Study Hall

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The Sound Of Sound: Analyzing Acoustic Versus Amplification

Keeping sound in perspective and mixing accordingly...

Next, I noticed that the ambience, including echoes and reverb, seemed entirely integrated into the sound itself. In a sound reinforcement scenario, there is the reverb that is coming through the system, and then there is what is happening in the venue.

That was not the case at the opera, and thus, there was a certain “smoothness” about it.

Localization was absolute – with my eyes closed I could pinpoint where the singers were on the stage, just from hearing their voices.

The orchestra, being in the pit, was a bit more diffuse, but it was still possible to tell that the strings were on one side of the pit and the winds were on the other.

There was simply no distortion – zero percent. Distortion in a sound system can be a subtle thing, and it has been proven that most people can’t hear the difference between .1 percent and 1 percent, and maybe even 5 percent.

But once we get used to hearing sound with no distortion at all, we have a frame of reference and can probably find parts of reproduced or reinforced sound that will stick out as being different somehow – a bit distorted, shall we say.

It wasn’t too loud. There, I said it. When all of the sound is being produced acoustically, it only gets so loud. But if you’ve ever heard an opera, you’ll know that the singers can actually project in a surprising way. So, there were times when it did get “loud” but only for a moment or two.

Sure, when the orchestra was playing full volume with the brass and percussion involved, it was loud. But again, only for short periods. I could hear everything that was going on, and there was a refreshing contrast between the quietest parts and the loudest parts.

Mostly, it was in the middle, and, if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say the average stayed under 95 dB SPL for the whole evening. Peaks might have been 105 dB. And I was sitting about 15 rows back, right in the center. It was possible to have a conversation immediately after the opera, with no ringing ears.

Don’t Push It

What can be gleaned from these observations? For one thing, I’ve long held that most amplified shows are just too loud. There’s really no reason for it, but show producers and promoters often push for it. And at times, we even push the volume on our own. (Maybe it’s our egos…)

But particularly if we’re working with acoustic acts like jazz, crossover, bluegrass, show music, classical “pops” and the like, I believe we can all do better in presenting sound to the audience that is truer to the source.

How? Start with careful attention to mic selection and placement, as well as setting gain structure specifically for low noise and high headroom. Delay can be employed judiciously to enhance the illusion that there is no sound system present. Loudspeaker choice and placement matters too, of course.

Equalization also plays a role. Believe it or not, I don’t think a system has to be perfectly “flat” – rather, it just has to sound that way. Finally, how the various elements in the mix are balanced has an effect. Huge, throbbing bass just gets in the way of most acoustic music. Same goes for drums.

Back to my broken record statement: to know how to mix acoustic music, we must know what the various instruments, ensembles and bands sound like acoustically. How does a piano really sound? How about a saxophone? Or even drums for that matter? Without experiencing these things for ourselves every so often, we can lose our perspective and mix accordingly.

But it’s all part of continually getting better at our craft – we need to keep learning how things sound in their natural habitat. The goal is to present acoustic shows without the audience even knowing a sound system is present.

Wouldn’t that be something?

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