Best way to deploy system?

G

Gary Weller

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Mar 11, 2011
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I'm doing a show outdoors friday for a benefit that has a stage approx 32' wide by 16' deep and 18" high. I've got a pair of front loaded double 18's and a pair of jbl 4731's with 60x40 horns instead of the stock 90 degree horns. The crowd size is approx 200. The area to be covered is about 90' wide x 80' deep.

My options are to stage stack the speakers 1 over 1 on stage. Ground stack 1 over 1. Or ground stack the subs and put the tops on the stage. Should I consider putting the subs together in the center? Or will this cause too much bass on stage? What would you do? The subs are approx 43H x 24W x 24D.
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

Clustering the subs in front of the stage will put 50% of the energy right under your feet. It will avoid the "power alley", however.

At 18", the stage isn't very high. I'd suggest simply doing a typical left/right stack with the tops over subs. Aim the top boxes to cover where the people stand/sit. Leave them some place to escape the direct coverage (a "quiet" area), say in the back or off to the sides.

Have fun, good luck.

Tim Mc
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

Stack the speakers 1 over 1 on stage. My reasoning for this is simply to get your mains up in the air. Center clustering subs will improve the sound but that's pointless if the crowd can't hear the rest of the music.
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

Because of the low stage and the size of the 4731s, I'd lay the subs on the stage (24" high) and put the 4731 on top. Strap 'er down and make music.
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

The ground area where the stage is located is above the listening ( seating area) by about 10 inches. Tim, that's what I was thinking, lay the subs down length-wise and put the 4731's on top.

I just hate having the "power alley" down the middle and the lack of low-end on the sides.
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

Gary Weller said:
The ground area where the stage is located is above the listening ( seating area) by about 10 inches. Tim, that's what I was thinking, lay the subs down length-wise and put the 4731's on top.

I just hate having the "power alley" down the middle and the lack of low-end on the sides.
Click to expand...

I see, you prefer more bass down the middle and a large dip around the crossover region (AKA “no punch”) on either side as you get with center clustered subs.

Carry on...
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

Art Welter said:
I see, you prefer more bass down the middle and a large dip around the crossover region (AKA “no punch”) on either side as you get with center clustered subs.
Click to expand...
Then center array the subs and the mains! Might be better than trying for a 'stereo' system with a single nominal 60x40 box 15' off center to either side and a 90' wide by 80' deep audience area.
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

Art Welter said:
I see, you prefer more bass down the middle and a large dip around the crossover region (AKA “no punch”) on either side as you get with center clustered subs.
Click to expand...

I think "more bass down the middle" is probably an oversimplification. With a limited number of subs and one channel of processing (I assume) you kind of have two choices... good sub coverage but bad crossover behavior, or good crossover behavior and bad sub coverage. Since the mains will only be 30' apart or so it's not going to be the end of the world, however I would be much more concerned with getting the tops higher to cover the audience better than worrying about power alley. If the subs need to be under the tops to do that then that's where I'd put them.
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

Now they've thrown a new twist to the show. They've put a 60' x 40' tent with tables approx 15 feet in front of the stage. When you clap your hands in the center of the empty "audience" tent, you get a 60 to 80 ms delay with multiple repeats. Any suggestions? I'm going to set up in about 3 hours
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

Gary Weller said:
Now they've thrown a new twist to the show. They've put a 60' x 40' tent with tables approx 15 feet in front of the stage. When you clap your hands in the center of the empty "audience" tent, you get a 60 to 80 ms delay with multiple repeats. Any suggestions? I'm going to set up in about 3 hours
Click to expand...

I've never worked with a tent that had sides higher than 8 feet. That said, if your mains are outside the tent, count on hearing very little to nothing intelligible inside it. You're going to have to put the speakers under the tent and deal with it, from my experience.

At least your stage isn't under the tent. Tent material is extremely reflective and makes doing monitors a whole lot of fun.
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

Gary Weller said:
Now they've thrown a new twist to the show. They've put a 60' x 40' tent with tables approx 15 feet in front of the stage. When you clap your hands in the center of the empty "audience" tent, you get a 60 to 80 ms delay with multiple repeats. Any suggestions? I'm going to set up in about 3 hours
Click to expand...

Find a bullet and chomp down hard. They obviously don't know what impact their decisions have on production. Smile, keep your powder dry and hope they remember you as a nice fellow for trying your best.
 
Re: Best way to deploy system?

It actually worked out ok. Once the water bags were under the tent, it sounded ok. Not great, but passible and I got many compliments on the sound. I'm always sure of my mixing skills, but I've been out of the loop on deployment for about 12 years. I've been on the road with a national act for 13 years and counted on providers to deploy the system correctly.
 
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