CHIP ROBERTS

I'm a 34 year old drummer/sound guy in a very popular cover band that just broke up! But anyway , this is the rig I currently run. It's small and lightweight enough for me to set up without any help. I can fit it all (just barely) in my mini-van! I can easily scale it down to do all sorts of things from speech only events to a full band. I have done corporate parties and outside festivals of up to 300 people with no problem (except left-right coverage)! I don't know a whole lot about live sound (maybe 6% of what there is to know) , but I've managed to NOT have to have a day job for FOUR months now! I've been able to support a Wife and three children just running sound - God is good! I do bar bands , some outside festivals , Praise and Worship encounters , youth concerts , and speaking engagements. So don't ever let anyone discourage you or your band from doing this! Don't let yourself be beaten down by hurtful comments by others in the "live sound & entertainment world". You just have to forget about your silly pride , be on time (be at least 15 minutes early) , close your mouth and listen , ask questions (there are no stupid questions - so when you post here , you don't need to start it with , "I know this is a stupid question , but...") , take notes , and watch your attitude! Don't be a stubborn , stuck-up know-it-all who really knows nothing... YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN GET "THERE"... THE CHIP ROBERT'S RIG... speakers... JBL M-PRO 415's (mid-high cabs - X 2) JBL M-PRO 418S's (single 18" subs - X 4) JBL EON15 G2's (powered speakers/monitors - X 4) console... MACKIE SR 24-4 power amps... QSC RMX 2450's (one for hi-mids , one for subs) effects processing... DBX DRIVERACK PA TC ELECTRONICS M300 DBX 231's ( X 2 , for monitors) DBX 1231 (for FOH) BEHRINGER MULTIGATE PRO BEHRINGER MULTICOM PRO BEHRINGER AUTOCOM PRO microphones... AUDIX OM2's (X 7) vocal microphones SHURE PG drum mic kit (with two PG81 condensors) SHURE SM57's for instruments , ect... snake... PRO CO 24-4 (100 foot snake) The gear: I went with the M-PRO stuff because of the name and the price range. I really wanted to go with Yorkville , but since I knew I'd get more work if my speakers said "JBL" on them (man , I hate that mess...) , I had to go that route. And it really has paid off. As far as the gear goes , I can't get all deep and technical , but I'll say what I think of it all anyway... - MP415's I like them , but (sometimes) I really wish I would've gotten the MP412's for top cabs instead. I do a lot of praise & worship type stuff , and I think the MP412's would be better with "airy" type vocals. On the other hand , I wonder if the MP412's would allow me to get the some "beefy" tom sound I can get with the MP415's. Drums are my specialty... My plan is to get 2 more MP415's , and use those as monitors. I'm wanting to hear the new MRX dual 15" tops. I'm still not sure what I may want for the tops. - MP418's If JBL would've made an M-PRO dual 18" model at the time , I still would've bought 4 MP418's. Sometimes I only need two , and getting four of these sigle 18" allow me to load , carry up & down stairs , and get them in and out of my minivan pretty easily. They're light , small , and they do a great job. They may not rumble your guts , but I have had many great comments about the sound of these four boxes (which I run of one QSC RMX 2450!). - JBL EON15 G2's Well , what can I say - I don't really like them anymore. For basic monitors they sound just fine , I guess. My gripe is that they can be too much trouble. They're not built as good as the Mackie SRM 450's I used to have. They only have ONE HANDLE on the side!!!!!! They are too delicate (I have seen these with chunks taken/cracked out of them). The controll knobs aren't hidden deep at all (very easy to hit them up or into something). And really , it just takes longer to run my "MOX" cable around the front of the stage area , run a power cable from the speakers to the "MOX" cable , and then run mic cables from my snake back to the speakers! If you can ALWAYS make time for all of this , then you may not have a problem with these at all! I think they are great for some applications , but FOR ME , I really want to get two more MP415's and then use four MP415's as monitors... - Mackie SR24-4 This console is just fine. You see them in clubs , churches , and places where some one is making money using it everyday! I use it heavily , and I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL. I bought this (6 years ago) because I wanted to be able to run 4 seperate monitor mixes and still have two aux sends for effects. Now , if I only had between $1400.00 and $1000.00 to spend on a new console , I would get an Allen & Heath Mix Wiz or a Yamaha MG???? (the 32 channel one with effects). I use the Yamaha console 4 to 5 nights a week at a very popular club , and it's great! - QSC RMX 2450's Great price , great reputation , they weigh too much , but you can't go wrong... - DBX DRIVERACK PA It's nice to have everything you need in a one rack space unit! For the operator who isn't all big time , it really does what you need and it sounds great. I just wish the owners manual was written by a regular talkin' "newbie" who finally learned the in's and out's of the DRPA , and was then hired by DBX to re-write the whole manual over again though... I do wish the unit was made to be able to run aux fed subs though. Although you can kind-of "trick it" into this , I still wish it was made for this. - TC ELECTRONICS M300 I have only gotten to use it once! It was a show where the band was late (and so was sound check - of course) , and I really didn't get to play with it that much. I remember liking the delays a lot but I also remember that I couldn't find a reverb that I liked at all. Maybe if things would've went the way they should've before start time , I could've found something. Oh , and I hate where the tap delay button is placed! I think they put it in a TERRIBLE spot! - DBX 1231 & 231 dual 31 band EQ's I just don't know enough to say all kinds of deep stuff here. All I know is that I haven't had any buzzing or humming and that I had many complements on the monitor sound. Oh , and I really like the longer throw faders/sliders(?) on the 1231... - BEHRINGER MULTIGATE PRO I really don't care about the brand name or their business practices. All I know is that in about 4 years of heavy use , I haven't had ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL! And out of the batch of other gates you can get , with all of the controlls of the Multigate , you can't beat it for the money! I have talked to many sound guys (that make a living doing it) that have ALL said that they really like this gate. They ALL comment on the adjustability of the unit. I wanted to buy a Presonus ACP 88 of of one of these guys , and he told me that the gate section was kind of weak compared to the Behringer Multigate... - BEHRINGER MULTICOM & AUTOCOM PRO I really wanted to get 2 DBX???? (their 4 channel gate) , but there was just no way I could (or can ) afford it! For the kind of work I get , these units have done just fine! I have had NO PROBLEMS! They aren't as "smooth" as the DBX 4 channel compressor , but I have never had anyone come up to me and say , "Hey dude , the compression on the vocals doesn't sound like DBX , Rane , or Drawmer! Dude , what in the world is in in your effects rack!?"... - AUDIX OM2's I had used Senheiser E835's for about two years , and SM58's for about 4 years before that. One day I was finally going to order some E835's of my own , and the guy at the shop asked if I had tried an OM2. At the time I thought they only made drum mics. So he hooked up an SM58 , an E835 , and an OM2 through a Mackie 1604 VLZ-PRO. He put a screen in front of the mics (so I couldn't see them). He wheeled the console around to me , so I could set everything on the console flat. Then he turned on a pair of KRK??? monitors , and I picked the OM2 easily over the other two! The OM2 just sounded clearer and like it had built-in "natural-ness"! I ran sound for the band I played drums in , and they liked the OM2's a lot better than the E835's they had been using for two years... - SHURE PG series drum mic kit I was so mad when realized I couldn't afford to get the Audix D series mics I wanted to get for my drum kits. So dang it , I had to settle for some cheap mess - so I thought. I have one PG52 , four PG56's , and two PG81 condensors. A couple of months ago used these on a corperate gig. The band was a very popular contemporary jazz band with a very destructive sax player. Anyway , I finally got to use these drum mics on a great band that actually played some real music - oh , and the drum kit was actually tuned! I couldn't have been happier! The toms were punchy and full , and the hi hat and other cymbals were shimmering and all pretty and such. Now , the PG52 doesn't have the top end "snap" that a Beta 52 has , but IT DID NOT SUCK! It was just fine! I used an SM57 on the snare. The drummer's tech was surprised at what I was using , and asked me to write down the model numbers so he could order some for his smaller club rig that he runs on the side. All I can say is - don't believe the hate , I mean hype... - SHURE SM57 Well , you know... So that's about it! I hope this helps someone in some way. And I'd like to thank all those on this forum who have helped me out in any way...