DriveRackPX overview questions and the subsystems
QscJblGuy
Posts: 5
I am a musician who also runs sound from the stage on B.Y.O.P.A gigs. I also do a one man show with backing tracks guitar/vocals. I am building 4 combination systems using a bunch of the same gear.
1) SMALL: 2 JBL-EON 515XT’s
2) MEDIUM: 1 JBL-518 SUB + 2 JBL-EON 515XT’s
3) LARGE: 2 QSC KW153’s
4) GIANT: 1 JBL-518 SUB + 2 QSC KW153’s (Is this a bad idea here??? I own the KW181 SUBS, but all BYOPA gigs in my area are too small for them, so I want to sell them and merge my JBL and QSC gear into one big system) The JBL sub is only 500W to the KW153’s 1000W each, so maybe send only the super low freq to the sub (40-70 Hz) and let the KW153’s have everything higher????
(The JBL-EONS become the monitors in the LARGE and GIANT systems)
My true dream is that the DRIVERACK-PX will help me squeeze so much out of the JBL system, that I can sell the BIG QSC system, and use the JBL for both Band and One-Man-Show. If not, I would at least like to merge the JBL SUB with the QSC mains and sell the QSC SUBS. I purchased the DriverackPX believing that it had a great deal of intelligence built in and would compensate for my audio engineering shortcomings, as well as the lack of perspective and “cycles� I have from my vantage point performing onstage. I have since learned from this forum that it looks like “you get out of it what you put into it�. First I must say this is a great forum and I am in awe of the expertise here, and how willing everyone is to help out. BUT:……..As I educate myself here on gain Structure, Crossover points and Equalization, I can’t help but wonder if this same education could not have allowed me to achieve similar results with “Speakers with built in DSP� and mixer with graphic EQ?
I am still experimenting with the Driverack and reading and learning but since there is no one all-encompassing PX thread, I thought I would summarize what I think I learned and hopefully someone can give me some guidance. I have been reluctant to post thus far because I can see that there are an inordinate amount of posts where people simply list their gear, and then say “tell me what to do�, so I have tried to do my homework. DiveRackPX is marketed as a number of systems in one, and here is what I have gotten from this forum:
1) SETUP : This seems to set crossover points for known speaker systems based on “canned values�. Does it set more than that? (EQ limiter, compressor, feedback, etc…?) I can’t tell.
2) CROSSOVER – This has many options, but the wisdom here seems to suggest the same 2 types of filters/frequencies, so are all are these knobs that useful?
3) COMPRESSOR: Don’t use it (WTF???)
4) LIMITER: Don’t use it (WTF???)
5) SUBHARMONIX : Don’t use it (WTF???)
6) AUTO-EQ – Don’t use it. It doesn’t work (WTF???)
So the only “wizard� that seems to be endorsed is the auto-feedback. The auto balance does not seem useful to me because I run Mono and even if I didn’t this feature would only serve a listener sitting in the exact center seat of the room.
GAIN STUCTURE QUESTIONS:
Mixer Channel Gain/Trim (Cant I turn this up on a channel till the PFL has it tickling the green)
Mixer Channel Fader (Cant I just set at UNITY)
Mixer Main Fader (Cant I just set at UNITY)
Driverack Gain for each Crossover Shelf (3) (Cant I just set at 0db)
Driverack Sensitivity button on back (Cant I just try it both ways)
Power Amp volume (Cant I just set at 0db)
AUTO-EQ:
It seems like the wisdom here is that you can use AUTO-EQ to baseline a system in a studio or outdoors and save that baseline template as a starting point for a given system. This is how I understand it:
1) INSIDE: Use One speaker and put RTA mic on ground on a pillow facing at the speaker. 4ft to 20ft away. Outside is best but inside will work with pillow-towel-carpet. QUESTION: Do I connect the SUB here?
2) After the AUTO-EQ runs, mimic what its GRAPHIC-EQ with the Parametric-EQ and rerun the AUTO-EQ and have the second pass “fine-tune�. QUESTION: After I set the Parametric-EQ, am I to restore or clear the Graphic before rerunning AUTO-EQ? because it seems to come up with identical results the 2nd time around????
As far as using the EQ live, I think I need to stick to the Graphic-EQ on the mixer, and use faders for adjusting levels on the fly. It’s not practical to scroll thru menus on a screen (even with a flashlight and reading glasses).
MISCELLANEOUS:
I would like to experiment with compressor, Limiter and subharmonix. Can any of these help me in either BAND or one-man-show?
Are there different considerations for the backing trax one-man-show? I do want to get that “low end rock band feel� out of my backing trax, as I do some heavier material.
Can I mix the JBL EON-518 SUB with the QSC-153’s or should I keep the systems separate?
Is there a way to quickly bypass the Driverack to hear the difference I have made?
Thanks for reading. thanks in advance for any guidance anyone has for me.
1) SMALL: 2 JBL-EON 515XT’s
2) MEDIUM: 1 JBL-518 SUB + 2 JBL-EON 515XT’s
3) LARGE: 2 QSC KW153’s
4) GIANT: 1 JBL-518 SUB + 2 QSC KW153’s (Is this a bad idea here??? I own the KW181 SUBS, but all BYOPA gigs in my area are too small for them, so I want to sell them and merge my JBL and QSC gear into one big system) The JBL sub is only 500W to the KW153’s 1000W each, so maybe send only the super low freq to the sub (40-70 Hz) and let the KW153’s have everything higher????
(The JBL-EONS become the monitors in the LARGE and GIANT systems)
My true dream is that the DRIVERACK-PX will help me squeeze so much out of the JBL system, that I can sell the BIG QSC system, and use the JBL for both Band and One-Man-Show. If not, I would at least like to merge the JBL SUB with the QSC mains and sell the QSC SUBS. I purchased the DriverackPX believing that it had a great deal of intelligence built in and would compensate for my audio engineering shortcomings, as well as the lack of perspective and “cycles� I have from my vantage point performing onstage. I have since learned from this forum that it looks like “you get out of it what you put into it�. First I must say this is a great forum and I am in awe of the expertise here, and how willing everyone is to help out. BUT:……..As I educate myself here on gain Structure, Crossover points and Equalization, I can’t help but wonder if this same education could not have allowed me to achieve similar results with “Speakers with built in DSP� and mixer with graphic EQ?
I am still experimenting with the Driverack and reading and learning but since there is no one all-encompassing PX thread, I thought I would summarize what I think I learned and hopefully someone can give me some guidance. I have been reluctant to post thus far because I can see that there are an inordinate amount of posts where people simply list their gear, and then say “tell me what to do�, so I have tried to do my homework. DiveRackPX is marketed as a number of systems in one, and here is what I have gotten from this forum:
1) SETUP : This seems to set crossover points for known speaker systems based on “canned values�. Does it set more than that? (EQ limiter, compressor, feedback, etc…?) I can’t tell.
2) CROSSOVER – This has many options, but the wisdom here seems to suggest the same 2 types of filters/frequencies, so are all are these knobs that useful?
3) COMPRESSOR: Don’t use it (WTF???)
4) LIMITER: Don’t use it (WTF???)
5) SUBHARMONIX : Don’t use it (WTF???)
6) AUTO-EQ – Don’t use it. It doesn’t work (WTF???)
So the only “wizard� that seems to be endorsed is the auto-feedback. The auto balance does not seem useful to me because I run Mono and even if I didn’t this feature would only serve a listener sitting in the exact center seat of the room.
GAIN STUCTURE QUESTIONS:
Mixer Channel Gain/Trim (Cant I turn this up on a channel till the PFL has it tickling the green)
Mixer Channel Fader (Cant I just set at UNITY)
Mixer Main Fader (Cant I just set at UNITY)
Driverack Gain for each Crossover Shelf (3) (Cant I just set at 0db)
Driverack Sensitivity button on back (Cant I just try it both ways)
Power Amp volume (Cant I just set at 0db)
AUTO-EQ:
It seems like the wisdom here is that you can use AUTO-EQ to baseline a system in a studio or outdoors and save that baseline template as a starting point for a given system. This is how I understand it:
1) INSIDE: Use One speaker and put RTA mic on ground on a pillow facing at the speaker. 4ft to 20ft away. Outside is best but inside will work with pillow-towel-carpet. QUESTION: Do I connect the SUB here?
2) After the AUTO-EQ runs, mimic what its GRAPHIC-EQ with the Parametric-EQ and rerun the AUTO-EQ and have the second pass “fine-tune�. QUESTION: After I set the Parametric-EQ, am I to restore or clear the Graphic before rerunning AUTO-EQ? because it seems to come up with identical results the 2nd time around????
As far as using the EQ live, I think I need to stick to the Graphic-EQ on the mixer, and use faders for adjusting levels on the fly. It’s not practical to scroll thru menus on a screen (even with a flashlight and reading glasses).
MISCELLANEOUS:
I would like to experiment with compressor, Limiter and subharmonix. Can any of these help me in either BAND or one-man-show?
Are there different considerations for the backing trax one-man-show? I do want to get that “low end rock band feel� out of my backing trax, as I do some heavier material.
Can I mix the JBL EON-518 SUB with the QSC-153’s or should I keep the systems separate?
Is there a way to quickly bypass the Driverack to hear the difference I have made?
Thanks for reading. thanks in advance for any guidance anyone has for me.
0