Problem with varying audio levels on Edirol UA 101

[Stuart Barry]

I am using SCS 10.7.4 on a PC laptop running 64 bit Windows 7 and an Edirol UA 101 sound box with the latest 64 bit Windows 7 driver downloaded from Roland. I am using 3 stereo output pairs and during rehearsals I carefully set all the sound levels with cues coming from various combinations of speaker. Now during the run the sound operator and the director are complaining that the volume of sound coming from each channel is different to what I set up. We have of course checked all the levels on the sound mixer and have changed nothing else about the set up other than turn everything off overnight and then turn it on again the next day. We reset the sound levels and apparently the same thing happens again the next day.

I have used the same set up for another show at this theatre but on a Windows XP machine so I am wondering whether this is a SCS/Windows 7 compatibility issue. Has anyone encountered anything like this or have any suggestions as to what to try to fix the problem (apart from switching back to the Windows XP computer)?

[Mike Daniell]

We reset the sound levels and apparently the same thing happens again the next day.

What are you having to reset? Are you referring to the Windows 'Volume Mixer' sliders for the UA-101?

[Peter Jackson]

Hi Stuart

We reset the sound levels and apparently the same thing happens again the next day.

I have a very similar set up with equipment as you except I'm only running 32 bit, so it may not be windows 7 or SCS.Having read you problem notes could this be the fact that when the levels were set you had an empty venue and once your audience was in, the acoustics of the venue changed and are causing this problem. I have had this happen and volume levels have had to be increased once the show was running to compensate for the audiences clothing soaking up the sounds.

Peter

[Boswell]

Hi Stuart,
I have exactly the same setup as you, win7, 64bit, UA101 running 4 stereo pairs. No problems at all.
Are you sure the level change and not the effect Peter describes in that an audience deadens the sound.
I set the sound levels on the dress rehearsal then you can just tweak on the master fader when you have an audience, then save it.
This assumes that you have not set all your levels to max in SCS !

I do not use or have installed any of the software supplied with the UA101 apart from the driver. Let SCS do all the control.

[Stuart Barry]

Mike,

By 'reset the sound levels' I meant that the fader settings on some of the cues appeared to have altered to levels different to those that I set up with the result that cues were either way too loud or too soft. This afternoon I went through every cue in the show again and reset the sound levels on the three stereo pairs that I am using so that the cue levels were correct once again. The good news is that tonight the show went flawlessly so I have no idea how the incorrect level changes occurred in the first place. Unfortunately, as I am in the show I am not sure exactly what happened when the levels changed on the previous two occasions, but I am fairly sure that the problem is resolved for now.

Incidentally, we made a manual note of all the cue fader levels just in case this happens again and it occurred to me that it would be a useful enhancement to be able to print the fader levels out as an option on the cue list if that is possible.

Stuart

[Mike Daniell]

A possible explanation is that after adjusting the levels in the cues that the changes weren't saved, so that when SCS next opened the cue file the previous levels were used.

Good suggestion about optionally including levels in the printed cue list, but this could make the list quite long if you have multiple devices.

[Stuart Barry]

Thanks to all who replied to my posting. It is comforting to hear that other users have the same set up and have not had any problems with it. Though to be frank I didn't really suspect a problem with SCS itself because it is a great program and I have been using it quite happily for several years without experiencing any such problems.

For the record this was nothing to do with the sound being absorbed by the audience because I gather that some of the cue levels actually increased rather than decreased and anyway I ran a show myself at the same venue the previous month without any trouble.

Having made further enquiries, whilst I still am not sure exactly what happened, I suspect that one of our sound operators couldn't hear some of the quieter cues (we set the cue levels from the auditorium during rehearsals but then operate during the show from a sealed control room whilst listening to the show relay) and went and increased the levels without our knowledge (I know - we should have locked the cue file). Anyway, whatever the cause, I am pleased to say that we have now done 5 performances without any similar problems.

Stuart

[Eric Snodgrass]

Having made further enquiries, whilst I still am not sure exactly what happened, I suspect that one of our sound operators couldn't hear some of the quieter cues (we set the cue levels from the auditorium during rehearsals but then operate during the show from a sealed control room whilst listening to the show relay) and went and increased the levels without our knowledge (I know - we should have locked the cue file). Anyway, whatever the cause, I am pleased to say that we have now done 5 performances without any similar problems.

Stuart

And hopefully you fired the operator.
Sealed sound booths are a design flaw that just keeps occurring. They are really a scourge that needs to be wiped out.