LS9-32 in a theatre environment

[ukdeveloper]

Hi,

 

I have a new LS9-32 and am slowly getting to grips with it. However, I have been asked to do sound for a theatre panto and wondered if anyone has experience with the following:

 

The production uses a live band (channels 1-12) and 20 ish radio mics (channels 13-32).

 

What I would love to do is set up scenes on the LS9 which map the current "scene" of the show. For instance

 

Scene 1 = opening scene. Channels Required = Full Band and Mics 1,2,5,7,8,16 & 19 only.

Scene 2 = Love Scene. Channels Required = Full Band and Mics 7 & 11 only

Scene 3 = Death Scene. Channels Required = NO BAND and Mics 6 & 21 only

 

etc etc etc etc

 

Now the issue is this, because its in a live environment, levels change on the fly. The drummer in the band may play a little louder so if I make a change in Scene 1 then shift to scene 2 the settings for the drums will revert to the saved state of scene 2 which may be lower drums, or god forbid really loud drums etc.

 

Is there ANY way to switch from scene to scene WITHOUT changing particular faders. For instance Change from Scene 1 to Scene 2..... Leave the band faders as in scene 1 but mute appropriate mics etc.

 

I know you can set up mute groups, but in this theatre show 8 mute groups are not enough.

 

Any help (particularly detailed help ** laughs out loud **) would be really really appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Steve.

[gibbothegreat]

Simple way would be to make the band channels 'safe', i.e. not affected by scene recalls, so that a new scene recall only affects the radiomics.

[Shez]

Yep, recall safe is your friend here. It's a global setting and so will affect all scenes which is not ideal but still workable. You do get a pretty fine level of granularity so you can recall-safe everything except the faders on each channel for example so other settings won't be changed when you recall the next scene. Plan your settings carefully though otherwise they will come back to bite you when you realise you can't do something that you wanted to be able to... (Proudly displays T-shirt)

 

I always route the band to a group so I have easy control of their overall level and can drop just one fader when they're not needed.

[ukdeveloper]

You are my new hero!

 

Muchos Thanks!

 

Steve

Yep, recall safe is your friend here. It's a global setting and so will affect all scenes which is not ideal but still workable. You do get a pretty fine level of granularity so you can recall-safe everything except the faders on each channel for example so other settings won't be changed when you recall the next scene. Plan your settings carefully though otherwise they will come back to bite you when you realise you can't do something that you wanted to be able to... (Proudly displays T-shirt)

 

I always route the band to a group so I have easy control of their overall level and can drop just one fader when they're not needed.

[olitee]

Sounds like you're pretty tight for channels. I usually find myself putting the entire band or orchestra on Ch 33-48, shifting my radios down to start at Ch 1, and using the custom layer to create group master faders around Ch 28-32.

 

Mind you, you'll need a MY-16 card to do that, but you can get pretty creative with the custom layer - hiding your band faders under your group faders, etc.

 

My advice to you is turn on recall safe for ALL channels, then selectively go through and turn off the "FADER" safe option for those channels you want to be affected by scene recalls. This will cause only the fader level to be recalled, and leave the rest of the channel strip intact.

 

Because of the experience you've described with the band - particularly with panto - I would be tempted up exclude the band faders from your scenes. Group the band together. If you have enough faders, break the band up into logical groups - the drummer most certainly on his own group. You could choose to recall the group fader levels with your scenes, although I often run them live. The problem you face with the LS9 is that you can't selectively recall only certain faders for certain scenes. So, for example, it's not possible to have a scene that recalls ONLY your radiomic fader level, but doesn't touch the band ... And then another scene that only affects the band levels. It's all or nothing (once you've setup your recall safe options) ... So, yes, some careful planning is in order. :)

[s1ater]

It might make sense to have the channel faders recall safe, but have the head amp gains recallabe - this means you can still do automated gain changes if needed - ed shouting..

[DrummerJonny]

It might make sense to have the channel faders recall safe, but have the head amp gains recallabe - this means you can still do automated gain changes if needed - ed shouting..

 

Given this situation, that's what I'd go for.

 

While doing initial soundcheck and programming scenes, Set all faders to 0dB and mix on the HA gains. Then recall safe faders, allowing me to make on the fly adjustments on the faders, with automation happening on the HA gain.

If you find yourself boosting or cutting the same thing every night, then make the adjustment on the HA Gain and resave the scene.

 

This may not give the best gain structure, but for ease of use in this situation I think its a good compromise.

[TimmyP1955]

We recall safe everything but the faders. The reason being that if we have to change something on a channel (headamp, EQ, dymanics), we don't have to re-save every scene. However if you are running monitors from FOH, you may not want to safe the auxes.

 

Note that you'll want to set all of the safes before you begin saving scenes.