Topic: Best Approach For Multitrack/Audience Pair Mixdown

[Gutbucket]

It can be helpful to automate the level of the ambient, audience/rear-facing facing microphone(s), either manually with envelopes or automatically "soft-ducked" with side-chaining keyed off the mix of soundboard elements, or the forward/PA focused mic channels.  Bring it up in between songs and in quiet sections and down as the music get thicker and/or the audience goes distractedly chatty.  Just be careful to avoid obvious perceptible level changes.  Compression can do that somewhat, but can bring up the chatter.

[goodcooker]

this right here is my guiding principle in life - " the approach differs depending on what ingredients I have available and which are the most fresh"

the bottom up approach instead of top down approach