Mic Problems in Shows lately?

[suttonfoster]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 12:49am

I don't know if this is just me or even if this has been happening lately but for the past year or so, with the majority of the shows I've been seeing, the mic balance with the actor's voices and the orchestra have been WAY off. Recently, when I saw AVENUE Q, it seemed like a huge problem. The actors voices seemed very, very weak at times because the mics were so low. Anyone else feel this way? Btw, AVENUE Q is still in VERY good shape. Jonathan Root was particularly great as Princeton/Rod. I saw Jasmine Walker go on as Kate/Lucy and she was so so.

[ravnquest1]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 1:28am

What you are talking about is the mix, and that's not mechanical or equipment failure, that's the engineer behind the soundboard mixing the performance. It's the single most important element in the sound of a show- if the mixer is good, he/she can turn turds into gold. If they are bad- turds all around. It doesn't matter what gear you have or what is happening onstage. Sound is like the umpire in baseball: If you're talking about it, that's not good.

[Oldschool]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 12:16pm

Agreed. Mic problems can be any number of things, and it isn't necessarily the sound team's fault. A sound designer may have intelligibility as a priority, but say the director wants sonic saturation -- a room can handle only so much. A perfect example of a director screwing up the sound is Arthur Laurents and the recent revival of West Side Story. Laurent's wanted the actors to improvise, not only in tech but in the run. That required everyone's mic be opened so that the engineer could pickup the actor and bring them up in the mix on the fly. Consequently, the overall noise in the system and feedback related to having lots of mics open reduces the ability of the engineer to bring the entire vocal level up.

Another problem is American actors. Mics only give what they get. If an actor is a low talker, then the engineer can't do anything about it. The Brits can hit the back of the house without their mics -- very few Americans can do that, and even fewer of the younger generation brought up with body mics.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 1:33pm

Sutton, what night did you see Ave. Q?

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 1:33pm

Sutton, what night did you see Ave. Q?

[BillyButler]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 1:42pm

i thought i was just being nit picky. went to to Memphis the other night and could hear or understand a single lyric. glad i didn't pay for that ticket. very disappointed. sound is THE most important technical element imho for a musical. why can't these guys get it right?!

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 1:52pm

I am also picky about sound. The best I have heard at musicals recently was at "Sister Act" and "The Book of Mormon".

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 2:44pm

I remember seeing the 1st National Tour of THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and for some odd reason, the sound engineer chose to AMPLIFY Darcie Roberts' high notes. As many on here are aware, Darcie doesn't even need a body mic to begin with -- she can reach the cars in the parking lot with her chops. I remember noticing others in the audience sticking their fingers in their ears every time she was about to reach the end of one of her 'Millie' numbers. The piercing sound was ridiculous.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 3:49pm

I have noticed this at a few musicals that i've seen recently. I noticed it when i saw Addams Family. There were times when you could barely hear the actors voices over the music at times. i also observed this kind of thing at Spiderman as Well. it wasent a constant thing but it was certainly notiable.

[Taryn]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 11:36pm

It is definitely not nitpicky to expect to be able to hear the lyrics over the music.

[SmallTownDiva]

Posted: 7/5/11 at 12:50am

There were a several times I had trouble hearing the actors at Catch Me if You Can last Sat. The orchestra seemed incredibly loud, especially during the first act. Pinstripes was the worst, with Tom Wopat barely audible at times.