Driverack PA Mics & Spikes

BluesBenderNC

I'm close to purchasing a driverack pa, but after reading some info I'm concerned. I currently use EV 767 & Shure 58 mics and wonder if these will be ok as I saw somewhere you have to use phantom power mics - don't know what those are but know I don't have them.

Also, I read some stuff about the power spikes these things put out can fry everything you have. I find it hard to believe that dbx would make anything that dangerous.

My current system consists of - - 2 Yamaha Club Series 15\" mains. 2 Mackie c300z's for the monitors. Mackie 808M power mixer. Getting ready to purchase a Yamaha p3500s power amp which I'd like to use to power the mains & relegate the Mackie power mixer to the monitors. Sometimes use a Samson 1501 sub with built-in crossover.

I'm a guitar player/singer and not well versed in pa equipment unfortunately. My objective is the best sound possible from my small system; especially when we play some outdoor gigs this summer and a couple of weddings.

Am I on the right track? Any suggestions appreciated.

Thx !!

Dra

The kind of mics you use has nothing to do with the DRPA. Any mic that will work with your mixer will work (since they only connect to the mixer).
The turn off spike is a fact and CAN damage speakers. Can you afford $700 for a DR260? If yopu need to wait a few gigs and save a bit more money, I recommend that. There is no spike, plus so much more.

DRA

BluesBenderNC

Can you give me an idea of what more the 260 would do for me ? We're just a 4 piece band - guitar, keys, bass & drums, and right now all we're doing is mic'ng the vocals, but I'd like to eventually mic the keys & guitar.
Thx

Dra

http://www.driverack.com/drug/view_thre ... d_id=41931

The ability to contrtol via laptop is worth the extra cost alone. Download the 260 Driveware GUI and play with it and you'll see.
http://www.dbxpro.com/Download/

DRA

Gadget

I think he might have been referring to the measurement mic... which DOES need to be a very flat response mic... and since most have TINY capsules, they need a phantom powered preamp to allow the capsule to provide full frequency response...
Gadget

Dra

Information is king. 8)

DRA

Fanman20

Yep
Sounds like reference mic is right

I currently use EV 767 & Shure 58 mics and wonder if these will be ok as I saw somewhere you have to use phantom power mics - don't know what those are but know I don't have them.

BluesBenderNC you need a reference mic. You can't use the EV 767 or Shure 58 mics.
DBX is the cheapest one to buy

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-DBX-RTA-MIC-REA ... dZViewItem

Mark

uhdinator

The \"Spike\" you are refering too is not a defect. Any gear that is in your
signal chain (mixer, EQ, Crossovers. effects racks, Etc that are turned
off or on when your power amps are running will send a transient spike
through your system. The manual tells you not to turn the drive rack on or off when your system is running.
ALWAYS TURN POWER AMPS ON LAST WITH ANY SYSTEM, AND TURN THEM DOWN AND OFF FIRST WHEN POWERING DOWN YOUR SYSTEM. Otherwise you could damage your gear. :oops:

The DBX RTA mic should be used (omni directional). Using a vocal mic
will not work properly. The mic is pointed up/vertical so it reads in all
directions and can \"flatten\" the room so all frequencies are equal.
It hears the reflections (why you need an omni directional mic) :roll:

HARMON (DBX) recommends using an EQ before the Drive Rack and after
RTA has flattened the room use a conventional EQ to adjust to taste.

Gadget

Geez thanks for chiming in... but most of the posts you have answered to are long dead...I HATE the idea of adding ANYTHING in between the amps and the mixer once a driverack has been added... it DEFEATS the purpose unless multiple engineers are common that HAVE TO have something to screw with in order to validate themselves...Then, once they are gone you can wipe out their meddling and get back to a flat system that works well in most rooms...(read that NO NEED to run the auto EQ since it usually doesn't work in complex rooms... isn't recommended by ANY competent pro audio engineer, and has been explained ad infinitum and is clearly described and procedurally delineated in the READ ME FIRST BEFORE POSTING section which you seem to have circumvented...

Look, sorry if it seems like I'm \"busting your chops\" here... but CLEARLY if you had followed protocol, and read the \"RMFBP\" section, you would know where we are coming from here... your contributions are welcome, but please get up to speed with where we are here or risk seeming... well a bit behind the curve...

respectfully...

Gadget
DBX Driverack moderator

uhdinator

Sorry,

Next time I talk to my the HARMON Training Rep that recommended using
an EQ in front of the DR after \"flattening\" the room I will tell him he is
full of it.

Gadget

Have him PM me if he thinks there is a problem with the information we provide here... :?

Dra

Serious question.
What is a Harmon Training Rep? Do they train retailers on the product capabilities and give selling points? Do they do operational seminars for guys like us?

DRA

uhdinator

Harmon Pro owns DBX, AKG, JBL, Crown and about 6 or 7 other venders.
Consumer division is Harmon Kardon.

Yes I recieved training and demo's on the PRPA and DRPX
I sell them, and I own the DRPA and use it weekly. Still learning as well
and experimenting. Learned alot from here and actually have a few
questions you all might be able to help me with. I'll post a new question
for you guys on a new thread.

They are not necessarily experienced users. I prob have more experience
using it than the reps doing the training. I hope to upgrade to the 260
in the future.

martinnez

8) hi guys, excuse me if i'm wrong but i do use a compressor and equalizer together with my drpa, i have it more or less settled for the system when we go outdoors,( the drpa) but then i like the kind of sound i get with the compressor before it,not much maybe 2 or 3 gain redux leds blinking, and tune the graphic to taste a little differently at every gig.
we run a three way sitem using 6 subs(meyer 650 like) and six mid hi (2x12+1 2in) on each side. powered with a ca9 for his, 3 ca12 for mids, and 2 ca 18 for lo each side.most drivers and speakers are jbls, and the bins are homemades. it's really kind of overkill but i get the sound ilike!!!

Dra

Generally we recommend not using the compressor on the DRPA, because it affects the whole system, and compressors are best used on a per input basis (vocals, snare, bass, etc)as inserts. Having an EQ before the DRPA to some is useful for panic fixes, but once the system is properly set up and tuned you'll find that the sound is cleaner without the extra EQ. The quality of the DRPA GEQ is better than most, except for the really high dollar ones.

Minimal compression could be useful, but alot will cause more problems than it fixes. Limiters in the DRPA are for speaker protection and you should definately use those.

DRA

PS - Why did you post on this old thread and not just start a new one (or on your other one)?

martinnez

thanks dra! 8)
iposted but didn't know it was old, i'm new in this forum, sorry if did wrong. i use compressors in bass , kick and toms; sometimes in keyboads too, depends on the particular groups.i also have a dedicated vocal comp for the main singer. and as the main mix comp i dont letit go tomuch squash, but just some dbs redux on loud passages!!
thanks!!!!
Martinnez

Dra

No, Sir Gadget won't beat you up for it. Just an odd place to post, that's all.
Welcome to the forum. Hope you hang around and grow your knowledge as we do grow ours.

DRA