[linux-audio-dev] live pa questions

[Paul Winkler]

On Mon, Apr 04, 2005 at 05:55:12PM +0100, Dave Griffiths wrote:
> On Mon, 04 Apr 2005 18:01:02 +0200, Pieter Palmers wrote
> > the following links provide quite some info regarding distortion, 
> > clipping and DC offsets:
> > http://sound.westhost.com/clipping.htm
> > http://sound.westhost.com/tweeters.htm
> 
> interesting articles
>  
> > My recommendations:
> > - Be sure to do a decent sound-check: have a full-scale piece of 
> > music ready for the PA engineer to set the PA desk incoming level, 
> > and be sure not to change your volume when soundcheck is done. - 
> > Adapt the dynamic range of your music to the live enviroment, e.g. 
> > by using a compressor plugin just before the soundcard output.
> 
> so it isn't so much of a software problem, but rather the responsibility of
> the artist to keep the dynamic range down, and the sound engineer to set the
> levels sensibly?
> 
> it's interesting though, as a lot of performers who use computers eschew the
> soundcheck these days, thinking just a line test, or just plugging in and
> setting the volume, is enough. 
> 
> so, would it be a good idea to purchase a small compressor, if using homemade
> analogue synths, or even software capable of producing nasty signals?

A compressor might not be fast or hard enough to buy you much safety.
For that, better would be a good fast limiter and a subsonic filter.
The filter is pretty easy and cheap (see e.g. the Harrison Labs Fmod),
but I don't happen to know of a really good inexpensive brick-wall
limiter first-hand.  I've heard that the Aphex Dominator isn't bad, but
it's hardly cheap.  Maybe one of the DBX models?  *shrug* 

If I owned a venue or rented a sound system I'd probably provide my own
anyway, but I don't know how many do that.

-- 

Paul Winkler
http://www.slinkp.com