I had the opportunity to mix on the smallest of the RCF line array offerings yesterday. It was a small festival in Katonah New York. There were 4 of these little guys per side stacked on 6' scaff with only one of the tiny 12" subs per side. There was definitely not enough sub. All boxes were set at 0 degree, which is also not how I would have preferred, as there was no front fill provided. I was told by the RCF rep on hand that you can, with the appropriate hardware, get a decent down angle on the bottom box in a stacked array, but they didn't have it with them. The seating area was 180 degrees wide and the RCF boxes are spec'd at 100 degree horizontal dispersion. I guess when there isn't assigned seating the punters can move to where it sound good to them. So much for covering every seat in the house. But I digress...
The console was an LS-9. The band was Olabelle, who have 5 singers, keys, guitar, bass, and drums. I had my hands full as I had never mixed the band before, and there was only a line check. I didn't have to think about the PA the whole set. It sounded just like my headphones. There was no eq on the house. I walked back and at 100'+, it still sounded great.
What separates the real professional gear from the MI stuff for me is how much depth a speaker has. There are a lot of lower end boxes out there that sound good, flat, etc. with one voice in them, but when you want to have a lot of things going on, and be able to have something down 12db but still an audible part of the mix, that is where the entry level stuff gets left behind.
The RCF held up pretty well. I think the LS9 was the weak link in the chain. I would love to hear a bit larger array, with appropriate sub energy, and with the time to set up SpectraFoo, walk the venue more, etc. Maybe also with a better console. But it definitely could hold it's own sonically with the big boys, and at half(?) the price of Mina, DV, 4887, etc.
The console was an LS-9. The band was Olabelle, who have 5 singers, keys, guitar, bass, and drums. I had my hands full as I had never mixed the band before, and there was only a line check. I didn't have to think about the PA the whole set. It sounded just like my headphones. There was no eq on the house. I walked back and at 100'+, it still sounded great.
What separates the real professional gear from the MI stuff for me is how much depth a speaker has. There are a lot of lower end boxes out there that sound good, flat, etc. with one voice in them, but when you want to have a lot of things going on, and be able to have something down 12db but still an audible part of the mix, that is where the entry level stuff gets left behind.
The RCF held up pretty well. I think the LS9 was the weak link in the chain. I would love to hear a bit larger array, with appropriate sub energy, and with the time to set up SpectraFoo, walk the venue more, etc. Maybe also with a better console. But it definitely could hold it's own sonically with the big boys, and at half(?) the price of Mina, DV, 4887, etc.