level 3 studio session

we have been given the task to create a radio friendly track.

when we got to the studio we was given a short time to come up with a track that was ready for the level 3s to record vocals on.

we had created the instrumental from scratch starting with simple piano melody then layered with drums and some guitar chords.

the level 3 students had no idea as to what type of track to expect and still recorded as much as they could on it.

the track its self gives you a dark feeling but harmonising and a soft guitar changed the whole aspect of it can makes it sound alot more soothing.

working under pressure (limited time/new clients) helps the work flow because you have to get it done.

the work flow when really good everyone knew what they needed to do and success come quickly

risks of health and safety

in this post i will cover the basic considerations when it comes to a live event.



when managing health and safety you must take everything in to account, from minor things like falling over/drinks being spilled etc, to the extreme such as injuries/faulty equipment. you need to identify anything that may cause harm to people or or towards the venue. a risk assessments are in order to keep everything in check, they don have to be long essays but just so that it simply spots all the hazards out.

making sure everyone leaves the event happy and unharmed at an event sometimes won't be an easy job and not everyone will follow the rules and regulations. having counter procedures for there actions like if they were to go into certain areas that are off limits what would i do to prevent that happening and what would i do if someone manages to pass through?.
risk assessments are also placed for staff is have and emergency staff are also available just incase something bad happens or a staff member needs to leave.

how would you assess the workplace?
have each area searched?
start by having the venue is properly checked throughout so there are no hazards around, and be sure to check all facilities are working. depending on the size of the venue you have to consider if something bad was to happen, how would you ensure that everyone gets out calmly and safe. each venue has to have at least 1 escape route/exit per 60 people./ 2 exits for 600 people. size of the door is important you can't use just any old door,  a 750mm door width in a normal fire risk premises has a capacity of 100 people and a 1050mm door can take 200.

there have been rare cases of people being suffocated from falling down during an event, loud music and hundreds of people dancing around and not notice you on the floor struggling for breath
 artist profile; make sure that the artists performing are safe form from any dangours that they may face, making sure that there performance area is safe and and that no one can get in the way. 
alcoholic events can be a problem if not controlled properly, drunk people can cause a lot of harm towards the event such as fighting/smashing things/ and vomiting.

duration and timing of event; venue evaluation; thing of the timing the the event should be and the weather,
whether alcohol is on sa
whether the audience is standing, seated or a mixture of both;
the movement of the audience between the entertainment and/or facilities; artistic nature of the event, single stage, multiple-arena complex, etc.

	Minor	moderate	Major
Frequent	People fighting	///	///
likely	Drunk being sick	Drugs/alcohol	Faulty equpiment
remote	hitting your toe	Spilling drinks	Building collapse

this table shows some of the faults that may happen within the live event. anything in the yellow or above i would take caution to and try figure a way out how to prevent it. people often get drunk when at events and that can lead to a number of things like fighting and other aggressive behaviour. security will be set to deal with those problems. having minor  problems like someone stubbing there toe won't really be assessed because it isn't a huge problem and whats the odds on a seriously problem happening from that? theres no frequent hazards that are major, if there was the event would be cancelled.   

mono v stereo mixing

when mixing you should be mixing in mono due to the fact that is something have been strongly panned Left or Right, when hearing it live you won't be able to hear the sound panned right if your on the left side of the venue.

having a guitarist on stage with am amp can be difficult to work with during the mix, having their own guitar amp on stage mean he can adjust the volume themselves. some guitarists will have there amp really close on some sort of stand

critical distance

critical distance is from the sound source where the direct and reverberant sounds clash and become equal. the more reverberant is the closer the critical distance is to the main sound source.

the critical distance will be different at all frequencies and venue.











critical distance should be as far away from the source of sound as posse;e and reverberant to a minimal keeping it even at all frequencies.

an easy way to figure out the critical distance is to play pop music through one speaker, and walk back and forth the room, this will be surprisingly easy to spot.














the more reverberant the room is the closer the critical distance
the more absorbent the room the further the critical distance
near field or direct field is inside the critical distance
far field or reverberant field is outside he critical distance













http://education.lenardaudio.com/en/04_acoustics_2.html

PA power requirements

i was given the task to calculate the the level requirements of the PA set up. the formula used in the table below was how i was able to work out the power level of each piece of equipment from Ws to amps.  

F.O.H sub	300w x 1.4 = 420W	420W / 230 = 1.83Amps x 2 = 3.66 Amps	3.66
F.O.H main	300w x 1.4 = 420W	420W / 230 = 1.83Amps x 2 = 3.66Amps	3.66
Mixing desk	80w x 1.4 = 112W	112W / 230 = 0.49Amps	0.49
Mackie monitors	1050w x 1.4 = 1470W	1470W / 230 = 6.4Amps	6.4
Wedge monitor	300w x 1.4 = 420W	420W / 230 = 1.83Amps	1.83
Yamaha monitors(1xsmall/1x large)	320w + 300w = 620 x 1.4 =868W	868 / 230 = 3.78Amps	3.78
Guitar amp	300w x 1.4 = 420W	420W / 230 = 1.83Amps	1.83
Bass amp	73w x 1.4 =102w	102W / 230 = 0.45Amps	0.45
keyboard	8w x 1.4 = 12W	12W / 230 = 0.06Amps	0.06
Feedback destroyer	1A x 1.4 = 1.4A	1.4Amps	1.4
midiverb	0.78a + 0.85a = 1.63 x 1.4 = 2.3A	2.3Amps	2.3
		Total(rounded)	26Amps

this is the link i used to work out the results.

https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/power-electrical-safety-stage

monitor positioning

when using stage monitors its important that they are not towards the audience. these wedges are very directional and mainly placed next to the musican so that it is facing the ear of the musicians so they can hear the music with precise.its important on where the monitors will be because facing the audience can cause feedback to the performers mic. the best way for you to use there wedges would be to give each performer there own. but some artists might not stay in one spot so this mean they would have to use side fills but these should only be used when necessary.

unit 23 - INDEX

you can find the evidence to the work for live sound at -

first set up
http://darkpurplepro.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/pa-setup-1.html

second set up
http://darkpurplepro.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/2nd-pa-set-up.html

third set up
http://darkpurplepro.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/third-set-up.html

PA set up evaluation
http://darkpurplepro.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/friday-assesment-set-up-not-finished.html

critical distance
http://darkpurplepro.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/critical-distance.html

mixing mono v stereo
http://darkpurplepro.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/mono-v-stereo-mixing.html

PA power requirements
http://darkpurplepro.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/pa-power-requirements.html

monitor positioning
http://darkpurplepro.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/monitor-positioning.html

Health and safety
http://darkpurplepro.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/risks-of-health-and-safety-not-finished.html

third set up

this will me my thir set up for more a medium crowd.



line 6 m20d dream stage PA system - here

Line 6's StageSource speakers are designed to be the world's most versatile loudspeaker system for musicians. Using its DSP-based Smart Speaker modes, the StageSource L3t output is optimised for a variety of performance scenarios including front-of-house PA, personal PA, or with a multi-effects guitar processor as a high-performance electric guitar speaker system, while the StageScape M20d streamlines the way you mix to keep you in the creative zone while getting your live sound dialed-in quickly.

EVP-X12PM x4- this has a 90 x 60 elliptical wave guide hor with 1.75" (44mm) titanium diaphragm driver. it is very high powered with the 300w
 with high efficiency. it comes with a 5 band graphic WQ




    LD systm stinger mon101AG2 10" - this monitor is only 80w buut would be good for an onstage monitor to work along the artists

allen and heath ZED 24 CHANNEL - here

The Allen and Heath ZED-24 Mixer has a really advanced feature-set for a mixer at this level. It has 23 independent sources to the mix, 10 independent outputs, 4 aux sends, a USB send & return for PC or Mac recording, playback and effects, a unique dual stereo input capability and some very advanced monitoring facilities. In fact, ZED-24 is so packed full of great features that you'd think it would cost more

mics - 7

sennheiser e935 and3 sm58s - vocals 
lewitt DTP beat kit pro 7 x5- these are my go to mics i always use for micing up drums with the high quality and decemt price 
in this lewitt DTP kit it contains the x5-
DTP 640 REX for kick drums x5-
DTP 340 TT for toms x5-
MTP 440 DM for snare x5-
LCT 340 for overheads x5-

DI boxes -  5
countryman type 85 x 50 - 
to work smoothly, reliably, and efficiently. Everything from acoustic guitars, to Telecasters, to bass guitars, and even old electric pianos have been plugged into this DI with satisfactory results. Most agree that they can hear the nuances of their playing style and instrument better when using this DI Box

effect units
DBX AFS2 feedback suppressor  -  this feeddback destroyer can be abit pricey but it is worth it in the long run with all its stock presets etc.

lexicon MX400XL dual effects processor (x2) - this will be used as both delay and reverb but on 2 different channels 

cables etc.
24 channel multicore
XLRS -  100 
jack to jack leads - 50 
power kettle leads - 15 + 15 extensions 
gender benders - 50
xlrs to jack/jack to xlr 50

2nd PA set up

this PA is going to be a high budget set up
medium


for this set up i decided that i only had to change the PA due to a larger audience.

HK audio linear 5  -  this loudspeaker can cost up to 6k, this speakers can be used for slightly bigger venues due to the amount of power they can hold. you can find the link to these speakers here

HK audio lsub Subwoofer x2- using 2 of these subwoofers will be more than enough to play at slightly bigger venues - you can find the link for this here

mackie 1604-vlz4 - this 16 channel mixing desk not only looks beautiful but also features with 16 boutique-quality Onyx mic preamps, high headroom and low-noise design. extended frequencey responses. this mixer has a 3-band EQ (80hz,2.5khz,12khz). there is LEDs on each channel and has 4 aux sends,.level,pan and solo and overload/mute. it also reduces stuff like dust getting inside the mixer with the sealed rotary controls. for the price i feel like this mixer would be most appropriate and its not to big so there wont be lot of hassle trying to takr iit from place to place  

mics - 7
sennheiser e935 and3 sm58s - vocals 
lewitt DTP beat kit pro 7 
in this lewitt DTP kit it contains the 
DTP 640 REX for kick drums 
DTP 340 TT for toms 
MTP 440 DM for snare 
LCT 340 for overheads

DI boxes -  5
countryman type 85 - 
to work smoothly, reliably, and efficiently. Everything from acoustic guitars, to Telecasters, to bass guitars, and even old electric pianos have been plugged into this DI with satisfactory results. Most agree that they can hear the nuances of their playing style and instrument better when using this DI Box

effect units
DBX AFS2 feedback suppressor  -  this feedback destroyer can be abit pricey but it is worth it in the long run with all its stock presets etc.

lexicon MX400XL dual effects processor (x2) - this will be used as both delay and reverb but on 2 different channels 

cables etc.
24 channel multicore
XLRS -  100 
jack to jack leads - 50 
power kettle leads - 15 + 15 extensions 
gender benders - 50
xlrs to jack/jack to xlr 50

HK Audio LSUB-1500A Active Subwoofer

£770.00

Mercury AV

HK Audio LSUB-1500A Active Subwoofer

£770.00

Mercury AV