[[email protected]]

On 2011-05-02 said:
I saw Benny Goodman playing at Constitution Hall. There was
one microphone up front (this was probably 50 years ago).
When he came out on stage, he walked up to the microphone
and said "Is this mic on?" When the audience responded, his
next words were "Please turn it off when we're playing."
There was no problem hearing a 6 piece jazz group, but you
had to be quiet and pay attention.
That last sentence says a great deal about many things in our
culture.
I'm not a complete pessimist; we need to push back where we can to
educate and encourage those very things: settling down and giving
complete, rapt attention to
the performers.


I'm in total agreement. IN fact, I've been arguing this for
years. Same at meetings, etc. One of my biggest gripes is
sitting near somebody at a meeting or seminar only to have
him constantly beeping and buzzing as he takes calls on his
cell phone.

I've been an advocate of turn down for clarity, have more
than you need available, then turn the damn thing down
grin.





Richard webb,

replace anything before at with elspider
ON site audio in the southland: see www.gatasound.com

[Richard Webb[_3_]]

Frank Stearns writes:


snip

I was at a concert just the other day. The speakers were domestic Hi
Fi - Big KEFs. The mics were Schoeps omnis and the sound level was
just high enough to add clarity rather than volume. Best PA I have
ever heard.

Good gear indeed helps, but you just revealed perhaps the single Big
Secret of really good PA -- turn it down!

INdeed, I always thought that's the goal, minimum necessary
to just reinforce.

Reinforce, add body, add clarity, but try to avoid if at all
possible getting way
ahead of the actual acoustic source.

Agreed, but as somebody noted elsewhere, often for spoken
word etc. people demand a bit more than would be thought
necessary.

Extra gold stars for delaying the PA signal(s) just enough to avoid
any potential
comb filter issues between PA system sound and natural sound of the
source.


That means thinking about the deployment of speakers,
deploying them so as to delay appropriately, more than just
a couple speakers on sticks, or even a center cluster.




OFtentimes more sound reinforcement is required than
necessary because the audience doesn't pay good attention
during the performance, life still goes on. The audience
itself is a significant noise source grin.


Regards,
Richard
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