#u69c3

[rozzabozzportfolio]

me setting up a PA system

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqDfRKGUFPA&feature=youtu.be

first plug in all XLR’s to jack in the rear of the pa system into the jack outputs as the golden rule states ‘out the pins into the holes’ into the monitors/speakers, from here I then placed into channels 1 and 2 on the back of the mixing booth the XLR to jack for the use of the headphone jack so the actor can play their music in the mornings for warmup. Then using channel 3 I placed the longest XLR into the rear and placed the clip of the XLR into the senneiser E385. In channels 4 and 5 i placed the iPod dock ready for use when directors want to use one with a 30 pin adapter. Once all was plugged into the pa system I could then draw my attention to the power, using 4 IEC’s into a 4 way extension lead Iwas able to power the monitors/speakers flicking the switches on the rear of the amplifier and the dock with the big blue button on the front, and the pa in the left hand corner on the rear. 

Now I could start to sort out the gain and the pan of the speakers and check I was getting signal from all 5 XLR’s from the rear, starting off with the headphone jacks I started by making sure the faders were down to 0 on the PA system, then by turning the gain up on channels 1 and 2 I could play Animals on the system. Then able to use the microphone in channel 3 and fade out channels 1and 2. then added the small iPod docking station into channels 4 and 5 however i could not test them as we didn't have any 4 gen iPods or iPhone 4/4s at hand.

[bensblogbook]

PA Set Up For Alice

Speaker Set Up

For the show Alice in Wonderland we have placed are speakers in the following places, in the rig we have flown 4 speakers that will become are main output for the show. Two of the speakers have been panned so they face the audience on the seating bank and then tilted slightly downwards to the audience, whilst the other two have been panned and tilted to face both seating banks on stage left and right. The reason we have done this is so that we can cover all of the seating banks so that every member of the audience can hear what is going on on stage through the speakers. In addition to the speakers we have flown into the rig we have also placed two subs underneath the seating bank to add bass to the show. This will help to make the songs sound nicer when they are being performed. We have placed them under the main seating bank because this is the only free space we have in which to place them in order for us to have them in the show. 

We have placed two speakers that will act as monitors for the cast under both stair cases on the set. This has been done so that the actors can hear themselves when they are singing on stage and help them to pitch themselves and keep in time with music. The band have also got monitor in the pit so that they can hear what they are playing during the show. The band started of having in ear monitoring but this changed during the run of the show when the Soundcraft desk we were using stopped working. The monitors have been placed either side of the band put to ensure that all members of the band can hear what the song sounds like when they are playing during the show. 

Here is a picture of the the speakers flown in the rig; 

Band Set Up 

As well as setting up the speakers we also had to set up the band. This involved us plugging everything in so that we could make the sound come through the speakers. 

We began the band set up by putting out all of the music stands so that the band would have somewhere to read there music from. Once these had all been placed we then ran power from the wall boxes as some of the instruments and the all of the music stands were run of 13 amp power. Once all of the power was run in we started to systematically plug all of the instruments into the multi-core. We started by plugging in the electronic drum kit we did this by running two XLRs out of the outputs on the drum kit and plugging them into inputs 1 and 2 on the multi-core. Once the drum kit was plugged in we set up the bass guitar. To do this the bass guitar required a Di box for it to work so we came out of the bass with a jack to XLR and into the Di box and then out of the Di box into the multi-core with another jack to XLR. This was plugged into port 3 of the multi-core. Once the bass guitar was plugged in we moved on to the main guitars which were plugged in in exactly the same way as the bass guitar. The guitars were put in input 4 and 5. The next instruments to be plugged in were the keyboards. At the Miskin the keyboards have a microphone output which means that we can go straight out of the keyboard with a jack to XLR and into the multi-core. The keys were plugged into inputs 6 and 7. The next two instruments were horns (one was a tennor horn and the other was a trumpet). We set up two compressor microphones which we ran two XLRs for into the multi-core. This meant that the horns were in inputs 8 and 9. Once the horns had been set up we moved on to set up the sample pad which we again ran into the multi-core making the sample pad input 10. Finally we set up two Sennheiser e835s for the two vocalists. To plug them in we simply ran two XLRs through the band pit into the multi-core making the microphones outputs 11 and 12. With everything plugged into the multi-core we were ready yo start setting up all of the band on the sound desk.

Here is a picture of the multi-core and the band pit;

To plug all of the instruments into the sound desk we ran two looms out the back of the sound desk from outputs 1-12. Once the loom had been plugged into the desk we then plugged the other end into the patch bay. The multi-core was plugged into Centre Stage Left multi-core so all of the loom coming out the CSL part of the patch bay and into the sound desk, from outputs 1-12. When the instruments were plugged into the desk we then went through and ensured that the phantom power (48V) was set up on the certain channels for the instruments that required 48V. When the 48V was on we then went through and carried out a line check. To do this you have one person in the pit and the play the instrument and the person the desk turns up the gain and if you are getting signal through the desk there are no problems. However if there is a problem and an instrument isn't getting any signal it will be easy to find because sound travels in linear direction so if is not a problem on the desk I may be something not plugged in in the band pit or a dud cable on one of the instruments. Once the line check is complete the band you can then go through and add compression and gates to the instruments. For the band on this show we added compression to the kick drums and the vocal microphones to make then sound nicer and more clear. 

With the line checks done and any compression or gate is added you can then do a complete sound check with the band to ensure that all of the instruments are correctly EQ and can all be heard through the speakers, as well as through the bands monitoring system. 

Here is a picture of the looms in the back of the Soundcraft and then going into the patch bay; 

Here is a picture of the Soundcraft Si Compact 32 (which was used to begin with until it decided not to work) set up for the show; 

Here is the Mackie sound desk which we used as a replacement for the Soundcraft; 

[bensblogbook]

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[jamesdixonblogbook]

Unit 69 c3 select, set up and test + C4 Needs of specific production

As a group we started by selecting equipment from the sound cupboard we then performed a quick tech Ryder of what we needed. So once choosing our equipment (speakers and monitor) we then completed the tech Ryder by working out what we would need and how many of each item we needed. For example we needed more than one XLR cable. We then set the P.A system up with minimal supervision with the equipment we had chosen. Our task was to set up the P.A system for a vocal and a Guitar, So we had two speakers pointing front of house, monitor in front of the performer, mic, D.I box, and a mixing desk front of house. We set the P.A system up by plugging XLR's into the main outputs L&R to the left and right front of house speakers. This then meant any noise would go through the desk and out the front of house speakers. We then set up the mic and the guitar, the mic was one XLR cable running straight to the desk into input one on the channel strip. For the guitar we had to use a Jack to Jack lead from the guitar to the D.I box. From the D.I box we connected the D.I box to the desk with another XLR cable which went into input 2 on the channel strip. The reason for using a D.I box is because it changes the speed of the signal. The signal is exactly the same but the D.I box prevents to much signal being pushed down the cable this can cause noise and volume issues, which can be controlled by the gain by letting less signal through but can not always work so to re-leave strain on the cable and to create a clear sound the D.I box is used. Now we have two outputs and two inputs, which are the speakers on the outputs and the mic and guitar in the inputs. For the monitor to work with have to work off an aux this means half way down the channel strip should be labelled Aux this means you want to copy the signal and send it somewhere to do something sometimes this is for effects but we were using it to copy the signal to send to the monitor. The final part is to plug the monitor in to aux send in the mixing desk, there is also a fader labelled "mon"  this also needs to be pushed up depending on how load the performer wants to hear themselves. Now everything is set up you need to power everything up by running cables along the floor making sure they are safe by taping them down to avoid trip hazard. Also make sure you power everything in the right order, and everything is turned down on the mixing desk, once powered you can then test as mentioned above.

All together I feel that we picked our equipment correctly whilst adding additional spares which could have been needed if a cable was damaged or not working. I also believe that we set up the P.A system with minimal supervision and being aware of the performers needs and fulfilling the advanced specifications.

We did revive some help with some technical features of the project but we will being setting up the P.A system for the Beno with no supervision and by showing awareness of the functions and specifications needed.