The Sound field

As the sound engineer your job is to mix the sound coming off stage in such a way that it sounds good anywhere in the room. Once this is achieved you can focus on what is known as the ‘sound field’. This is the spatial placement of each element in the mix into a three-dimensional matrix in such a way that they complement each other. It is a broad subject, but the basic concept is easy to grasp. It works as follows: - Left and Right panning of a channel gives the matrix width - Reverb can create a sense of depth - Volume can create the effect of height

Starting off with a standard MONO mix ie. all the channels are panned to the centre so that the sounds are coming equally from the left and right speakers. They are in effect clumped together in the centre of the sound field. There will be a varying amount sound coming off stage from the monitors [if the musicians aren’t using in-ear-monitors] as well as the guitar amps and more importantly, the kit. You will have to deal with these on an individual basis.

Imagine a horizontal line running across the front of the stage from left to right situated at the point where musicians start to hear the PA above the stage volume.

Where to put them all

Vocals:

While you should leave the lead vox in the centre you can create some lateral space around them by panning the backing vox further to left or right while adding some reverb to push them back from the front of stage a little [not enough to muffle them completely, mind].

Kit:

Start with the kick at centre, the snare off-set slightly left and the hats right. Pan the toms left, centre and right [if there are 3 toms].

Guitar and bass:

Pan them away from their side of the stage ie. if the guitar or bass amp is on stage left pan their channel slightly right and vice versa.

These are some very basic guidelines – you will have to use your discretion in all cases.

Balancing acts

Sometimes there is a fine line between “Should I turn the lead vocal up?” and “Should I turn the instruments and / or kit down?”. Or the answer might be neither - perhaps all that’s required is for you to clean up the eq on the vocal to lift it out of the mix enough. The answer will be situation dependent, and you need to decide for yourself.