mike257

I've toured with the Scott Dixons - never seen a guitar damaged in one, but they always ended up dented/deformed around where the lids attach after a while and become an absolute pain to close up. Recently picked up four Enki cases for a touring client - two of the new X series, and two (one guitar, one bass) of the original AMG versions, as that was all the available stock in the UK that week! Have had them in car boots, planes, vans, and on a truck over the last three weeks. All of them weigh in around 21/22kg fully loaded and flew as standard hold baggage on Ryanair without issue (their bag limit is 20kg but we had other stuff under weight so worked out with weights pooled - most other airlines are 23kg so should be fine elsewhere). The new X series are definitely neater - handles and latches are all recessed, so when you're stacking them in a van they're much easier to play Tetris with compared to the AMG where the handles protrude. The lids are much easier to remove and replace on the AMG though - the moulding around the hinge pins on the new X series makes them very awkward to slide back on in comparison. Only really an issue if you're using the cases as guitar stands and need the lids off and out of the way, otherwise you can just hinge them open and closed without removing the lid. Definitely happier with them than with the Scott Dixon alternative though, and the new X range has a triple guitar case too (which there was no UK stock of, unfortunately, else I'd have had them!). Been using them in lieu of a guitar rack while I've had limited workspace on a support tour and they've been great.

Yep, the dLive is full of goodies, the compressor emulations have plenty character. The 16T is a favourite, does lovely things to drums and bass. The new V2 software looks great too, yet to have any hands on time with it but the "Actions" functionality is appealing to me (as a big Digico macro nerd) so I'm keen to have a proper dig in to that. We've got an S3000 out on our current tour that has the V2 software and the new RackUltraFX card fitted and our FOH is loving it. Currently on another support run, this time working our way round arenas in the UK. Got our monitor engineer back for this one, so I've ditched the iPad and I'm doing one less job, just tour managing and looking after backline world. Two shows left before I'm done for Christmas! Couple of behind-the-scenes pics here, and our FOH also sneakily caught a clip of me warming up the drum kit in the O2 Arena last week 🤣 VID-20241207-WA0009.mp4

If you're looking for a guitar equivalent of this place, thefretboard.co.uk is a nice spot. Originally started when the old MusicRadar forums closed down, by some long term members from there. Similar vibe to here, pleasant conversation, no 'orrible characters and some very knowledgeable folks on there.

With the eternal caveat that I can't really give proper advice on a mix without hearing both the system and the content.... Kick Drum: I'd do about the same on a proper full range touring system. If you're on a small powered tops & subs band setup, I'd maybe go up a touch higher just so you're not overworking the amps. You're not going to get gut-shaking low end from a couple of small boxes in a function room/pub etc, so if you can let the sub amps and drivers work a little less hard at the super low stuff they struggle with, they can give you more of the slightly higher stuff that they're able to reproduce more efficiently. Bass: Depending on the sound you're going for and where it's sitting in the mix, I'd generally go anywhere from 40 to 80 as a starting point. It's always good to sit the low end of the bass in a different spot to the kick and give them each their own space though. Vocals (Male and female): I tend to go a little higher with these. Generally anywhere from 120 to 160, sometimes even higher depending on what else is going on in the mix. You really don't need that much low end from a vocal in the majority of situations, and a lot of the information down that low will be spill from drums and amps too, which you can do without. Guitars: I'll usually go somewhere around 100 to 120 as a starting point. If it's a busy mix with lots of keys, tracks etc I'll often go quite a bit higher to help it sit in the mix, whereas if it's a simpler drums/bass/guitars mix I'll probably leave it lower down and let the guitars be a little bigger. Drums: Another big "it depends"... With individual close mics I'll use this to place each source in the mix, with toms set a little higher (small rack toms at around 80, stepping down with the pitch of each tom , floor tom often as low as the kick). Snare will depend on the mix - I'm quite partial to a chunky snare with a lot of low end weight so I'll often leave this low, but sometimes you need a "smaller" snare to sit in a busy mix and I'll crank it up towards 180/200. For overheads (or a single mic over the kit like you're using) I'll go pretty high with the HPF. You're not going to get tons of definition or pleasant low end from overheads on a small stage and the stage spill from amps etc will be significant, so I'll take this up pretty high and just use that mic to get the attack of the drums popping through, especially when it's a small system and you're just after a bit of reinforcement and extra definition in a smaller room. If you're not sure on a HPF, a good starting point is often to wind the frequency up until you can actually hear it taking something significant out, then wind it back just a little from that point. Then you know you're at least getting rid of the content you don't need from that source, which will be a big help in cleaning up your mix. As above, you can be more aggressive with it on some sources, but it's very situation-dependant. Sorry for the essay, hope it's helpful!

It really doesn't work well. As a general rule, I've never found gating vocals to be effective. Good mic choice, good mic technique, a considered stage layout and sensible backline volumes are the best set of tools for dealing with spill in vocal mics, in my experience.

I actually unexpectedly bumped in to a guitarist friend who I played in three bands with from the ages of 19-22 on the train to London this week and had a good catch up. We both work in different areas of the music industry but neither of us actively performing - he's not touched a guitar in 10 years! I did make a crack about next year being the 20th anniversary of our last (and best) band's first gig but there's definitely not an appetite for a reunion show 🤣

The D5 were my go-to for some time and a solid choice, from what I've heard the D7 are an improvement again, although I've been using the SE V7 as my regular choice for about 18 months now and on the majority of singers it's been great.

Haven't used the OM2 myself but from what I hear you need to be pretty tight up on it to get the best of it. Even something with a tight pickup pattern is still going to be full of drums when he backs his face off it though. You can get gooseneck extensions for about 10/15 quid, might be worth a punt to see if you can get the positioning a little better for him. Soundcheck pic of one in use here - I'd usually go a little higher with the stand and come in from above more, but this was what that particular drummer found comfortable to work with without obstructing his playing.

The 57 actually has the same capsule as the 58, the only differences are the grille enclosure, and any difference in sound is from the difference in proximity to the diaphragm from not having the big silver ball in the way 🤣 The Beta56a is popular with drummers, slightly tighter pickup pattern and the compact size makes it a little easier to get in position. I've been using SE V7 as my go to vocal mic for a while now and been pretty happy with that on drum vox too. Positioning is pretty key for a drum vocal, I like to use a good solid stand with a gooseneck extension and come in from above the left shoulder, so you can get it in close to their mouth, and try to get the nearest cymbals in the rejection point of the pickup pattern, without it completely getting in the way of arm movement. Any drum vocal is always going to be a big nasty drum overhead though, especially with a hard hitting drummer. It's definitely a case of making the best of a bad situation!

I'm based up in sunny Liverpool. Sadly no time to play in a band these days, as much as I miss it. I'm a tour manager/production manager and sound engineer, so spend a lot of time on the road. Doesn't fit in well with making it to rehearsals every week!

Acquired through getting it wrong plenty of times on the long road to occasionally getting it right 🤣 Interesting to hear they're still having big problems with feedback when running a silent stage with IEM. What I'd be looking at is: How loud are they trying to run their PA How big a space are they trying to fill Where is the PA positioned relative to the mics Where are the mics positioned relative to the PA and to any acoustically reflective surfaces in the room Although their stage volume isn't an issue in terms of backline levels, if they're trying to play a "loud" show, they could still be getting in their own way with the mix. The Alto speakers are definitely at the cheap and cheerful end of the PA world, and whilst I'd imagine they'd do ok as purely vocal amplification over a band playing through backline at a sensible gig level, they're being asked to do a lot of work in carrying the whole band on a silent stage and probably being pushed beyond what they're really capable of. That's a lot of dynamic information and transients, and a much more constant load on the amps and drivers than purely pushing vocal, so they'll likely be running at their limits. As you mention, mic choice could help too, and the trusty old 58 isn't the mainstay it once was. There's plenty of options out there with a tighter pickup pattern. There's also the usual things about vocal performance to consider - is the singer projecting and giving out a reasonable volume, or are they whisper quiet? Are they on top of the mic or backing off/singing at a distance from it? EDIT: Just to add - I've just taken a look at the Zoom L12, as it's not a desk I'm familiar with. I see there's a one-knob compressor on each channel. Not sure how much of that they're using on the vocal, but if they are doing, that could also do more harm than good in this situation with regards to achievable level before feedback. If they're using it on the vocals, I'd suggest dialling it back or fully bypassing it and seeing if that helps them out. Usual vocal mixing tips apply too - making sure the high pass filter (labelled "Low Cut" on the Zoom) is engaged on the vocal mics, and making judicious and careful use of the channel EQ.

This is one reason I've always avoided using Optogates on vocal mics. You can't avoid spill on stage, it's going to be there (to some degree) no matter what. I remember having a real eye-opener with it years ago when doing a mix of a live multitrack from a band I'd been touring with that had five open vocal mics on stage. I had all of the instrumental elements sounding great, really clean and punchy. As soon as the vocal mics came in to play, there was so much stage spill that everything went to bits, but cutting them in and out sounded so unnatural because all the spill still came back in with the vocal and changed how everything sounded. I ended up going back to the drawing board with that mix, starting with all the vocals open, and building everything around that to sound natural. I generally start a live soundcheck with all vocal mics open now, because that stuff is going to be in there no matter what you do, so you have to work around it and factor it in.

I only tend to gate channels that need it for a sonic reason. I'll usually gate kick drums and toms to get a tight, controlled sound but I'll rarely gate a snare because you lose a lot of the expressive detail in the playing - ghost notes etc. I'll leave toms open too if the musical style benefits from it and the tuning/sound of the drum allows for it. I'm always wary of gates on sources with a wide dynamic range because it's so easy to cut off things you want to keep. Pedalboard hum is something better fixed at source. They also wouldn't be part of my approach to prevent feedback. A gate only closes when there's no signal above the threshold. If you have open mics feeding back when they're not even being presented with a signal that would open any gate you set, you've got bigger problems to address in how that system has been set up. I've had a quick look at the article you linked. It mentions a couple of keys points - positioning of the speakers/wedges relative to the mic, mic choice, proximity of the mic to the source - but it doesn't mention what is often the biggest issue, which is the general stage volume the vocal is competing with. If you're trying to get a vocal clearly heard over a band, and you're getting in to feedback territory trying to do that, the band might be too loud for the space they're in. One of the key elements of putting a good mix together is understanding that if you can't hear something, it's not always about turning that thing up, it's about making a space for it to sit in. Turning something else down is often the answer!

I'm pretty sure Lennon's "How Do You Sleep" is the original diss track, aimed squarely at his ex-bandmate!

Yes, yes you are.