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Robert Scovill
Six-time TEC Award-winner Robert Scovill has done thousands of shows and recordings for acts such Def Leppard, Rush, Matchbox 20, Jackson Browne and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Visit his record label at
www.backstage-records.com
and recording studio at
www.musicanvas.com.
“Here's a useful tip for FOH or monitor engineers (especially with in-ear mixes), as well as broadcasters. Take your trusty noise gate (switched to ducking mode) and insert it in-line with the audience mics you're sending to the performer's in-ears or blending with your nightly 2-track recording or broadcast. Now, set up a mix that's primarily the band and use an aux bus to send it to the unit's key input. Set the gate's key source to ‘external’ and make sure it's set to ‘duck,’ not gate. You may have to ‘exercise’ the switch; it's probably never been used! Use medium to slow attack and release time and set the range to about 6 to 9 dB. This results in an extra pair of ‘hands’ that drops the audience level 6 to 9 dB in your in-ear mix (or recording) by decreasing the level only when the band's playing and raising it when the band stops. It's no different than you would do manually while mixing, but the speed and depth of the moves are automatically dictated by the attack, release and depth controls.”
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