I've done a search on the forum and haven't found a complete answer, just snippets of stuff.
My cover band project has been practicing for months and is planning on doing a "dress-rehearsal" to check out our accumulated equipment, see what works and how well, so we can get what we might need before booking gigs. (We'll be doing this rehearsal in a 48' x 144' structure -- a greenhouse.) The guitarists are talking about pumping our sound through the PA, and they've asked whether I want to run through the PA, too. I'm concerned that, at this point, going through the PA would compromise my sound, even if it would be capable of handling that sound in the first place.
What I have to work with for my rig is two 300 watt combos (each with 1x15 plus horn) that I can run linked in stereo. Dispersion was mentioned in one of the threads as a reason for going through the PA. But I understand that low frequencies are largely omnidirectional; dispersion would be primarily for higher frequencies? (Which I rely on to get much of my sound.) And then I researched online and came across this article regarding the problems associated with bass response using separated arrays. Link Removed. A thread here mentioned angling two separate cabinets in your rig to achieve the high-end dispersion, while retaining the bottom.
The PA we're working with right now consists of a 15" and 12" woofer, a couple mid/high-range horns and a piezo tweeter bank on each side; we'll get 350 watts per side from our power board. I really see only vocals going through there. Maybe bleeding some guitars into the PA mix, and possibly a little bass drum but definitely not bass. Am I wrong? We're looking to hit small to medium venues, probably no more than several hundred people. We'll be running our own sound from stage, and quite honestly, I've been the one making the adjustments at practice to keep things sounding decent and not feeding back. So this question has direct practical application for me.
Back in the day, we used to mic everything through our PA system, which rated in the thousands of watts and involved many JBL and Voice of the Theater bass bins and horns. Our sound guy would put a mic in front of my cabinet, and I didn't much care how he made it sound, as long as I was getting paid. (He must have done alright with it.) This time around, though, I care.
My questions then: would my proposed set up (combos set up on floor, angled toward each other) be the best way to keep my tone as evenly dispersed throughout the room, assuming I use stage volume only? What angle works best? And if we decide to upgrade the system to handle the bass, would it be more effective to just hook a central powered subwoofer into the system rather than upgrade the speaker arrays and power amps? And how could this be done, given that there is no sub output on our board?
Thanks for any suggestions anyone can make.
My cover band project has been practicing for months and is planning on doing a "dress-rehearsal" to check out our accumulated equipment, see what works and how well, so we can get what we might need before booking gigs. (We'll be doing this rehearsal in a 48' x 144' structure -- a greenhouse.) The guitarists are talking about pumping our sound through the PA, and they've asked whether I want to run through the PA, too. I'm concerned that, at this point, going through the PA would compromise my sound, even if it would be capable of handling that sound in the first place.
What I have to work with for my rig is two 300 watt combos (each with 1x15 plus horn) that I can run linked in stereo. Dispersion was mentioned in one of the threads as a reason for going through the PA. But I understand that low frequencies are largely omnidirectional; dispersion would be primarily for higher frequencies? (Which I rely on to get much of my sound.) And then I researched online and came across this article regarding the problems associated with bass response using separated arrays. Link Removed. A thread here mentioned angling two separate cabinets in your rig to achieve the high-end dispersion, while retaining the bottom.
The PA we're working with right now consists of a 15" and 12" woofer, a couple mid/high-range horns and a piezo tweeter bank on each side; we'll get 350 watts per side from our power board. I really see only vocals going through there. Maybe bleeding some guitars into the PA mix, and possibly a little bass drum but definitely not bass. Am I wrong? We're looking to hit small to medium venues, probably no more than several hundred people. We'll be running our own sound from stage, and quite honestly, I've been the one making the adjustments at practice to keep things sounding decent and not feeding back. So this question has direct practical application for me.
Back in the day, we used to mic everything through our PA system, which rated in the thousands of watts and involved many JBL and Voice of the Theater bass bins and horns. Our sound guy would put a mic in front of my cabinet, and I didn't much care how he made it sound, as long as I was getting paid. (He must have done alright with it.) This time around, though, I care.
My questions then: would my proposed set up (combos set up on floor, angled toward each other) be the best way to keep my tone as evenly dispersed throughout the room, assuming I use stage volume only? What angle works best? And if we decide to upgrade the system to handle the bass, would it be more effective to just hook a central powered subwoofer into the system rather than upgrade the speaker arrays and power amps? And how could this be done, given that there is no sub output on our board?
Thanks for any suggestions anyone can make.
: It makes my belly rumble and my bell-bottoms flap 5 or 6 feet in front of it, but I was told by our "test audience" that I could have been a little louder on a couple songs. Other than that, we got good feedback (after we back one of the guitarist a bit in the PA). I've yet to hear the recording we made of the session.
