College Vamp

Invitation [Part 2] (EDITED)

2:15pm

"Now, there's a particular synth sting he does at the end of one song as a transition."

Nick stood before the auditorium's main stage, holding a clipboard and pen in hand. He silently judged the mess of equipment sprawled on top. A pair of box speakers sat in front with cables reaching to speaker stands throughout the room. The exposed wires were covered by walk pads. In center stage, a scrawny, college student stood at an expensive-looking turntable and Roland keyboard.

"Well, that explains the keyboard," Nick noted. "And what does this transition involve?"

"A very awkward 7th chord on an even more awkward preset, sir," the student explained, moving to the Roland. "Right as the song ends, he plays an A 7th chord. However, he adds an F sharp with his thumb."

Nick watched him move a hand to the keys. He shifted them to the proper positions before pressing down. A plucky, almost gurgling high synth chord poured from the auditorium's speakers. To Nick's ears, it was pleasant all things considered.

"That's the regular A 7th. Fairly pleasant whether it's held or not."

"And the F sharp? Wouldn't the new base note make the chord lower?"

The student scratched the back of his neck. "On most other presets it would, but the one he uses modulates as long as the keys are held. Any additional notes clumped in there just adds to the volume. It usually winds up clipping."

Nick jotted the remark down in his long list of notes. "Guy likes blowing people's eardrums out. Alright, play the chord."

The student blinked. His eyes shifted nervously. "Um, you serious?"

"Yeah. I prefer we don't blow any speakers out during the middle of his set," Nick declared, climbing onto the stage. He moved over to the turntable, quickly finding input and compressor knobs on the mixer. "Alright, hit it."

Nick watched the student hesitate for a second or two, gulping. After a moment, he placed his finger back on the keys. His thumb shakily hovered above the black note for F Sharp. Nick slid the input knob down and cranked the compressor on. Once good with the settings, he gave a thumbs up. The student gulped as he pressed down.

The gurgling synth came flowing out into the auditorium. The sound registered lower with the new base note as Nick had expected. He looked at the sound meter on the board. The sound registered at a steady -10db.

"How long does Beethoven hold this sting?"

Relishing some relief, the student took his hands off the keys, shrugging. "Depends, it ranges from 8 to 16 bars. He usually gauges it by audience engagement.

"We'll run the full 16 bars then."

After another bit of hesitation, the modulating synth was back.

1 2 3 4, 5 6 7 8.

-10db. Nick adjusted the knobs slightly to give it more head room.

Right then, he heard something. A high pitched wail that was slowly getting loud, pouring out faster than the synth. The meter climbed straight to yellow. Immediately, Nick twisted the input level down, dipping it back down to the green.

9 10 11 12, 13 14 15 16.

Yet, the wailing continued to grow louder, jumping past yellow and straight to red. The electronic cry became ear splitting in seconds. Nick jammed the input knob all the way down, slamming his hands over his ears. The student stumbled back, pulling his hand from the Roland. The wail disappeared as quick as it had come, leaving a faint ringing that burrowed in every ear present.