Members JSilvertone Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 I am deciding on enhancing my live rack. Are the DBX Drive Racks PA+ truly a replacemet for my Crossover, EQ, Compressor and Limiter? My subs and pweramps are not ones on the DBX preset list so my next question would be how hard is it to set up the subs and amps on the drive rack? They salesman at GC said he tours with only the Drive Rack and no other processors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gonzobassman Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 They salesman at GC said he tours with only the Drive Rack and no other processors. Try to remember that no matter how nice the guy is, he's getting PAID to say that!!! That said,they do offer a lot.My concern with them is that if it goes down(and it is only one unit),you have lost everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members imnotded Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 They salesman at GC said he tours with only the Drive Rack and no other processors. Personally I take whatever GC sales people say with a grain of salt unless I know them. But about your question, I bought a DRPA a couple years ago and it was way too much of a pain, imo, to get up and running. Not very user friendly at all. I ended up returning it cause it was too annoying. But people that use them love them. I think its a love it or hate piece of gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 If you really understand the process, how it works and what all the functions really mean, it's a freat piece of gear that solves a lot of problems very well. If you are not willing to put the time and effort into learning how it really works, you are likely to have problems. I have 7 or 8 that we use in various systems, and I have installed a couple dozen with no problems at all. I also do this stuff for a living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Russell1234 Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 It is an all around COOL tool! Would really like to see this device revised and made HiQnet compatible. Don't like the fact that there is no RS232 or USB connection on it. All of your programming has to be done from the front panel. I prefer to use a laptop. However, after seeing what this device is able to do and using it, I am sold! It also helps when you have crown XTI amps in your rack and have an AUTHORIZED Crown reseller on your team that is an absolute wizard with HiQnet System Architect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bugzie Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 Its a good tool at a reasonable price. I never opened the manual and had most of it figured out in about an hour. But I still want an EQ on the output of the FOH mix. Its a lot easier than digging thru menus during a gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 It is an all around COOL tool! Would really like to see this device revised and made HiQnet compatible. Don't like the fact that there is no RS232 or USB connection on it. All of your programming has to be done from the front panel. I prefer to use a laptop. However, after seeing what this device is able to do and using it, I am sold! It also helps when you have crown XTI amps in your rack and have an AUTHORIZED Crown reseller on your team that is an absolute wizard with HiQnet System Architect. It's also great when the system remains stable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 Don't like the fact that there is no RS232 or USB connection on it. All of your programming has to be done from the front panel. I prefer to use a laptop. However, after seeing what this device is able to do and using it, I am sold! The PA+ has a USB port but it is only for firmware updates. Too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 The PA+ has a USB port but it is only for firmware updates. Too bad. Or maybe not. The simplistic interface is in fact a benefit in that you don't have to screw around with a laptop and once you understand how it works, it's quite straight forward. I used the front panel recently to program a DR-260 with stereo biamped mains along with 2 seperate zone feeds, everything with bandpass filtering, compression/limiting, parametrics etc. The whole job tooc about 1 hour from start to finish. Would have taken about the same time with the laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JSilvertone Posted January 2, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 Since you brought up the topic of setting a preset, my amps are not in the stored profile. I have 2 Behringer EUROPOWER EPX3000's so is it hard to tune the amp and what information do you have to provided the Drive Rack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 What are your speakers, how are you using them, what kind of skill level and understanding of the DETAILS of how PA's work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 Driveracks have really made the horror of screwing up live sound possible to everyone. I use 2 and would get more if need be as well, I think they are a wonderful tool in the right hands. Where I see them in the wrong place... At FOH with an engineer using the real time RTA to EQ the band to be flat. It's like driving using GPS only and ignoring... the road. At FOH again with bored or fidgety hands trying to out-think the processor. Changing crossover slopes mid song, adjusting large eq settings etc. Dangerous. I keep them in the mains amp racks with gaff tape on the power switch ("pop"). Presets are selected at home right before they get loaded on the truck and I know what speakers etc. Custom presets are ones I made with the model number and "Bi" if Biamp not Tri-amp versions for each. 8ohm 1" drivers crossed at 1.2k aren't going to last long when the DRPA thinks it's a 2" 16ohm. The DRPA isn't a magic cure for anything. It does provide a nice 2 or 3 way crossover, 31 band eq, some basic parametric on each band pass and delay if needed. You'll still need a 31 band EQ (waaaay easier to work with) but no analog crossover. Peavey VSX26 and EV DC One are both similar too, see what is right for you if any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JSilvertone Posted January 2, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 Ok I will try to explain my set up. Mains:2 Mackie S225 700w rms 2800w max 4 ohms Subs:2 Mackie S410 750 rms 3000w max 8 ohms Monitors:4 Yamaha A12's 300 rms 600 max 8 ohms, I connect 4 together to rum a 2 ohm load. 2 Behringer EPX 3000 power amps. I was thinking to run the mains at 4 ohms one on each channel of the 1st epx 3000. 2 subs at 4 ohms daisy chained and 4 yamaha A12's daisy chaned on the 2nd channle of the other epx 3000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stix 518 Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 I recently purchased a pre-owned Driverack after receiving stellar recommendations from members of this board and have taken what they said to heart i.e. it is a tool that you must learn how to operate. Yes it is a great crossover. Yes it has a built-in PEQ, GEQ, Comp, Limiter, etc. But if you don't learn how to truly operate it, it can be very dangerous to your equipments health and a waste of money. I spent a great number of hours reading, playing with, reading, experimenting with, reading, tweaking, reading... (starting to get the picture?). Additionally, although the folks here have a wealth of info and are truly a terrific "find", I also did an extensive amount of research at the Driverack forum (www.dbxpro.com/forum) and even posted a question or two there as well. Overall it was a great investment... both in money and time. My system really sounds much better than it did prior to the Driverack. I will second something that was said by someone wiser than me regarding this "business" of sound reinforcement... it seems the more I learn, the less I know. Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 Speaker-amp combination is about right, you might want to think about another smaller amp for monitors so you can get more mixes though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 definitly get a smaller amp for monitors. I would not trust that amp @ 2ohms on even 1 channel. Usuing what you've got I'd suggest a GX3 for monitors and you'll gain 1 mix for a total of 2 mixes (who wants 4 speakers doing the same thing on stage? I'd go crazy, if it's 1 mix then give me 1 monitor for the whole band, otherwise I need more mixes!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rezrover Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 I keep mine in the amp rack. The "preset list" didn't have my subs so I use the Custom setting for those and the amps. Works greats, sounds great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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