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#382174 - 01/21/14 01:00 PM
Re: Todays Maiden Voyage with Mackie SRM 150
[Re: ianmcnll]
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Senior Member
Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703
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Attachments
Edited by Dnj (01/21/14 01:01 PM)
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#382193 - 01/21/14 02:24 PM
Re: Todays Maiden Voyage with Mackie SRM 150
[Re: Dnj]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 12800
Loc: Penn Yan, NY
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In the smaller, more intimate settings ... like house parties, cocktail receptions, where you would only be making about as much sound as an acoustic piano ... you don't need lots of bass. You're not doing a dance thing, and you're providing background music for listening and to promote, and enhance conversation. (adding elegance to the affair) In this scenario - the music is just icing ... "musical wallpaper" to add beauty and energy. Years ago, when a piano was the go-to choice for these parties ... the instrument often faced the wall, so the player didn't even make eye contact with the audience. It was strictly a voice "in the room" and not a show.
With today's arrangers ... the sound that comes from the internal system is very often full range ... at a certain volume. All you need to do to fill a little more area is push a bit more air into the room. The midrange is where the vocals and melodies usually lie, so that little Mackie should do great. If Donny gets a second unit, and starts pumping even more sound out .... I fear that he'll miss the full range of sound and actually take a step backwards. If space and volume are the priority ... I sometimes just add a bass amp for fullness. Since I use the Bose compact for my main work ... the smallest situations are still in it's repertoire by simply not extending the poles. Sometimes, I even take the top speaker OUT of the enclosure ... just to add a touch of bass. The KB speakers handle the rest. If the room needs more ... I just put the poles in and add the top speaker - back in business at full strength. Remember, the most important element of the ensemble (my voice) is still facing the crowd and projecting at a pretty strong volume on it's own.
I've been on virtually every size stage I can imagine, from the Academy of Music to Veterans Stadium and everything in between. I've learned to recognize when the "performance" is priority and when the "performer" is. HUGE difference, and for the latter .... sometimes, teeny, tiny coverage is all you need. Some of my favorite memories are parties in someone's house or office that would have been compromised greatly by setting up a large speaker on a pole. The visual is important too. Some party planners are so fussy that they drape my speakers, make me face them to the rear, or even cover over logos and names that are printed on things. It's a competitive world, and unless it's YOUR party - we can't always decide what's best for the room. We are still in the service industry, and our job is to provide WHAT'S NEEDED. For some situations ... what's needed is just a tiny bit more to fill up the dead spaces.
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No longer monitoring this forum. Please visit www.daveboydmusic.com for contact info
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#382269 - 01/22/14 12:07 PM
Re: Todays Maiden Voyage with Mackie SRM 150
[Re: Dnj]
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Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14266
Loc: NW Florida
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Trouble is, you start buying different gear for each and every different application, you end up with a ton of gear you use quite seldom... I'm looking for basically TWO PA's... I already have a big loud system, Mackie SWA1501 powered sub, two Yamaha 15" and horn passive cabs and a Yamaha 2X1000W powered mixer. Covers all but the largest outdoor gigs no problems, full band, you name it. Now I want ONE more system, to cover everything smaller. I want stereo, and I want decently flat, so my setups into the big flat system sound the same into a SMALL flat system. SRM150, even two of them, simply can't do that... maybe a powered sub added would be OK, but there's little with the size I want that would work well with the SRM150's, and they don't all clamp together and will be much tougher to move around quickly, compared to the Nano system. Thing is, I am hearing a lot about VOLUME from these tiny built-ins or Donny's single SRM150 idea, but little about them being flat. Just think in terms of a decent home stereo. OK, you can turn it up, you can turn it down... But the BALANCE doesn't change. You go from a full sub and speakers big PA to the built-ins on any arranger, or something designed for vocals like the SRM, and not only the volume, but the BALANCE changes radically too. Most of us, when we turn down the volume of our home stereo's, we don't turn down the lows radically as well, and boost the mids a bit! We just turn it down. I think that's what I'm looking for. I think that's what my clients want. Now, were I to turn up with a middle-y little speaker, maybe they wouldn't complain, but personally, I think they deserve better. And don't forget the pickiest listener in the room! Me...
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An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!
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#382283 - 01/22/14 01:23 PM
Re: Todays Maiden Voyage with Mackie SRM 150
[Re: Dnj]
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Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14266
Loc: NW Florida
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Trouble starts when you want the same sound out of different gear. If you and your audience are fine with a completely different sound using different gear, no problem at all..!
And no, I am doing my level best to make sure I NEVER end up playing to 10 people in a NH unit!
The thing about this whole issue that strikes me is, the entire Nano system can be carried with one hand, and doesn't need to be unhooked if all you want is small, low volume mono reproduction for a small gig. But it CAN be unhooked, set up for stereo, and able to be flat at a MUCH higher volume should you want it. Double duty from the same piece of gear. And a much fuller, flatter sound at ANY volume.
It is always SO hard to take your recommendations to heart, Donny, as you go through this ever revolving door of different gear, and tend to only gush about what you currently have, no matter how short your time with it. Tell the truth, Donny... If you had still had the Nano system (and I fail to see how you can give such a glowing recommendation about something you sold!), and could pick up the Nano or the SRM as you went out the door, which would you have taken?
To be frank, if you had chosen the SRM, I would be concerned about whether you would pick convenience for you (and only a very slight convenience, at that) over good quality sound for your audience...
_________________________
An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!
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