Such a great design

[Rick Lee]

Well, we had our 4th of July gig and WOW the T39s just flat out kicked!

Really excellent Christian Funk/Rock band

(that's a water spigot in front of the T39s and obviously we didn't v-plate) We had four bands and a talent show. The band pictured is 3 very musical guys in their early/mid 20s who definitely know how to play and understand well the "stage volume" issue. The bass player shares his talent with our band- we got to play last and it was one of those "special moments". The stage was set up on the side at the top of a hill where several hundred people came to watch the fireworks. We played right before the fireworks display, and almost nobody knew who we were so we had a large captive audience. By the end of the concert people were gathered around the stage, some holding up their cell phones. My wife was about a hundred feet back and she heard numerous comments about how good we were. It was fun!

Anyway, I had the boxes built a while back but put them aside to get the DR200s finished; ended up not finishing them in time. As you can see, I don't have the finish all the way on the T39s. The guys wanted carpet, but that's a chore, so I'm not sure how I'm gonna finish 'em up.

The EV tops we used just couldn't keep up w/ the T39s

The clip light was blinking while the -20db light for the T39 amp was blinking. Standing 20 feet in front of the T39s was a visceral experience. Walking back 100-150 ft. during the fireworks display (DJ had some trance music going) was just downright pleasant. Warm, deep, full, clear, clean- probably in the 90db range. Earlier in the day with bands playing the kick and bass sounded so good it almost made me hungry. And here's where you'll probably make a comment: We can't afford much (we do have nice mics)- an old console, a $20 FBQ3102, mixing from the side cause we haven't bought a snake yet, running monitors off an old Peavey mixer/head and these $75 OSB/MCM55-2332 subs sound like... better than anything else out there. I understand why ya'll exhort us to build them as nicely as possible- BB and Emminence, etc. The design of these subs is outstanding and should be upheld to high standards, because they sound like a high standard. Back in the day I built some University horn loaded subs (about the same size box w/ multiple compound cuts) and the difference is tremendous. To have such great sounding boxes w/ simple cuts- wow, what a design. I'm just thankful that they're marketed as DIY. I'm gonna finish these and the DR's to look great- they deserve it.

[Ron K]

Is that an old pair of EV1502 boxes I see? That was a very good sounding (especially vocals) box back in the day!

[Rick Lee]

Yes! We had to take them down from the wall at our church since I didn't have the DRs finished, and yes they sound good on vocals- I really didn't have to eq them much. Kinda like an OT in the mid except w/ a 15. The church is cinder block construction so they're pretty bright in that room. Now when I said they couldn't keep up with the T39s I'm sure the amp had something to do with it- we were using a Carver PM300 and running full range. I cut 100~200hz pretty drastically, 50hz -3db and of course chopped everything 40hz and below. The sub out on the Behringer is a 12db slope so I was pleased that it integrated so well.
They paid us $300 for the use of the PA, so I'm pondering how best to spend it...maybe go ahead and get a DCX?

[Ron K]

Back in the day when I had to really budget (not that I don't now just it's much easier) I based my next purchases on buying the type of gear I could use next. I resisted buying a large speaker box if I didn't have the power to run it.You get the idea. Since a DCX would be immediately usable that would most likely be a good choice. Unless of course you are short on Mics/cbales or are borrowing a mixer etc! One other thing I did along the way. If there was anything that I needed to borrow more then 3 times I put it on the wish list!

Now in your case since you said you were mixing from the side of the stage I might consider a snake first. Obviously you can run your rig the way it is!

Remember just get the size you would actually need. Buying a 250' with Elcos and fanouts for a 64 channel wedge mix wouldn't be a good choice. But a decent 50' 12 channel with 3 or 4 sends would do nicely for smaller places!

[gdougherty]

Back in the day when I had to really budget (not that I don't now just it's much easier) I based my next purchases on buying the type of gear I could use next. I resisted buying a large speaker box if I didn't have the power to run it.You get the idea. Since a DCX would be immediately usable that would most likely be a good choice. Unless of course you are short on Mics/cbales or are borrowing a mixer etc! One other thing I did along the way. If there was anything that I needed to borrow more then 3 times I put it on the wish list!

Now in your case since you said you were mixing from the side of the stage I might consider a snake first. Obviously you can run your rig the way it is!

Remember just get the size you would actually need. Buying a 250' with Elcos and fanouts for a 64 channel wedge mix wouldn't be a good choice. But a decent 50' 12 channel with 3 or 4 sends would do nicely for smaller places!

100' 16x4 will cover most things nicely. Leave what you don't need coiled when you're short, get further back when you've got the space. 16 channels covers 80% of what I do but I run around with some bigger bands. When I have to I can usually pack it all into 16. If you can, get one with 1/4" and parallel XLR returns on the box side. More versatile.

[Ron K]

I didn't suggest any particular size simply because I have no clue as to what his demands are so I left if with 2 examples!LOL.

[Rick Lee]

Yeah, a snake is an obvious thing. I was looking at a 100ft. 16x4 w/xlr and 1/4 returns, however, we don't have a sound man...and once we have levels set we're good to go. If we got a snake I'd train one of my teenage children to run sound. Also, a lot of churches we play have nice consoles and outboard gear back in the sound booth but not much in the speaker department. We've got a nice mic selection, plenty of cables, stands, etc. from my home studio but we need to build up the live end of it. Amps are okay for now, almost have the DRs finished, then I'll upgrade the monitors to Wedgehorns. Really, my choice I think is between a snake or making sure the speakers sound their best w/ the DCX...

[bgavin]

I have a Medusa Whirlwind 100' 16+4 snake. It's a pro grade product that I got on an eBay file sale, for cheap.
IMO, the 16+4 is the minimum I need to mic a live band.
When I have kiddie bands, I cut back to kick, snare, and two overheads. Otherwise, I use 8 on the drums.

[SoundInMotionDJ]

Excellent review & nice looking cabs.

The guys wanted carpet

-1 No rat fur!

Go with Duratex. Titans deserve only the very best.

--Stan Graves

[DJPhatman]

On the stage snake, get the largest you can afford. Buy once, cry once. I have my sights set on a 24x8 100' Hosa for just over USD$350. I am a big fan of having too much before not enough. If you are bi-amping (tops and subs) there's two returns right there. My ultimate plan is for the ability to provide 4 monitor mixes, plus drum/bass returns. This is of course after all the other cabs get built (I think I'm gonna win for the slowest builder award )

Most of my work to start will be volunteer (read: FREE!) just to get my name out as an affordable sound provider for local bands doing large crowds that they don't have the PA to do. I believe that once some bands find out how good they can sound when someone as dangerously informed as me does the sound and monitors, thank 100% to this forum and it's contributors. Without the vest experience and willingness to share their knowledge on here, I would never have even dreamed of starting a small PA sound company. To everyone, especially Bill, a tremendous THANK YOU!