We run our own sound ... And we are all experienced seasoned guys .. Weak meaning there's no punch to it out front .. It's almost like there's a gap between the 18's and the 12's.. Kind of hard to explain but there's def fat bottom end and highs but there's no mid definition and it's just weak above 80hz.. It thumps on the bottom but anything else is simply stale and weak out front ... How can my 2 single
12 cabs have more mid punch and articulation vs a nice front of house system??... I've tried and tried but I go out front and play a tune like earth wind and fire or ain't no stopping us now and I play the line and the notes just don't cut through its just bottom
To be honest, getting a good bass sound in a crappy acoustic environment is next to impossible. Here are some of the things I would consider:
Does the system sound good with recorded music? How does the bass sound soloed through headphones? Is the soloed sound representative of the sound through the mains? FYI, the results derived from using the Driverack's automatic calibration are not generally considered good. So if the sound coming from the mains is not at least similar to the sound in the headphones, the system is probably not set up properly.
What onboard DSP settings are being used on the K12s. If you are using outboard processing (Driverack), I would set the LF to normal and the HF to flat. I.E. avoid high boost, low boost, and the built in crossover.
What frequency is the crossover set at on the Driverack. The K12s are designed to be crossed at 100hz, so I suggest that as the starting point. Don't forget to high pass the subs so they are not trying to reproduce frequencies below their cutoff.
Are the subs and mains in phase and time aligned. Typically the subs will be acoustically behind the mains because of the phase shift that occurs throughout the crossover region. IE if the mains and subs are physically aligned, the mains have to be delayed to be acoustically in phase with the subs. Stated another way: having the voice coils of the drivers physically aligned in no way guarantees phase and time alignment of the system. If the subs and mains are not time aligned you will have reduced and uneven response around the crossover. The amount of delay required is related to the slope of the crossover and the crossover frequency. IE, in general 12 db/oct = 180 degrees of phase shift, 18 db/oct = 270 degrees of phase shift, 24 db/oct = 360 degree of phase shift, etc. These are approximate as the type of filter (IE Butterworth, Bessel, Linkwitz-Rily) also has some effect on the amount of phase shift. Keep in mind one wavelength at 100hz is about 11.25 feet or 134.04 inches
I believe the Driverack directions describe a procedure in which you input a tone at the crossover frequency, reverse the polarity of either the subs or mains, delay till you hear a null, and then flip the polarity back. The subs and mains should be equalized to be flat within their pass band before they are time aligned. After time alignment, make no further changes to the outputs of the Driverack as this introduces phase shift in the effected band only. EQ changes to the input of the drive rack is acceptable. However, I would recommend using the Driverack to get the system as close to flat as possible in a good acoustic environment such as outdoors. IMHO once the system is dialed in, the Driverack should pretty much be locked down rather than being used to equalize each venue or suppress feedback.
In addition to time aligning the mains to the subs, it often desirable to delay the acoustic centers of the subs and the mains to approximately the back line of the band.
Are the subs hyped? Most people, including many audio techs who consider themselves professionals, run the subs so hot that it turns the bass guitar to mud. Although I am a fan of running the subs off an aux, you can get really bad results with this technique if you don't know what you are doing. Basically the subs and mains should be set to have a flat frequency response. If you need more volume through the system, care must be taken to turn up both the mains and subs the exact same amount. If you just need more bass, do not push the aux; instead make an adjustment on the channel strip. The reason is because changing the relative level between the mains and subs effectively changes the crossover frequency and thus screws up the time/phase alignment of the system
How is the bass equalized in relation to the kick drum and other instruments. Kick has a lot of energy around 70hz so your boost at 80 may be competing with the kick. It's very challenging to have both a fat kick and a fat bass sound. Additionally if the guitarist has a lot of bass in his tone and/or the keyboardist is playing with a heavy left hand it will cover up the bass. Basically the audio tech needs to carve up the spectrum and allocate certain frequencies to each instrument. I tend to roll off frequencies below 100 hz on the bass and do some shaping on the upper and lower mids. I scoop a big hole out of the kick somewhere between 200 and 400 hz.
Are the none-low-frequency channels high passed? Allowing the bass frequencies to bleed through all of the open mics is a recipe for mud. The channels should be high-passed at a frequency that is appropriate for the instrument or voice assigned to it. For exampe, I tend to high pass vocals at 180 hz or higher.
As always, these are my opinions and YMMV.
