Not sure I have asked this or not [its an age thing].

Can someone explain to me a simple solution to "eq a room". We sometimes have issues in some venues. Its not because of the L1's its because of our lack of knowledge.

I have heard the term before and would love to know the best attack route for each and every venue we are at.

IE: highs need to be up in this type, or the lows need rolled off, etc. We have found in big live buildings, to roll off the lows.

quote:

We have found in big live buildings, to roll off the lows.

Yep, that's how you do it with the L1!


Pretty simple isn't it.

As the Bose doesn't shoot "upwards" you don't have some of the problems associated with big PA. No real need for graphic EQs and such.

We usually send a band member out front to check sound and make sure high/low balance is reasonable before we play. That's about it.

I know you probably hoped for something more technical, and someone may offer something, but in my two years, I've never had a room we couldn't conquer with onboard R1™ EQ

My duet has been playing for over 1 year and we use good equipment.

Shure Beta 87a mics and Taylor / Martin guitars.

Vocals - We use the preset #17 and set the eq flat on the remote. If anything, if we get loud, I cut the high's very slightly.

We don't even eq the room(s) anymore. We have so many compliments on our sound, we basically just turn the volume up or down accordingly.

That's it, it is that simple.

When we say "check" in the mic, it is to confirm it works!

Simple and easy, we have just talked our drummer into buying a L1 and the band will go 100% Bose.

I still can't believe these systems, no matter were we play, if I say something to someone in the audiance who isn't even paying attention to the music, they always turn around and acknowledge me.

We just played at an outside event where there were around 2,000 people and we played on a "big system."

Good stuff, Yamaha, Crown, EV Top end stuff and my wife said, " I didn't like your vocals, you sound better thru your Bose System."

My main point, don't worry about the eq to much, set it flat, use the appropriate preset and go!!

Hi opusthe2nd,

quote:

"eq a room"

You might have heard this term in the context of using special gear (real-time analyzer or spectrum analyzer) that emits white noise or pink noise into the room and then analyzes the reflected sound. See: Equalization of Sound Systems. I actually have gear that does that, and have found it less than helpful when doing live sound in 'one-off' situations.

With the L1™, as I walk the room - I hear the more of the L1™ and less of 'the room' than with conventional loudspeakers. I hear a lot less reverberation (because the L1™ tends not to send a lot of sound up and down to the ceiling and the floor). I think this may influence things like critical distance, and the Haas effect.

Where I'm headed with this is: If you set your EQ to solve problems with the environment, you may be creating problems for your listeners.

For example: If the room has a reputation for being overly bright, or if a spectrum analyzer tells you that it is, - if you take out your highs with the Remote - the audience can not hear the highs in your music.

EQ'ing a room, to me, means applying acoustic treatments to the room to solve problems in the room. This can involve bass traps, baffles and other physical changes to the room. I am aware that you are often performing in spaces where you have little or no control over the environment. So you are not going to be EQ'ing the places you play.


As for using the L1™ and the R1 Remote: High, Mid, and Low controls - if you can, take a quick walk around the room while playing a recording of your music. Make changes based on what you hear. If you can't do a quick runaround, then go with what you hear on stage.

From what I've read and heard and done, I tend to take a light hand on the tone controls as I move from place to place. I have better results turning something (High,Mid,Low) down instead of up.

With the L1™ there seem to be far fewer environment related issues. That is - it just seems to sound great most of the time, regardless of the acoustics of the room.

Does that help?


edit: fixed link

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ST,

Very well explained, thank you all.

ST has some good thoughts about it...as usual. The general idea is this:

Use your High, Mid, Low controls on the bose controller to shape the balance and tone curve of the signal based on the room. Obviously a room with a lot of reflective material may sound very bright. In which case, one would "back off" the high control on the bose controller in order to balance the sound.

EQ's with more bands (like a 32 band) are mainly used to "ring-out" a room and correct problems....i.e. pull out 800hz if the room is a bit "hot" in that frequency range.
These types of eq's are to only be used as necessary and there's a good chance you may not carry this type of rack gear to a gig if you are using the bose stuff.

So, at that point you are left with positioning of the sound system in the room (as this changes reflections and room nodes) and, or using some acoustic bass traps and lining the room with acoustic foam.

Go buy some bass traps, gramma pads and sub-dudes from Aurlex. You can get them on-line and they will be the best pieces of sound gear you will ever buy. You'll be able to monitor better and your audience will appreciate a more well-balanced and less reflective live performance. Auralex sells these things for an arm and leg, but it's well worth it.

For instance just setting your b1 sub on a gramma acoustic pad will clean up the low end (both on stage and off) all while making it tighter sounding and more full. It also prevents bass build-up in the room. You won't believe the difference if you get your entire band on these things. You will have cleaned up your sound all without touching a single knob, or slider on an eq. I'll never play another gig without these acoustic pads and foam. Your gear will sound twice as good if you take steps to eliminate the room from the sonic equation.

quote:

gramma acoustic pad

DHurley, are you using these under your B1s?
Which instrument's B1s?
Mostly effective for hollow stages, or hard floors as well?

This looks interesting to me, as hollow stages have given me problems with sloppy low end...what more can you tell us.

This sounds interesting to me, too, as I've had problems with low-end rumble coming through the piano mics.

Here's more info:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Auralex-Gramma-A...ion-Riser?sku=422640

I can usually eliminate bass feedback by moving or rotating the B1's, but I can see the Auralex pads working in some rare situations. Most of the bass problems I've had stem from room design & placement (gazebo's, corners) & not from hollow stages. Especially for acoustic guitar, just getting the B1's away a little further usually solves bass problems.

Tom

We use the auralex pads under everything that comes in contact with with the floor. This includes b1, the L1 bases, and any other speaker cabinet we have. Also, they work great under the vocal mic stands. It takes out the metalic ring from the mic stands. It doesn't sound like it would make a huge difference but having the pads under the mic stands prevent the 3db of 2-5k that you want to dial out via eq. The difference is night and day. Especially if your whole band is on them.

They great thing is that they make a difference on every surface, not just hollow stuff. We even notice a difference on concrete. I won't listen to anything without them, anymore. They are not cheap ($50 a pad)and I even bought some for my home stereo speakers. The bass traps that auralex sells are a must have, also. The Gramma are your first step, though. It not only
isolates from the floor, but prevents sound from traveling up into the walls as well.

Some places I play (very small stages with close walls)simply would not be possible without these acoustic pads. Monitoring would be a nightmare with so much bass build up. Buy them. I'm serious.

Also, temperature and humidity is a huge factor in sound propagation. So, make sure your venue is AC controlled, cool and dry....if you can. Ever wonder why things sound better at night?