More Mixing

This past week, I've gotten time to mix behind the board much more than I am usually able to. The church held their monthly mid-week worship gathering this Wednesday night. I was once again allowed to "take the driver's seat" and mix while a designated sound man watch over me near by. The ride turned out to bit a little bumpier than usual throughout the entire night. The bass player's signal was cutting in and out throughout rehearsal. I thought I had successfully troubleshooted the problem, but when the band began to play for the service the bass had completely dropped out again. Corey, the designated sound man, eventually took control of the board while I tried to troubleshoot the problem mid-service. It was very awkward trying to change out the cable, DI box, and eventually the bass itself while the pastor was speaking. We eventually recovered a signal, but because we switched instruments the EQ had changed. Now Corey and I had to EQ the bass mix while the band was performing. This turned out to be one of the more unpleasant sound experiences to say the least.

Apart from the bass fiasco, I also realized that a few distinct areas in my mixing abilities needed to be improved on. I have consistently been getting feedback by the sound men that my vocal mix always seems to be a bit too "buried" in the mix. Either I'm not pushing the vocals loud enough or another instrument in the mix is overpowering them. I also have struggled recently with understanding how to use the delay effect correctly on vocals. I tend to overemphasize the delay and use it too often. Unfortunately, both of these skills must be developed over time by careful listening and cannot be acquired overnight.

Finally, I have also been somewhat confused and frustrated by the differing mixing styles I have been taught by each sound man. There are three sound men who are certified teachers, and I have had the great opportunity to work alongside them each individually. However, I feel that sometimes the feedback they give me contradict each other's methods. One sound man says that it's better to mute the channels this way while the other says that way is how everyone should be doing it. I understand that they mix the same way with a few stylistic preferences of their own; but it's more difficult for me to learn with one format because of the particular styles of each.

Overall, I learned A LOT about mixing this week although the week proved to be more difficult to handle than others.