1. A presentation for the 2009 ACUI Annual Conference Ryan Willerton Director of Student Activities Facilities University of Notre Dame UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF SOUND SYSTEM EQUIPMENT

2. If you are familiar with these acronmys, this session may be too basic for you. UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF SOUND SYSTEM EQUIPMENT Ryan Willerton SM58 XLR PFL IEM

3. A presentation for the 2009 ACUI Annual Conference Ryan Willerton Director of Student Activities Facilities University of Notre Dame UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF SOUND SYSTEM EQUIPMENT

4. LEARNING OUTCOMES Understand Identify Learn 2

5. SESSION OVERVIEW 4 core components of a sound system How each component functions Advice & tips 2

6. FOLLOWING ALONG Number at the lower right of the screen corresponds to the page in your booklet. 2

7. INPUT DEVICE MIXER AMPLIFIER SPEAKER HOW COMPONENTS CREATE SOUND 3 A signal is sent from here Receives signal & manipulates it Magnifies & drives the signal Converts signal to audio waves

8. INPUT DEVICE MIXER AMPLIFIER SPEAKER 4

9. INPUT DEVICES: MICROPHONES Not all are the same Shape Size On/off switch Pick up area Sound quality You get what you pay for 4

10. OTHER INPUT DEVICES Guitar Keyboard/Electric Piano CD Player DVD Player Portable Media Player Laptop Computer 5

11. GETTING THE SIGNAL TO THE BOARD XLR Quarter Inch (6.3 mm) RCA Mini (3.5 mm) 6 XLR

12. CABLE ADAPTERS Mini to RCA Mini to Quarter Inch RCA to XLR 6

13. DIRECT BOX 6 Adapter for connecting instruments to the mixing board without using a microphone. Converts signal from high- impedance to low-impedance. i.e. Convert Quarter Inch to XLR

14. SNAKE 6 “Extension cord” for multiple mic cables Keeps mic cables organized Keeps mixer at Front of House (FOH) Box goes on stage. Plug XLR cable from mic into the box. Other end of XLR plugs into mixer. Also has “returns” to send signal from mixer to stage (stage monitors).

15. INPUT DEVICE 6 ?

16. MIXER AMPLIFIER SPEAKER 7

17. DIFFERENT TYPES OF MIXERS Line Mixer DJ Mixer PA Mixer Standard Mixer Large Format Mixer 8 Standard Mixer

18. KEY FEATURES OF A MIXING BOARD 9

19. HOW SOUND TRAVELS THROUGH A MIXER 10

20. SNAPSHOT OF A CHANNEL Gain/Trim High (or Low) Pass Filter Equalizer Aux Pan PFL Button Mute Button Fader 11

21. SIMILARITIES OF CHANNELS Gain (a.k.a. Trim) Equalizer Aux Pan/Balance Fader 12

22. DIFFERENCES OF CHANNELS High Pass Filter (or Low Pass Filter) Mute Button Pad Button PFL Button Channel Indicator Light Limit Indicator Light Bus (Subgroup) Selector Phantom Power by Channel 12

23. MASTERING THE EQ 12 Start at midpoint (12:00) and adjust slowly! LOW MID HIGH HIGH HIGH-MID LOW-MID LOW

24. SETTING THE CHANNEL BY USING PFL 13

25. PRACTICING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED 14 1. Turn on channel 1. 2. Turn down the volume on channel 2. 3. Put more of channel’s 3 sound in the right speaker. 4. Channel 4 is on. Turn it off. 5. Add more high frequency to channel 5. 6. Give channel 6 more bass.

26. MIXING BOARD 14 ?

27. INPUT DEVICE MIXER AMPLIFIER SPEAKER 15

28. WHAT EXACTLY DOES AN AMPLIFIER DO? 15 BOOSTS SIGNAL & SENDS IT TO SPEAKER

29. CONNECTING MIXING BOARD TO AMPLIFIER 15 XLR

30. 2 MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES FOUND ON AN AMPLIFIER 15 Control knobs Signal limit indicator light

31. AMPLIFIER SELECTION 2x 15 CONTINUOUS OUTPUT (CONTINUOUS POWER HANDLING. SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS RMS.)

32. WHY 2x AMPLIFER TO SPEAKER RATIO 15 0 watts 500 watts 1,000 watts Continuous Speaker Wattage Output (RMS) Sound Signal Amplifier Peak Wattage Output (2x RMS) 1,500 watts Peak Speaker Wattage Output

33. CHALLENGE WITH 2x AMPLIFIER 15 POTENTIAL FOR SPEAKER DAMAGE

34. MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE FOR SELECTING AN AMPLIFIER 15 ASK AN EXPERT

35. AMPLIFIER 15 ?

36. INPUT DEVICE MIXER AMPLIFIER SPEAKER 16

37. DIFFERENT TYPES OF SPEAKERS 16

38. 2 COMMON SPEAKER TYPES 2 Way Full-Range Speaker Tweeter Woofer Subwoofer (No Tweeter or Mid) 16

39. WHAT TO EXPECT TO HEAR WITH A TWO-WAY FULL RANGE SPEAKER 16 Tweeter Woofer Highs Mids & Lows

40. CONNECTING AMPLIFIER TO SPEAKERS Quarter Inch Speak-On 16

41. OTHER SPEAKERS ON STAGE Monitor (Wedge) Guitar Amp IEM 17

42. CONTROLLING MONITOR VOLUME AUX KNOBS 17

43. TWO TYPES OF SPEAKERS PASSIVE VS. POWERED (ACTIVE) 18 ALTHOUGH MORE EXPENSIVE, POWERED SPEAKERS ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR A SEPARATE AMPLIFIER. THE POWERED SPEAKER ALSO MATCHES THE APPROPRIATE AMPLIFIER TO SPEAKER RATIO TO MAXIMIZE SOUND QUALITY. POWERED SPEAKERS CONNECT TO MIXER WITH XLR CABLE, NOT SPEAKER CABLE.

44. SPEAKER 18 ?

45. INPUT DEVICE MIXER AMPLIFIER SPEAKER RECAP 19

46. INPUT DEVICE MIXER AMPLIFIER SPEAKER CONSOLIDATED EQUIPMENT OPTIONS 19 Powered Mixer Powered Speaker Powered Speaker w/ Mixer a.k.a. Self-Contained PA system

47. INPUT DEVICE MIXER AMPLIFIER SPEAKER CONSOLIDATED EQUIPMENT OPTIONS 19 Powered Mixer Powered Speaker Powered Speaker w/ Mixer a.k.a. Self-Contained PA system

48. THE BEST OPTION FOR NOVICES Powered Speaker 19 Matches the appropriate amplifier with the speaker, AND allows you to have a separate mixing board to match the size of your event. Also eliminates the need to keep an inventory of speaker cables.

49. TIPS AND ADVICE Setup & Use Purchasing advice Other advice 20-21

50. CLOSING Terminology recap How to become an expert Insight from others Questions 22

51. BONUS DOCUMENTS Using a Subgroup to Better Control Sound Advanced Sound Components Comparison of 4 Sound Systems Creating Your Own Sound System 23-28 PAGES 23-28

52. CONTACT INFORMATION Ryan Willerton DIRECTOR OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES FACILITIES UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME Willerton@nd.edu