director happy, put the mixer in a closed booth at the back of the room - or better yet in a closet down the hallway :) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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