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

[fvodo]

From the other side. 4 T48's (30") and the other Otop stack of 5. Notice the bucket and mop used to clean off wet stage.

[fvodo]

One more look.

[AntonZ]

That is one hell of a rig for such a small stage, I can imagine your band mates were happy I was in your area this time last year, would have loved to see and hear your rig.

The scaffolding for the stack of OmniTops looks impressive, but also seems to me it could be a bit wider on the ground, it doesn't look comfortably stable to me with wind or people bumping into it. But then again I know nothing about scaffolding and stacks of cabs.

[WB]

The scaffolding for the stack of OmniTops looks impressive, but also seems to me it could be a bit wider on the ground, it doesn't look comfortably stable to me with wind or people bumping into it. But then again I know nothing about scaffolding and stacks of cabs.

I took a close look at the scaffolding and it seemed very solid, also it appeared he lagged the feet to the wood on the ground, improving the footprint. It was quite gusty at times and it seemed stable. I didn't yank on it to verify though.

More later.

[fvodo]

WB is correct. The scaffolding was solidly bolted to the two 2x6 by 4 foot pieces of wood to expand the base solidity. I tried it without and the stability was still good but because it is a safety issue I have no problem with this minor overbuild. I did give both towers a good shake and they felt very solid. It would certainly not blow over in a wind. I didn't want to fly any of the equipment because that level of engineering is beyond me. As is the cost, the time to setup and the overall complexity.

[fvodo]

ANtonZ, I agree about it being a lot of rig. The organizers told me there could be up to 1300 people so that gave me a chance to bring out everything I have and test in the real world. I would do the same again. Better to not use all you brought vs needing more than you have.

[Gregory East]

Hotdamn that's a rig.

[Gregory East]

It would certainly not blow over in a wind.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. You have a large sail area suspended high over a realtively small base lever. Without doing calculations I can't say what wind strength would indeed topple them but wind is a force to be reckoned with.

G East B.E.(hons) Rtd.

[fvodo]

Wind is indeed a factor above a certain velocity. I was VERY comfortable with the stability up to at least 35MPH wind. We did not have that kind of wind on that day. The extra wooden base did give an increase in stability that moved me from "It's pretty good" to "No problem!".

[WB]

I thought I could outrun the rain from what I saw on the radar map, but 10 minutes into the ride it started coming down. Ya, I could've taken the cage, but I'm still working off 20 years of 2 wheeled deprivation. With my full face, rain jacket, and determination to finally see and hear for the first time a BF designed PA rig, I pressed on. When I hit the outskirts of Hamilton an hour later, it stopped raining, allowing the final 20 minute stretch to be a big blow dry for my jeans. Pulling up Nebo Rd, I saw the right lane blocked off with a long row of Harley's parked and an adjacent tent with activity on a hill. Mostly dry now, gusty and cloudy but no immediate threat of rain, with an obvious BF rig about 400 feet from where I parked, conscious of my very bright yellow jacket amongst a sea of black leather, I started to stroll in the direction of what was the source of crystal clear music. I arrived about 4:30 and the band was setting up, fvodo was easy to spot doing his thing, music was playing, and now I had a silly grin as I looked, listened, and studied as much detail as possible without looking overly conspicuous in my loud yellow jacket.

After a while, when it looked like everything was under control, I introduced myself to fvodo, and he lit right up saying how happy he was that I came out. He launched right into an introduction of his whole system, how he came upon the pieces, the power shading (very clever), the mixer, amps, etc. He clearly knew what he was talking about and what he was trying accomplish. Initially I was concerned I might be intruding on a very busy situation, but he made me feel right at home. Thanks fvodo.

The first band did a set, and fvodo set the levels to perfection. I was truly amazed at the sound quality and hard hitting bass of the T48's and OT12's. Though amazed, I wasn't surprised since I was already familiar with the efficiency of Bill's designs from the miscellaneous attempts of my own regarding electric bass amplification. Nevertheless, I truly appreciated being able to see and hear a well executed BFD PA system, outdoors no less. During this set, most of the riders were lingering around the beer tent a few hundred feet away, and fvodo was thinking maybe the PA was to loud. The stage was actually not set up in the best spot on the parking lot for listening purposes, and had fvodo been there early enough, he said he would not have let them set up there.

Next up was fvodo's AC/DC tribute band, and did they rock. At this point the beer tent emptied and a large crowd of bikers where happily taking in the entertainment across the whole front of the poorly placed stage, and the previous concern of overly loud sound proved to be idle speculation. fvodo had asked me to run the sound board, but mainly to set the level of bass, being the hardest to judge. The board was perfect, I only nudged the bass slider to dial in maximum bass goodness. fvodo had given me a crash course on his Yamaha digital 01V96 mixer (I think it was) which mostly went over my head, so I was glad I didn't have to reveal too much of my ignorance by actually running the board. Thanks for the sound credits at the end of your set, but really, credit where it's due, you did a bang up job during the sound check. Btw, Norma was an amazing singer, just like you said she would.

Next, the final band, with fvodo back in the sound saddle. At this point it was obvious fvodo was extremely pleased with the performance of his system. Never distorted, nicely balanced and all running off one 15 amp circuit with room to spare. At war volume the amps were coasting, with headroom to spare. fvodo mentioned a couple times he was sold on the efficiency concept of Bill's designs right away when first coming across this site.

A very successful "The Big Rig is unveiled!" night, and wish you many more. Some pictures

[SeisTres]

Where are the monitors???

[jeffsco]

Could you elaborate on the Scaffolding for the PA? I like the look of that setup and have spent considerable time trying to figure out a small footprint system such as you have there. Plans, details etc. Thanks....

[Gregory East]

Seriously, that is some shonky footing for a tall stack. Far better to space the columns out to a good footprint. Footprint is key to countering overturning, but it needs to be capable of resistance to the overturning moment of the wind.

The way the scaffold tree is set on planks there can be no serious resistance to a real wind beyond the capacity of the tree itself. Those are "pin" joints in the even of a blow. They may well be stiff enough to feel very solid with someone yanking on the tree at 5' level but that's the end of their usefulness.

If you wanted it to stand up to scrutiny a metal base would need to be triangulated onto the tree. It could be done without a lot more metal in the scheme of things. You could get clever and make it with arm adjusting side so it could be set up on sloping ground.

Some $$$ for certified engineering but not much more for the fabrication.

[guitarkeys.com]

And depending on your latitude, you will most definately want to account for the Coriolis Force.

[AntonZ]

I apologize for the ensuing scaffolding discussion. Thanks to you and WB for sharing, very much appreciated. Still impressed, I wish I could have heard your rig and performance.