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Friday, August 05, 2011
Dave Rat 08/05/11 02:22 PM,Back in 1974, the Grateful Dead put together what was easily the most unique, experimental and perhaps complex sound system ever configured for live sound reinforcement in that era. This system was named the “Wall of Sound” and jt was a complete divergence from conventional sound reinforcement thinking. There were two key concepts combined together resulting in a very interesting outcome: 1) Because PA systems of the day were stacked on either side of the stage and often blocked audience… View this story
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Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Audio • Concert • Education • Line Array • Loudspeaker • Sound Reinforcement • Stage • System -
Friday, July 29, 2011
Dave Rat 07/29/11 05:01 PM,I’m asked a lot of questions about sound. Many of them focus on unraveling and understanding some particular function, feature or concept, while others are directed toward distilling my opinion on methods or industry trends. A while ago. I was asked some questions that led me to some in-depth pondering. The questions: Why are line arrays so popular? Are they a fad or here to stay? And what will be the “next big thing”? The fact is that line array-type… View this story9 Comments
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Concert • Line Array • Loudspeaker • Measurement • Sound Reinforcement • Subwoofer -
Monday, July 18, 2011
Dave Rat 07/18/11 06:23 PM, 0 CommentsIt’s pretty common knowledge that if you get the wires mixed up when hooking up two loudspeakers that something “not good” happens. Loudspeaker phase (actually, polarity) seems at first glance a pretty simple concept. If both loudspeakers are moving outward at the same time the sound adds together, and if one is moving out while the other moves in, the sound cancels out, especially the low frequencies. Hearing this effect is quite easily demonstrated - listen to your home stereo… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Study Hall • Consoles • Loudspeaker • Microphone • Mixer • Monitoring • Sound Reinforcement • Stage -
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Dave Rat 07/06/11 01:02 PM,As live mix engineers, the audio reinforcement systems we operate typically fall into two categories: mono or stereo. Yes, there are the occasional opportunities to mix surround sound, and for many events, delay clusters or various fill loudspeakers are common, but for the most part it’s all about some version of mono or stereo. While on the surface it may seem that stereo offers just a version of dual mono, there is a lot more to stereo than just two… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Consoles • Engineer • Loudspeaker • Microphone • Mixer • Processor • Sound Reinforcement -
Friday, June 24, 2011
Dave Rat 06/24/11 04:45 PM, 0 CommentsEver notice that some shows sound really bright, I mean, the “ouch kind-of-crazy painful” type of bright - and what is the engineer thinking?” You’re a month into a tour, getting off a plane en route to another show. Hmm… Wonder if your ears are the same trustworthy, spring-fresh little helpers they were three weeks ago? Or maybe - just maybe - the rigors of travel combined with that head cold, eight beers and four hours of sleep last night… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Study Hall • Audio • Education • Measurement • Processor • Sound Reinforcement -
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Dave Rat 06/08/11 12:04 PM, 2 CommentsThose of us who indulge in live sound spend countless hours paying attention to every detail in the audio signal chain - comparing, pondering opinionating and deciding every issue that crosses our path. Does this mixing console sound better? Do I need to spend an extra $2,000 on a vocal compressor? Can you please move the guitar mic two millimeters to the left? Does phantom power really ruin ribbon mics? One question persists, however: to what end is all this… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Audio • Education • Engineer • Loudspeaker • Signal • Sound Reinforcement • Subwoofer • System -
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Dave Rat 11/11/10 05:57 PM, 1 CommentHow fast do sound signals travel through the various parts of the sound system? Do sound signals travel faster in analog snake cables or fiber optic cables? Also, what about transmission through the air with wireless mics? And where do the true and relevant sources of time lag exist in a audio system? What I find really interesting is that sound signal travels at differing speeds depending on whether it’s in the form of electricity, or sound waves in air,… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Study Hall • Digital • Sound Reinforcement -
Monday, August 02, 2010
Dave Rat 08/02/10 06:34 PM, 1 CommentFace it, stuff happens. Sooner or later something stops working during a show. Front of house engineers must know the absolute essential components of the sound mix that are most vital – in other words, the channels that the band must absolutely have to continue playing. Generally, for a four-piece rock band in a large venue, these channels are kick, bass, guitar, and lead vocal. Just four inputs, everything else is pretty much fluff and spares. A bit extreme? Perhaps,… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Opinion • Poll • Concert • Consoles • Engineer • Mixer • Sound Reinforcement • System -
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
PSW Staff 04/07/10 12:37 PM, 0 CommentsRat Sound Systems of Oxnard, California has beefed up its inventory of L-Acoustics K1 systems to a grand total of 64 with the recent purchase of 16 additional enclosures. The new line source array systems are on track to arrive in time for April’s Coachella and Stagecoach festivals, which will feature multiple K1-equipped stages. The sound company has also simultaneously added three new LA8-equipped LA-RAK touring racks and six ARCS enclosures to its arsenal. These new acquisitions join Rat Sound’s… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • News • Concert • Line Array • Loudspeaker • Sound Reinforcement -
Friday, February 27, 2009
Keith Clark 02/27/09 07:40 AM, 0 CommentsRat Sound Systems recently joined the L-Acoustics K1/KUDO Pilot Program with select other companies like Firehouse Productions, Sirius, and Black Box, and as a result, took delivery of a stadium-sized sound reinforcement system primarily comprised of 48 new K1 enclosures, 16 K1-SB subwoofers, 16 LA-RAK touring racks loaded with LA8 amplified controllers, and 24 SB28 subs. The Pilot Program was created to provide advance field proofing of the new K1 flagship line source array enclosures for stadium and festival tour… View this story
Filed in: Amplifier • Business • Line Array • Loudspeaker • Processor • Sound Reinforcement • Subwoofer • System
Articles Tagged Dave Rat
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