Hamilton, Ontario Sunday, Aug 8 - The Big Rig is unveiled!

[fvodo]

178 Nebo Rd. Hamilton. Ontario. Canada.

I have spent almost a year getting ready for this gig.
4 Otops (Via Wiisounds)
4 Otops (Via JeffBabcock)
4 T48 (30") (Via Adam Schaible)
and my own 2 Otops

Final tally: 10 Otop112's and 4 T48's + scaffolding + electronics (+ band talent - of course!)

Setup at 2:00 for a 4:00PM start. Open air parking lot. 4 bands. They will be closing the road, apparently.
It's a benefit: http://www.chapmansridetoacure.com/
There will be a motorcycle ride (600+ riders I am told - see link)
Weather forecast (today is Thursday) looks good.
Bar service will be available.

Come and say hi. I'll be guarding the mixing board and probably wearing a big stupid grin.
(I am also in one of the bands - the AC/DC tribute).
Pics to follow.

[sine143]

damn, did you buy the OT212s from wii?

thats a lot of otops vs titans haha.

[fvodo]

The thinking behind the large number of otops per side is to maximize the near field distance as well as to smooth out frequency response.

I have never understood the concerns about the tops "out running" the subs or vice versa. The idea is to combine your various speaker outputs at correct levels to achieve high quality broad spectrum sound reinforcement for your SPL requirements. If the subwoofer amp is pushing harder, who cares? As long as the overall output is pleasing. musical and loud enough. Oh, "affordable" is another good metric!

[fvodo]

<off topic>
The THT is in my living room. There is a note in the first Frankie Goes To Hollywood album called Welcome to the Pleasure Dome. At about 2:40ish there is a note that vibrates the couch in a manner that has to be felt to be believed. It is the most visceral repeatable musical passage that I have. I have shown this to over 10 people and every single one of them has giggled and opened their eyes as wide as they go. Then they ask to hear/feel it again! Thanks Wiisounds.
</off topic>

[fvodo]

Sorry Wisounds.
I used to be a gooder speller!

[WB]

Hamilton. Ontario.

My old stomping grounds. Spent 3 decades there. Might have to go for a bike ride Sunday.

[Tom Smit]

@ WB....why, oh why, are you not a builder????

[WB]

@ WB....why, oh why, are you not a builder????

I take wayyy toooo long. One or two boxes per summer seem to be my limit.

[Tom Smit]

@ WB....why, oh why, are you not a builder????

I take wayyy toooo long. One or two boxes per summer seem to be my limit.

That's too bad. Oh well.

[SeisTres]

I have never understood the concerns about the tops "out running" the subs or vice versa. The idea is to combine your various speaker outputs at correct levels to achieve high quality broad spectrum sound reinforcement for your SPL requirements. If the subwoofer amp is pushing harder, who cares? As long as the overall output is pleasing. musical and loud enough.

Actually the last sentence is the whole idea behind the "not outrunning subs/tops". The idea is to use the least amount of cabs to get a desired spl to save on pack space, set up time, and, of course, the amount spent on PA gear.

So no, the idea is no really to balance the top to subs by adding or subtracting cabs, since that's what the crossover/eq are for - to balance it out. But if you need an spl of 135db, the idea (or at least this is my way of thinking) is to take only the subs needed to reach 135db and only the tops also reach that spl level.

Of course, placement issues, coverage, arrayability (which you said you would like), dispersion, and cargo space must also be considered to properly run it.

[sine143]

I guess what I was trying to point out is that the T48s are your bottleneck as it is now. You max spl ouputs are limited by the ceiling of your T48s, when the mix is balanced.

[fvodo]

I agree.

[WB]

It's decision time. Will it rain or won't it? It's almost 3pm and will take me about an hour and a half to get there meandering the back roads. Hhmmm. Checked the radar, think I'll risk it.

I'll be on the look out for a silly grin.

Won't stay too terribly long because I'll take this opportunity to visit my brother and a friend, both I haven't seen in a while.

I'll be on the bike, if it starts raining, I'm turning around.

[fvodo]

Done. Why is it that rain can be predicted up to 8 months before an event? Do the weather people know this?

The rain spooked most of the crowd.
Got there on time (2:15) for a 4:00 start and the first thing I heard was "the entertainer at the end point of the ride didn't show so more people are here earlier than expected. Get some music up NOW". I am used to wearing a lot of hats from time to time. Here is what I had to be: Roadie "give me that ladder", Sound Guy "turn up the bass", Project Manager "we'll be ready in 15 minutes", Communications guy "Did you bring mics? No?". I must confess that I kept my cool even when those around exhibited way too fast heart rates and strident voices.

No time to do anything with eq'ing with the RTA in the Driverack PA. I already had a good base EQ including Fletcher Munson curve so I wasn't sweating about skipping that step.

End result: Awesome sound - and way too much rig for the gig. I am guessing there were 200-250 people at the most - dwindling down to 50 ish by the end of the night (about 10:30). That being said there was a beer tent about 230 yards away that the music could still (clearly) be heard. 150 feet away the music was clear with bass that could be appreciated. Why is it that I read so many stories of "I didn't use my sound meter" and "I forgot my camera"? I don't know why but I didn't use my sound meter and I forgot my camera. Still took shots with my phone. WB showed up and was in charge of the sound while my band was playing. It was very satisfying to talk to someone about the system who knew what I as talking about! He looked satisfied with the sound results and seemed to enjoy being a sound guy. He also seemed to like my band. Thanks WB!

As a result of my first BIG RIG experience I can say the following:
1) Pack space dictates what you can/should build. I need an 8' x 5' U haul covered trailer to carry 4 T48's, 9 Ot12's + ladder and scaffolding and v-plates. Everything tetrissed magnificently.
2) In addition to efficiency of speakers, weight of speakers counts very highly for me. DeltaPro12 vs Deltalite II in the Otops is a no brainer - take the lighter speaker (the Deltalite II).
3) Plan for rain. I brought a tarp for the T48's and garbage bags for the OT12's. Needed it twice for a total of maybe 45 minutes but it was worth it.
4) Brush your teeth. When you hear your rig, you will be smiling from ear to ear for most of the night saying one of two things "Yes, that's my system" and "What do you think of the sound?"
5) Bring business cards.
6) Being an amateur weight lifter may be a pretty good prerequisite. Every muscle in my body aches today.
7) Having 5 Otops per side with each side getting 1 channel if a Crown Xti 4000 is wonderfully executed with one of those polypropylene tee's that let me connect the bottom two in each stack of 5 in series - which added power shading and impedance control in one very small package. Highly recommended.
4 OT48's all driven off of one channel of the Xti 4000 appeared to work spectacularly at medium volumes.
9) When you are doing this for the first time a checklist is absolutely necessary. I used mine twice - once to make sure I had what I needed in the days before the event and once to check off that the item was in the car/trailer. Also a list is a remarkably calming thing when you are scrambling around the morning of...
10) Sliders on the T48's are mandatory. I had to bring the 4 T48's up an 8 step concrete set of stairs solo and did it once with no sliders (for a previous show)and once with the sliders. No contest. With the sliders the process takes seconds/step and is easier on the body.
11) Keep beer in your fridge so when you get back at 2:00 AM after unpacking about 700 lbs of stuff and dropping off the trailer you can have that moment of deep satisfaction that you have been planning for for so long.

What a joy. Anyone need a sound guy with a killer rig?

Well, that's all I can think of / remember for now. It was an extremely gratifying event for me. My band mates (who had heard what I was doing but had not seen it or heard it) were VERY impressed. I will definitely be getting more work in the future as word spreads. (well, that's my hope anyway)

Now I have to figure how to get my phone pictures on the board....

[fvodo]

First picture... Stack of 5 Otop112's on scaffolding.