Members Notes_Norton Posted January 23, 2012 Members Share Posted January 23, 2012 You know these gigs, and singles and duos have more of their share. We are required to play softly because people are eating dinner, but the room is long, with terrible acoustics and the people in the back of the room come up and tell you they can't hear you. So you turn it up a little and the people in the front of the room tell you it's too loud. Or the room is too long or strangely shaped and even though you are playing at a relatively loud volume the people in the acoustically challenged part of the room can't hear you. A few weeks ago, I was playing in a yacht club and they asked me to hook up this device It's a wireless amp/speaker. The little piece that the iPod in the picture is connected to is the transmitter. I don't use an iPod but it also has RCA jacks as well as the mini phone plug. The bigger unit is an indoor/outdoor receiver and speaker (woofer + tweeter). It sounds quite good for it's size. It needs line level input so I hooked the transmitter up between my mixer and power amp (to the extra outputs of my BBE Sonic Maximizer). The receiver/speaker was in the L shaped part of the dining room, where people usually cannot hear us. It worked great. I liked it so much I bought one of our own. It's not loud enough for a full band, but perfect for a single or duo who plays at a lower volume (we rarely play at volumes louder than 100dba and more frequently between 65dba and 90dba depending on the gig). It's available online at a company called Brookstone. They are available on line, but they also have a couple of local stores. I played a gig Saturday at the clubhouse to a huge retirement community. It's a dance gig, so we don't have to play for dinner guests, but the room is extremely long. We play here a few times per year. It's usually an acoustically problem room. Anyway, we put the wireless speaker in the back of the room and set it at a moderate volume. It worked like a charm. It might be the solution to one of your difficult rooms to play. LINK to Brookstone product I won't bring it to every gig, but I will to those where I know it will be useful. Insights and incites by Notes PS. I have no commercial attachment to this company, but if they want to sponsor our duo, I'll be happy to accept payments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitarman63 Posted January 24, 2012 Members Share Posted January 24, 2012 I use these small Roland monitors sometimes on small jobs where there is not going to be alot of background noise. each one has a single xlr and two 1/4" input channels. I come out of my voice live 2 in stereo and my guitar signal in stereo. they are not super loud, but for their size they do a great job. And talk about load in and out:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted January 24, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 24, 2012 What I like best about the Brookstone speaker is that it's wireless. I have no way to hit the back of a long 100' room without stringing wires and taping them down so that nobody can trip on them. Of course that means un-stringing them and getting the tape goo off as well. With this little gadget, I put the sender on top of my PA rack, and then just plug the Brookstone unit in the wall at the back of the club. My Carvin LM15 speakers carry the front of the house, and this little gadget works as a fill-in speaker for the back. This Sunday will be the ultimate test. It's in a room that was built as a school in the late 1800s, and the acoustics are terrible. We have never been able to play loud enough in the front of the long, weird ceiling shaped room to get enough sound in the back without blasting those near to the PA mains. If this works, it will be worth it's weight in gold (and I suspect it will). I won't be taking this to every gig, but I will be bringing it to those rooms where I know I have that back-of-the-house problem. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted January 24, 2012 Members Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hmmmm...that's interesting...think I'll see if anyone local might have one to check out. Thanx, Notes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted January 24, 2012 Members Share Posted January 24, 2012 Of course that means un-stringing them and getting the tape goo off as well. Gaffers tape is your friend. I always carry a roll of black for places that will show and a roll of neon green for places that there could be a possible trip hazard. No tape goo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted January 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks. Where do you get gaffer tape? I use the blue masking tape because it doesn't have as much goo as the others I've tried. I'll still use the wireless speaker but there are times when we still will need tape. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted January 25, 2012 Members Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks. Where do you get gaffer tape? I use the blue masking tape because it doesn't have as much goo as the others I've tried. http://www.goodbuyguys.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/22_86 There are plenty of other places that sell it also. Check around for prices. It is more costly than duct tape but much easier to use because of the "no goo" factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted January 25, 2012 Members Share Posted January 25, 2012 What would make it over the top would be to add delay to the wireless speaker (if you have an output available) so that all the sound appears to the listeners to come from the stage. It's known as the HASS effect (or precedence effect). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haas_effect Delay it roughly 1ms per foot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members glepko Posted January 25, 2012 Members Share Posted January 25, 2012 What would make it over the top would be to add delay to the wireless speaker (if you have an output available) so that all the sound appears to the listeners to come from the stage. It's known as the HASS effect (or precedence effect). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haas_effectDelay it roughly 1ms per foot thanks for bringing this up. i was thinking this is a solution that, without proper processing, could add to clutter in a dining/chatting environment. imagine sitting directly in the spot where you hear the actual singing voice, the sound reinforcement, and the satellite. seizure time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted January 26, 2012 Members Share Posted January 26, 2012 imagine sitting directly in the spot where you hear the actual singing voice, the sound reinforcement, and the satellite. Correct ... the level goes up but the clarity is greatly reduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted January 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2012 Thanks for the link Telecruiser. Great point Don, Yep, roughly 1100 feet per second depending on temperature, density, etc. When I was in Costa Rica I stayed at the lodge that doubles as the Smithsonian Research Station for the Arenal Volcano. Sound travels faster through earth, and we could see the graph display on the computer screen before we could hear the rumble. Pretty interesting. I suppose it could cut down on clarity, but it should boost the music level. Sunday is the big test. I wonder how many people will be in the 'sweet spot' to hear both at equal volumes as opposed to the dozens that complained they couldn't hear us at all. Another funny thing about the speed of sound. Since it's temperature related and since sound moves more slowly in colder temperatures, when the sax cools down it takes longer for the sound to reach the end of the tube and that makes the sax go flatter (and vice versa). Cold does the opposite for guitar strings, as it tightens them up and they go sharper (and vice versa). So a saxophonist in a guitar band needs to always adjust to the guitars if playing outdoors and the weather turns either hotter or colder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dparr Posted January 26, 2012 Members Share Posted January 26, 2012 That Brookstone is very cool. You might get a visit from the bomb squad however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members glepko Posted January 26, 2012 Members Share Posted January 26, 2012 So a saxophonist in a guitar band needs to always adjust to the guitars if playing outdoors and the weather turns either hotter or colder. i can't even count the number of outdoor events with guitar/sax acts on same stage (that i've worked) who pay attention to this. starting and stopping at zero isn't counting haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted January 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2012 And the saxophonist is the one who usually does the adjusting. And that's right, because we only have one adjustment while the guitarist has six. I play sax and guitar on stage, plus I make my own backing tracks, so I have to either tune a lot or ignore the intonation problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted January 31, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 31, 2012 It worked great!!! The speaker is a keeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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