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View Full Version : Re: mixbus volume limiting


Justin Ulysses Morse
July 2nd 03, 07:16 AM
The simplest method to deal with this problem is also by far the most
effective and it's FREE. What you do is simply refuse to put any drum
mikes or guitar-amp mikes through the PA. Use the PA ONLY for vocals,
synthesizers, and acoustic instruments. Then, you only have to limit
vocal levels and the bands have to turn their amps down if they want a
listenable mix. This will result in better sound in the club, since
the real tone of the instruments won't be drowned out by the pale
imitation produced by the PA. The audience will like it, since they
can "mix" for themselves by choosing where they stand. You'll
occasionally get a guy with an amp that's way too loud and refuses to
turn down, but that's not a problem that PA equipment can solve.
You'll also occasionally get a guy with an amp so tiny it HAS to get
miked, and you'll run into the question of where to draw the line. But
generally speaking, FOH engineers tend to keep pushing levels up
through the course of the show, and the more channels they use, the
more they keep pushing them up. If there's just one vocal mike going
through the PA, then they can only turn it up til it's too loud (for
the mix) and there's nothing else to turn up to compensate. The only
option for them is to turn it back down, insteas of turning the mixer
into some kind of carnival game.

Of course this technique won't work in a hockey arena, and if you're in
a tiny coffee shop you're probably already doing it. But in any event
a limiter on the PA is probably not what you need. Another solution
might be an undersized fuse feeding the stage power mains or the PA
amplifiers. If they pull too much current, they get shut down.
Eventually, they learn. Put the lights on the same circuit so they get
to sit in the dark and think about their mistakes. Tell them ahead of
time that if the stage shuts down it's because they were too loud and
it's their own damn fault.

ulysses

Cliff > wrote:

> I am in the process of helping a local club, who has been having
> trouble with local authorities, stay within the limits of noise
> ordinances. Basically, I want to make it so they cant turn up past a
> certain point. I had an idea of running the mixbus through a
> transparent compresser/limiter. I would measure the volume with a
> decible meter and set the threshold on the limiter to kick in once the
> volume reached the limits set forth by the local noise ordinance. My
> questions are; first off, is this feasible?, if so which
> compressor/limiter would be the most transparent and efficient? Or is
> there a better or more simple way of limiting the volume of a club?
> Cliff
>