[sdiy] OT: Live Sound advice needed

[Rob B]

I agree with Larry here.. In a live situation, you need to use the EQ to
lower offensive freqs. Never turn up the EQ on a PA.. It always seems to end
in feedback. ;)

A lot of times, at high volumes, the space itself is what starts to become
your worst enemy: the rolloff of the room comes into effect, thats why when
you play at normal volumes, its not a big deal, but, as the volume
increases, the effect the space has becomes more pronounced.. Setup at a gig
with the volume just blasted before you go on and use the EQ to cut the
frequencies the space is boosting, and get all your faders set up.

This is the reason that you really need someone to ride the faders who knows
the music. You just can't get around it, and they haven't got a good
automated system for doing that yet.

When the crowd gets in there, you will notice yet *another* change, but you
can only hope that it will be less resonant... I dunno, maybe if a bunch of
hollow metal ppl show up, it could be a problem..

;)

Rob


aim : cybrgzr0 <--last thing is a number
----- Original Message -----
From: J. Larry Hendry <jlarryh at iquest.net>
To: <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 7:21 AM
Subject: Re: [sdiy] OT: Live Sound advice needed


> At lower levels, one tends to add EQ to "dial in that preferred sound."
At
> higher volume, added EQ becomes a problem.  One quick thing you can do is
> reduce the amount of added EQ.  In live sound, less is best concerning EQ.
> It is often best to reduce the EQ on unwanted frequencies than to add EQ
in
> the desired areas. So, check the PA EQ.  How many of those EQ knobs are
set
> to over 50-60% ?
>
> Of course, problems with one instrument masking another are usually solved
> by unplugging power to the guitar player <strictly intentional humor>
>
> Larry Hendry
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dan Gendreau <gendreau at rochester.rr.com>
> To: <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
> Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 12:22 AM
> Subject: [sdiy] OT: Live Sound advice needed
>
>
> Hi all,
> Sorry for the OT, i'll try to keep it brief...
>
> Ive just recently started giging with my band Mode7 at house parties and
> clubs. We use Synths, Sequencers, Drum Machines and sometimes Turntables.
>
> Things sound great when we are practicing at normal sound levels, but
> when we are at a gig and the amps are cranked(not clipping or
> compressing mind you), it seems like the EQs and dynamics are very
> different. Some quieter parts are not audible at all and others drown
> out the rest. The end result is that our music sounds very different (and
> IMHO a lot worse) at live PAs than when we are just jamming at home at
lower
> volume levels...
>
> I know we could be doing any number of things wrong, so instead of asking
> "whats wrong" I will instead ask those of you with live PA experience:
> How do _you_ usually handle setting up for a live PA?
>
> Do you do anything with compression before the amp?
>
> Do we need to monitor at higher levels when we are practicing and really
> piss off the neighbors? :) I suspect at the least that we need to EQ the
> amps a little better in our practice area.
>
> How would you recommend EQing at the gig(or at home for that matter)? Is
> there a specific tool like a frequency gen/analyzer that works well? Maybe
a
> DIY project?
>
> And no, Throwing in a CD, and faking it may be easy, but its not an option
I
> would care to try. :)
>
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> -Dan G.
>
>
>