This book is about the fundamentals of live sound engineering.
New sound engineers and technicians everywhere seek to expand their knowledge of sound reinforcement. Usually, Beginners can only gain this training through On-The-Job experience. Therefore, this book is primarily for beginners and novices in churches, theaters, and convention centers.
We start by teaching students professional terminology and the processes of creating production-related documents for communications.
Topics also include Signal Path and AC power safety. But, again, these topics get examined so that we can teach students troubleshooting skills. Power and cabling, by the way, are closely related to the buzzing, humming, and other noise-related phenomena that often plague sound reinforcement systems.
Finally, additional chapters include an in-depth review of analog and digital mixing consoles, their differences and similarities, and the gain structure fundamentals associated with the proper operation of either mixing console.
Audio dynamic processors such as compressors, limiters, and noise gates get explained in detail and their operation. Audio effects like delay and reverb get examined so that you can learn the basics of "sweetening" the mix to create more extensive and more emotive soundscapes and achieve studio-like outcomes in a live sound environment. Advanced mixing techniques, workflow, and the conventional wisdom used by professional audio engineers are detailed closely, so you don't have to spend years figuring out how these processes happen.
Last but not least, a comprehensive review of acoustic feedback and how to eliminate it from stage monitors and central speaker systems. We lay out a step-by-step process. This book will be beneficial to volunteer audio techs in houses of worship, convention centers, and venues of all types. It will bridge the gap between the on-the-job training that beginners receive and the knowledge and conventional wisdom that professional sound engineers employ in their daily routine.
About the Author: Ric Wallace has been mixing live bands and making studio recordings for 30 plus years. Ric grew up in California in the 60's, playing piano and violin and had every indication of leading a simple lifestyle when, at the age of 8, he saw the Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan TV Show. His subsequent fascination with electric guitars and the concepts of distortion and reverb completely distracted him and led to a lifelong dedication to shaping sounds through audio recording and mixing live music. After attending college in the late 70's with any eye toward a creative writing career, Wallace abandoned that effort and instead worked in the early 80's to design a pro audio speaker system and form a sound company, Seismic Audio in the Seattle area. Mr. Wallace attained a high degree of respect early in his career as an audio engineer for achieving a consistent "big" sound, and an exceptionally clean mixing style. Mr. Wallace toured with bands such as the Butthole Surfers and Scatterbrain to name just a few, and travelled throughout the world as a sound engineer for over 15 years. He engineered and produced many albums, including the Butthole Surfers' "Hairway to Steven" as well as their famous self-bootleg, "Double Live." Wallace moved to Athens Georgia in the early 90's where the vibrant music scene and small town vibe was irresistible to him. He eschewed the lucrative live sound touring industry for a more stable lifestyle and took a job at the University of Georgia, and at the same time, he became the Production Manager and head audio engineer at the world famous 40Watt club where he mixed thousands of live sets over the years. More recently Ric has done one-off gigs with artists like REM and the Athena Opera, and oversaw the rebuilding of the production systems for the Georgia Theater after a devastating fire there in 2009. He is currently the Production Director for Entertainment Design Group in Atlanta GA. Ric has created a production arts school in Athens called the Production Institute (http: //www.productioninstitute.com) where the focus is "hands-on" live sound training. He teaches Live Sound Fundamentals at Athens Technical College and is a Learning Adviser for two classes at SAE OnLine (http: //online.sae.edu/course/live-sound-engineering-foh)