DJ's do you set your limiters with sine waves or music ?

[Faux127]

A few questions on this subject:

After properly setting your limiter, how hot do you want to run the input signal? Is it okay to be hitting red (lightly) on the peaks of the music (on the driverack)?

On my setup, I run a small 8channel mixer between the DJ mixer and the driverack, as to give myself some administrative power. When the vu meter on the mixer is at -7 is just when the driverack begins to clip. Is this normal? Is there any way that I could somehow dial it in so it clips after 0 on the mixer? Maybe I didn't set my limiter correctly? On the driverack input signal meters, I think it illuminates two lights, then goes into clipping.
I limited by running my amp wide open, with a 60hz test tone through the mixer until it went over 55v, then dialed the limiter back until it read 48v (either that or 53v was the next click up, 3015lf)

Should I be enabling the compressor on my driverack? If so, how much compression?

Thanks for any answers you can provide!

edit:
Another thing, to match the output levels between the highs and lows, would it be common practice to run all amps wide open and once the limiters are set on the low channel, set the limiter on the highs just low enough that they clip at the same time? Then I can just dial back the levels by turning the attenuators down. That way, if the DJ goes into hard clipping on the mixer, my tops don't go louder than my subs.

[Tom Smit]

After absolutely no researching I ask: can you turn down the input gain of your Driverack?

[Faux127]

Not on the PA+, according to some posts I found, and not being able to find anything on mine.

[CoronaOperator]

What is the model # of 8 channel mixer and how are you hooking it up to the driverack? I'm asking because 6dB is the difference between balanced and unbalanced connectors and that is about the difference you are describing. Maybe something is not pairing correctly. Try your DJ mixer straight into the drivrack via XLR-XLR. They should both line up at 0dB.

edit: on the back of your driverack inputs there are 2 push buttons, one says +4dBu, the other -10dBu, press those and try again. That should solve your problem.

Do not engage any kind of compression on pre-recorded canned music. It has already had most of the life squeezed out of it at the studio. If you get into live mics and instruments then revisit that question.

[CoronaOperator]

edit:
Another thing, to match the output levels between the highs and lows, would it be common practice to run all amps wide open and once the limiters are set on the low channel, set the limiter on the highs just low enough that they clip at the same time? Then I can just dial back the levels by turning the attenuators down. That way, if the DJ goes into hard clipping on the mixer, my tops don't go louder than my subs.

Up to you how you want to run your system. Limiters, as set per the plans, are there to protect your speakers from physical damage. If you want to lower them some more to have them limit at the same time, that may be of some use for guest DJ's. They won't hear the subs running into the limiters as our ears are not that sensitive down low, however if the tops are hard into the limiters it will sound horrible. The horrible sound will provide feedback to the crowd/staff/friends of DJ, etc that may use that information to inform the blind (can't see red) and deaf (can't hear distortion) DJ to turn it down. You're best bet is to use your "administrative control" aka the gain on your 8 channel mixers input. (btw I'm stealing that phrase, sounds way better than "fader jockey").

[Faux127]

What is the model # of 8 channel mixer and how are you hooking it up to the driverack? I'm asking because 6dB is the difference between balanced and unbalanced connectors and that is about the difference you are describing. Maybe something is not pairing correctly. Try your DJ mixer straight into the drivrack via XLR-XLR. They should both line up at 0dB.

edit: on the back of your driverack inputs there are 2 push buttons, one says +4dBu, the other -10dBu, press those and try again. That should solve your problem.

Do not engage any kind of compression on pre-recorded canned music. It has already had most of the life squeezed out of it at the studio. If you get into live mics and instruments then revisit that question.

I run a Mackie 802 VLZ3 and it's got xlr to the driverack. During my testing, I was using unbalanced TS, but that shouldn't matter to the driverack because I increase the master volume on the mackie to compensate. The switch on the back of the driverack is set to +4dbu, and the other option is -10dbV. I assume that's a pad? What's the difference between the dbu and dbV?

Thanks for the feedback!

edit:
I tried setting the back to -10dbv, but no matter what I did, I couldn't boost the (60hz) signal enough to clip or even get close. I assume +4 would be correct then. I also tried using the Mic setting on the master level on the mixer, and that also had me cranking all the pots and not getting it to clip.

This is what I get with the normal settings, back at +4dbu and main switch at +4 instead of Mic. This is into HARD clipping, it starts going red at 4 on the mixer meter.

[Bruce Weldy]

You are kinda' mixing and matching levels and cables.

Use the XLR outs on the Mackie. Set the output button to +4.
Use the XLR inputs on the DR. Set the button to +4
Use XLR cables from the DR to the amp.

In the DR, go to the crossover section and see if the output of the subs and/or tops is set to -0-.

In the DR, check both the PEQ and GEQ settings, is something goosed really high?

See if that clears it up.

If not, try moving the DR to a whole different preset - just in case you are missing something that's messed up in the one you are using.

[Faux127]

You are kinda' mixing and matching levels and cables.

Use the XLR outs on the Mackie. Set the output button to +4.
Use the XLR inputs on the DR. Set the button to +4
Use XLR cables from the DR to the amp.

In the DR, go to the crossover section and see if the output of the subs and/or tops is set to -0-.

In the DR, check both the PEQ and GEQ settings, is something goosed really high?

See if that clears it up.

If not, try moving the DR to a whole different preset - just in case you are missing something that's messed up in the one you are using.

I have all of those cables you listed already set up, the only thing I have that's different are the cables into the channels on the Mackie are TS.

I will check the other settings on my lunch hour today.

edit:
I think I might know what is it, but I won't be able to test until tomorrow night before a gig.
When using Auto-EQ with the RTA mic, I need to set the Mackie to the -0- mark, then turn up the pink on the DR, right? I think that was my issue, I wasn't sending it a hot enough signal, so maybe the DR boosted all the eq to make up for it? Or put some sort of input gain on the signal.
That wouldn't affect how the DR only has one or two lights before the clip light goes red though...

[CoronaOperator]

What is the model # of 8 channel mixer and how are you hooking it up to the driverack? I'm asking because 6dB is the difference between balanced and unbalanced connectors and that is about the difference you are describing. Maybe something is not pairing correctly. Try your DJ mixer straight into the drivrack via XLR-XLR. They should both line up at 0dB.

edit: on the back of your driverack inputs there are 2 push buttons, one says +4dBu, the other -10dBu, press those and try again. That should solve your problem.

Do not engage any kind of compression on pre-recorded canned music. It has already had most of the life squeezed out of it at the studio. If you get into live mics and instruments then revisit that question.

I run a Mackie 802 VLZ3 and it's got xlr to the driverack. During my testing, I was using unbalanced TS, but that shouldn't matter to the driverack because I increase the master volume on the mackie to compensate. The switch on the back of the driverack is set to +4dbu, and the other option is -10dbV. I assume that's a pad? What's the difference between the dbu and dbV?

Thanks for the feedback!

edit:
I tried setting the back to -10dbv, but no matter what I did, I couldn't boost the (60hz) signal enough to clip or even get close. I assume +4 would be correct then. I also tried using the Mic setting on the master level on the mixer, and that also had me cranking all the pots and not getting it to clip.

This is what I get with the normal settings, back at +4dbu and main switch at +4 instead of Mic. This is into HARD clipping, it starts going red at 4 on the mixer meter.

20140522_074409.jpg

20140522_074356.jpg

20140522_074340.jpg

I don't see any clipping anywhere on those pictures, in fact everything looks normal. What I do see is red lights above the low output section on the driverack. Those red lights mean that the limiter has kicked in. Lower your output gain in the x-over section for your lows until the red lights come on at 0dB, then adjust your tops output gain to match.

[Faux127]

What is the model # of 8 channel mixer and how are you hooking it up to the driverack? I'm asking because 6dB is the difference between balanced and unbalanced connectors and that is about the difference you are describing. Maybe something is not pairing correctly. Try your DJ mixer straight into the drivrack via XLR-XLR. They should both line up at 0dB.

edit: on the back of your driverack inputs there are 2 push buttons, one says +4dBu, the other -10dBu, press those and try again. That should solve your problem.

Do not engage any kind of compression on pre-recorded canned music. It has already had most of the life squeezed out of it at the studio. If you get into live mics and instruments then revisit that question.

I run a Mackie 802 VLZ3 and it's got xlr to the driverack. During my testing, I was using unbalanced TS, but that shouldn't matter to the driverack because I increase the master volume on the mackie to compensate. The switch on the back of the driverack is set to +4dbu, and the other option is -10dbV. I assume that's a pad? What's the difference between the dbu and dbV?

Thanks for the feedback!

edit:
I tried setting the back to -10dbv, but no matter what I did, I couldn't boost the (60hz) signal enough to clip or even get close. I assume +4 would be correct then. I also tried using the Mic setting on the master level on the mixer, and that also had me cranking all the pots and not getting it to clip.

This is what I get with the normal settings, back at +4dbu and main switch at +4 instead of Mic. This is into HARD clipping, it starts going red at 4 on the mixer meter.

20140522_074409.jpg

20140522_074356.jpg

20140522_074340.jpg

I don't see any clipping anywhere on those pictures, in fact everything looks normal. What I do see is red lights above the low output section on the driverack. Those red lights mean that the limiter has kicked in. Lower your output gain in the x-over section for your lows until the red lights come on at 0dB, then adjust your tops output gain to match.

Ah, my mistake, I didn't mean clipping, even though I said it a bunch of times I see red and the word "clip" comes into my head

I will give this a shot, but this won't affect how my Mackie mixer triggers the limiter at under -4- instead of -0- right? I guess if my previous hyphothesis is correct, that won't be an issue! Thanks for the advice, I'll check out the xover gains on lunch!

[CoronaOperator]

I will give this a shot, but this won't affect how my Mackie mixer triggers the limiter at under -4- instead of -0- right?

By adjusting the output gains on the crossover you can set the driverack to show red wherever you like on the Mackie mixer. Put the mixer where you want it to show red, then adjust the crossover gains until it does.

[Faux127]

I will give this a shot, but this won't affect how my Mackie mixer triggers the limiter at under -4- instead of -0- right?

By adjusting the output gains on the crossover you can set the driverack to show red wherever you like on the Mackie mixer. Put the mixer where you want it to show red, then adjust the crossover gains until it does.

Great! I got this all working now, the only other thing would be that the output meter lights barely ever go over signal, sometimes they touch 30. I don't think it affects anything, but any knowledge on that?

[cave]

Insightful