Is it loud enough?

H

Helge A. Bentsen

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Jan 19, 2011
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Oslo, Norway, Norway
drbentsen.no
I did the first round of high school graduation celebrations today.

Imagine a field, roughly 100x50m where the kids pull up with they're buses which they have spent a lot of money on decorations on the outside, interior, reasonably indoor sound system etc.

They line up in a circle, put up a small stage in front, a dj on the roof and have a 10 minute performance to show off.

What would you use as a sound system for this?

Today I had 20+12 JBL VTX/S28.
The two buses to my left had 20+12 K1 each.
Next one had 20+12 Kudo.
Across the field they had 24+10 D&B J.
In the corner they had 14+12 ARCS/SB218.
And the two last ones had 24+12 and 12+12 Kara.

I recorded 114 dBA, 30min Leq in the middle of the field from my system during their performance.
It was actually quite funny walking around and listen to all those hi-class sound systems.
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

Helge Dr. Bentsen said:
I did the first round of high school graduation celebrations today.

Imagine a field, roughly 100x50m where the kids pull up with they're buses which they have spent a lot of money on decorations on the outside, interior, reasonably indoor sound system etc.

They line up in a circle, put up a small stage in front, a dj on the roof and have a 10 minute performance to show off.

What would you use as a sound system for this?

Today I had 20+12 JBL VTX/S28.
The two buses to my left had 20+12 K1 each.
Next one had 20+12 Kudo.
Across the field they had 24+10 D&B J.
In the corner they had 14+12 ARCS/SB218.
And the two last ones had 24+12 and 12+12 Kara.

I recorded 114 dBA, 30min Leq in the middle of the field from my system during their performance.
It was actually quite funny walking around and listen to all those hi-class sound systems.
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????
What high schools are spending that kind of money on graduations? I wanna move where you are!
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

John Chiara said:
????
What high schools are spending that kind of money on graduations? I wanna move where you are!
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No, that is just the kids spending money for their graduation "get more drunk than you've ever been before party", competing to see who has the loudest party bus.

It is insane, and will probably go down in history as the prime example of western youth decadence.
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

Shane Presley said:
Except, for the fact they are not in the west...but I get your drift...
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Maybe not to you, but we are still part of what is refered to as "Western society".

Bærums-russ leier Metallica-anlegget - VG Nett om Russen (you probably have to use google translate, but it gives you an idea, and that was five years ago, it has escalated since then)

I was trying to find some pictures from last years gathering, but couldn't find it with a quick search.
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

Helge Dr. Bentsen said:
I did the first round of high school graduation celebrations today.

Imagine a field, roughly 100x50m where the kids pull up with they're buses which they have spent a lot of money on decorations on the outside, interior, reasonably indoor sound system etc.

They line up in a circle, put up a small stage in front, a dj on the roof and have a 10 minute performance to show off.

What would you use as a sound system for this?

Today I had 20+12 JBL VTX/S28.
The two buses to my left had 20+12 K1 each.
Next one had 20+12 Kudo.
Across the field they had 24+10 D&B J.
In the corner they had 14+12 ARCS/SB218.
And the two last ones had 24+12 and 12+12 Kara.

I recorded 114 dBA, 30min Leq in the middle of the field from my system during their performance.
It was actually quite funny walking around and listen to all those hi-class sound systems.
Click to expand...
This actually warrants some back story: In Norway there is a tradition where graduees from high school wear a special colored outfit for 17 days of May and are supposed to "get a feel" for adult life. (meaning it's OK to have brush-ins with alcohol, teachers, the opposite sex, society in general, and sometimes even the law). A rite of passage, of sorts. At some point it became common for the kids to pool together to buy minibuses to travel from part to part in rural areas, In the later years this has taken off, basically due to indulgence and too much money floating around certain parts of our society. The result is what Helge is describing: A bunch of spoilt kids in "nightliner-style" tour party-buses renting just about every major concert system around for 17 days to let THEIR DJ be heard the loudest.
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

I grabbed a shot of one setup today. This is one of the K1 setups.
And it lacks the lighs as well, they will be added in the weekend.

I did another bus today with 12 JBL vt4886, 4 4883 and 4 S28. A holiday compared to last night. We are supplying a 10x8 ground-support stage, 20+12vtx, 60 m2 of LED-screens and a truckload of lights on Friday.

Kristian: are you doing anything in Lillehammer next weekend? We are heading up there as well.
 

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Re: Is it loud enough?

Helge Dr. Bentsen said:
I grabbed a shot of one setup today. This is one of the K1 setups.
And it lacks the lighs as well, they will be added in the weekend.

I did another bus today with 12 JBL vt4886, 4 4883 and 4 S28. A holiday compared to last night. We are supplying a 10x8 ground-support stage, 20+12vtx, 60 m2 of LED-screens and a truckload of lights on Friday.

Kristian: are you doing anything in Lillehammer next weekend? We are heading up there as well.
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To be brutally honest I feel very comfortable not having to work these events :) But coming up to have a chat and look at some gear sounds like fun!!:)
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

Helge Dr. Bentsen said:
I grabbed a shot of one setup today. This is one of the K1 setups.
And it lacks the lighs as well, they will be added in the weekend.

I did another bus today with 12 JBL vt4886, 4 4883 and 4 S28. A holiday compared to last night. We are supplying a 10x8 ground-support stage, 20+12vtx, 60 m2 of LED-screens and a truckload of lights on Friday.

Kristian: are you doing anything in Lillehammer next weekend? We are heading up there as well.
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WOW and I thought this graduation party I did several decades ago for a backyard party was a big deal-Oh how the times have changed-------------
 

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Re: Is it loud enough?

Kristian: Feel free to drop by, GS is rigged on Thursday, sound&lights go up on Friday. I'll be there from Thursday evening.

Ivan: What are those speakers? I think I had one of those horns to the left as HF units on a PA i east Germany some years back. Sounded pretty decent IIRC.
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

Helge Dr. Bentsen said:
Kristian: Feel free to drop by, GS is rigged on Thursday, sound&lights go up on Friday. I'll be there from Thursday evening.

Ivan: What are those speakers? I think I had one of those horns to the left as HF units on a PA i east Germany some years back. Sounded pretty decent IIRC.
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The large one was a Community 250 and one of the smaller ones was a dB sound horn. I don't remember the other one. They all had EV drivers.

The mids were 4560 copies I built with JBL E130 woofers and the lows were RCA W bins I built that had JBL 2225's. All the power was homemade by me-as was processing. The console was a Kelsey 16 channel.
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

Two pictures from last night during showtime. Basically there are six circles in the field with 3-4 PAs in each with rotating performance times, so only one bus in each circle makes sound at the time.

Sorry for the crappy pictures, I just had my phone with me.
 

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Re: Is it loud enough?

Helge Dr. Bentsen said:
Two pictures from last night during showtime. Basically there are six circles in the field with 3-4 PAs in each with rotating performance times, so only one bus in each circle makes sound at the time.

Sorry for the crappy pictures, I just had my phone with me.
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If I were you-I would make an investment in "hearing aid futures" for those kids------------------------------------
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

Ivan Beaver said:
If I were you-I would make an investment in "hearing aid futures" for those kids------------------------------------
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I obviously don't need to state this, but these "parties" have long since evolved into ridiculousness, fuelled by some people who can afford anything.. What used to be a quest for a good-sounding party-system to bring along with your party-bus so that you could throw a instant party anywhere has evolved into a gear-porn pissing match, with even a few companies evolving that are JUST doing this for a month every year, basically vacuum-cleaning the market of all large scale PA/lights setups and renting it all to these kids. One sometimes hears them bragging: "well, we are using the system Metallica played through last time they were in Norway!". "Oh, Yeah, well, we're using the system Tiesto last used!". Well, dumbasses: If you weren't so boneheaded you could have pooled all that money and have Metallica AND Tiesto actually come play at your parties!!
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

There is a stand beside my amprack tent selling earprotection. Almost everyone uses it, me as well :)

I might be crazy and actually like working here, but I'm not risking my hearing in the process.

And as a added bonus I got a couple of hours alone on the rig with Smaart this morning. Always fun to measure and experiment on large scale PAs.
 
Re: Is it loud enough?

Helge Dr. Bentsen said:
There is a stand beside my amprack tent selling earprotection. Almost everyone uses it, me as well :)

I might be crazy and actually like working here, but I'm not risking my hearing in the process.
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On a serious note-how many people are buying earplugs from you-or how many do you see using them?

What is a typical listening distance from the rig?

Any idea on SPL's at some particular distances?

At least it sounds like a good money maker for some people. Take it while you can.

As the saying goes "A fool and his money are soon parted"-so at least they are putting some of that money in your direction. :)
 
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