David Carter wrote:Thanks for the reply, Fish. I'm going to have a million questions as I start getting used to this thing. Hope you don't mind trying to answer a few of them... First question...
Fish wrote:As has already been mentioned, the idea is to use the output parametric EQs for the loudspeaker-specific tweaks that are always necessary for a given box, while the input EQ is for today's room or overall tone shaping.
How do you have your output PEQ set up? Do you have them linked across both channels (tops and subs) with all filters for the whole spectrum defined there? Or do you unlink them and set up the filters for the subs separately from the filters for the tops?
No worries, I'll do the best I can to answer questions as I'm able. I'll warn you, though, I seem to be incapable of short answers!
In the system my 480 lives in, I have all the processing blocks in each output band paired. (It's a decade-old Renkus-Heinz four-way triamped system; the output bands are subs, lows, and mid/highs.) It's partially the fact that both the room and the loudspeaker setup are mirror image on both sides and that I've just never made the time to see if doing anything different between left and right would be of value. And as I think about it, it's probably more technically correct to have the output PEQ linked for a stereo setup (especially tops), since the idea is to use that to adjust for the particular quirks inherent to the loudspeaker. I also pair the input processing (using PEQs) since everything is mirror image.
So assuming you're running stereo tops and a mono sub, the pair of outputs you use for your tops would have their PEQ paired (or all processing blocks) and the sub would be separate. I'd probably pair up the input EQ and other processing sections as well, at least initially, but that may not be so great should you find yourself setting up one top next to a glass wall and the other out in the middle of the room. The mono sub output would of course not be linked.
If you have time to "tune the room" when you set up, the input EQ is where you'd be playing; leave the output PEQs alone.
You'll likely have the best results if you can take your loudspeakers out to an open field and come up with some "proper" EQ settings for them. Borrow or rent a good measurement rig (any chance you have a friend with one—and experience using it—that will bring it out some afternoon for some pizza and beer?) and figure out the necessary EQ corrections. Of course, just do one box at a time.
To get the most out of your 260, I'd recommend a dedicated laptop with a built-in serial port for controlling it, but if you play the same venues regularly you can leave it behind once you've got decent presets saved up. I'm currently keeping an eye out for an older laptop for just this purpose for a BSS Soundweb unit I am in the process of putting to use. I will admit, though, that the DriveRack's preset operation is a little kludgy and may take a combination of some playing with and rereading the manual to make sense of. When I first set up my 480, I was using VirtualPC on an original titanium G4 PowerBook with a lowly 500 MHz processor! It was a bit slow to use because of the emulation required to get Windows running on a different type of CPU, but it more than got the job done.
I really hope this helps, but don't hesitate to ask if I've just confused you a lot. It's a good DSP despite the learning curve and some quirks it may have. You'll definitely like having it and the reliability you haven't had with the Behringer.
Slowly working on a pair of T30s...
