17pc orchestra inside hangar

Dale Christenson

Dale Christenson

Freshman
Jan 15, 2011
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Sapulpa, Oklahoma, United States
sound4u.parks.officelive.com
So, I've got word that I have this show coming up on the 17th for a 17pc orchestra, drums, bass, guitar, and 2 vocalists in an airplane hangar.

I have;
24 channel analog mixer (A&H)
16 channel digital mixer (SL 16.4.2)
all the mics and cables I will need.

The stage is provided and will be large enough for the entire mess.

My question is; What are the "watch out for..." that I may need to be aware of?
 
Re: 17pc orchestra inside hangar

I've been doing the "orchestra with band in a hangar" gig for years, and there are dozens of things to "watch out for".

Some tips:

1. Get your mains away from the stage as far as you can. I try to get at least 20' from the stage when I can. This may necessitate the addition of vocal fills for the front-center audience, depending upon your circumstances.

2. Get a plex drum shield and place it between the drums and the orch.

3. Add a monitor mix to two small speakers-on-sticks and place them on either side of the orchestra (about midpoint upstage). Those at the back of the orchestra are likely to need some hi hat (etc.) to help alleviate timing issues.

4. Don't worry about it being in an airplane hangar. It'll likely sound fine.

5. You don't want or need rock-n-roll volume levels. Try to mix in the low 90s.

6. If you have a way to get your main tops up in the air and pointed back down at the audience, do it. You need to get sound to the back without killing the people down front (who are very likely to be high-dollar sponsors and such.)

I hope the band is one who regularly does these type of events. If so they'll be used to the compromises necessary to make this a success.

If I can help further, let me know.
 
Re: 17pc orchestra inside hangar

Thanks, Milt. That's some good information.

I have done band shells back in the day, so I have some experience with orchestras. Less is more for that genre. Last thing I want is for them to sound "processed" and "amplified". It was the airplane hangar that was intimidating. Seems like, though, if the stage is set up in the corner, it would take on the properties of a band shell. Also, pipe and drape, I think, would help. Maybe not.
 
Re: 17pc orchestra inside hangar

Dale Christenson said:
Thanks, Milt. That's some good information.

I have done band shells back in the day, so I have some experience with orchestras. Less is more for that genre. Last thing I want is for them to sound "processed" and "amplified". It was the airplane hangar that was intimidating. Seems like, though, if the stage is set up in the corner, it would take on the properties of a band shell. Also, pipe and drape, I think, would help. Maybe not.
Click to expand...

Don't bring much, less is much better in a airplane hanger. Just did a airplane hanger. Longest natural reverb I ever heard.
 
Re: 17pc orchestra inside hangar

With a "big band" in a large enough enclosed space the natural sound level coming off the stage may be such that the reflections are fairly benign. The last few I've done have had at least a 35' ceiling (curved) and a couple of hundred feet to the nearest wall, not counting side walls. The band was always set up in a corner, so the side wall reflections were not really an issue. By the time the sound from the stage reached the reflective surfaces the energy loss was such that the reverberative portion of the sound field was not much of an issue.

Fortunately for all concerned, the events called for a reasonable listening area rather than trying to make the music heard equally in all parts of the structure. So the construction materials play less of a part in a large enough structure than the physical size of the "room" and location of the sound source.

Or so it seems to me.....
 
Re: 17pc orchestra inside hangar

Just updating this thread with what happened last night.

I took all of the suggestions above and it sounded just spectacular! I did have to watch the volume, however. The event was for a local air transport company to show off their new larger jet. The mercedes dealer, a motor coach company, a boat mfgr, and some other companies were there to highlight their new stuff as well. The event guests turned out in good numbers. So, there was a lot of trying to sell stuff. Hence the volume. The band was mostly background music. The hangar did have insulation on the walls and ceiling so there was little reverberation through the room.

Sax section (5 players) on the first tier with the piano player and vocalist(s). The next tier was the upright bass and 4 trombones. The next tier was the drummer and 4 trumpets. The bottom tier was about 4' and they game me sound wings for the speakers. The "wing" was a 4x4 extension off the stage. We had a fiber optic curtain backdrop that went up to the 30' level, or thereabouts. FOH was tucked behind the SL speaker stack. Consisted of an allen heath 24 channel and my studiolive 16.

I miced up all the orchestra instruments into the AH console. The drums, bass, piano, vocals, and L+R from the AH went into the SL16. The drummer, bass player, piano player, and vocalists had monitor mixes. I gave a mix to the orchestra like Milt suggested, and they absolutely loved it. Had a MRX515 on each of the two top tiers. The thing they wanted most, aside from the vocal, was hi hat. Even though the bassist was 5' from the drummer, the drummer wanted bass in the monitor. He commented on how good the monitor was and that it was one of the only times where he could hear the bass.

Since the stacks were about 25' apart, so I put a couple of JRX112 monitors in front of the stage off the SL16's mono output and added volume to just hear it and wow, what a difference.

I stood about 60' out with the iPad, and smiled most of the night.

Thanks for all the help.
:grin:
 


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