FOH Audio
All things relating to the FOH audio position, and the DiGiCo Q338 console. How to get the console up and running, how to patch audio sources, and how to troubleshoot common issues.
- FOH Quickstart Guide
- Powering on the desk and related components
- Loading a Show File
- Adding a Channel to the Channel Bank
- Top to Bottom of the Channel Strip
- How to Patch a New Input
- Simple Navigation
- Location and Purpose of Physical Buttons and Knobs
- Waves
- Mixing Basics
- Stuff to cover but where
- Live Mix Operations
- Basic Operation
- Configuring Names and Groups
- Configuring Livemix input processing
- Configuring Livemix patching
- Keyboard Keys DO NOT PRESS
FOH Quickstart Guide
How to get the console up and running with minimal pain
Powering on the desk and related components
How to turn the desk on:
Walk into the booth, turn right, and look straight ahead. On the tall black rack straight ahead (with cords crisscrossing the top), there will be a big green button next to a big red button with a key sticking out between them. Press the green button to turn the DiGiCo board on.
Take the cover off and stick it into the area of the desk behind the DiGiCo.
Loading a Show File
You should see a menu bar at the top of the middle screen. (If you don't, press the "Master Screen" button to the bottom right of the center screen. Tap files, then load template.
You should be presented with a few options for show types (Band, Music Dept - Classical., Lectern...). Pick the one that is most applicable to your event (Most likely Music Dept - Classical), then tap the load show button in the bottom right of the window.
Adding a Channel to the Channel Bank
Locate the layer and bank on the faders where you want to place a channel. Press the "LCD Function" button to the top left of the fader surface you are assigning, then when the screens above the faders change color, press the triangle button below the screen that reads "Assign Faders".
Now press the triangle button above the fader on which you want to assign a channel, find the channel in the channel list on the center screen and tap on it. Repeat for any other channels on this surface.
Once finished, press the "LCD Function" button again, and press the triangle button below the screen that reads "Solo".
Top to Bottom of the Channel Strip
How to Patch a New Input
Simple Navigation
Location and Purpose of Physical Buttons and Knobs
Waves
Mixing Basics
Gain
Turn it up until it's loud enough, but not louder.
If loading from a template, the gains are generally set at a sane level. Some inputs with sources that change week to week (different vocalists, different guitar rigs, etc...) will more often need gain adjustment, and more consistent sources (drums, keys) will less often need adjustment.
When setting gain, place the fader around unity (0db) and adjust gain until the signal is at a healthy level in the room.
Try to avoid touching the purple gain after it is initially set, unless absolutely necessary, as it will affect everything else associated with that input. (Will change the signal level for FOH, Broadcast, Livemix-In-Ears, Recording)
Compression
Compression will take the louder parts of a signal and make them quieter in a controlled way.
You have 5 controls at your disposal in most compressors as follows:
Threshold: The most important control. Will set the volume threshold that the compressor will start to consider "loud". Anything louder than this threshold will be turned down by the compressor.
Ratio: The second most important control. Will set how much a signal over the threshold gets turned down. Is expressed in ratios of X:1 (eg. 2:1, 4:1, 10:1, etc...) The larger the leading number, the more the signal gets compressed when "loud".
Attack: Sets how quickly the compressor turns down the "loud" portions. Is usually expressed in milleseconds (1000th of a second) and is usually in the range of 1-20ish.
Release: Sets how quickly the compressor brings the signal back up after it is no longer "loud". Usually expressed as either milleseconds, or seconds, commonly at 100ms.
Makeup Gain: Since compressors will make the loud parts quiet, the average signal level after compression will always be quieter than before compression. The makeup gain lets you turn up the compressed signal to match the pre-compressed level.
The Compressor Is Like Your Mother
THRESHOLD: The level she asks you to turn the music down.
RATIO: How much you turn down the volume after she shouts at you.
ATTACK: How fast you react.
RELEASE: How fast you turn the volume back up as soon as she closes the door.
Gates
Spice Rack
Mustard
Stereo vs Mono inputs
Changing input types is done through the channel input menu, by tapping on a channels preamp icon. There will be boxes for stereo and mono at the top of the popup. Select the type desired.
What is a mono? Monophonic audio is audio that comes from a single source. Think of a single bluetooth speaker in the middle of a room. In terms of mixing consoles, a mono input channel will have a single input source (single mic, di, whatever).
What is a stereo? Stereophonic audio is audio that comes from two different sources. Think of watching a movie or show on a tv where sound can come from either side of the tv. (with clever timing and level adjustments, the sound can appear to come from anywhere between those two speakers as well). In terms of mixing consoles, a stereo input channel will have two input sources (usually related to each other, eg. left and right keyboard).
On the DiGiCo, stereo inputs will mostly work the same as mono inputs, for our use cases, but there are couple minor differences:
Panning works slightly differently: Mono inputs will allow you to pan both inputs wherever one wants in the stereo spectrum, whereas stereo inputs will only allow you to adjust the level of each side with pan.
Stereo only needs one fader: Win!
Note for advanced users: The channel will no longer have an alternate input: if we need to have an alt input, this source will need to be on two linked mono inputs.
EQ
Basics by instrument
Stuff to cover but where
Control Groups
Aux's
Matrix
Live Mix Operations
How to use the Live Mix personal mixers.
Basic Operation
How to get these things to work if you've never touched them before.
Configuring Names and Groups
Configuring Livemix input processing
Configuring Livemix patching
How to get signals from the DiGiCo into the Livemix system
Open Dante Controller and locate and click the + box at the intersection of the transmitter DiGiCo338 and the receiver Livemix.
Keyboard Keys DO NOT PRESS
Yes.
All of them.
Just don't.
You will pay...
F13 is for the bad techs, it suspends a sniper from the ceiling to kill you immediately. So press it if an event is going REALLY BAD or during Finals :)