BillFitzmaurice.info

Well, sometimes you just can't set up the way you'd like....

I've been contracted to do a monthly Country Music Show at the local KC Hall. It caters to mostly a 65 and up age group and is 99% old-school country. It a fun show - I was a guest on it several times a few years back.

Volume has to be kept very low and won't even have drums in the mix. However, the stage is really wide and room is wide. Putting subs in the middle won't work - they'd be so far away from the mains, that I think they would be very noticeable to the folks right in front of 'em at such low volumes.

So, I'm splitting subs. They will end up being over 50 feet apart. I really don't want to use speaker stands and stacking them on the T39s will be too low.........thus, it's time to come up with a solution.

Thought about just building some short stands out of 2x4s to sit on top of the subs, cut I didn't like the amount of space they would take up to store and pack.

I'll be using my two T39s that are 22 inches wide - same as the OT12s. Although this could be re-designed for different width cabs...

So, here's my solution.....

Cut out 8 panels (4 for each stand). Designed in both feet (to get clearance from the tophat in the OT12) and tabs outside the feet to keep it locked onto the speakers. Then put three piano hinges so that it can fold flat.

You can see the tabs and feet here. Folded up it's easy to carry and the removal of the interior panels makes 'em pretty light. Not the greatest pics, but you get the idea....

I like it, much more portable than mine

Looks good Bruce, but I am curious.. why not install top hats in the titans and only have extra poles to pack?

Oh wait, I just noticed they are the old top loader style.

Carry on

James Champer wrote:Looks good Bruce, but I am curious.. why not install top hats in the titans and only have extra poles to pack? Oh wait, I just noticed they are the old top loader style.

You could still do it, with the socket in the space between panels 3 and 5. It would have to be sealed airtight, of course. Bruce's stands will work, of course, and would also be handy for putting the OTops on a high stage, like those in school gyms.

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: and would also be handy for putting the OTops on a high stage, like those in school gyms.

That was my thought also, with the extra 18 inches, it will give me the versatility to use in places where the horns are just too low and I'd have to tote in speaker stands and have those legs sticking out.....always concerned about the liability of that.

Great idea. Is there any feature that locks the relative position of each panel other than the weight of the cab on top and the friction at the top and bottom edge interfaces?

Charles Jenkinson wrote:Great idea. Is there any feature that locks the relative position of each panel other than the weight of the cab on top and the friction at the top and bottom edge interfaces?

Nope, that's it. This was a quick, down and dirty solution to a gig that happens tomorrow. I only got in to the venue a few days back, so I needed to do something quick.....well, I could have just used tripod stands.....but, well you know.....

I tried something similar a couple of years ago. I setup a pair of tables on my T39s (2 per side run on their sides) with my (2) Otops on top to get over the crowd head level. For the crowds I serve, the extra height on the stack made me really nervous so I stopped using them. I've since had one stack this summer (without the shelf) knocked backward by a drunk man who literally stumbled into it during tear down. I was grateful nobody got hurt. Titans on their side are pretty stable. Titans on their end with the mouth at the floor are very top heavy. Stacking in your manner puts the center of gravity rather high. I would not stack that way unless everything is strapped together using ratchet tie downs and outriggers or bracing is applied to keep the stack from falling over. Imagine yourself tripping and falling into that stack from any direction with a bunch of people hanging around. Its not a matter of IF that happens.

dswpro wrote:I tried something similar a couple of years ago. I setup a pair of tables on my T39s (2 per side run on their sides) with my (2) Otops on top to get over the crowd head level. For the crowds I serve, the extra height on the stack made me really nervous so I stopped using them. I've since had one stack this summer (without the shelf) knocked backward by a drunk man who literally stumbled into it during tear down. I was grateful nobody got hurt. Titans on their side are pretty stable. Titans on their end with the mouth at the floor are very top heavy. Stacking in your manner puts the center of gravity rather high. I would not stack that way unless everything is strapped together using ratchet tie downs and outriggers or bracing is applied to keep the stack from falling over. Imagine yourself tripping and falling into that stack from any direction with a bunch of people hanging around. Its not a matter of IF that happens.

In a club with young people, I'd never do this. But, it's in a large hall with a mostly 70+ crowd who are sober and they won't be getting near the stage or speakers. But, I'll be keeping a close watch tonight to see just how it goes.

I'm more afraid of the legs of speaker stands sticking out and causing a trip hazard in this setting.

I stack my T39s on their side, three high with the OTops on top of that with no problem. This will definitely be less stable, but they will be up against the wall, so no one can hit them from behind.

Bruce Weldy wrote:I'm more afraid of the legs of speaker stands sticking out and causing a trip hazard in this setting.

This was the highlight of flying my DR200s on a lighting truss, it was rock steady, though people still banged their heads on the cabs and tripped over the legs.

Where's the like button...

Grant Bunter wrote:Where's the like button...

Plans are available through some PO Box in New Hampshire.......

Well, we used 'em tonight and they worked great ..... looked pretty good too.

They came up at the end and told me I had the job (I thought I already had the job... )

The folks that run the event were getting comments from the crowd as they left that it was the best sound ever. So, score another win for BFM!

I was kinda' weird going from a show I mixed last weekend where I was wearing earplugs to tonight's show where I was 10 feet from the speakers and had to whisper to my helper so I wouldn't drown out the PA.

Bruce Weldy wrote: I was kinda' weird going from a show I mixed last weekend where I was wearing earplugs to tonight's show where I was 10 feet from the speakers and had to whisper to my helper so I wouldn't drown out the PA.

LOL... I think half of the gigs I do now are quiet like that... fund-raisers where the background dinner jazz music had better not drown out the sound of donors reaching for their checkbooks... It seems that a lot of people can throw powered crap on sticks and do LOUD, but no one knows how to do quiet.
I think it's where these DIY arrays shine best, in pushing clear to the back wall without killing those in the front row.

NukePooch wrote:

Bruce Weldy wrote: I was kinda' weird going from a show I mixed last weekend where I was wearing earplugs to tonight's show where I was 10 feet from the speakers and had to whisper to my helper so I wouldn't drown out the PA.

LOL... I think half of the gigs I do now are quiet like that... fund-raisers where the background dinner jazz music had better not drown out the sound of donors reaching for their checkbooks... It seems that a lot of people can throw powered crap on sticks and do LOUD, but no one knows how to do quiet.
I think it's where these DIY arrays shine best, in pushing clear to the back wall without killing those in the front row.

It was certainly a first for me......used 16 channels, and not a single mic on the drums. Seven vocal mics. But, it was a nice mix - pretty much mixing to the volume of the drums.

After getting setup and the audience was coming in, I put on some music in the background. The emcee for the night had a surprised look on her face and said they'd never had music before the show or at the break......the same guy had been doing sound for this show for the last 18 years and had never played any music - nor had he ever done any kind of sound check.

It's amazing how many soundmen are out there just trying to pick up a check and have no pride in their work.