Live sound design arena PDF

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Summary

Live sound reinforcement in a big arena. Considerations of speakers and calculations of the place using ArrayCalc. More professional approach on how to achieve required decibels....

Description

LIVE SOUND DESIGN OF MEDIUM TO LARGE SIZED VENUE Recipient of report: Islah Ali-MacLachlan Author of report: Atanas Georgiev Date of report: 09.11.2016

CONTENTS PAGE

1…………………………………. Intro 2. ………………………………...Contents page 3..…………………………………Introduction 4…………………………………..Live sound design of the PA system 10…………………………………Specification of FOH and monitors 13…………………………………Lighting system 14…………………………………Conclusions 15…………………………………References 16…………………………………Conclusions

I. 1.1

INTRODUCTION

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to research the most efficient ways to do sound and lighting reinforcement in venues. Therefore, the main idea is to create a professional live sound plan which can be implemented in a real world environment.

1.2

Aim

The aim of the project is to present an industry standard live sound plan for a medium to largesized venue, explaining in details the specific methods and the full specifications of the equipment used. The sound reinforcement plan should provide the most appropriate system considering the technical specifications, given by the bands.

1.3

1.4

Objectives

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Complete description of sound system specifications and design.

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Demonstration of loudspeakers positioning and calculation of SPL coverage using the simulation software ArrayCalc.

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Exploration of new technologies and methods in the industry.

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Relevant comparison with alternative products and justification.

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Integration of flexible and reliable system.

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Preparation of stage lighting system and appropriate specifications for the type of gig.

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Precise selection of FOH and monitors considering music genre.

Background information

This report is demonstrating an example of live sound design and stage lighting. The information supports the specific workflow, methods and choice of equipment which are meant to be used. What is more is that the software used to design the PA system is specifically designed for D&B products. The live sound design should be done considering the music of the of following bands: “Babajack” , “Counterfeit Stones”, “Moulettes”, “Fairport” and “Lazy-Habits”. The whole project is based on research and it is fully referenced. Also this live sound engineering plan should be suitable for professional use in real world environment. The capacity of the venue is about 4000 people.

II.

2.1

LIVE SOUND DESIGN OF THE PA SYSTEM

Methods of design and PA system

The design of the PA system has to be as accurate as possible because it is one of the most important parts of the whole process. In order to precisely design the PA system, the use of simulation software is required. ArrayCalc is specific D&B software which allows the virtual processing of loudspeaker positioning, the time aligning of all sources and the calculation of SPL coverage for the specific venue. Another important part is the PA system which has to be appropriate considering the size of the venue. Therefore the D&B V-series speakers are suitable choice as they offer line array and point source systems which have good control of dispersion and high sound pressure levels. What is more is that they are mainly used for medium to large sized venues. The V8 loudspeakers provide an 80° directional sound dispersion in the horizontal plane. In addition their design is based on 3-way passive system which features two 10” LF drivers, one horn 8” MF driver and two 1.4” HF drivers. Most importantly the V12 is compatible with the V8 and differs only in the 120° horizontal coverage. Also the loudspeakers are built to produce almost perfect symmetrical sound dispersion. Another part of the system is the V sub which is a cardioid subwoofer with the same width. This low frequency system consists of two long neodymium drivers which are designed to avoid unwanted bass behind the subwoofers. 2.2

Dimensions of venue and specific areas of sound coverage.

The dimensions of the venue for this gig are 50m deep, 25m wide and 15m high. The required SPL coverage is 92db across all seats. In order to achieve equal sound distribution all over the venue it would be nice to split the venue into different parts that has to be covered. Therefore this specific venue has been split into three main parts: central area (stall), balconies and rear area. 2.3.1

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Live sound design for the separate parts of the venue.

Main array for the ground area (stall)

Two main arrays are going to be used to cover this specific area. One array consists of six V8’s and two V12’s. The system will be positioned 9 meters away from the centre (0m point) at the left and right hand side as well as flown at 6m height. In addition, it will be aimed at the centre of the venue with a horizontal aiming set to respectively -20° and +20° so the two arrays cover mostly the main area and do not interfere with side fill speakers. The frame angle is set to -4°so the speakers point mostly downwards at the central area. Another essential function is array processing, which flattens the frequency response of the array considering the direct sound level versus distance in the central and the rear area of the system. This processing is applying specific filter algorithms to increase the sonic coverage. The screenshots below show the dispersion of the two arrays and the sound coverage in the whole venue.

In the centre of the venue the main arrays produce a maximum SPL of 105.7dB at 1000Hz and 108dB at 10000Hz which is more than enough for this type of gig.

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Side fill arrays aimed at the balconies

The second area that must be covered consists of two balconies on the right and left hand side. To cover this area another two flying arrays will be added at 10m and -10m respectively from the centre of the stage. In addition, these arrays consist of six V8’s which are aimed at the left and right balconies with their horizontal aiming set to +17° and -17° respectively. What is more is that they are placed at 8m height which is 2m higher than the main array. Their frame angle is set to 5° to make sure the sound dispersion is at a higher point where the balconies are placed. This positioning of the speakers avoids the clash between the main arrays and the side fill arrays as well as it improves the SPL coverage of the specific area.The images below show 104dB SPL at 1000Hz and 102dB SPL at 10000Hz. 1000Hz

10000 hz

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Delay stacks at the bottom of the venue (rear area)

The final area is at the back of the venue. In order to provide sufficient SPL coverage in this area, two delay arrays are precisely placed. They are based on 4 Y8s which are smaller speakers from the D&B Y-series. Furthermore the delay stacks are flown at 9m height and aimed at the left and right end of the venue. The frame angle is set to 5° and the horizontal aiming is -10° and +10° respectively. This is the SPL coverage that the delay stacks produce. 1000Hz SPL

10000Hz SPL

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V-sub low frequency system

Low frequencies are some of the hardest to control in a live environment due to big sound waves that contain a lot of energy. To achieve sufficient low frequency coverage, 8 V-subs will be equally spaced along 18m across the front stage. This method works well if all the subs are in line with each other and there is no bottom-end summing.

The sub-bass polar pattern after applying delay.

2.3.2

Optimization

The NoizCalc software made by D&B provides the ability to model noise immission of the system. Also, the system optimization simulated in ArrayCalc is processed by the R1 Remote control software which has a graphical interface allowing the remote management of amplifiers from anywhere in the venue. In this way EQ and delay could be applied directly to the sound system which improves the sound reinforcement significantly. To reduce any phase issues delay is applied to the subwoofers and the arrays. This is done by using the specific software to precisely calculate the time alignment of the different stacks. The exact amount of delay applied to the main array is 10.4ms, 13ms to the side fills and 40.4ms to the delay stacks. The delay of the sub is 7.5ms. 2.3.3

Rigging system

The D&B products come with a custom rigging system for different series. To fly the arrays twopoint source system of rigging will be used as it is a lot safer than one point rigging. The V8/V12 arrays will be flown using the V flying frame, the V hoist connector chains and the v safety chainset. In addition, the main array is using 34% of the load limit and it weights 296kg whereas the side fill array is using just 24% of the load limit and it weights 229kg. In conclusion, there is no risk of overloading the frames.

2.3.4

Alternatives

Alternative PA system for this type of gig could be the J-series. These series are designed for long throw applications. The main array for this venue could be 10J8s with two J12 at the bottom pointing at the main area and the side fill array should be 8 V8’s horizontally aimed at 50° and + 50°. Using this PA there will not be any need of delay stacks because the J-series are powerfull enough to provide the required SPL coverage of 92db across all seats. However the Jseries are a lot bigger than the V-series and they are mostly used for large-sized venues.

III.

Specification of FOH and Monitor system

3.1 Benefits of digital desk To begin with the fact that almost all digital mixers offer a very high-spec channel strip compared to the analogue mixers. Another good thing about the digital console is that its architecture allows the use of greater number of auxes and groups than analogue console. These can be configured to allow stereo operation and pre/post-fader mixes, which might be useful in real world environment where different gigs have different arrangements of monitoring and FX. Also there are number of FX engines that can be used on a single channel or across the desk through aux bus. One of the best features of the digital desk is the option of full recall. This option saves the whole configuration of the desk and can be used for future gigs as it allows the engineer to rapidly switch between his own mixes for different bands. This could be also synchronised with lighting desk configuration. What is more is that the flexibility of the digital desk allows the arrangement of input channels over layers which is useful when there are many channels and the desk has only 24 physical faders. One innovative feature is that some digital desks offer the feature of wireless control through an ipad or other touchscreen devices. This feature helps a lot when the FOH is placed far from the stage or the sound engineer is not able to hear the mix and he has to walk around the venue.

3.2 Digital desks for FOH and monitors The chosen digital desks for this gig are Soundcraft Vi5000. The desk has up to 128 input channels and 32 mono/stereo busses. In addition, the number of quality built-in effects are useful and easy to use. The digital desk is easy to setup and has rapid configuration as well as powerful automation features. Also the Vi operating is designed to enhance monitor mixing as well as protect every important setting with data security in case of power failure. Also the hardware of the desk offers 96kHz processing.

3.3 Monitor system The D&B M4 monitors are going to be used as they offer high performance. The driver of M4 consists of 15” exit coaxial design and has neodymium magnet. The dispersion of sound that this monitor offer is 50° horizontally and 70° vertically. It is a two-way passive design but it can operate in active mode if it is configured. Nine M4 monitors will be needed to build the monitor system. It is suitable for the type of gig because due to its passive crossover propagates high quality sound.

3.4 System Integration

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Patching

Another important part of the live sound plan is the patching. Everything must be connected precisely so the risks are reduced to a minimum level. To connect the microphones for the instruments, the vocal mics and the Dis, two stage boxes will be used. The Soundcraft mini stage box is an excellent choice for this type of gig because it is very compact and provides 32 analogue inputs. In addition, one of the stage boxes will be on rolling riser so it can be easily moved whereas the other one will be placed in the stage corner. Therefore to split the signal and send it to the two desks, a RME MADI router will be connected to the stage boxes. This device allows signal routing and it could be used as a converter between optical and electrical signals. It’s design allows any MADI device to be linked. What is more is that it could be used as a distributor of several MADI signals as well as a signal repeater. The diagram below shows the patching which will be applied to connect the equipment.

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Amplification

The D&B amplifiers allow digital signal processing and loudspeaker management as well as remote capabilities and user-definable controls for specific applications. In addition, the provided filters allow a variety of configuration setups to be applied. Another useful optimization is applying the 100 Hz mode which complements the top cabinets in full range by limiting the upper operating frequency of the subwoofers to 100Hz. The amplification of the full system for this gig will require 5 D80’s for the main PA system and 2 D20’s for the monitor system.

IV.

LIGHTING SYSTEM

4.1 Suitable lighting system for the type of gig Stage lighting can improve the show significantly if it is done the right way and fits with the music genre and atmosphere. Therefore for this type of venue it is essential to mention that the bands which are meant to play are mostly slow paced. The lighting system should be focused on musicians rather than on complex lighting show of visual effects all over the whole venue.

4.2 Design and actual lighting system The front lighting will consist of 6x par can 64 as they will be the primary source of illumination. These lights will be used to illuminate the bodies of the musicians and to put emphasis on them. To avoid any shadows and make sure the facial expressions are well lit the overhead angle will be set to 45°. Furthermore, it is important to add movement and that is why there will be 6 Chavuet intimidator beams which will be used as moving lights. They enhance the visual scene on the stage by adding dynamics. Another 10x par 46 cans will be mounted and they will function as downlights which add wash of light. The focus should not be under the shoulder of the artists in order to avoid any lightings on the ground. The image below illustrates the positioning of the lighting system. The moving head lights and down lights will be mounted to a separate ceiling using appropriate hooks provided with the lighting system. The front lights will be connected to another wired lighting bar. The whole system will be connected using DMX cables. At the back there will be LED curtain to add atmosphere on the stage.

Moreover, the Deiko DLC One 1024 is going to be used to control the lighting system. The desk has 32 channels and allows control of conventional lighting and moving LED lights as well as control over smoking machines.

V.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the report presents a modern live sound design which offers adequate level and coverage across all seats in the venue. Throughout the research process many innovative technologies and methods were studied to provide the most advanced live sound reinforcement. The use of simulation software is very helpful in terms of preparation for future events and might save a lot of time. It is an essential part to design the lighting system considering the music genre because the visual effects might add a lot to the performance if designed professionally. They could take a lot from the show. The optimization procedures provided by the amplifiers increase the sound quality and SPL coverage in large-sized venues. Finally, a good understanding of the directional properties and coverage of arrays can only lead to a successful delivery of sound to the audience.

REFERENCES

Absolute Music. 2016. DIGITAL vs ANALOGUE MIXING / Absolute Music Community . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.absolutemusic.co.uk/community/entries/206-digital-vsanalogue-mixing. [Accessed 4 November 2016]. Soundcraft by Harman. 2016. Soundcraft Vi5000. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.soundcraft.com/products/vi5000. [Accessed 3 November 2016] PAR 64 Bulbs – A Guide to PAR 64 Lamp Sizes - Stage Lighting Online Tutorials, Information and How To. 2016. PAR 64 Bulbs – A Guide to PAR 64 Lamp Sizes - Stage Lighting Online Tutorials, Information and How To. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.onstagelighting.co.uk/lighting-equipment/par-64-bulbs-a-guide-to-par-64-lamp-sizes/. [Accessed 5 November 2016]. WORDS AND MUSIC. 2016. Almost everything you think you know about live sound is probably wrong – time to go back to school… | WORDS AND MUSIC. [ONLINE] Available at: https://andreweverard.com/2014/07/02/almost-everything-you-know-about-live-sound-is-wrongtime-to-go-back-to-school/. [Accessed 9 November 2016]. Line Arrays Explained | Sound On Sound. 2016. Line Arrays Explained | Sound On Sound. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/line-arrays-explained. [Accessed 9 November 2016]. Steve lacerra. 2015. FRONT of HOUSE. [Online]. [9 November 2016]. Available at: http://www.fohonline.com/current-issue/28-theory-and-practice/13918-up-front-and-personalusing-front-fill-speakers.html Audio ag for rme operations, germany. 2016. Rme-audiode. [Online]. [9 November 2016]. Available at: https://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/madi_router.php V-Series - Loudspeakers | d&b audiotechnik. 2016 [ONLINE] [9 November 2016].

BIBLIOGRAPHY Teddy Boyce, 2014. Introduction to Live Sound Reinforcement - The Science, the Art, and the Practice. First Edition. FriesenPress. Scott Hunter Stark, 2004. Live Sound Reinforcement, Bestseller Edition (Hardcover & DVD). 1 Edition. Cengage Learning....