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1. 22 Be Bee PA F lt lt _ e PH F d 4 A S e 1 4 1 2 1 z a lt E FIUTA 4 4 gt 3 l ta r 7 7 e e mee MaN MAJN l MAIN li MAIN Vi Masi Jai rs r3 Virtual StudioLive Remote computer control a ae 11 var l l S 5 _ __ 4 T SELES j s E omatt f Se ect SELECT SELECT SELEC E ean 0 JOLO SOLO SOLO soto Msa MUTE MUTE MUTE 10 1c ro T cacc Smaart Measurement Technology Rational Acoustics highly regarded Smaart Measurement Technology is now available in PreSonus Virtual StudioLive remote control editor librarian software for StudioLive mixers Read more What is Smaart Smaart is not a single technology but an evolved collection of audio measurement tools and techniques for sound system analysis and optimization If you re a live sound engineer or sound contractor you re already properly awed by Smaart s reputation as the gold standard in this field Rational Acoustics full featured version of Smaart is a set of highly advanced multi channel multi platform audio analysis tools for Mac and Windows that is designed for professional audio engineers It s incredibly powerful and sophisticated Working with Rational Acoustics PreSonus has streamlined Smaart s powerful Response and Locator mo
2. EQ curve on your Fat Channel You can watch the RTA change and use your ears to verify that your changes are right We re off to see the wizards eee Using three Smaart System Check Wizards and a pink noise generator built into VSL StudioLive 24 4 2 and E O SE 16 4 2 users can easily view the frequency response trace of a venue calculate and set delay system timing and verify output connectivity Note that the Wizards are not available for the StudioLive 16 0 2 due to its different architecture The StudioLive Software Library User Manual provides detailed instructions and tips for getting the best results from the three wizards To use these tools you need to connect a measurement microphone to the StudioLive mixer s Talkback input t Read more about measurement microphones A measurement microphone is special type of condenser microphone that is designed to provide an accurate reproduction of a room s sound characteristics for use with audio analysis tools such as real time analyzers and spectrographs Measurement microphones typically have an omnidirectional polar pattern and deliver a very flat frequency response between a low end of 5 Hz to 30 Hz and a high end of 15 to 30 kHz While measurement microphones can be quite expensive most affordable models will do the job nicely when paired with the Smaart System Wizards Smaart Room Analysis Wizard The Smaart Room Analysis SRA Wizard is an automated process that
3. guides you through the steps of acquiring a frequency response trace and then overlays the resulting trace on the VSL display for a StudioLive 24 4 2 or StudioLive 16 4 2 Fat Channel parametric EQ You can then adjust the parametric EQ to get rid of unwanted anomalies in the room Read more about the Smaart Room Analysis Wizard The SRA Wizard guides you through the steps of acquiring Room Anabyeie L ce Remote a frequency response trace for your audio system A Pink Noise Generator Basic Analysis real time frequency response trace is the plotted result frequency and amplitude of the system measurement Cack Anatyre to analyte room in nd In VSL this measurement is calculated using Rational Acoustics transfer function which is a set of proprietary algorithms that compare the signal from a measurement mic to computer generated pink noise The SRA Wizard can do a basic analysis or an advanced analysis Basic Analysis requires you to take a single measurement of your system When analysis is complete the wizard will continue to output pink noise through your system while you EQ allowing you to view the effects of your filters in real time Advanced Analysis requires you to take three separate measurements with the mic in different positions and will generate a more accurate frequency response trace of your system by averaging the measurements together Once the trace has been generated this wizard will not continue to a
4. way a room interacts with sound waves is through reflectivity Some of this is fairly obvious soft surfaces like curtains and carpeting absorb more high frequencies while hard surfaces reflect which can emphasize the highs Parallel walls odd shaped cubbyholes and balconies all affect the room s acoustics Reflections can be good and bad Consider the effect of a cathedral s reflections on a choir or a piano this type of reverberation reverb is quite desirable But not all reverb is good reverb Reflections can also cause comb filtering For example if a speaker is placed near a reflective surface say a concrete or painted sheetrock wall the direct sound coming from the speaker and the reflected sound coming from the wall can arrive at the listener s ears out of phase with each other This creates cancellation and reinforcement sometimes at hard to predict frequencies The good news is that you can measure what a room does to a sound system and you can optimize the system to improve its output in that venue That s not to say you can make your system sound as good in Madison Square Garden as it would in the superb acoustics of Amsterdam s Concertgebouw but you can make it sound a lot better with the right tools good ears and some experience System optimization and alignment are the processes of minimizing the room s effect on your speaker s ability to reproduce sound System alignment creates the best possible environment
5. Spectrograph and real time analyzer algorithms go to work showing you the spectral content of whatever is routed though a particular graphic EQ The Smaart Spectra Spectrograph shows level versus frequency versus time It graphs a continuous series of spectrum measurements with frequency on one axis time on another and level indicated by colors The display lets your view five seconds of spectral information so you can view long term trends in your mix like feedback building up in an aux mix t Read more about the Smaart Spectrograph The Smaart Spectra Spectrograph display graphs a continuous series of spectrum measurements with frequency on one axis time on another and level indicated by colors When a frequency band in the spectrum is above the lower threshold it shows up on the plot starting with a dark blue color at lower levels and transitioning through green yellow orange and red with higher levels eventually showing up as white if the level reaches or exceeds the upper threshold This is particularly useful for quickly identifying long term trends like feedback frequencies a constant feedback tone stands out vividly as a vertical line so that you can quash them with StudioLive graphic EQs Use case Ringing out feedback with Smaart Spectrograph Because Smaart Spectrograph is a continuous stream of real time frequency information feedback is instantly visible in Smaart Spectrograph as a vivid white red str
6. able to sustain low frequencies For example a 50 Hz wave is about 22 6 feet long So a room that is 45 feet on the diagonal is going to regenerate low frequencies more effectively than a room that is 15 feet on the diagonal When a room s width or length correlates directly to the size of a waveform at a specific frequency a standing wave can occur where the initial sound and the reflected sound begin to reinforce each other Let s say we have a long narrow room where the distance from one side to the other is 22 6 feet When a 50 Hz wave bounces off the wall the reflective wave travels right back along the same path and bounces off the other wall and cycle repeats In a room such as this 50 Hz reproduces very well maybe even a little too well So your mix will have a heavier low end Surfaces and Construction Materials A room s construction including furnishings also can have a dramatic impact on its sonic signature Although we might not think of it often low frequency waves are powerful enough to cause the walls ceiling and even the floor to flex and move This is called diaphragmatic action and it dissipates energy and strips away the low end definition So if you re in an old cotton mill and the walls and floor are made of thick concrete that don t vibrate much the bass response is going to be much more powerful than if you ve set up a show in an old warehouse where the walls are made of barge board and tin Another
7. dules to make it easy to view your PA system s frequency response Now you have all the information necessary to adjust your sound system using the parametric EQs that are available on the Fat Channel in StudioLive series mixers Additionally Smaart s Spectra s RTA and Spectrograph can be viewed on top of each output s graphic EQ so you can analyze your mix or quickly ring out your floor monitors Although much simpler and easier to use than the full version of Smaart VSL s Smaart implementation is very much the real thing built with the same technology that is trusted by acousticians and live sound engineers the world over The room ts not always your friend Deal with it In many live environments the room has not been designed to maximize the listening experience Sure you might mix a show in a concert hall with awesome acoustics but more often you re making do in a basement club with a low ceiling and brick walls or in an old warehouse or barn or perhaps you re fighting the nightmare acoustics of a sports arena In general the size construction and reflectivity of a room are primary factors that significantly affect a sound system s performance Read more about how the room s physical features affect system performance Size Matters The size of the room directly impacts how well certain frequencies will be reproduced If you measure a room on its diagonal you will discover how well that room will be
8. eak moving up the display stream It s super easy to reduce the nearest frequency band Just reduce the corresponding 31 band GEQ slider to instantly kill the feedback It works with aux monitor mixes and floor wedges It works with P A mains It s far better than any other feedback suppression method including Feedback Rodents Activate the Spectra RTA real time analyzer to view what you are hearing Can t tell if your mix has too much low end or your room is boomy Use the RTA to see where your mix has gone awry and clean it up Read more about the Smaart RTA The ability to analyze frequency content specifically being able to visualize the exact frequencies you are hearing in order to home in on problem areas makes the RTA a secret weapon for many mix engineers Because you are seeing exactly what your ears are hearing you can quickly verify that you are choosing the right frequencies when making adjustments This is especially useful when setting up your mix Because there is no history information for the RTA once an event happens it goes away you can immediately tell whether or not you ve corrected a problem Let s say you have a particularly honky floor tom Simply solo that channel in your main mix using the StudioLive s SIP feature and take a look at your Main Bus graphic EQ You will quickly be able to see which frequency needs to be notched out Select the Floor Tom channel on your StudioLive and dial in the right
9. for your mix even if the room isn t the best possible environment for listening to music This offers several benefits Read more about the benefits of system optimization and alignment A properly optimized and aligned system results in better system efficiency because your amplifiers aren t working to push unneeded frequencies It enables you to mix more consistently with the room no longer a consideration you can mix a given show the same way every time You also can more easily create mixes that are appropriate to specific musical genres for instance you can fine tune the system differently for a high volume bass heavy rock show than for a classical string quartet Smaart Measurement Technology and the StudioLive mixer provide the crucial tools that can help you solve these issues With Smaart you can really put StudioLive s graphic and parametric EQs to work improving the sound of your P A Precisely identify nasty feedback frequencies Get your loudspeakers to play nicer with the room they re in all without having a degree in acoustical engineering VSL s Smaart implementation is accessible and intuitive so that inexperienced users can make basic adjustments to the system and experienced users can adjust the system quickly and precisely See the spectral content of your mix in real time Then do something about it When you click on the Graphic Equalizer tab in Universal Control 1 6 and later Smaart Spectra s
10. nalyze your system To view the effects of your filters you simply run the wizard again Since Smaart is integrated into VSL the software recognizes stereo linked outputs and treats them accordingly Smaart Output Check Wizard The Smaart Output Check SOC Wizard verifies that your StudioLive 24 4 2 or StudioLive 16 4 2 system outputs are routed correctly and are passing signal It s a simple tool compared to the other wizards but it can save you a lot of headaches Read more about the Smaart Output Check Wizard EALL EALLAL LEALL Its five minutes before a show and suddenly the drummer says there s nothing coming out of his monitor Or you do a friend a favor and run sound at her club because she has the flu and you show up not knowing which aux is connected to what monitor or which sub is controlling what sidefill The SOC Wizard was designed to make these problems disappear like magic By momentarily taking over the routing and volume control of an output and patching pink noise to it the SOC Wizard lets you quickly discover which speaker is connected where and helps you quickly get to the root of a routing problem In the case of the drummer with silent monitor if he hears pink noise you can save yourself ten minutes of frantic cable tracing only to discover the output level was inadvertently turned down on his aux mix Smaart System Delay Wizard The Smaart System Delay SSD Wizard calculates and sets the correct amo
11. o that your front of house system only needs to be loud enough to cover the front of the room This allows you to lower the level give the front row listeners ears a break and get better fidelity from your speakers However it s not as easy as just bringing an extra pair of speakers Any additional sets of speakers will need to be delayed otherwise the audience will feel that the sound is coming from the walls rather than the stage Even worse since electricity travels much faster than sound listeners in the rear of the room are likely to hear the sound coming from the nearest set of speakers before they hear the sound from stage which can dampen the attack and intelligibility of the sound and create an unpleasant phasing effect To compensate you need to delay the signal going to the additional sets of speakers For practical purposes we can say that at sea level at 32 F 0 C air temperature sound travels through dry air 0 humidity at a rate of 1 130 feet 344 4 meters per second Therefore it takes 1 ms for sound to travel 0 88 feet But the speed of sound changes as air temperature and humidity change So what if you re setting up for an outdoor show in say Baton Rouge Louisiana in August when the temperature and humidity are unpleasantly far above normal Your calculations might be a little off unless you happen to be a whiz at calculating the effect of barometric and atmospheric pressure on sound wa
12. unt of delay time between two full range speaker systems using the StudioLive 24 4 2 or StudioLive 16 4 2 subgroup output delays This helps you to time align the outputs of secondary generally side and rear speaker systems with the output of the main front speakers in a front of house P A system Read more about the Smaart System Delay Wizard The SSD Wizard compares a signal from a measurement Sraten Deisy C co Remeee mic aimed at the main speaker system with the signal from ore a amt uae the secondary system and reveals the amount of acoustic mines BAAN LA Aa DA Aa aT StudioLive te 12 o clock Sot delay between the two systems When you then click on Apply that amount of delay will be applied to the built in output delay for the StudioLive subgroup output that feeds the secondary system The secondary system s output will then be time aligned with the front system Te Which Output Bhowld the Gelay Syrie align Maal You can time align multiple secondary systems using this tool and the StudioLive mixer s four subgroup outputs That s the short version but it doesn t tell the whole story Let s dig in a bit deeper starting with why you would need such a tool Using multiple sets of speakers is at a live performance can make a huge difference in the quality of the sound Rather than relying on a pair of front of house speakers to fill the entire room you can create listening zones throughout the room s
13. ves The SSD Wizard is an automated process that calculates Using pink noise and a measurement mic Smaart System Delay Wizard calculates and sets the delay and sets the correct delay time between two full range systems The purpose of this wizard is to set the delay time for a secondary system that is being fed from one or more subgroups No calculators slide rules or finger counting are necessary Go Remote While running back and forth from front of house FOH to your measurement microphone might be a great exercise regimen it s going to take some valuable minutes from your setup time No worries At any step in any of the Wizards simply click the Go Remote button and grab your iPad StudioLive Remote 1 4 available free from the Apple App Store will launch at the same N 4 step in the Wizard process and you can continue the Wizard WwW j wirelessly a as Y Simultaneous with rear output delayed Don t want to walk back to front of house to start the Wizard No problem Give your iPad FOH permission in VSL and you can launch the Smaart Wizards remotely and get started right away Jason Serrano Los Angeles native Jason Serrano benefited from a highly musical upbringing He spent some of his formative years in the read more

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