Adam Mottley

Mark, These posts could turn out to be an informative thread. I'm a 43 year old medical professional weekend warrior audio guy. Here's my little bar rig: FOH cabs EV QRx 153/75 (2), EV QRx 218s (2). After much research and listening tests, I chose the QRx based on size, price, sound quality, and rider acceptability. Most of the rooms I do are long/narrow rooms with capacity of less than 500, so the 75 degree horizontal dispersion of the 153/75's work well. The 35 degree down angle/15 degree up angle on the HF helps when ceiling height is an issue. The horn-loaded MF seems to throw pretty hard, and is very clear. Vocals are full, clear, and crisp, without harshness. EV did a decent job with the internal HF/MF crossover. The LF section of the 153/75 has a bit of trouble keeping up with the HF/MF, but a bit of corrective PEQ and a bit more power than the specs indicate seems to clear the issue. The 153/75's are light enough to move comfortably. The "Futura finish" will mar easily, and outright peel off if one is not careful when moving/transporting the cabs. The grilles will deform with even the slightest pressure during transport. Covers are a must-have item. The 218s sub is a "compromise" sub. I have strict size requirements due to truck pack issues, and the 218s' fit the bill perfectly. The performance of the subs are pretty good, but a bit of corrective PEQ is required to get decent extension in the lower frequencies. The 218s seems to perform well without requiring tremendous power, although I sometimes jones for a bit more "push" when the system is run hard. The finish/grille issue is the same as the 153/75's. The built-in wheels are conveinent, but could stand to be a bit larger. Overall, I am happy with the FOH cabs for the money spent. I plan on purchasing two more of each cab within the next few months to gain coverage for the larger rooms. FOH processing dbx DR260 The DR260 is a good unit. If the unit had a third input and multiple DR260's could be run within one instance of Driveware, the DR260 would be much more flexible. Complaints aside, the DR260 works well. I have the DR located with the FOH amps, and a control line returns through the snake to access the processor via laptop. FOH amplification Crown MacroTech HF/MF: MA-2400, stereo, 12 ohms, approx 350w/ch LF: MA-3600, stereo, 8 ohms, 1120w/ch SUBF: MA-3600, stereo, 4 ohms, 1565w/ch I'm happy with the performance of the MA's, although the weight of the amps is a strain. Power draw is an issue occasionally. Proper cleaning of the filters at regular intervals is a "must". Monitor wedges Radian RMW1122 Microwedge (4) Of all of the gear I have aquired over the years, the Microwedges have proved to be the best purchase in terms of quality, reliability, and performance. The coaxial design seems to eliminate a lot of the smear experienced with traditional wedges, and allows increased GBF. They do seems to require a bit more power than the specs indicate. The bass port at the "toe end" of the wedge doubles as a handle and allows for the NL4 connections to be recessed, preventing cable/jack damage. The wedge is a bit heavy, but the weight is evenly distributed, allowing a center of gravity that works well with the handle design. The Duradian finish is among the best I have seen. The grille is bullet-proof. You can stand on it, jump up and down on it, whatever, and it doesn't affect the grille. The design allows the wedge to shoot the signal in an "upwards" fashion. This allows the wedge to be placed in null areas easier without compromising the artist's ability to hear them. They are small and unobtrusive, and don't interfere with sight lines. They are the first wedges I've owned that musicians will consistently ask for the foldback to be reduced. The only complaint I have with them is that they have a 90 degree conical dispersion. This can sometimes be problematic when trying to control monitor bleed into various microphones on stage, as well as negative interaction with FOH, if monitor placement causes phase cancellation. However, the 90 degree dispersion is also an asset at times when trying to cover a large number of musicians on a large stage, so YMMV, application dependent. Monitor processing Sabine Graphi-Q EQ-wise, the units sound great, and are very smooth, without a lot of phase shift. I use Sabine's software to control the EQ's, as using the software enables the use of the FBX filters as dedicated, adjustable parametric EQ's (twelve of them, per mix). Having that much parametric control, along with adustable slope HP & LP filters, a graphic, and delay makes for a comprehensive set of tools. The comp/limiters are not to my liking. The units do not allow simultaneous front panel and software control, so it's an "either-or" sort of thing. Settings made to the units parametric filters cannot be saved to the unit and then the unit reverted to front panel control. Monitor amplification Behringer EP 2500 (4) I run four EP2500's in bridge-mono @ 8 ohms, 1300 watts, one per wedge. Many people have reported issues with these amps, I have had none save the clip lights being lit on power-up, and they go out as soon as signal is applied. They are heavy. I recently bought a Crown XTi 4000 and I have used it to drive a pair of Microwedges, one wedge per channel. XTi's may replace the EP's. FOH console Yamaha O1v96v2 The Yamaha is one impressive little console. I have a 16 channel ADAT card installed, along with some Behringer ADA8000's. These low cost additions enable me to address 32 incoming channels, while allowing an adequate number of outputs for FOH, monitoring, and multitrack and/or two-track recording. I installed the REV-X plug-in and it is a winner. It also has VCA-like capability (DCA?) to control groups of faders (very useful). I tend to live in the user defined layer most of the time. The board is well though out and very easy to operate. The sound is very clean and defined. Shows can be set up in advance, either on the console itself, or using the Studio Manager software. A very handy feature when doing multiple bands. Niggles include no matrixes, and the lack of a built-in cappuchino machine. I wish the gates were frequency adjustable, but they are functional. The O1v96 is a wonderful alternative to a huge, heavy analog console and racks of outboard/cabling, and is very cost effective. Outboard gear Alesis HD24, Alesis Masterlink, Toshiba laptop The Alesis units allow multitrack and two-track recording. Both are sturdy, easy to operate units that sound very good. I have various test tones/files stored on the Masterlink HDD, as well as about 3 hours of "background noise" music. The laptop serves as a file server (MP3's etc), a manual library, technical document library, etc, and allows control of the console, FOH DSP, and monitor DSP. Mics/DI's Mics consist of varying numbers of the following, both wired and wireless: AT 4050, Audix D4, Audix OM5, CAD M39, CAD CM217, CAD KM212, CAD SN210, CAD TM211, EV RE20, Octavia MC012, Rode NT2, Sennheiser E865, Sennheiser MD405S, Shure B57A, Shure B91, Shure SM57, Shure SM58, Shure SM81, Shure WCM16, Shure WH20 DI's consist of varying numbers of the following: Radial JDI, Radial J48, Whirlwind IMP2 The mics I have were bought with varying purposes in mind. I love mics and will probably never have enough. Each of the mics listed have strengths/weaknesses. What mics I carry are gig-dependent, with a few spares/alternates. Some are there to be destroyed occasionally (the CAD drum mics). The Radial DI's are great, but the IMP2's are appropriate sometimes (along with the CAD drum mics). Interconnect XLR stuff is Whirlwind or Rapco. Too many to count. NL4 stuff is Rapco. I'm gonna try some EWI when I have a need. 32x8 150' Whirlwind Medusa snake, 16x4 100' ProCo snake, 8x4 100' Rapco snake, 12 pair 30' EWI dual fan end drop snake (drums), 8 pair 15' Rapco dual fan end drop snake (amp rack/main snake interconnect). Whirlwind turnarounds, lifts, etc. I plan on trying some of the EWI offerings here as well. TrikTags amp rack interconnect, one per rack. They include multiple Powercon, Speakon, and XLR per panel. Each connector has a clear lexan tag that identifies the purpose of the connector. Highly recommended. Power cabling is all SO 12/3 and SO 14/3, black, with appropriate ends. I bought a case (8) of 16/3 SJ (?) 15' extension cords, black, from Home Depot to handle backline. Racks/Cases Amp racks are EWI 12 space shock racks (2). Excellent gear. FOH rack is an extra deep Cadence slant top/12 space below carpeted case. I hate this rack. I plan on having R&R Cases build me a pullover rack to specs. EWI medium road trunk houses all cabling/snaking, etc. Great kit. Heavy as hell when loaded. EWI mic case. I need a few more... Misc Folding hand truck/cart with pneumatic wheels. Mine is extruded aluminum, very lightweight, and gets used more than anything else. I wouldn't be without it. Sony MD 7506 cans. I have six pairs. They are decent headphones, but the leatherette padding on the cushions flakes off at an alarming rate, leaving bare foam. Wants Tablet PC, UBox usb/lan, decent WAP. More $$$. So that's my small slice of the live audio world. It isn't the best, it isn't the biggest, but it's mine. I can unload it/set it up by myself in less than an hour and strike it in less. I like it and so do my clients, and if I need more, I can rent the exact items I need from a local regional. If I were to give advice to "what PA ?", it would be to get the best mics, FOH enclosures, and monitors that you can possibly afford, and make sure the system is upgradable. Fill in the rest as cash flow allows, preventing the nasty and needless upgrade cycle. Would I do it differently if I had all of the cash invested back today? Probably. I'd buy a house and rent gear Adam