mrtcat

Bit of wiring done on the new mixer rig today. Space has been left for the guitarist's incoming wireless iem setup.

This is always something that amazes me. A venue allows live music and goes to the trouble of installing a noise limiter. Why then not be proactive and create a space suitable for live music with appropriate acoustic treatment so that the space itself isn't the main cause of the problem.

I like loud rock music and have played in some very loud bands over the years. Even the AC/DC tribute act I used to be in rehearsed at sensible levels with sensibly sized kit. We played across large parts of Europe for years with dummy full stacks on stage. Yeah they were essential to the aesthetic but were no good for getting the right foh sound because guitar cabs are so directional that they're generally pretty awful at blowing FOH mixes even in some of the big clubs we were playing in Germany. If it's too loud for the room then either the sound engineer needs shooting or the musicians are just being a bit childish. If I walked into a rehearsal room to audition for any band to find a guitarist with a cranked 4x12 they wouldn't have to laugh me out the door. I'd happily leave them to their own childish approach.

I have to disagree. Turning up the volume of a good sound changes that sound. It can make a good sound a bad sound. That's beside the point tho. Too loud is too loud whether the sound is good or not.

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That looks just the ticket! awesome thank you.

Yes agree. This thread could have been named "is poor sound killing all gigs" to be fair. Saw Robert Plant at Symphony Hall birmingham last year which should have been incredible sound. It was awful. Kick drum was wallowy mush that killed the wallowy mush bass and audience were calling out for vocals to be louder all night. Even RP had to ask the engineers to sort it out mid gig.

Is anyone using an app for set lists on a tablet? Trying to remove all paper from the stage and singer is digging heels in a bit. He always has notes on the floor around his feet. Is there an app he can put on his tablet to organise his word sheets into set lists?

He's not from High Wycombe is he?

Always mystifies me why players bang on about how lightweight and compact and loud their latest bit of kit is. If you were genuinely bothered about saving your back you'd use a decent modern PA and in ears. No amps. I absolutely love being amp free. I hear so many people say that they'd miss the feel of the bass but if you have a decent PA you can still feel it's presence and the in ears will let you comfortably hear whatever you want. Getting decent FOH sound is so much more achievable if there's no volume wars to compete with. As long as drummer is able to adjust volume accordingly then you can get lovely fat balanced sound which has more weight to it and less noise.

I love Summer Of 69. Easy, fun and goes down well. Drop D all the way for me. Love the growl of a slightly floppy detuned E string. Love playing original stuff too but have been around long enough to know that the cheesy covers are always going to be the money makers.

Yeah, I think that the 745s are the better PA cab. The horn on the 745 is just so good that the crossover point can be lower so it handles a lot of the high mid upwards leaving the main driver free to work harder lower down. They also have a longer throw which is better in bigger rooms. That said the FR800s are excellent in slightly smaller rooms and rooms where the dance floor starts right in front of the band because the dispersion is a bit wider close in. They handle lows well but I feel they still need at least one sub no matter where you use them. The 745's can definitely be used without subs in smaller rooms. I own the FR800s but the 745s are owned by the band leader in the other band. I ummed and ahhed a lot over which to buy but in the end went for the FR800s because I don't own a bass amp just a Helix and one FR800 is perfect when I dep and the band I'm depping for use backline. It looks more bass amp like in that scenario and the mids and highs disperse well across the stage. I do more work in the band that use the FR800s as it's a band I started years ago and I have absolutely no complaints with them as PA cabs. The clarity of what they put out is absolutely great and they go loud without ever sounding strained or harsh.

No problem, the band with the RCF setup is purely weddings / corporate but I'll see if there's something in tye diary where it would be ok to bring a guest or two. When our LF1400 arrives with my other band I'll report back too. That is by far the lightest and most compact of the subs we will have and should definitely match the pair of yamaha DXS15s we used to lug about. That might be a good consideration as a replacement for your DXS12. Still only £999 at the moment.

That's great thanks Nick. I'm going to give him a shout I think. I really like dealing with small businesses and from what I see of him on Facebook he seems really approachable and quick to respond.

@intime-nick how are you getting on with the Lugs? I've just seen their D5s are £400. That's a huge amount for not much cash in IEM world.

I used to find the Yamaha DXS range of subs a bit too muddy. Theyre bandpass so can give the perception of decent volume but at the expense of clarity and good transient response. One of my bands uses RCF 745s and they're absolutely great. We have them paired with RCF 905 subs and it's a formidable rig. My other band has two FR800s. We just ordered an LF1400 to go with them as the FR800s have a lot to deal with when we all go through (we don't use any backline). I would say that a single DXS12 would definitely struggle with a full band.

It's a really great way to go. I'll never go back to the old school ways of having an amp onstage. We don't have any backline now and let the pa do it all. Modern PA stuff is light years ahead of most bass / guitar amps and the front of house sound is just so much better now that we don't have to fight stage volume. Being able to hear all my band mates clearly at a comfortable volume is just awesome.

UE6 pro would be absolutely awesome. The good news is that the x32 rack is great for in ears mixes. However if you are adding eq to your bass sound between your aux send (the send that goes to your in ears) and your actual earphones then you are going to have to add another mixer into the equation and take several aux send feeds from the desk if you want to be able to hear the rest of the band. Surely you would be better off taking an extra channel on the desk, linking it to the input that your bass goes into, eqing it to suit your ears and use that for you in ear mix? With the x32 you can add all sorts of compression and eq to your in ear mix.

Hmm, the guy doesn't really know what he's talking about if you ask me. Like many others on this forum, I've been on in ears for years and love it. The thing is, if you use cheap in ears or ones that you don't like the inherent sound of then yes, you probably won't enjoy it. There's several things to consider. Firstly, when buying custom moulds you need to try before you buy. Places like www.custom-inearmonitors.co.uk have demo sets that are universal fit so you can try out. Ultimately pick a pair that sound good to you ears. Secondly, yes a little eq can really go a long way. What mixer do you use? If you're using a digital mixer then you can easily add eq to the Aux send that feeds your in ears. If there's spare channels on the mixer you can assign one input to feed two channels and have one eq'd for foh and the other eq'd for your in ears and only send one to front of house and the other to your ears. If using an older desk then you might need to consider outboard eq. Let us know what mixer you use and we can suggest options. EBS_freak is the IEM guru on this forum and will definitely be able to advise. IEMs are great if you ask me. A total revelation when you get them right and when you do you'll possibly never go back.

Anything by yamaha. For £300 you could get something 2nd hand that would still beat many £1000+ basses.

Nah, I'm just lucky enough to have bandmates that are all committed to in ears and to making continuous sensible upgrades to our kit. As a result we have solid pa and a decent foh sound. Oh yeah a diary full of gigs helps keep them on-board too lol.

Too late. X32 rack ordered.

Stop it now