[Dixielandjazz] Comment on Elazar's post about Broadway show sound

[John Wilder]

In an earlier post, Elazar wrote:

 

By way of contrast, I was in New York not long ago, and had the chance to
see 2 Broadway shows. In both theaters, we found ourselves to be completely
unaware of any sound system. There must have been one, because all the
voices came through loud enough and perfectly clear. But I heard nothing but
the natural sound ... no hissing, feedback, clicking, echos, reverb, and
none of that artificial too loud and too muddy sound. I was in heaven. We
also saw no microphones anywhere, no floor mikes, nothing hanging from the
ceiling, no Madonna mikes ... nothing to obstruct the beauty of the
performances.

 

 

 

Elazar,

 

In Broadway theatres, there are rarely floor or hanging mics.  Each
performer who speaks has his own wireless mic.  Most use a small mic, about
the size of 4-8 grouped pin heads.  This can be hidden in the performer's
hairline or by their ear.  They also can wear a much smaller version of what
you called a "Madonna Mic", which hooks on the ear and sits on the cheek of
the performer.  However in Madonna's case, the mic is black, very bulky and
intended to be seen.  The cheek mics used in theatre are clear plastic tubes
about 1/16 of an inch in diameter and carry the voice to the mic in the
earpiece.  From 10 feet away, you can't see them.  (I own a couple of them.)
The ones that mount in the hairline (the preferred mic'ing method on
Broadway, but it doesn't work for bald guys!)  are hard to see even right up
next to the performer!  Frequently, the main stars wear two complete
wireless mic systems so that if one goes out, the other can take over.  It
is extremely rare for a Broadway performer to be mic'ed with a mic that
clips to his clothes, as the noise of the clothes rubbing together is
usually unacceptable, and breathing noise is more of a problem from below.

 

As to having no hissing, feedback, clicking, echos, reverb, etc. You can
achieve all of that with a decent band PA system by adding just a few extra
components, such as feedback eliminators, EQ balancing systems, exciters,
etc.  They are not prohibitively expensive, and they do wonders for your
sound!  No one's perfect, of course, and there are still a few things I mess
up, but I would say that AT LEAST 90-95 percent of the time now when I set
up the sound, the audience members say they're amazed at the high fidelity
they are hearing.  As a side note, I've played in many OKOM bands, and to
date, I believe I have NEVER personally played with, or even seen an OKOM
band using the equipment of which I speak!  C'mon guys, just 'cause the
music we play is old doesn't mean the technology used to get it to the
audience has to be!

 

As to avoiding an "artificial, too loud & too muddy sound", that can be
fixed by knowing how to set the EQ of the system.  In most cases, that is
not possible just using the simple "Hi/Low" (or even Hi/Mid/Low) setting on
old PA mixers.  You need an EQ unit with more control, or even better - an
EQ unit that sets itself automatically!

 

Today's sound technology is AMAZING!  Even though sound equipment didn't
change much from when it first came out until about 20-30 years ago, the
last couple of decades have brought about sound equipment that can fulfill
any need, from adding magical, ethereal effects to the sound, all the way to
creating an environment where everything can be heard perfectly, WITHOUT
sounding amplified!  You experienced the latter situation when you visited
Broadway theatres, and by learning about the new equipment available and
making knowledgeable purchase decisions, you too can have a sound
reinforcement system that lets everyone hear perfectly, but sounds literally
like it isn't even there!  It costs a bit more to get just the right system,
that's for sure, but it's not nearly as much more as you might suspect, and
the results are AWESOME!

 

Just one caveat - Always use decent microphones!  It's hard enough to KEEP
an instrument or voice sounding natural after going through all those
electronics.  It's almost impossible to make it sound good again if the mic
that captures that sound doesn't supply the system with a good signal to
begin with.  Garbage in, garbage out - as they say in computer programming!

 

The whole key, once you've got decent equipment, is to know how to use it.
If you should take your beautiful, new wife out on a rowboat, you might give
her great joy by serenading her with your banjo.  Your neighbor, however,
would create no such joy with that same banjo because he doesn't know how to
use it.  It would likely do him no good at all, unless he thinks to use it
as a bigger paddle to get back to shore with his bored wife.