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Pushing Graphics Up
Our man Mark is suffering under a common misapprehension. Let’s
help him!
Greetings,
HAIL, SOUNDMAN!
I have always been under the impression that it is wrong
to boost frequencies on a third octave graphic (used for,
say, FOH feedback & contouring.) Here's my issue: I run
a Floodlight
Turbo system with a couple of XTA processors.
LUCKY YOU! NOT TOO SHABBY! I’M HENERY THE EIGHTH I AM,
HENERY THE EIGHTH I AM, I AM! ARE YOU A HERMAN’S
HERMITS FAN, MARK?
The "stock" factory setting for these cabs, in
my opinion, is pretty sharp in the 2-3k range and kind of
wimpy in the 60 - 80 hz range (for rock anyway).
AND YOU ARRIVED AT THIS FEELING BY TRUSTING WHAT THE ENGLISH
FOLK CALL YOUR SHELL-LIKES,
RIGHT? THOSE THINGS ATTACHED TO THE SIDES OF YOUR HEAD, THAT
GOD, OR EVOLUTION, OR A VERY HIGH-BANDWIDTH COMPUTER FROM
SPACE MADE SO WONDERFULLY SENSITIVE!
So I came up with my own settings, generally boosting the
subs, cutting the mids, etc. The only problem is that my subs
are crossed over @ 180 (Turbo recommends).
WITHOUT ANGERING ANYONE AT TURBO, OR ON THE FREAKIN’
LIVE
AUDIO BOARD, WHERE THEY WOULD TRADE THEIR FIRST BORN CHILD
FOR A CHERRY SENNHEISER
409, MAYHAP YOU COULD AFFORD TO EXPERIMENT WITH THAT CROSSOVER
SETTING AS WELL. YA KNOW, SOME FOLKS TOP THEIR SUBS OUT AT
80 HZ! OF COURSE, I HAVE NO PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF WHERE THE
OTHER FLOODLIGHT BOXES BOTTOM OUT.
SO, I WOULD NOT WANT TO MISLEAD YOU AND HAVE YOU SUE ME WHEN
YOU BLOW UP YOUR RIG! (INSERT PEE-WEE
HERMAN LAUGH HERE)
So now I'm getting a boat load of 100-125hz.
WHY
AM I NOT SURPRISED?
I have cut a lot of this energy out with the processors,
but still end up with my graphic looking pretty radical down
there (cutting wise).
LET’S
REVIEW.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHOSE CAREERS ARE
PRIMARILY BASED ON WHAT THINGS LOOK LIKE:
*THE
GUY WHO DESIGNED THE I-MAC
*HIS
BUDDY WHO DESIGNED THE VW BUG
*DAVID BOWIE’S SUPERMODEL WIFE IMAN
*THE SCOUNDREL WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE NEW SQUEEZY-SHAPED
PLASTIC CONTAINERS FOR SALT-BASED SNACK
FOODS
*THE
HOSTESS OF “EXTREME DATING”
REPEAT AFTER ME, MARK. WE
ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF SOUND. NOT HOW THINGS LOOK. HOW THEY
SOUND. IF IT SOUNDS GOOD, IT IS GOOD. THERE ARE MANY ROADS
TO DISNEYLAND, THEY WILL ALL GET YOU THERE, YOU KNOW WHAT
I’M SAYING?
I USED TO KNOW A SOUND GAL WHOSE MONITOR
GRAPHICS LOOKED LIKE SOME TODDLER HAD WALKED BY THE RACK,
STUMBLED, AND REACHED OUT WITH THEIR CHUBBY LITTLE HAND, TO
STEADY THEMSELVES, AND JUST SHOVED A BUNCH OF FREQUENCIES
ALL OVER THE PLACE.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? SHE HAD A REASON
FOR EVERYTHING SHE DID, IN RELATION TO WHAT SHE DID ON THE
CHANNEL STRIPS. IT WASN’T WHAT I WOULD DO, BUT WHEN PEOPLE
GAVE ME CARTE BLANCHE TO HIRE WHOEVER I WANTED WHEN I WAS
MIXING HOUSE, SHE WAS MY CHOICE, AND MARK, IF YOU HAD WALKED
ACROSS ONE OF OUR STAGES WITH US, YOU WOULD HAVE NODDED AND
SMILED AND SHAKEN HER HAND, BECAUSE IT FELT GREAT. AND THERE
WAS NO FEEEDBACK, EITHER!
How about just boosting 60 - 80 hz on the graphic (or in
the XTA's)
and use the factory settings?
THERE YA GO! IF IT WORKS,
DON’T FIX IT!
I read somewhere that this is a no no. I guess I don't
see the difference, other than a much simpler setup.
YOU TELL ME THE IDENTITY OF THE PERSON
WHO SAID IT IS A NO-NO, AND I WILL SEE TO IT THAT THEY ARE
PROPERLY DEALT WITH!
YOU ARE CORRECT TO IGNORE THIS
BLOWHARD.
ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW WHAT AN OVERDRIVEN
DRIVER SOUNDS LIKE, AND YOU WILL BACK OFF IF YOU HEAR THAT
START TO HAPPEN.
Thanks,
Mark H.
YOU
GOT IT, BUDDY! THE PLEASURE IS ALL MINE!
LUV
- THE OLD SOUNDMAN
