SAE Magazine 13-3

teach the live sound rein- AE Institute in México City. tudents obtain real hands- g them on the spot, in front h the challenges that we n ‘the real world’. n of both classroom work, ation and concepts that stand, even before they bels, inverse square law, re levels, dynamic range, speaker systems. e only talked about theo- any professional exposure repeating information you ilable audio books. as much practical training ts can be really eye-open- ities between live sound io setting, a signal flow is might not be so forgiving e and staff are overcome y class is the difference oor sound. s and cons. For instance, nt more acoustical issues h as potential standing But indoor venues will have isolation from exteri- or noises such as airplanes, car horns and street noises. This will result in a bigger dynamic range to work with, a lower noise floor. Sound outdoors can be quite a treat since acousti- cal considerations can be minimised. We still get reflections from the floor, some build- ings and any surrounding structures. However this is nothing compared to a closed venue, especially the ones that resemble reverb chambers. On the downside, when outdoors we will most like- ly need more sound pressure level (SPL). This is not cheap as bigger and better speakers and/or line arrays, depending on the crowd depth will be needed. There may also be the need for some delay fills, more power to drive those speakers, a smaller dynamic range due to background noise, not to mention the climate considerations. Wind can be quite the enemy due to sound refrac- tion. Temperature and humidity influence sound refraction as does speed and air absorption. A savvy engineer needs to deeply understand what a graphic EQ does, what a delay fill system is and how to set it up. Without such knowledge the people in the way back of the concert will have a bad time. This past semester we spent a great amount of time in the school auditorium - a very helpful setting to explore the indoor side of the class. Two bands helped us through various sessions by performing while my students struggled but succeeded in achieving an enjoyable, clear sound- ing rather than an ear-bleeding sound. ➤ INDEX

SAE Magazine 13-3

Pages