new builder / old tek

[jeffbabcock]

Ron is dead on.

A large part of using DIY products on gigs where riders are involved has to do with your reputation and the other gear you own.
If for example you own a nice "varsity" level VCA console or digital desk equivalent, the person advancing the rider will be more likely to tolerate custom products, because they will presume you know what you are doing. You can probably get away with a brief description of the components.

However, don't expect to get away with meeting riders if the rest of your rig is bush-league, expecting that your new BFM rig is what is going to make you compete at a higher level. The rig will be a tool that may work well, but it doesn't matter who designed it, if a rider is involved and the person advancing is insistent about meeting that rider, then the BFM rig will do nothing to help you, regardless of how it may perform or sound.

FWIW, custom subs are much more tolerated than custom tops. You could probably get away with Titan48's on many gigs. But many riders I see have a "NO CUSTOM FOH SPEAKERS" clause, and by that they mean no custom tops. It is getting difficult in many cases to pass even decent touring boxes - for example the company I work with has a very large Yorkville TX4 / TX8 / TX9 rig. At a festival this summer it was a real challenge to get the acts to accept this rig, and none of them were above "C" National level. Everybody wants a name-brand line array these days, although if you have something like EAW KF650 or KF850 those will often still be taken no questions asked too (I have 650's). The TX rig is a pretty good sounding system, and is known by most touring BE's. If they don't want that, what do you think they will say when you propose homebrew tops?

Of course this all depends on the type of riders you are dealing with, and the size of gigs you are doing. If it is mostly smaller regional acts you might be OK so long as you make the cabinets look professional, full grill, etc, for example build high output biamped DR290 with BMS HF like Connif B has done and you can do pretty well. But with nationals, even many "C" nationals, I wish you luck trying to pass off custom tops unless you already have a working relationship with them.

I guess my point is this - yes, you can build a really big and loud BFM rig for a stupidly cheap price if you do the work yourself. But having a big rig has very little to do with being rider acceptable - this is a point that many people don't seem to understand. If your business is not that much influenced by the rider game then consider yourself fortunate and build whatever you want to build. You know your business better than any of us.

Cheers
Jeff