Felonious Funk Production Details

Here are some details of the procedures of how to use the sound system. Please call me if there are ever big issues! xx

Kit List

You need the following for a FF Gig Read ALL Sections to ensure you don’t leave something behind:

• Felonious Gear
  • HARDWARE BAG CONTENTS - Check all contents is in here before a gig!
    • AUDIO CABLES
      • Bass Loom: Bass XLR, Tom IEM Cable, MD XLR
      • Drum Loom 1: Snare XLR, Kick XLR, Max IEM Cable
      • Drum Loom 2: OH L XLR, OH R XLR, Rack XLR, Floor XLR
      • Guitar Loom: Guitar Jack to XLR, Henry IEM Cable
      • Keys Loom 1: Keys L XLR, Keys R XLR, Dom IEM Cable
      • Keys Loom 2: Keys L Jack, Keys R Jack
      • Vocal Loom: Vocal XLR, Grace IEM Cable
      • Trumpet Loom: Trumpet XLR, Matt IEM Cable
      • Sax Loom: Sax XLR, Amy IEM Cable
      • Main R XLR
      • Main L XLR
      • Spare Jack
      • 2x Spare XLR
    • MISC AUDIO
      • Millennium Mono DI box
      • Behringer Stereo DI Box
    • EXTENSION REELS
      • 2x Extension Reel (20m)
    • POWER CABLES (Sainsbury’s Bag)
      • 2x 6 Gang Black Extension Lead (6m)
      • 3x 5m Kettle Lead (Main L, Main R, Spare)
      • 3x Short Kettle Lead (Guitar Amp, Bass Amp, Spare)
    • COMPLETE AKG DRUM MIC SET (Including Mic Clips)
    • HARD FLIGHT CASE
      • 2x SM58 (Vocal, MD)
      • 1x SM57 (Trumpet, Sax)
      • 7x Behringer PM1 IEM Belt Backs
  • MIC STAND BAG Including Clips for Vocal Mics
    • 5x Tall Mic Stand (Vocal, Sax, Trumpet, OH L, OH R)
    • 1x Short Mic Stand (Kick Drum)
  • 2x Lighting Gear + Stands + Cases
  • 2x Speaker Stands + Bag
  • 2x Speakers
• Personal Gear If one of these people isn’t on the gig, you need to borrow their gear or source from elsewhere!
  • All:
    • In Ear Monitors
    • Phone Charger
    • 7x Setlists
    • Instrument (If Relevent)
    • Instrument Stand (If Relevent)
    • Music Stand (If Relevent)
    • Music (If Relevent)
  • Matt Hill:
    • 1x SM57 + Clip
    • 1x Mic Stand
  • Tom Gill
    • 1x Sound Desk Including:
      • 1x Backup Router (Inside)
    • 1x Mic Stand (If MD’ing)
  • Max Bloom:
    • 1x Drum Kit
  • Dom Hewson
    • 1x Keys
      • Keys Stand
      • Keys Power
      • Keys Sustain Pedal

Patch List

Inputs

All inputs plug in at rear of the mixer.

NOTE: Channel numbers to the RIGHT of the plug

No.	Item
1	Bass
2	Kick
3	Snare
4	OH L
5	OH R
6	Rack Tom
7	Floor Tom
8	Guitar
9	Keys L
10	Keys R
11	Vocal
12	Trumpet
13	Sax
14	MD Mic
15	Click
16	Crowd Mic
17	Aux L (Bluetooth)
18	Aux R (Bluetooth)

In-Ear Monitor Outputs

Plug in the headphone extensions at the front as per the labels. Make sure you have the right mix on the app, and plug in:

NOTE: Channel numbers to the RIGHT of the plug

No.	Item
1	Tom
2	Max
3	Henry
4	Dom
5	Grace
6	Spare (Grace’s Mix)
7	Matt (Horns)
8	Amy (Horns)

Monitor Wedge

If you are using a monitor wedge instead of in-ear monitors for Vocal/Horns, then you need to plug into Aux 6 on the back of the mixer.

Mixer Setup

Initial Setup

1. Plug in/switch on the router and mixer
2. Connect the speakers, switch on, and make sure these are at the correct volume (knob pointing to 12 o’clock).
3. Connect to the mixer using the app and load the FF Master - MM YY snapshot (folder icon to the top right) in the Mixing Station App.
4. Turn up the L/R fader to -15. This is found under FX Snd/Main on the right handside. If you need more volume, turn the speakers up.
5. Unmute the Aux channel (ensure the Mute Enable button is highlighted), and check you get volume out of both speakers. This is found under Aux/FX Ret on the right hand-side. (You can breathe now) Note: I like to play a reference track (a track that I know well) so I can see how the PA sounds/the room sounds. That way if there is an issue with the speakers, or the room is tricky, you will know before sound-checking the band and can potentially be resolved.
6. (Optional - If Using a Monitor Wedge) Select the Wedge mix on the mixing station app, and turn up the Aux channel to check you have music playing. Note: Make sure you turn down the Aux channel on the Wedge send immediately after, otherwise your break music will play through the wedge when you begin your set! Note: In Ear Monitors are turned on by default, but the ‘Wedge’ send master fader is turned down by default (to avoid feedback). You can adjust the master volume under Mix in the mixing station app, or the master fader in MX-Q
7. (Optional - If Time) Ring out the system (see below)

Plugging In

Plug each input into the channel as labelled. Note: The Keys and Bass need to be plugged in via DI boxes. See below:

DI Box Settings:

• BEHRINGER STEREO DI (Keys):
  • Attenuation: 0 dB
  • Mode: 2-CH
  • Ground: GND
  • Battery: OFF Note: Red Light will illuminate if connected properly
• MILLENIUM DI-E (Bass):
  • Ground Lift: I
  • Instrument/Speaker: I

Soundcheck

1. Make sure all the Drums, Front Line and Band DCA’s are all at (0)
2. For each channel/instrument:
   1. Ensure the channel is muted
   2. Get player to play/sing at their performance volume. NB: for drums, ask for single hits on each drum e.g. Kick, Snare etc., and then the whole kit
   3. Set the gain so that the meter to the side of the fader is on average 0. You can do this by tapping once on the channel name (e.g. Kick) and you should find gain on the top left hand side.
   4. Get the player to play/sing at their loudest volume, and decrease the gain (if necessary) to ensure they are just hitting above 0 (into the yellow) If you are nervous, air on the side of caution by lowering the gain slightly. to avoid clipping/distortion. Side note: Singers/Horns will get louder as they warm up so better to leave a little more headroom (decrease the gain) compare to other instruments who can more accurately determine their loudest volume
   5. Unmute the channel
   6. Adjust the volume in the room until the mix feels right.
3. Start by getting individual instruments sounding good, and then adjust the mix until you are happy
4. Save the current settings as a snapshot. This is crucial in case there is an issue and you need to revert settings before the start of the gig!

Note: By pressing ‘Gain’ on the right hand side changes the faders to adjust the gain of each channel. This saves you time having to go in an adjust the gain of each instrument by tapping on the channel name.

“Ringing Out” a PA System (Speakers) and Monitor Wedges

Do this to the monitor wedge and main speakers to eliminate feedback. I’ll writeup a guide shortly, but the concept is explained in This Video

During the Gig

Between the sets

1. Turn up the Aux fader to play break music. This is found under Aux/FX Ret on the right hand-side.
2. Turn down the Band DCA all the way. This stops the sound of the band instruments coming out the speakers. Ensure your turn this back up again before starting. This is found under DCA on the right hand-side.

Packdown

1. Turn down the L/R fader. This is found under FX Snd/Main on the right hand-side.
2. Turn the speakers off
3. (Optional) Save your current snapshot
4. Turn off the mixer

WARNING: Unplugging the mixer before the speakers will result in a very large bang which is horrible and can break the speakers. Please be very careful when packing down to ensure this does not happen

Top Tips:

• Keep the mixer app up throughout the gig
• Be careful not to adjust someone else’s in ear mix by accident! This is done if you select one of the mixes e.g. Tom by accident. Tap on the bus again e.g. Tom to return to the L/R main mix. Note: the mix you are editing is always shown on the top left of the app.
• If running short on time, you need to prioritise what to get working through the sound desk. Stuff down the bottom of the list is ‘nice to have’s’. It’s worth making sure the essentials work and sound good before trying anything else In order this is:
  1. Vocal Mic
  2. Keys
  3. Horn Mics
  4. Monitor Wedge
  5. Guitar, Bass
  6. Kick
  7. Snare
  8. In Ear Monitor
  9. Recording

Troubleshooting

“No sound is coming out! *(Aghh panic….)”

If signal is being detected (i.e. the meter next to the fader is showing sound coming through), there is an issue with mixer OR the output, follow these steps:

1. Is the Master (L/R) fader turned down/muted?
2. Is the DCA (e.g. the Band Fader) turned down/muted?
3. Is the channel muted?
4. Are the speakers turned on/plugged in?
5. (Drum Overheads and Keys Only) Is phantom power switched on?. This is needed to power the DI box. Important: Mute the channel before turning on phantom power to avoid a large bang

If no signal is being detected, there is an issue with the source:

1. Is the source plugged in (mic, instrument etc.) to the correct channel?
2. Is the source turned on?
3. Is the gain set really low?
4. Is the cable faulty?

“I’m getting feedback - what do I do?”

Feedback can only come from mic’d instruments pointed into a speaker or monitor. Although another instrument (such as keys or bass) can create feedback, it will still come down to a microphone picking up this sound and amplifying it which creates the feedback. For our specific context, feedback will most likely be coming from the Vocal Mic in either the PA speakers OR the Monitor. The Trumpet and Sax mics are typically turned down significantly, and the drum mics should be gated (only turn on when sound is made) to reduce potential feedback.

Before the gig starts, you can eliminate feedback by:

1. Ringing out the PA and monitors (see above guide)
2. Sound checking at the max volume you are going to be playing at. If the vocal mic sounds like it is ringing slightly (‘on the edge’), this is an indication there is a problem.
3. If your room is tricky, place a small gate on the vocal mic. This will turn the mic off when not being used. Make sure the threshold is not too high otherwise the mic will cut in and out.

When feedback occurs during the gig:

1. Have the Master L/R Fader and any Monitor Faders to hand, and turn these down
2. You may need to turn down the mic from the monitors rather than the main PA
3. Adjust the EQ on the vocal mic to remove some of the high end, or the problematic frequency (if you can hear it)