I would like some avdice on my setup. I have played it live yet. I run my sequencer (laptop) to Roland SC8850 to Rolls 65b (one space mixer); I want to change my Midiverb to an Eventide Eclipse, and set up the tracks to be in stereo; what about the sax in stereo? I have 2 PAS with 4 subs, to be behind me on an 8 x 8 portable stage; I will be playing Mowtown, alot of horns in the tracks that I play along with, or sound as back-up to my lead. Should I set-up my effects thru the mixer? Should I go one channel to the left PAS and one to the right PAS and pan lefy and right on the respective channels oh the mixer? Any experience or suggestions? Thank you. Bob

Hi MM,

The Rolls RM65 is a two channel OUTput mixer, having only one L/R mix buss.

I would use it for your vocals & Sax since you want effects and stereo output.
Send L/R from Rolls into Channel 1 of EACH L1 system.
I would even go so far as to "Hard Pan" the vocals into one system(say Left) and the sax into another (Right).
This would give you the option of using the Bose presets for those mics.

As for the sequenced trax...since the mixer has no Aux or extra outputs (other than the monitor out),
you could run the sequences directly from the laptop into channels 2 of EACH L1 system.

The remote then, can control vocals and music for you.

I hope this makes sense.

Now...all that being said, why not just skip the mixer altogether.
Vocal in system 1 channel 1, sax in system 2 channel 1.
Effects devices hooked into the insert on the mic channel you want them on.

Run the Laptop as before.

P

Hi, Bob: Welcome to this forum!

quote:

Originally posted by MOTOWN MALIC:
...I run my sequencer (laptop) to Roland SC8850 to Rolls 65b (one space mixer); I want to change my Midiverb to an Eventide Eclipse, and set up the tracks to be in stereo; ... I have 2 PAS with 4 subs, to be behind me on an 8 x 8 portable stage; I will be playing Motown, a lot of horns in the tracks that I play along with, or sound as back-up to my lead. ... Should I go one channel to the left PAS and one to the right PAS and pan left and right on the respective channels oh the mixer?

You are on the right track with respect to your backing tracks: separate the various sounds into separate L1 Systems by panning the tracks/instruments either hard left or hard right. That will give your overall sound a lot more "clarity".

Unlike with conventional speakers, you don't need to send the same "sound" to more than one L1 System in order to provide adequate room coverage. The guideline for "live" music (which is what you're trying to simulate ...) is "one 'voice/instrument' through only one L1 System". (I don't mean you can't put multiple 'voices' into one L1 System, but that it is generally better to NOT put the same 'voice' through multiple L1's in most situations.)

quote:

Should I set-up my effects thru the mixer?

If you need effects at all (which you really might not! Try it without, first, in a performance-sized room!), there are no technical reasons to prefer effects in the mixer vs. using the Inserts on the PS/1. I'd think what really determines where you apply the effects is based on what 'channels' you want to really affect with the effects. For example, if you only want the effects on the sax, then it depends on where you plug in the sax mic(s) -- the mixer or direct in the L1's. If the sax mic(s) are direct in the L1, then you'd need to use the Insert for that channel on the PS/1. On the other hand, if you put the sax mics through the mixer, then you'd probably use the effects on the insert for that channel on the mixer.

quote:

what about the sax in stereo?

This is a somewhat tougher question to provide a simple answer to. The simple answer is "try various combinations, and trust 'your ears' from the audience's perspective."

The 'your ears' could be yourself, if you have long cords or wireless mics. Otherwise, it can be someone who's listening ability you trust.

The 'various combinations' depends somewhat on how you are 'micing' the sax:

If you are using a single microphone for the sax, then the choice is somewhat simple: Either go direct to only one L1, or send the mic output to both. From a 'clarity' perspective, it is often best to only have that solo/lead instrument be through just one L1 System. Remember, there is no "room presence" advantage by sending the signal to multiple L1's (unless those L1's are separated by at least 20'). Remember to compare "1 vs 2" at the same volume levels -- you might have to make some adjustments in settings as you switch between just using on L1 for the sax vs. using both so that the "sax sound" in the room is at the same volume.

Oh, and do that comparison under conditions as close to "performance" as you can: similar-sized room, and with the backing tracks (if you always use them).

If you're using multiple mic's with your sax, there are some interesting other combinations you could try, such as sending each mic to different L1's ... since each mic will be picking up a somewhat different spectrum of sound from the sax, they can be considered as different 'voices', so you can either direct them to different L1's or to the same L1 -- try it both ways to see which you like best!

I hope that helps. Note that there is a whole section of this forum dedicated to " Wind Instruments" (click on the link of that name to go there now).

Have fun!

I'm on the same path as Drumr on this one. The Laptop/Roland Sound Canvas piece to channel two on each L1 (stereo) works great.

If the Eventide Eclipse is for your sax and vocals it runs in dual mono mode so you can have separate processing on the two channels.

You have a choice there of running either through the Eventide first and then vocals to 1 L1 and sax to another L1 (ch 1 on either side), or running your sax and vocals to their own L1/ch 1 and inserting the Eventide in the insert loop. I'd say experiement there, you will find your own preference as to sound/setup ease.

Motown music has some larger horn lines. Are you going to use some of the harmony processing in the Eventide to recreate stacked horns? A guy I know named Skerik (Mad Season, Critter's Buggin, etc) used to do run his sax through a harmonizer. He could make it sound like a complete horn section or change the range of his tenor to soprano or baritone with the push of a button. I always thought that was cool.

Thanks for the input. My L1's will 7' apart certer to center, my midi tracks are stereo, so I thought I would run one channel to l & r to get a stereo signal, then also run sax in stereo, as micro shift in eventide I'm told would sound killer in stereo. I'm using an sc8850 for my sound module, and the horns sound great, as I can increase the volume on the horn licks backing me up. I will (after learning...) set up the harmonizer to go to 2 or 3 part harmony controlled by my sequencer so it will shift auto at set parameters in the song. This is a work in progress for my Motown show, including Chicago, EWF, and BS Tears songs. I'm not sure about the set-up suggested, I guess I'll try it both ways once the rest of my new gear shows up monday.

Catch it, if you can, on video and post it up here sometime. It would be fun to check out your gig. Sounds cool.

The most important two things are 1) that you're happy with the sound and 2) that you're having fun. Everything else is someone else's opinion and isn't as important as those two things previously mentioned.

Where do you play (part of the country)?

...I'm setting everthing up now. I should be gig ready in 3 mo. I'll have a website with video and audio clips by then, if all goes well, and I'll post the web adress...