Members axeman25 Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 My lead singer bought a DBX Driverack to help out with some sound issues that we've been having. We tried it out about 2 weeks ago with some of the presets, but we're still having some feedback and sound quality issues. I tried to mess with the graphic eq but I am having some problems. It's unlike an analog eq and can be confusing. I am just wondering if anyone has got any useful tips (other than sell it and go back to a 31 band). I am learning, I am just hoping to speed it up a little. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 Search on this topic (and DSP in general) and you will fins a lot of helpful info. They are not an instant cureall, they take time and understanding to set up and avoid the possibility of damaging something. What does your system consist of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members padudeohio Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 Here's a good place to start.... http://www.dbxpro.com/forum/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 20, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted February 20, 2007 Other than the control method, the DRPA's graphic EQ is just that..a graphic EQ. You sure you're not looking at the parametric EQ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axeman25 Posted February 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 Our system is a soundcraft board, DBX driverack, (2)Crown 602 amps,JBL JRX115 mains, peavey monitios. We're running bridge mono. It's quite possible I'm looking at the wrong side of this thing. I'm a little more familar with analog eq's and such. Thanks again for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarharv52 Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 Are you running two Crown XLS 602 amps bridged into a couple of JRX and a couple of monitors?That is 1680watts into a 4 ohm load each or 840 per speaker.That is quite a lot.JRX125 is 250 continuous or 500 program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 WAY too much power. If you happen to have an "accident", your speakers will be whisps of non-warranty smoke in no time. Forget the bridge mode crap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6Imzadi Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 I can tell you right now that you will need some more speakers. Sorry. You will not be able to get enough SPL out of the speakers you have now when you run your system properly. If you have to put that much power to those speakers to get the volume (SPL level) you want, then time for more/ bigger speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axeman25 Posted February 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Ok. So I switch it back to stereo. 370 watts per side. Not enough to blow my "cheap gear". Am I wrong to think that at 370w a side I should get plenty of volume to be able to hear vocals over my drummer? That is why I tried bridge mono (took some advice from the local music store "guru"). I'm kinda new at alot of this, I've talked to several so called "sound techs". Always get different answers. I was hoping someone could help with some suggestions on why I'm not getting the volume that I should be getting with the vocals. I can put playback music throught the system and get great volume and clarity. My lead singer uses a beta 58, for backups we use sm58's. I am having feedback issues (I know, eq problems) at performance volumes. This leads me back to thinking that I am not using the eq section of the DRPA correctly. I know that I shouldn't have to max out the faders for the channel and mains in order to get the volume where it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Something is very wrong... do you have a real pro sound company that you could pay for some professional advice, somebody who could troubleshoot your system for you to determine what's really going on here. 370 watts is perfect for those speakers, you can blow anything if you try hard enough, regardless of the power but this will give you at least a reasonable chance. There's so much bad information outthere, in many cases propogated by the manufacturers themselves unfortunately in their quest for outselling each other on "numbers". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 21, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted February 21, 2007 This leads me back to thinking that I am not using the eq section of the DRPA correctly. I know that I shouldn't have to max out the faders for the channel and mains in order to get the volume where it should be. That's not an EQ problem, it sounds more like you've got a gain structure problem. If the gain structure (how much gain each section of the signal path) isn't right, you can have feedback problems. Before I go further, I will say that there's only so much you're gonna get out of a pair of 1x15 speakers. If your band is loud, don't expect any such speaker to get over the drums and guitars. At any rate, you should be setting the individual channel gains to peak at about +3dB, and then set the main faders so the meters also peak around +3db or so. The DRPA should be getting a hot enough signal that it's input meters are peaking at around 0db or so, and the outputs should do the same. Do you have the DRPA's limiters and comps engaged? For now you should disengage them while troubleshooting the system. Finally, the amps should never clip, but you should have the inputs as high as possible without getting any clip light flashing. Another thing is that if you're using the amp limiters, you can probably disengage the DRPA's limiters. Once you've got a decent gain structure you use the mixer's main faders to adjust overall volume levels. You can use the DRPA's RTA if you've got an RTA mic or decent flat omnidirectional. You'll probably have to manually adjust the EQ to reduce the auto adjustments that are above 6dB one way or another, as these are likely to be time-based room modes. Most all of the RTA auto-EQ and Feedback Killer info is described in detail in the DRPA's manual. Have you used it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Another thing is that if you're using the amp limiters, you can probably disengage the DRPA's limiters. You are making an assumption that the limiters in the amp are in the proper place to protect the speakers. That may or may not be. The limiters in the amps are peak limiters and I assume that the limiters in the DBX could be set as RMS detecting. In that case I think it would be a good idea to use tham both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 21, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted February 21, 2007 You are making an assumption that the limiters in the amp are in the proper place to protect the speakers. That may or may not be.The limiters in the amps are peak limiters and I assume that the limiters in the DBX could be set as RMS detecting. In that case I think it would be a good idea to use tham both. Hmmm, the DRPA uses the dbx Peak Plus Limiting. Isn't that a peak limiter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axeman25 Posted February 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Thanks to all for the advice. There is a HUGE amount of people who really have no clue about this stuff. I am trying to learn about this as fast as I can and learn the right way. I had an engineer from one of our local radio stations come out. Said that it was completely wrong, rewired it and made us sound like the singer was singing through a tube. I talked to other guys, that run sound at local clubs, still get the same answers. I must say that this forum has given me much more info to go on. And I really appreciate it. I will keep working and hopefully I will find the answer before I let the smoke out of my speakers. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axeman25 Posted February 24, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2007 Just to let you guys know, I put a peavey dual 31 band in place of the DRPA and got massive volume at low levels. The amp was never turned up past half way, and the faders were not past 75%. So again, I'm sure that I'm not using the DRPA to its potential. I guess I just need to find more info about the limiters and such. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members preacherman672 Posted February 24, 2007 Members Share Posted February 24, 2007 Turn the DRPA limiter off and see if that cures the problem. There is a selection in the limiter menu that says limiter on/off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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