conductor mic mute

[Scott P]

Hi everyone!

It's been a really long time since I've posted anything. Truth is, I look in from time to time and everyone's got it handled, so I don't see much reason to chime in.

But, I need a little help, on a few things, so you may be hearing from me a bit now.

Like everyone, my work is adjusting to Covid circumstances, so methods are changing a bit. I am finding myself needing to work more with video, something I've never done, so be ready for some questions there. But, the Covid distancing requirements for some of the sessions I'm doing has me needing something a little different - a conductor mic.

I do location sessions with orchestras, etc. Normally, I don't mic the conductor, because I can hear him/her in the room mics just fine. But, I'm now having to mic things in such a way that I can't hear them, and have to mic him/her so that we can communicate during the session. No big deal there. But, what I would like is a way to automatically mute that mic when recording so that I'm not hearing that mic in the mix. I can do it manually, but sometimes there's a lot going on and I forget, or don't get to it for a few seconds.

Is there a way to set a specific, unrecorded, channel to automatically mute when the transport is moving? Particularly when in record?

To save some questions later, what are some good resources for learning how video works in SS? And, how to do midi mapping - I'd like to map a controller for some specific functions. I'll start a new thread if I have questions on those.

I'm using SawStudio, monitoring in live mode (Would this be easier if I were using SAC?). I'm typically on a laptop with RME hardware (an old digiface). Everything is rock solid, so I've not seen the need to change until I have to.

Thanks for the help!
Scott

[RobertV]

That sounds like a great idea!

Cheers...

[UpTilDawn]

I'd have to say just about all live monitoring/recording/headphone feeds are more simple when using SAC in combination with SAW. There's also better response from the laptop (my old ThinkPad x60/Win7/Digiface on a pcmcia card works really good). But whether or not it's worth the expense to you - when everything is working great already - well, that's totally up to you. It's just my opinion.

[Bob L]

Try using the Signal Switch plugin... a free download in the Support section Misc Downloads... it acts as a talkback switch...

Bob L

[Scott P]

Thanks Bob,

I'll try it. But, I thought that it was a manual switch. I am looking for something that automatically mutes when the transport is moving.

Scott

[cgrafx]

1. I'd use SAC as the front end to SAW. Having an always-on standalone mixer just makes so many things so much easier.

2. You could side chain a gate or compressor to the conductor mic from anything that will be consistently making noise loud enough to trigger the gate/compressor.
It might take some tweaking to get the threshold, attack and release settings dialed in to make this work to your satisfaction.

3. You could get a foot switch for the mic connected to the conductor and he/she would have to press the button to talk to you. This has the advantage of always being disabled except when he/she needs to communicate.

4. You could use a mic connected to an optogate: http://www.optogatesolutions.com/pb-05.html, this would act like the foot switch option, except its automatic as long as the conductor can move in on the mic when he/she needs to talk to you.

[Bob L]

You can try using a Rvs gate on a mic chan that is set to trigger when playback is started by using a playback chan as the trigger source... but the Signal Switch is much easier and stable... yes it is manual... but it is always muted until you press the button to talk... works exactly like a talkback switch on a standard Studio console.

Bob L