Jump to content

JBL EON question


Recommended Posts

  • Members

My current band has thusfar been lucky enough to play in clubs with house systems and decent enough soundguys to make us sound pretty good.

 

In a month, we'll be playing our first gig with the guitarist's PA system. He purchased it just as his last band broke up, so to my knowledge it's never been used.

 

I have two concerns:

1.) There's a very real chance that this guy has no clue how to use this gear, and I might have to step in to help set it up and get it running.

 

2.) Since it's never been fired up, I'm concerned that one or more important components might still need to be purchased.

 

Here's what I THINK the guy has available.

 

 

 

 

 

So here's the questions:

 

 

The good news is the guitarist "knows a guy" who "does sound" (God, this sounds scary, doesn't it?!?) and they're going to set the whole shebang up over the weekend and familiarize themselves with it. More good news is that the room we'll be playing in is extremely small, so if we're somewhat underpowered it won't be a complete disaster.

 

Scale of 1 to 10....how much should I panic?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'm not sure that JBL makes an EON powered sub, but in their SoundFactor line they make a dual 12'' powered subwoofer, which I believe has a high pass line output. (Did I say that right?) So, you shouldn't need crossovers.

 

I wouldn't panic too badly - it's decent for smallish rooms, if run right. Although, I'm not familiar with the EON line of powered speakers - there's probably someone here who is and can tell you what to expect with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • CMS Author

A few somewhat random thoughts and opinions:

 

I firmly believe you should always fear what you don't know. And small rooms don't make for a better situation.....there're fewer hiding spots if you wind up sounding like {censored}. :) But you've got a month to sort this out, and hopefully some budget to make it happen.

 

The JBL Sound Factor powered sub has a high-pass filter to pass the signal to mid-highs. It's still much better to have an active crossover so you can do the job right.

 

No experience with the EON powered's, but I've read several less-than-happy opinions on here about the first-generation version, with the newer G2's being much better, with more power and reliability.

 

I'd view the rack-o'-effects with suspicion. K.I.S.S. to start. Your attitude towards the guy who "does sound" is deserved; it's not his ass out there on stage, so better include him in your rehearsals before trusting your reputation on his ability to turn (or refrain from turning) knobs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanks for the input guys.

 

Some additional info: I'm not sure what kind of subs we're dealing with...75% sure they're JBL's, 99% sure they're self-powered....doesn't sound like a big issue from what you've said. My big concern was that I hadn't heard the term "crossover" used by this guy, and so I assumed there aren't any. Glad to see things will work without.

 

Craig: I totally buy into the K.I.S.S. theory and am working on interjecting myself into the process to makes sure things stay uncomplicated.

 

In the end, the guitarists and bassist will probably turn up too loud so the PA will probably only be carrying vocals, some kick and some snare.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I've used the powered EON first generation cabinets and didn't have any problems with them. Of course, if you're thinking of putting the whole band through them and running them at ear-splitting volume, then you're probably gonna be disappointed. The powered 15s, with decent subs, will pump out a decent vocal/guitar mix at a pretty loud spl. The folks who I've known who had problems with them were trying to run their entire punk band through the 15s with no subs and, predictably, it sounded like {censored}. I've seen country bands play 300-seat halls with two EONs with subs and it sounded great! Really clean!! It just depends on how you use them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • CMS Author

 

Originally posted by Nighthawkdude

I've used the powered EON first generation cabinets and didn't have any problems with them. Of course, if you're thinking of putting the whole band through them and running them at ear-splitting volume, then you're probably gonna be disappointed. The powered 15s, with decent subs, will pump out a decent vocal/guitar mix at a pretty loud spl. The folks who I've known who had problems with them were trying to run their entire punk band through the 15s with no subs and, predictably, it sounded like {censored}. I've seen country bands play 300-seat halls with two EONs with subs and it sounded great! Really clean!! It just depends on how you use them.

 

 

And that's why I qualified my hearsay as such. It's so hard to know what someone's opinion is based upon, and I was pretty surprised to hear negative things about JBL, but then again, nobody raves about the Sound Factor gear either...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

JBL did make a powered sub to go with their EON's but I don't know if they still make it. It looked just like the Eon but I think it only had a 15 inch speaker in it. It was powered. Often the Eons sound better if you don't turn the volume completely wide open at the speaker. Try 60-70% instead and see what you think. Volume will be about the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...