Recomend a decent, affordable graphic eq...

[rondohd]

I am a club owner (and bass player) and need some recommendations for a graphic equalizer.

Sound system:
- 2 Carvin 1523's mains
- 1 Carvin 1801 sub
- 2 Carvin 1502 stage monitors
- 24 channel Carvin mixer
- 2 DCM2000L amps
- 1 DCM3000L amp

Room is 2500 sqft, 2 walls, west and south, are glass. Rest of building is stone and cinder block. Using what we have now, we get decent sound with canned music at lower volumes but not with live bands. I am looking for a 32 band graphic equalizer to tame the room for live shows. Budget is $300. Your recommendations would be welcomed. TIA.
Rondo

[TomB]

Originally Posted by rondohd

I am a club owner (and bass player) and need some recommendations for a graphic equalizer.

Sound system:
- 2 Carvin 1523's mains
- 1 Carvin 1801 sub
- 2 Carvin 1502 stage monitors
- 24 channel Carvin mixer
- 2 DCM2000L amps
- 1 DCM3000L amp

Room is 2500 sqft, 2 walls, west and south, are glass. Rest of building is stone and cinder block. Using what we have now, we get decent sound with canned music at lower volumes but not with live bands. I am looking for a 32 band graphic equalizer to tame the room for live shows. Budget is $300. Your recommendations would be welcomed. TIA.
Rondo

Alesis are just fine, in line quality-wise w/your Carvin stuff, and usually available at less than your budget, IME.

[walterw]

alesis would not be a very good choice, sorry. there's cheap, then there's too cheap.

a run-of-the-mill DBX EQ could be had for well less than $200.

[testing1two]

+1 for the dBX EQ's. Avoid the Alesis at all costs. Also, a few helpful suggestions:

1. If your primary PA use is live bands, run the system in mono. If your primary PA use is DJ or playback, run the system in stereo. Note that running the system in stereo requires a stereo EQ unit or 2 mono EQ units.
   
2. It is critical to have EQ on the monitors to dial out feedback and tune the monitors to the room. Constant feedback is bad for business.
   
3. No amount of EQ can tame a room made of stone, cinder block and glass. Start checking out the sound forums like homerecording.org and gearslutz.com. They have great DIY suggestions for acoustic treatments that can improve the sound of your club dramatically.

[projectMalamute]

dbx 1231 is a good sounding unit that stretches your budget just a little bit. The 231 is cheaper, and sounds it, but still probably an improvement over nothing.

A better solution is ponying up for a dbx Driverack unit and getting time alignment/feedback suppression/graphic EQ/parametric EQ/crossover/RTA/compressor/limiter all in one box.

[uhdinator]

Ditto the drive rack.

Look into room treatment as well.

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by projectMalamute

A better solution is ponying up for a dbx Driverack unit and getting time alignment/feedback suppression/graphic EQ/parametric EQ/crossover/RTA/compressor/limiter all in one box.

Yep. If we're talking about a fixed array, the DR is the way to go. Use the RTA / Auto EQ to set the room and an inexpensive second-hand EQ for the monitors. You won't have to worry about guest bands pushing sliders up 'n down to find "their" sound...and the accompanying boom and feedback.

Riis

[TwinBass]

I don't quite get the Alesis hate. I've been using an Alesis MEQ-230 (rackmount dual 30 band eq unit) for over almost 15 years, and I haven't had a single issue with it. If mine were to break down tonight, I'd buy another tomorrow to replace it and I wouldn't think twice about it.

[rondohd]

Thanks for the input...

I lease the building, anything I do to improve sound characteristics would have to be un-doable... but I will follow the links to see what can be done.

Since I am going to need both an EQ and a X-over I'll take a look at the driverack. The Carvin board has left and right monitor EQ so we'll see if that gives enough control for those.

90% of what we do is DJ/karaoke so will probably go stereo.

Thanks again.

Rondo

[testing1two]

Originally Posted by TwinBass

I don't quite get the Alesis hate. I've been using an Alesis MEQ-230 (rackmount dual 30 band eq unit) for over almost 15 years, and I haven't had a single issue with it. If mine were to break down tonight, I'd buy another tomorrow to replace it and I wouldn't think twice about it.

If you're happy with the results, that's fantastic. I have yet to find an application where an MEQ-230 (or a 3630 compressor for that matter) didn't make things sound worse, even when bypassed. I've owned and wanted to like both of them desperately but they seem to favor features and price point over sound quality IMHO.

[lowfreq33]

+1 for acoustic treatment. So many clubs neglect this and it's probably the most cost effective way to improve the sound in any room. Check out GIK acoustics. Stay away from Auralex, it's not as effective as they claim, and after the Great White incident anything that looks like an egg crate mattress pad will get you nothing but hassle from the fire marshall and building code inspector.

[TimmyP]

The MEQ is fine if you like a unit that makes changes in parts of the frequency spectrum other than those you are attempting to adjust. It's crap. The filters on the digital unit are good, but it's a little low on headroom, which can sometimes be a problem.

I'd prefer to have at least a dbx 1231.

[Hactar]

+1 on the dbx 1231 and 231.
Also, I dunno if it's affordable, but I quite like the Ashly GQX 3102 (~$630 new)

Originally Posted by rondohd

The Carvin board has left and right monitor EQ so we'll see if that gives enough control for those.

I presume your mixer is a C2448, in which case you have 7-band EQ on the mixer. IMO, 7-band is not enough for your needs.

[Doctor Dirt]

Their all the same you just need good luck with the internal connections their capabilities for that application is the same. I'd go with dbx but would also consider a Carvin. I used a complete Carvin small room P/A for years and had good luck with it, used their 2500 amps and simular tops that you have but used the better subs. I would get another 18 also I know a single can work well in many rooms but 2 is always better and if 1 goes down you have it covered. Only bad part about Carvin is them honoring the warrenty at times and ofcourse sending it out to Calif. Their choice of speakers in their base line P/As is getting worse too, as I said I had good luck but for a few more dollars you can find some clean used gear that will out perform them easily. Good luck and upgrade the speakers if you smoke any. Doc

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Originally Posted by rondohd

Since I am going to need both an EQ and a X-over I'll take a look at the driverack.

If You need both, IMHO a speaker management system of some sort is by far the most logical choice. It'll give You more bang for the buck than separate units.

"Of some sort" because there's other products besides DBX DR on the market that can handle the job as well .

Regards
Sam

[jonas_24112]

I'll probably get some flack from a few folks, but I've been using a Behringer Ultragraph Pro FBQ 3102. It's a 31 band dual channel EQ. It has crossovers on both channels and a seperate low Z subwoofer output with low cut filter.

Yes, Behringer is cheap crap, but at $140, it's a good price point. And I never, ever buy the extended warranty, but since Behringer has a reputation, I figured I could afford $20 for a 2-year replacement warranty. In that case, as long as I can remember my purchase date, I can almost guarantee it will not last the full 2 years (cough....cough).

There are plenty of reviews online, so check them out. And to be honest, as soon as I save enough $$ for a management system like a PA Pro+, I'll be replacing it. But for now, it has worked fine.

[Jazz Ad]

I use a Behringer Ultragraph too. Overall good EQ, fantastic value.
The crossover is great to adapt to different kinds of PA on the fly and the clip leds are great to chase feedback.