need advice on mastering techniques for playback in a gym

[picknpaws]

I need to play an orchestral piece (recorded on CD) in a large gymnasium. I have the original recording and am wondering if anyone can tell me if there is anything I can do to counter the typical muddiness and "in a gym" sound when played in a large gym.

As I understand it, reverb, delay and other effects are typically applied to studio recordings to give the sound some "spacial breadth" so when you listen to the recording, it sounds like it was played in a hall of some sort.

My problem is sort of the reverse. Should I apply any delay or other effects to help "separate" the stereo image such that it improves clarity when played in a large gym? Or maybe apply some stereo imaging technique (about which I am unknowledgeable) to increase separation and therefore enhance the likelihood of clearer sounds in the gym?

Any advice appreciated!!!!!
Thanks.

 

[TyphoidHippo]

See if you can go into the gym beforehand and mess around with the sound as it plays back - it should be pretty easy to EQ out any muddy sounds in any setting if you can hear what you are doing as you adjust the EQ - other than that, though.... sounds like a crap-shoot to me. There's no way to tell how things sound in that particular gym without actually being there.

As for the stereo comments, I can't really imagine what you are saying... I've never heard of altering a stereo image so that it 'sounds more stereo in a gym', if that is, in fact, what you are trying to accomplish. If anything, I'd say that such a listening environment would blow a stereo image way out of proportion - you could probably play a mono track in a gym and it would sound like 500.1 surround because all the reflections would make the sounds seem to come from everywhere all at once.

 

[picknpaws]

Thanks!!! I don't know what I'm talking about -- I'm a real neophyte about this, but I just wanted to know if anything can be done.

I can get access to the gym for trial-and-error --------- but last question:

after I figure out EQ settings, would it be OK to pre-EQ the master recording so that when it comes time to playback, the DJ (some random parent with no knowledge) doesn't need to adjust knobs or anything...?. That is, they can leave all settings flat and when my music comes on, it'll be "pre-EQ'd" so it will be as optimized as possible?

Thanks again!

 

[mshilarious]

Thanks!!! I don't know what I'm talking about -- I'm a real neophyte about this, but I just wanted to know if anything can be done.

I can get access to the gym for trial-and-error --------- but last question:

after I figure out EQ settings, would it be OK to pre-EQ the master recording so that when it comes time to playback, the DJ (some random parent with no knowledge) doesn't need to adjust knobs or anything...?. That is, they can leave all settings flat and when my music comes on, it'll be "pre-EQ'd" so it will be as optimized as possible?

Thanks again!

Yes. Gyms are normally big piles of mud. I would high pass at 100Hz, and maybe cut even higher, up to 300Hz. That depends on how bad the gym is. You can safely ignore everything over 10kHz, but you don't need to cut it. It just won't be reproduced on playback.

Focus on audibility of the 1kHz-4kHz range, and some peak limiting and/or compression will be helpful, as the dynamic range of the gym's system (especially considering ambient noise) will be very limited. In other words, you need to make the soft parts louder

You can pretty much forget about stereo imaging. A gym's PA is often centrally located on the ceiling. Even if you have a stereo system, half the audience is unlikely to be able to hear both sets of speakers. I would process in mono.

Delay is used in a PA system to coordinate arrivals with staggered speaker systems. That must be part of the PA system design; it is nothing you can do to a master recording. As I said, the PA could be driven from a single point, and delay would not be relevant in that situation.