What to do, if anything?

Jeff Babcock

Jeff Babcock

Senior
Jan 11, 2011
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Ontario, Canada
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Here's my current situation:



I sold off a good chunk of my ''A'' rig (I say ''A'' in a JR Varsity context) in the last while (SC48, KF650's with UX8800 etc).



Various reasons for selling this off, but a large part of it was that something more scalable would be preferred.



My concern right now is in the mains (tops) dept, not elsewhere, as I have a couple other consoles and plenty of access to other larger frames if needed, and I am well covered in the sub dept.



I'm not sure if there is a ''right'' solution for me. I want something that can scale from very small up to crowds of around 1000 people for a broad range of styles.



I strongly considered Nexo Geo S12, but changed my mind. Where I live, there is no easy access to crossrentals of these, and Nexo isn't well known in my region.



The S12 gives you an idea of the type of thing I'm looking for. A small, versatile building block that can expand reasonably well, be easily handled by one person, be as compact as possible, and not cost a fortune.



I'm pretty sure what I want doesn't really exist in product lines that aren't targeted at Varsity level users. S12 is at the very top of what I could afford, so something like Q series is totally out.



Riders are not a huge issue, I can easily crossrent in those circumstances.



FWIW, I don't need a line array type box, and the fixed format vertical array boxes like JFL and VRX etc don't really scale up enough to handle larger shows . The KF650's I had were loud enough and sounded great, but they are not terribly flexible, and not fun to move around. Often they were complete overkill, but I needed them just for sound quality reasons.



Is there something out there in the marketplace that fits the bill? Have I overlooked something, or is there just nothing affordable for me that is the right fit?



Should I give up on the ''one box does it all'' dream?



Should I perhaps NOT buy anything right now?



Thoughts would be appreciated.....



 
Re: What to do, if anything?

Im not sure on the price of your S12s, and they may be too costly but would any of the Danley tops do anyhting for you? They seem to really have some cool options that should be pretty scalable ad sound really damn good too.
 
Re: What to do, if anything?

Hey Ryan,

ARCS is cool but way beyond what I can afford. Not to mention that the boxes are 57KG (125lbs) each. The LA4/LA8 amps alone are expensive enough.



Evan, the closest Danley box to something of the size I'd want would be the SM60F, but it can't scale big enough.



Essentially what I think I need is a box that can be both horizontally OR vertically arrayed..... or else vertically arrayed but decent performing in small quantities (ie 2 on a stick up to 8 per side sort of thing)



Geo s12 will do that, but at the expense of no cross rent ability (I may have to give up on that one), and totally maxing out my budget, which I'd rather not do. Maxing out my budget = better off not owning anything and renting. The hard part is that I am limited for GOOD local rental options. The good stuff is a couple hours away.







 
Re: What to do, if anything?

Jeff Babcock wrote on Wed said:
Hey Ryan,

ARCS is cool but way beyond what I can afford. Not to mention that the boxes are 57KG (125lbs) each. The LA4/LA8 amps alone are expensive enough.
Click to expand...



I was actually going to recommend ARCS too but I figured they'd prohibitively expensive for you.



What about Community SLS920s? Evan K. made a line array out of those once I think...



icon_cool.gif






 
Re: What to do, if anything?

Jeff Babcock wrote on Wed said:
Hey Ryan,

ARCS is cool but way beyond what I can afford. Not to mention that the boxes are 57KG (125lbs) each. The LA4/LA8 amps alone are expensive enough.



Evan, the closest Danley box to something of the size I'd want would be the SM60F, but it can't scale big enough.



Essentially what I think I need is a box that can be both horizontally OR vertically arrayed..... or else vertically arrayed but decent performing in small quantities (ie 2 on a stick up to 8 per side sort of thing)



Geo s12 will do that, but at the expense of no cross rent ability (I may have to give up on that one), and totally maxing out my budget, which I'd rather not do. Maxing out my budget = better off not owning anything and renting. The hard part is that I am limited for GOOD local rental options. The good stuff is a couple hours away.
Click to expand...





Jeff, what s12 combo were you looking at? From the last time I looked, it seemed the the s1230 was good for up to three per side, while the s1210 was needed for larger arrays.



I just use smaller active stuff for small shows and then manage the weight of heavier speakers on bigger shows.

 
Re: What to do, if anything?

Sounds like you may need more than one system to cover all your needs.



I just finished a gig with Dan Brown's S12 rig (i wasn't on the crew - more on the talent side) and while unquestionably a great system, I'm not sure it is a one-person setup type system.
 
Re: What to do, if anything?

Well in that case I'm all set. I'll just start piling the traps up and it will get louder, output problem solved. You just opened my choices up 1000% Ryan....
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I'll just be like this guy and his Mackie C300's, I'm sure this sounds amazing
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Re: What to do, if anything?

Marlow Wilson wrote on Wed said:
Ryan Lantzy wrote on Wed said:
What about Community SLS920s? Evan K. made a line array out of those once I think...
Click to expand...



Jeff wants SQ! Though if he wants to try out some SLS960's he knows who to call!



Marlow 'never minds a drive to Kingston' Wilson
Click to expand...



Indeed, I'd like something a little more HQ than the older SLS designs. Folks should keep in mind where I last left off, I was using KF650's with the UX8800 (Gunness Focused). I'd like something comparable in SQ, but easier to manage.



I have a feeling the only current solution for what I want (multi-use flexibility) is to spend a big chunk of $$. Which makes no sense. I might better either pass on some gigs or just deal with the out of town rental inconvenience for the occasions where I need a bigger rig. I have enough other stuff to do around 500 people as is, which covers quite a bit of ground.



A brainwave is telling me that the number of >500 person gigs I'm likely to do in a year is unlikely to pay for the costs of this sort of upgrade anytime soon. In other words, maybe owning LESS (my current state) is the smartest move here. Sure, it won't be as convenient, but it'll keep more $ in my pocket.





 
Re: What to do, if anything?

Jeff Babcock wrote on Wed said:
Indeed, I'd like something a little more HQ than the older SLS designs. Folks should keep in mind where I last left off, I was using KF650's with the UX8800 (Gunness Focused). I'd like something comparable in SQ, but easier to manage.
Click to expand...



What about looking around for some used Turbosound TQ series? They are small, internall processed and powered, sound great, and are somewhat arrayable.

 
Re: What to do, if anything?

Excess capacity is expensive particularly when it's inflexible capacity.



It may well be the best thing to do for the next 4 or 5 months is nothing at all. Expect to see some new products at MusikMesse (always an easy bet
icon_wink.gif
).



The search for the ''perfect box'' is elusive and probably pointless. Buy gear than can cover the majority of the gigs you personally staff, and either cross-rent or sub contract for bigger shows... just like now. Perhaps the best thing you can do is save some back CA$ and wait for the right deal to come along.



Have fun, good luck.



Tim Mc
 
Re: What to do, if anything?

Jeff Babcock wrote on Wed said:
FWIW, I don't need a line array type box, and the fixed format vertical array boxes like JFL and VRX etc don't really scale up enough to handle larger shows . The KF650's I had were loud enough and sounded great, but they are not terribly flexible, and not fun to move around. Often they were complete overkill, but I needed them just for sound quality reasons.



Is there something out there in the marketplace that fits the bill? Have I overlooked something, or is there just nothing affordable for me that is the right fit?



Should I give up on the ''one box does it all'' dream?



Should I perhaps NOT buy anything right now?



Thoughts would be appreciated.....
Click to expand...



Well...if you are looking for something that can do small shows and is scalable for large shows plus affordable then you might consider versarray. The name might scare you off, but unlike JFL and VRX, you can do as many as 12 a side I suppose. I currently have the capacity to do 10 per side but have only used 6 per side so far.
 
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