Equal In / Equal Out

Creating Musicianship By Getting Out of the Way

Years ago, I had the opportunity to mix a group of vocalists, six to be exact. I’m old, so pardon the many references to “back in my day.” This mix opportunity was before in-ear monitors were the norm, and foldback options were limited to wedges and side-fill speaker locations. These six vocalists knew how to blend their sound without amplification, so as an engineer, I could let them do their thing or get in the way. Sadly, I was a young buck back then and was not wise. I thought I knew better.

One day in rehearsal, the lead vocalist got frustrated and told me to just put all the levels to the vocal mix at the same level and the gain of each mic at the same level. Reluctantly, I did so, as the leader was significantly my senior. This moment forever shaped how I understood gain and blend in the context of musicianship. Let me break this down a little.

I grew up playing the horn in the marching band. We were taught to listen next to us and behind us. Later, I sang in the youth choir, and the same principle was taught. This vocal group sang on tour in several venues where no PA was needed or used. When I heard them sing, I understood they blended the same way I was taught. Why was this so hard to replicate with a foldback system?

The problem was me. Over the years, I talked to my peers and mentors about the concept of equal in—equal out. The idea is that if the gain stage of the input is the same across a series of inputs, and the output of those same inputs is equal, the theoretical output, with a few assumptions, would be the same musical output if there were no microphones. Therefore, the blend's source was the musicians, not the audio console.

A well-known FOH engineer, Robert Scovill, once said, “Great mixes start with great sources.” I found myself getting in the way of a great source. However, this approach also exposes issues with the source. As an engineer, there is a delicate balance between knowing when the issue is the source or the engineer. A great engineer will learn how to communicate with a musician to help them be the best source they can. But that is another discussion altogether.

Kevin Poole | @kevinrpoole