Members Thunderbroom Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Are there certain songs that you use to test out a PA? I got to thinking about this based on Al Poulin's comment in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Everyone's got their preference when it comes t listening material. Usually they'll pop it in and listen to a song they know well and tweak the eq to their liking or just use it to listen to the room and see what the acoustics are like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SilleeSpyder Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Yeah, this thread is a good idea. Obviously, you can test speakers through music or through running a mic to them via mixer. I guess it depends on what you want to do and what is important to you. As far as music is concerned There is a CD I recently discovered with "Test" written on it that we have and song #2 is like this Reggae song with drivin' bass guitar and good tight drum kick -also has smooth unoverbearing vocals.... though we do have plenty of that available for testing. We also use the Gorrilaz sometimes -Feel Good Inc. has a pretty wide spectrum and great production -but it often depends on the needs of the customer... Tower of Power is another one I like to use too. Lots of bass and horns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted June 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Originally posted by lucho_84 Everyone's got their preference when it comes t listening material. Usually they'll pop it in and listen to a song they know well and tweak the eq to their liking or just use it to listen to the room and see what the acoustics are like. I'm sure you're right; however, I'm wonder if there are songs that are really good for testing the overall sound of a PA...highs...lows...mids...dynamics. What are some of your favorites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Alan Jackson's Chatahoochee or almost any Alan Jackson songs are good to try to impress someone with how loud and good sounding your system is. His stuff is usually very well recorded/balanced in low mid and high frequencies and can get loud without stressing your amp or speakers. Shania Twain also has awesome sounding recordings. Celine Dion's Because you loved me is a good, well balanced sound check song. And you will usually not get complaints if you do a sound check with this song as opposed to something like AC/DC. THUNDER! Al Poulin - Party-Time! DJ Services Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Typically I run sweep tones and using a spectrum analyer set crossover, amps and then finally eq to get the system reasonably flat. After this I'll run whatever I'm currently working on in the studio usually, as I'm most familiar with that, or something commercial I like. Lately I've been using Tim McGraw's "That's why God made Mexico". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 I hope the fad of using that live Hotel Calif / Eagles CD dies soon... which admittedly is a pretty good test/demo CD. Personally... I never go to a sound gig without my Dread Zeppelin CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 My personal soundcheck CD contains: Tom Petty "Jamming Me" is a full balanced mix that tells me a lot about a speaker cabinet in less than a minute. Bryan Adams "Somebody" is popular for soundcheck but its 80s reverb-drenched mix will sound muddy with the wrong speakers or with poor acoustics. Boston "Smokin'" for checking clarity of vocals against strong guitar. The Cars "Drive" for checking clarity of vocals against keyboards and strong drums. Rush "Tom Sawyer" for checking clarity of drums/cymbals and punch of the subsonics. Dire Straits "Calling Elvis" for checking how well Mark Knopfler's sensitive but low intensity voice carries. Peter Gabriel "Red Rain" is another vocal test. Yes "Leave It" very full 80s reverb-drenched vocal test. Donald Fagen "New Frontiers" another popular soundcheck song, lots of subtle parts to listen for as well as a full balanced mix. Also the bass guitar can get lost with the wrong speaker cabinet. Kevin Gilbert "Goodness Gracious" can be an interesting acid test - there is stuff in there that the wrong speaker can mask out. This is from memory so I know I'm missing a couple, but you get the idea. Some speakers are terrible at dispersion - walk around the room, move your ears higher/lower and the difference in sound will shock you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members padudeohio Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 I must be getting old...nobody even mentioned Steely Dan.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted June 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Originally posted by Audiopile Personally... I never go to a sound gig without my Dread Zeppelin CD. Which one? I've got Un-Led-Ed and LOVE it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Originally posted by padudeohio I must be getting old...nobody even mentioned Steely Dan.... MAN!! You are old! Who are they anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Originally posted by padudeohio I must be getting old...nobody even mentioned Steely Dan.... You're REALLY old if you forgot that Donald Fagen is 1/2 of Steely Dan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 Originally posted by padudeohio I must be getting old...nobody even mentioned Steely Dan.... That's exactly what I was thinking of... Katie Lied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RainsongDR1000 Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 Originally posted by Audiopile I hope the fad of using that live Hotel Calif / Eagles CD dies soon... which admittedly is a pretty good test/demo CD. I have to admit... the congas on that song pretty much determined my current speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ezstep Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 I set it with Flim and the BB's, followed by Bela Fleck followed by something more contemporary (Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Diamond Rio, etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 Originally posted by ezstep I set it with Flim and the BB's, followed by Bela Fleck followed by something more contemporary (Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Diamond Rio, etc.). Flim & the BB's Tricycle is one of my favorites. Also David Grusin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members milesdf Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 definitley this song from an epcot center fireworks show in disney world, "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth". tons of orchestral instrumentals as well as enhanced bass and synth stuff. goes all over the place in terms of dynamics and frequencies. plus no one is ever offended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members basspipe Posted June 23, 2006 Members Share Posted June 23, 2006 Used to install permanent set ups in clubs and the first test song was always Michael Jacksons Billy Jean. As corny as that sounds it covers the full spectrum and sounds good turned up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted June 23, 2006 Members Share Posted June 23, 2006 Originally posted by basspipe Used to install permanent set ups in clubs and the first test song was always Michael Jacksons Billy Jean. As corny as that sounds it covers the full spectrum and sounds good turned up! I really don`t like the sound of Billy Jean except for the bass line you can really feel when you have a subwoofer in your system. Highs are way too present (one of the only songs I automatically reduce highs -3 or -6DB) and almost no mids.... Not to mention it scares some of the children Al Poulin - Party-Time! DJ services Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted June 23, 2006 Members Share Posted June 23, 2006 No Doubt has some fantastic sounding recordings. Hella Good is probably my favorite. Try it on a good sounding system, it`s awesome! (From an original CD of course - not a low bit download) For vocal, Trisha Yearwood`s How do I live is excellent. This love by Maroon 5 has a well recorded and very present kick drum. For subwoofers, a great song is Madonna`s ''Music''. Only mids and highs for the first 30 seconds, then as she says Hey Mr. DJ.. the beat kicks in. Your subwoofer is now in the mix... Al Poulin - Party-Time! DJ Services Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Glyder Posted June 25, 2006 Members Share Posted June 25, 2006 I usualy use something that fits the sound of the band Im mixin. 99.9% of the time it's Back in Black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted June 29, 2006 Members Share Posted June 29, 2006 If you want to see how low frequency reproduction robs your system of power, play Pon da replay by Rhianna and see how loud you can get before clipping. (this will give your woofers quite the workout) If you want to impress a few teenagers with how loud your smaller PA is, play Tubthumping by Chumbawamba. ''I get knocked down, but I get up again''.... Fun song! Lots of mid frequencies = LOUD.... Al Poulin - Party-Time! DJ Services Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members floyd Posted July 1, 2006 Members Share Posted July 1, 2006 Stings , Ten Summoner's Tales is probably the best peice of sound checking music I've ever heard, perfect lows , mids ,and highs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John S. Shinal Posted July 10, 2006 Members Share Posted July 10, 2006 Originally posted by The Real MC Rush "Tom Sawyer" for checking clarity of drums/cymbals and punch of the subsonics.Donald Fagen "New Frontiers" another popular soundcheck song, lots of subtle parts to listen for as well as a full balanced mix. Also the bass guitar can get lost with the wrong speaker cabinet. Excellent suggestions. "Tom Sawyer" will also see how much reserve power the subs amps have - the double bass drum roll in the breakdown portion produces interesting artifacts when the subs are underpowered. Fagen's Nightfly is simply one of those benchmark recordings that is excruciatingly clear - the hi-hat cymbals and most of the bass is a challenge for any system, any size. "Walk Between Raindrops" is another useful track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted July 10, 2006 Members Share Posted July 10, 2006 Originally posted by John S. Shinal Excellent suggestions. "Tom Sawyer" will also see how much reserve power the subs amps have - the double bass drum roll in the breakdown portion produces interesting artifacts when the subs are underpowered. What exactly do you mean about the subs being underpowered? How does that create artifacts? What artifacts does it produce? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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