Ringing Out PA With RTA

[c172essna]

After searching the forum, I  haven't been able to locate into about the specifics of ringing out PA with RTA in MF4.

I have worked with a Behringer Feedback Eliminator in the past, but have no experience ringing out the system using RTA within an EQ presentation.

What specific steps should I take when ringing out the system? I assume the process that applies to LR Mains can be applied to monitors as well?

My band just acquired the DL32R and, before going out live with it, plans to do a complete set up at a local community center to adjust gain settings, decide on effects settings, and generally become familiar adjusting and mixing with an iPad 2.

Thank you in advance for any help and tips you might be able to provide.

[sam.spoons]

While setting up at the community centre is a great idea to learn the rig and get some ball park settings you'll still need to ring out the system for each different speaker in each room, the purpose is to find the frequencies that need cutting to maximise gain before feedback and they are room dependent. Not everybody does this though (I rarely do TBH, huge swathes of feedback aren't welcome if there are staff or even audience in the room). Unless your onstage levels are very high, good monitor and mic placement should be sufficient and don't require the destruction of your carefully crafted tonal balance.

I always start by playing a well recorded CD through the FOH at reasonable volume and if there are any room resonances (identified by ear) I'll slightly reduce the graphic or PEQ at those to get the CD sounding how I want it (with modern kit this doesn't usually involve much adjustment other than the low end can excite a room resonance or two).

Then, if you must ring out the rig, plug a mic into an input and with the FOH on raise the gain until it feeds back and, using the FOH graphic/RTA display, identify the frequency and reduce the relevant band on the graphic. raise the gain further until it rings again and identify the new frequency, reduce accordingly. Continue until you've covered say the first four feedback frequencies. Do the same for all the monitors using the relevant vocal mic and you should be good to go.

[nedorama]

I'd say that setting it up ahead of time to practice is always good. What you may find is that monitors set up in one venue may not feed back, but do in another venue.

Other variables - angle of the mic towards the monitor, type of pattern (cardioid vs. hypercardioid) and how close the singer is to the mic.

Dave Rat has a great video showing how aiming your mics can help place the monitors in the null points of their coverage, which helps.

For my own band, I tell our female singers to be no more than 1 inch from their mic when singing - basically the width of their hand. When they're close on mic, it's a lot easier to have a better gain structure. If you have singers that are 6-12" off the mic, you've got to crank the gain to get any levels, and then you'll have to hack the EQ because now the mic is picking up everything.

So I'd work on mic/monitor placement and working with singers first, and you'll find that feedback becomes much less of an issue.

FYI - haven't played with the RTA yet, but should help to show offending frequencies better than guessing by ear.

[Topsøe]

Be carefull not to take out to many frequencies and do not notch those you do take to hard , it will ruin the overall sound and leave you with a pa that sounds thin and do not play any louder than it could before