EQ settings

[PeterKorg]

I am interested to see where you guys set you Main EQ. With our system I end up dropping a large section to -8 to eliminate bass boom, is this a common issue

[robbocurry]

What kind of system are you running Peter?
It looks very different to my typical graphic setup, we're probably using different rigs:)
What you like sound wise and what I like could be completely different too.
Did you set by ear or use RTA equipment?
If it sounds good to you and nobody is complaining - happy days!

[Greg C.]

I am interested to see where you guys set you Main EQ. With our system I end up dropping a large section to -8 to eliminate bass boom, is this a common issue

That looks very drastic. You may have issue with crossover/bandpass gain and speaker setup. Give a detailed description of your speaker system.

[sam.spoons]

In theory the graphics on the main output and auxs are to correct for the room and the speakers (both of which have a non-linear frequency response). With the DL1608 (or any good desk) if all DSP (i.e. the channel eq and dynamics, output graphics and dynamics, and global fx) are disabled the output signal should equal the input signal in all ways except gain/level. So the settings of the output graphics will be specific to the rig you are using and the room you are working in.

[Greg C.]

Also, the fact you're cutting every single band means you're needlessly reducing gain with the EQ. If you brought those cuts in the highs back to zero and reduced the cut on all the other bands by the same amount, you'd have the same relative spectral balance without screwing up the phase as much.

[Fluddman]

This is what mine looked like at the last gig. But it does change from gig to gig.

Try using high pass filters on your channel EQ. This will really help clean up the bottom end.

Cheers

[PeterKorg]

Sorry I should have given more details so here goes, I use all 16 channels 5 piece band
RCF ART 705 active subs and RCF ART 312 active tops
DW drum kit with Akg d112 on kick and and Akg C418s on snare and toms
Bass DI, lead guitar with Marshall mic'd sure sm57, keys in stereo, lead vocal using wireless sure sm58 beta, and sm58's for backing vox

I have tried bringing up the EQ but always causes boomy feedback,

Don't get me wrong we have a good sound from the PA, no complaints from my band or from the punters, but always concerns me that the EQ is pushed down, just doesn't seem right, which is why I asked for other people's experience

Cheers
Pete

[sam.spoons]

Bass 'boom' is usually a function of room resonances, smallish rooms have higher resonant frequencies than bigger rooms (obviously, sorry) and pubs and bars often have resonances in the 20-100hz region, a room 8 metres long will have a primary resonance around 43 Hz, slightly higher than a bass guitar low E, typical room heights of 2.5 metres generate a resonance at around 140Hz. Avoid placing the subs in a corner and, if necessary, turn the subs down to stop energising the room nodes. Since the room exaggerates these frequencies you'll still have plenty of bass but you'll remove some or all of the muddiness.
Also, rather than reducing all the low frequencies try to pick out the specific room nodes and make a couple of narrow cuts (these will be different for each room).

[Greg C.]

Sorry I should have given more details so here goes, I use all 16 channels 5 piece band
RCF ART 705 active subs and RCF ART 312 active tops
DW drum kit with Akg d112 on kick and and Akg C418s on snare and toms
Bass DI, lead guitar with Marshall mic'd sure sm57, keys in stereo, lead vocal using wireless sure sm58 beta, and sm58's for backing vox

I have tried bringing up the EQ but always causes boomy feedback,

Don't get me wrong we have a good sound from the PA, no complaints from my band or from the punters, but always concerns me that the EQ is pushed down, just doesn't seem right, which is why I asked for other people's experience

Are you using the high pass outputs on the sub to feed your tops? I would also agree with Sam that your sub level might be too hot relative to your tops. And make sure you use the high pass filters on your channels as previously stated to make sure you're not sending too much unwanted energy to the subs you don't need there from open mics.

[Wynnd]

I've got a HZ Detector app on my iphone to identify what frequency is the problem.   Then I just drop that frequency down.  So my EQ is usually straight across with one or two dropped frequencies.  I'm running an EV ZXA1 system with subs through an DriveRack PX.  My system is quite flat.  (I do use the DRPXs anti-feedback with one loud band.  I don't bother with it on the other band.)    Usually a smiley face or a frown on the EQ is an indication that not enough time was put into the choice of what to do with what frequencies.   Properly set, an EQ is more likely to look like a very bad set of pumpkin teeth.  Pink noise and a RTA (Real Time Analyzer) will let you know how the system works where it's set up and what needs to be changed.  (It's also something that is not good in an occupied room.  It works, just not much fun.)

[walterw]

hey, my first post! 

here's mine from the last show i did:



i'm running a sub out of aux 6, so this is the "ghetto crossover" EQ to take the lows out of the tops. +1 to having huge holes in the curve or everything way below the "0" line telling you that something else needs to be fixed. we should be able to balance tops and subs, drums and vocals, until it sounds at least OK before even touching the EQ.

now, they really need to give us the option to lose these stupid 31-band graphics and have those lovely parametric EQs on the outputs, not just the channels.

it would have been so nice to be able to just slide up the HPF to about 100, then put those two little dips in there by sliding my finger along until they sounded right!

[nottooloud]

I am interested to see where you guys set you Main EQ. With our system I end up dropping a large section to -8 to eliminate bass boom, is this a common issue

Words are imprecise tools as pertains to sound, but by my terminology nothing right of 160 relates to bass boom. I'm guessing you made that curve in Draw EQ mode. Start over, flat, not in Draw mode. Pull them down one at a time, as few as needed to fix the problem. First, though, turn down the gain on the subs. They're too hot.

[PeterKorg]

Thanks for your advice, I have a few new things to try tomorrow, one of the problems is the limited time to setup and sound check, typically we have 2 hours, to load in the gear, set everything up, including lights, which usually gives me about 30 minutes to sound check.

[ijpengelly]

Interesting, I run the 312A tops, but with EV 760b subs. You could try turning down the control on the sub rather than hitting the EQ so hard or turn up the tops, I run mine around the 3 o'clock position. I use very little main EQ typically.

If I were to guess what the problem is I would suspect kick drum or tom mics, check your gates and EQ, toms typically need to be either well gated or have some 300Hz taken out. I had issues at a gig recently due to too much gain on the kick drum and the bass guitar would occassionally kick it off.

Can sympathise with your time to set up :-)

Good luck.

[Wynnd]

Limited setup time.  That's typical for the venue.  Take some time at home and get your base setting flat.  You'll need a very dead room or put the speakers facing out of the garage.  RTA is the best answer, or a DriveRack, but you can get a very good baseline if your hearing isn't too damaged yet.  (I'm 60 and have hearing damage from my teen years.  That's why one of my first purchases was an RTA.)  Use that and save the settings on your mixer.  On a DriveRack the settings get saved on there, but then you have a flat system to run your mixer into and the DL is a pretty flat mixer.  (That helps a lot.)  I've found that if your system is already EQ'd flat, that most of the time, you can get away without any major changes in most rooms.  The closer you run to feedback the farther off the system will sound.  (DriveRacks also have anti-feedback and Electronic crossovers.  Things you might find useful.)