I had our first band rehearsal with the DL1608 and new DLM PA setup (2 DLM12s and 1 DLM12S). I am not a pro FOH guy ...
just a band member of a new band that recently lost our lead singer, PA system (Studiolive/QSC) and sound engineer. We are trying
to manage the PA from the stage and needed small/convenient setup .. as nobody has a truck or van.
First the good ... I fit the whole PA in the backseat of my car and hauled the entire system into the club in one trip (3 guys).
Here is what we have: (2) DLM12s, (1) DLM 12S, Mixer Box with DL1608, two in ear transmitters and rack power, (1) OnStage bag with
4 mic stands and two speaker poles, (1) box with XLR and 1/4 cables, and finally (3) small stage monitors. Setup was a snap and the load-in
was amazingly easy with such light weight components.
The band was amazed when I walked out in front and started mixing with the iPad. Even the house sound guy came over to check it out.
Setting up the mix was easy. I quickly realized the need for a talkback mic .. like most FOH engineers use. In the future I will grab a mic from
the setup so that I can communicate with the musicians while the setup (or annoyingly noodle). I was able to set the FOH, and Mixes pretty quickly
and saved as a preset. Ringing the monitors out required removing the comp and gates and tweaking some EQ. The acoustic guitar sounded the best
we have heard. Very crystal clear. The guitar player was impressed with this as was I.
The FOH sound was very good and clear and amazing for such small speakers (we mounted them next to the massive wall of in-house speakers).
I am not convinced that we have enough power here for larger venues. We were at about 70% of power with just vocals and the (loud) guitar, drums and bass
where not even in the mix. We could always add additional speakers for more power if needed. Pushing up the vocals EQ a bit .. did the trick. Basically after I had it set,
I jumped on stage and rehearsed without incident. (except)
I had one issue out in front .. I was on the Gate/Comp page for a channel and the Mixer Button (top left) dissapeared. I was unable to close the page and get back to the mixer view. I tried everything including re-docking to no avail. The only way I was able to solve this was to shut down Master Fader and bring it back up (thus losing all my mixed work to that point).
Is this a known bug? It appeared to me to be more of a memory issue rather than a wireless communication issue .. but I am guessing. Anybody else experience this?
Is there a fix or a work-around? The good news is that even with the mixer software locking up .. the sound was unaffected and the band continued to play.
