Knowing Your Environment

Last night was the second week of the new Fullerton campus as well as my second night of mixing. Working in a new building with a fairly different sound system proves to be a challenge - but an exciting challenge. Up to this point I have only mixed in the confines of either the highly dialed-in worship center at the main campus or the extremely isolated broadcast room. For this reason, I saw Fullerton as an opportunity to really test my mixing skills. So far I am happy to say that they've been proven to be well. I have been able to put together a pretty solid mix for both last night and the week before.

Being at the Fullerton campus has made me realize how important it is to know my environment as a mixer. It's only been two weeks and some important observations have already been made in regards to how the room reacts acoustically. The Wilshire Auditorium is originally intended for theater. The stage is deep as well as the seating configuration. The building also has a high ceiling and narrow corridor-type isles on the side of the auditorium. Lastly, the auditorium gradually slants upward the farther it gets to the back. All of these characteristics make up for an interesting acoustic response.

Because the building is deep with high ceilings, it tends to create a fair amount of reverb; however, with the amount of volume that we tend to push this problem is actually quite small. A more serious observation I've made is in regards to the incline of the auditorium. Because seats are physically higher than one another, people are not going to hear the same mix in every part of the room. As one moves farther from the stage and at a steeper incline, his perception of the mix will get a little more muffled and low-heavy. Since the sound board is placed in the very back of the room, I need to pay attention to this perception difference. What may sound too muffled from my spot may sound perfect closer up. Likewise, what may sound like a good mix to me may possibly be too ear-piercing up front.

Another issue that came to my attention is the difficulty of stage volume when the band is playing. Because of the room size and its acoustics, stage volume can get loud very quickly when a drum kit and electric guitar amps are placed on it. In return, all of the musicians on stage ask for more volume than they normally would in their personal monitors. I am learning to walk a fine line between accommodating musicians and making sure they don't overpower my ability to create a good house mix. This will always be a work in progress, but I'm glad I became aware of it early in the game.

With all of this being said, the effort put into analyzing and understanding the sound environment of this room is not simply for the sake of professionalism. It is more of a effort to help create the best service possible for those who attend. I also believe that striving for excellence is an act of worship within itself. Since I have been given the privilege to provide sound for 400+ people each week, I hope to give my best for the sake of serving this community and acknowledging God for the talents and opportunities He's given me.