The diagram below shows a simplified version of the patch used on CBS Late Night with David Letterman. The Dugan mixers are inserted into the SSL console post-fader. The SSL has an internal jumper allowing this. Patching this way makes for more convenient operation, because the faders can be pulled down in the normal way to mute a mike. Gerhard has invented a use for the Music System that I never thought of. The mix of the voices on stage is used as the threshold for the audience mikes, in the Dugan Speech System. This makes the voices duck the audience mikes, suppressing reverberation from the PA in the mix, but they pop right back up between the words to catch audience nuances. -Dan Dugan
The lower right window on the screen shows the Dugan mixers. There's a Model D-1 on top, a spacer panel, and a Model D on the bottom. The D-1 has only the Speech System; the Model D allows using the Speech System for one group of mikes and the Music System for another. Here the first two channels use the Music System to duck the audience mix relative to the voices from the stage.
At the beginning Dave and Paul talk. Note that Paul's levels cause clip lights to flash on the channel and on the Speech System bus.
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The guest is speaking and has high gain. Dave's mike is automixed down. There is some audience reaction coming through on the right channel. |
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Dave is speaking and is automixed to high gain. The guest's mike is automixed down. Audience reaction is coming through with about 10 dB gain reduction. |
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Here the guest is talking but the audience is reacting loudly, so both the guest and the audience are automixed up full. A vertical shot of the mixing board appears in the lower left window. |
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The guest speaks alone, all other mikes are automixed down |
