|
Published in Performing Musician
Magazine July 2008
Mackie
SRM150
Compact
active PA system
Size matters? Mackie claim their
new active, compact offering is capable of working as
a personal monitor and a mini PA, so we just had to
put it to the test
Aubrey Parsons
In
my never-ending quest to get my gear as compact as
possible, I am constantly trying to find ways to
reduce equipment size without sacrificing sound
quality. The advent of plastic moulded composite
cabinets has seen a plethora of PA speakers on the
market that are lighter than their wooden cousins and,
in theory, harder wearing. I swapped my HK LUCAS rig
for a pair of Mackie SRM450s a number of years ago and
have not looked back since. However, the SRM450s are
overkill for some of the smaller venues that I perform
in, such as wine bars and hotel restaurants. So
imagine my excitement when Mackie announced their
SRM150 compact active PA system, which claimed to be
both mini PA and personal stage monitor.
Open the box!
At the rear of the cabinet,
there is a standard three-pin IEC power connector, a
Fuse circuit breaker switch, a three-pin XLR Thru
connector, a line/mic button for the main input, and
an additional Neutrick combo connector.
At the rear of the cabinet,
there is a standard three-pin IEC power connector, a
Fuse circuit breaker switch, a three-pin XLR Thru
connector, a line/mic button for the main input, and
an additional Neutrick combo connector.
After a quick phone call to
Mackie and an anxious week-long wait, two small
packages arrived — and I mean small. When you think of
PA systems, even ones that claim to be small, you
still expect a hefty couple of boxes, but each box,
including the packaging, was not much bigger than a
box of A4 copier paper. Out of their cardboard
packaging, the units seem absolutely tiny. They are
small, light and compact — not many active PAs on the
market could be carried all at once by a
five-year-old, but my daughter managed using the
built-in carry handles! Measuring 28.4 x 20.3cm (11.2
x 8.0 inches) and weighing in at just 3.4kg, I
instantly presumed there was no way these units would
cut the mustard. But oh how glad I am to have been
proved wrong!
On the panel
Controls on the front include
volume, three-band EQ, phantom power and an
instrument switch.
Controls on the front include
volume, three-band EQ, phantom power and an
instrument switch.
Resembling a miniature wedge
monitor, the moulded composite cabinet has been
designed to look like the rest of the Mackie SRM
range. The front panel houses a 5.25-inch (134mm)
speaker with a power handling of 150W. To the right of
the speaker there is a small mixer panel with Main
volume control knob, three-band active EQ and three
separate inputs. Inputs 1 and 2 each have a Neutrik
combo connector, which accepts balanced microphone
inputs from an XLR connector, or balanced and
unbalanced line-level inputs from a quarter-inch TRS
or TS connector. A push-button switch below the Main
volume control allows the use of 48V phantom power on
both inputs 1 and 2. Another push-button switch
toggles input 1 between mic/line and instrument,
allowing you to plug a guitar directly into the unit
(effectively a built-in DI box). The third input has a
stereo pair of phono connectors. Each input has an
individual level control knob. The three-band EQ has
been optimised by Mackie to work independently of each
other, allowing the user to cut or boost each 100Hz
(bass), 2.5kHz (mid) or 12kHz (high) band without
affecting the others, thus providing "more
tone-sculpting latitude and feedback control than
you'll find in any other product in its class."
The rear of the cabinet houses a
standard three-pin IEC power connector. Mackie don't
skimp on the length of the supplied power cables (you
get both European two-pin and UK three-pin wired
cables), which are 3m long! Next to the power
connector is the 'fuse' — a resettable circuit breaker
that will pop if you experience a voltage surge.
Switching the unit off and pushing Fuse to its up
position resets the breaker. Next comes the power
switch, followed by another line/mic button (for the
main input), three-pin male XLR Thru connector, and an
additional Neutrick combo connector for the main input
on the rear of the unit.
The underside of the unit has a
receptor that allows it to be mounted on a microphone
stand using the supplied adaptor, whilst the top of
the cabinet houses a threaded insert for mounting the
supplied boom extender. The combination of these
allows the unit to be mounted on a microphone stand
with a microphone boom on top of the cabinet, cutting
out the need for separate stands for monitor and
microphone.
Performance
I have used a number of personal
monitors that fit on stands and I was not convinced by
Mackie's blurb that reads, "Don't be fooled by the
small size" Experience tells me that everyone 'bigs
up' their product in some way or another. However, on
plugging a single unit to my system and feeding a full
mix signal from my mixing desk, I have to say I was
quite literally blown away. I ran some good old white
noise through the unit and held a decibel meter 1m
from the driver. As the manufacturer claims, it
managed to put out around 120dB.
For such a small unit, it really
does pack a punch. Whilst working as a solo singer
with backing tracks running from a laptop, the SRM150
gave me immediate control of my foldback. I took a
monitor send from my desk carrying backing tracks and
vocals, and connected via the rear connector on the
unit. This gave me overall control of the volume of
the mix and also the EQ using the knobs on the front
of the unit. By mounting the unit on a mic stand, it
can sit right in front of you on even the smallest
stage and be tweaked at will without having to bend
down like you would with a floor monitor. Although
they suggest that the unit can be used on the floor,
I'm not convinced a single unit gives enough of a kick
to get the sound from floor level up to the
performer's ears, but three or four across the front
of a stage would give great reinforced foldback.
When the unit is plugged in and
turned up without any signal running, it is as quiet
as its larger cousin's negligible hiss. When it is
cranked up, the sound quality is solid, clear and
definable. The mid- and high-range frequencies are
smooth and accurate, and the in-built Class-D
amplifier with its limiter does a really good job of
coping with very high levels before clipping. Mounting
the unit on a microphone stand means that you don't
have to crank it up as loud as a floor monitor,
therefore reducing the chances of feedback from your
microphone or guitar.
At my next gig, I tried the unit
as an all-in-one mixer monitor. I connected the
microphone to the second input on the front panel and
my acoustic (Martin) to the first channel, and
activated the instrument switch. I then took a feed
from the rear of the unit direct to my small PA via
the Thru XLR out on the rear of the unit. Genius! It
works really well, once again giving you total control
of your mix right in front of you. I attached a boom
stand to the top of the unit, so I had the monitor and
microphone all on the one stand. Again, with a guitar,
the unit didn't struggle or distort; it just gave a
really good representation of what was coming out of
the front-of-house PA.
Impressed thus far, I took a
pair of the SRM150s along to a gig with my five-piece
rock and soul party band. We were playing at a typical
student pub venue with about 300 people in attendance.
One problem we always have with monitors is the lack
of space at the front of the stage. However, that
isn't a problem with the 150s, since they are small
enough to be mounted anywhere. My guitarist was
ecstatic. We connected his mic to the first input and
took a thru connection to the front-of-house mixing
desk, meaning he had total control of his own vocal
monitor. Considering how loud the band can get, he
didn't have a problem throughout the whole gig hearing
his vocals because he had total control of his monitor
mix. I used the second monitor in the same way and was
equally impressed.
Finally, I got Mackie to put
their money where their mouth is and used a pair of
the speakers as my main PA for a gig in a five-star
hotel restaurant. I kid you not, people, when I tell
you that I fed stereo backing tracks and vocals via a
mixer left and right to a pair of the SRM150s and they
performed like a dream. OK, let's not pretend that I
had thumping bass. However, what I did have was a very
impressive sound and quite a high volume, which wasn't
distorted or tinny as one might expect.
Conclusion
Mackie have truly come up with a
wonderfully portable piece of kit that most solo
entertainers and small bands would benefit from using.
I have often used in-ear systems when space has been
at a premium, but in-ears can make you feel a little
detached. These units are a great alternative. The
best advantage as a singer is that you can really hear
what is going out the front-of-house PA, meaning you
don't have to rely on hearing your ambient vocal from
the PA, which in turn means you don't push your voice
too hard. I've already started saving my pennies for a
pair. Perhaps I could get the band to pay for them...
Now there's a thought!
| Published in
Performing Musician June 2008
TC-Helicon
VoiceTone Correct & Create
Vocal
processing pedals
Vocal processor specialists
TC Helicon have come up with a range of
easy-to-use pedals that really do exactly what it
says on the tin...
Aubrey Parsons
The
realm of foot pedals and effects processors has
long been lorded over by guitarists, many of whom
pride themselves on the massive array of sounds
they can produce from the plethora of effects at
their feet. However, the tide is turning, and a
relatively new range of pedals, designed
specifically for vocalists, means that we singers
can now get equally excited and experimental with
our vocal sound. TC Helicon, part of the TC
Electronic group, developed the rackmounted
VoiceOne and the giant (both in size and in
processing power) floor-mounted vocal processor,
the VoiceLive. I owned a VoiceLive for a while,
and it had some excellent features, including
pitch correction, compression, reverb and
harmonizing, but I found it quite complicated to
use (especially the harmonizing effects) and quite
a large piece of kit to have at your feet when
you're trying to prance around a small stage area.
I found I was only using a few of its features
(compression and reverb), so in the end it had to
go and I returned to using the built-in EQ and
effects of my little Behringer mixing desk. The
quality of sound reinforcement equipment seems to
improve on a yearly basis, and our audiences
expect our live performances to sound just like
the CDs that we attempt to sell them at the end of
each gig (that's if the drummer remembered to pack
them in the van!) so for many years I have relied
on a decent microphone to ensure my vocals get
some kind of justice. However, on receiving a
package from TC Helicon a few weeks ago, my
perception of vocal processing has changed for the
better — and probably forever, since I have no
intention of returning the pedals! Here's why
VoiceTone Correct
A sound engineer to tweak
your vocals during a gig is a luxury that most
small bands and solo singers do not have, which is
why TC Helicon have come up with a small box of
tricks that can automatically shape, compress, de-ess
and pitch-correct your vocals without the need for
a degree in music technology. The VoiceTone
Correct is housed in a small, sturdy, aluminium
and steel box and is not much larger than a single
guitar effects pedal. The case matches the TC
Electronic ND-1 Delay and NR-1 Reverb that we
reviewed back in the October 2007 issue of
Performing Musician.
The front panel houses five
control knobs, five push switches and two
heavy-duty foot switches along with an
easy-to-read set of LED displays, which show you
how the pedal is processing your vocals. The rear
of the unit houses an XLR microphone input along
with two balanced XLR outputs and a 12V DC 300mA
power socket for the supplied wall wart. There is
no battery option, but I suspect that with the
processing power involved, it would get through a
small country's national beer-budget in batteries
per gig, so that's no bad thing. The first XLR
output sends the processed signal to the main
mixing desk, whilst the second can be used to send
a separate guide signal to your monitor. Both XLR
outputs are balanced but they'll work just as
happily with unbalanced cables. The front panel is
incredibly simple to use. TC have used some clever
adaptive algorithms to automatically shape and
compress the vocal, meaning the unit is ready to
go right out of the showroom. Setting up is simple
— the microphone input level can be adjusted using
the top left knob, which has a small clipping
indicator LED. The LED turns green when it
receives a signal, orange when it's peaking and
red when it clips. The Shape knob adjusts the
shape of the EQ and the Compression knob increases
or decreases the level of compression on your
voice. A common problem with live vocals is the
high-frequency distortion caused by sounding words
with a pure 'S' sound ('Simply Sexy Superstars',
for example). The VoiceTone Correct has a De-ess
knob, which can lessen or increase the amount of
de-essing that the unit will perform. This is
known as sibilance smoothing, and it gives the
listener a smoother vocal without the
ear-splitting high-frequency noise that can occur
on even a quiet PA. The final knob is Pitch, which
can be adjusted and switched in and out with the
left-hand footswitch. Turning the corresponding
knobs clockwise for more and anticlockwise for
less results in a unit that is very easy to
operate.
The five push switches are
centre lit with red LEDs that indicate if they are
on or off. From the left, the first button,
Warmth, automatically adds depth and warmth to the
vocal by adjusting the EQ — this works especially
well for deeper and lower-frequency vocals. The
Adaptive Shape and Compress buttons switch the
Shape and Compress effects between automotive and
manual. The Dry To Guide button, when enabled,
sends your pitch-corrected voice in parallel with
your natural voice to the Guide XLR output. This
feed should be sent to your stage monitor to make
it easier to hear the pitch correction effect in
high-level situations. Finally, the Display button
switches the pitch display LEDs on or off.
Pressing and holding both the Dry To Guide and
Pitch Display buttons together will toggle the
microphone input to allow dynamic or 48V
phantom-powered condenser microphones to be used,
making it ideal for both live and studio
scenarios.
Plug and play
Since the VoiceTone
Correct doesn't need to be tweaked much during
performance, it is just as happy by the mixing
desk as it is on the floor.
Since the VoiceTone
Correct doesn't need to be tweaked much during
performance, it is just as happy by the mixing
desk as it is on the floor.
There are few effects pedals
that can be taken out of the box, plugged in and,
hey presto, you sound fantastic. However, the
VoiceTone Correct works like a dream. I read the
simple 33-page manual before attempting to use the
unit, but I needn't have bothered. TC Electronic
have designed a unit that could easily be used by
a drummer, so we vocalists will find it a breeze.
Plug in your microphone and output XLRs and turn
the Input knob fully anticlockwise before powering
up, by connecting the power supply to the rear of
the unit (there is no power switch). Once you have
selected dynamic or phantom power (the unit
remembers your selection the next time it is
turned on) you're ready to rock. Simply adjust the
microphone input to a sensible level, set all the
remaining knobs to 12 o'clock and sing. Pressing
the right footswitch engages what TC refer to as
the Live Engineer — it doesn't matter what type of
microphone or mic technique you use, or what range
of voice you have, the system will automatically
optimize the balance of frequencies. Start singing
and after about 30 seconds the unit analyses your
vocal and makes the necessary adjustments — it
really is like having someone tweak your voice in
real time. The first thing I noticed was that my
vocals immediately sounded clearer and richer at
all volume levels. I often perform at a five-star
hotel, where the manager wants swing jazz on a
Sunday lunchtime, and turning down my small PA to
keep the old grannies from complaining ("It's too
loud, dear") loses a lot of the richness and top
end of my voice, but the VoiceTone Correct made my
vocals clear and crisp and allowed them to easily
cut through my music mix without any additional
volume or tweaking of my mixing desk's EQ. The
following day I used the unit through a 4000W rig,
with my five-piece rock band, in a large, sweaty
club holding around 500 people, and it was an
absolute joy to be able to get my vocals cutting
through the band without having to pump up the
microphone volume. Adjusting the Compress knob
makes an almost imperceptible difference to your
voice. However it's the compression that keeps
your voice clear and present in the mix. The
further to the right you turn the knob the
smoother your voice becomes to the listener — even
at quite loud levels. Vocal compressors can be a
pain in the backside to use and you can spend ages
trying to adjust them, however this unit does it
all with one knob, and does it damn well.
Hitting the Pitch footswitch
kicks the unit into an almost magical mode.
Imagine having a box of tricks that can keep your
voice in tune without an external guide pitch such
as a MIDI feed from keyboard. Well that's what
this unit does. It is a little disconcerting at
first because you hear both the sound of your
voice in your head and the corrected sound coming
out of the PA. It almost sounds like a
double-tracked vocal but is only noticeable to
you. The pitch coming from the main output of the
unit is a corrected pitch, and any third-party
listener won't realize that there is some jiggery-pokery
going on with your voice. I'm the first to admit
that I've never been a fan of voice correction
units — I've always thought of voice correction as
a form of cheating, but this unit is more like a
vocal trainer, in that it lets you know when you
are singing off key by allowing you to hear the
difference between your voice's real pitch and the
corrected pitch, and that lets you adjust your
vocal accordingly. If you are performing with a
loud band it is possible to feed both your
original voice and the corrected pitch to your
stage monitor via the Guide XLR. However, the
audience will only hear the corrected pitch from
the main XLR output. Cranking up the Pitch knob to
the max gives an obviously stepped-pitching effect
with side-effects, a bit like Cher's infamous use
of an over-processed Auto-Tuned vocal on her track
'Believe'.
I found the best way to use
the unit is to tweak the mic input to a sensible
level, switch all the effects on and set all the
knobs to 12 o'clock. This is the optimum setup
recommended by TC. The VoiceTone Correct sends a
constantly adjusted EQ to the mixing desk so there
is no need to mess around with any EQ once the
unit is up and running. Although this is a
floor-mounted unit, I found I could situate it
next to my mixer since it doesn't really need any
tweaking during a performance, which makes me
wonder if TC could bring out a half-rack version?
The processor was just as happy with a wireless
Sennheiser EW365 condenser microphone as it was
with a wired dynamic Shure SM58 Beta. But before
you think this magic box will turn you from Shane
Mcgowan to Pavarotti, there is a computer acronym
called GIGO, which stands for 'Garbage In, Garbage
out'. This unit will help the sound of your voice
— it will not turn a bad singer into a good one,
however it can make a decent singer sound great.
As vocal processors go this is a unit that I would
recommend to all singers. It will brighten your
vocal, help you sing to the correct pitch and
subsequently make you sound like a better singer.
VoiceTone Create
In the event that you are
being accompanied by an instrument that is not
tuned to A=440Hz, you can adjust the VoiceTone
Correct's tuning reference to that of the
detuned instrument.
In the event that you are
being accompanied by an instrument that is not
tuned to A=440Hz, you can adjust the VoiceTone
Correct's tuning reference to that of the
detuned instrument.
So on to our second helping
from TC Helicon this month, the VoiceTone Create.
This is a multi-function vocal effects pedal
offering reverb, delay, modulation and transducer
effects. It has the same dimensions and weight as
the Correct pedal, so once again it doesn't take
up too much of your precious stage floor space.
There is something very appealing about being able
to take control of your vocal effects without
having to rely on a sound engineer or walk over to
a rack and mess with the built-in effects of a
mixing desk during a gig. You also have the added
advantage of being able to switch the effects on
and off using your feet, which is handy when you
are also talking to the audience between songs.
TC Helicon have gone to
great lengths to give the performance-minded
singer studio-quality effects on stage, and the
unit is based on some of their previous high-end
studio hardware processors such as their mighty
(and mighty costly) VoicePro. Some band members
might get a bit worried to see a singer turning up
with an effects processor, but they need not fear
since, once again, TC have developed a unit that
is pretty much ready to use straight out of the
box. The front panel has a simple layout, but it
was definitely worth reading the manual before
getting started with this little puppy. The unit
has been designed to be used in a number of
performance modes, which can give either the
singer or a sound engineer control over the
wetness of a mix.
There are five control knobs
along the top of the unit. The first is the Input
knob, which controls the microphone input level
(both dynamic and phantom-powered condenser mics
are supported). Second from the left is the Patch
knob, which cycles though the 99 patches in the
unit. I would have preferred a stepped-action knob
as opposed to the smooth action that is supplied,
as it can be a bit tricky to select the correct
patch if you're in a hurry or have the DTs. The
next two knobs, Tweak X & Y allow certain
parameters of the currently selected effects patch
to be edited. For example, you can adjust the
pre-delay and length of a reverb patch, or
increase/decrease the intensity of a modulation
patch. The final knob is the Mix control, which
determines the balance of dry and wet sound. The
numeric display indicates the current patch, and
when tweaking it temporarily indicates the value
of the last edited Tweak knob. All 99 patches on
the unit have been broken down into groups to
allow easy selection of required effects. The
group list with corresponding patch numbers is
printed on the unit to the right of the display.
Below the display are five Performance buttons,
which are illuminated with a red LED when they are
active. Each Performance button can store two
different patches, which can be selected using the
left footswitch — I'll explain more about this in
a moment. Pressing Performance buttons one and two
simultaneously will switch the mic input from
dynamic to 48V phantom powered. Finally, there are
two heavy-duty footswitches, both of which have
multiple functions. The right footswitch turns the
effect on or off, but is also used for tap tempo.
If you're using a delay patch, you hold down the
right footswitch for two seconds to activate the
tap-tempo mode. This is great for working with a
live band because, unless you're playing to a
click track, it's almost impossible to pre-set a
delay time to match the tempo of the track you are
performing. Tapping the right footswitch three or
four times to the beat of the music will bring the
delay tempo in line with the tempo of the song.
Pressing and holding the switch again for two
seconds returns the switch to normal mode. The
left footswitch has a bright red LED to indicate
the activation of A or B patches, whilst the right
footswitch also has an LED to indicate whether the
effect is on or off. The left-hand footswitch
controls A/B switching and performance mode.
In the mode
On the VoiceTone Create,
the left footswitch allows you to change between
two different effects, and the right footswitch
turns the effect on or off, while also doubling
up as a tap-tempo button.
On the VoiceTone Create,
the left footswitch allows you to change between
two different effects, and the right footswitch
turns the effect on or off, while also doubling
up as a tap-tempo button.
The simplest way to use this
pedal is just to select a patch and switch the
effect on or off with the right footswitch.
For A/B effect performances,
pressing the left switch allows you to switch
between two different patches. For example you can
switch between a room reverb for the verse of a
song and delay for the middle eight.
Once you've got used to
using the unit in its basic form you might want to
set up a number of different patches and cycle
through them during a song, or select different
patches for different songs just by stomping on
the pedal. By pressing and holding the left
footswitch the unit is switched into Performance
mode, which allows you to cycle through a set of
five different patches, all of which can be
programmed by the user.
The rear of the unit deals
with contact to the outside world. A balanced XLR
input is switchable for both dynamic and condenser
microphones. Then there are two balanced XLR outs
following the standard left=mono and right=stereo
split. The right XLR output can also be switched
to a dry output signal, which would give a mixing
engineer total control over your dry/wet effects
mix, by feeding the wet mix to one channel and the
dry mix to another. The unit can be switched
between mono and stereo output by pressing
Performance buttons four and five simultaneously.
How does it sound?
The outputs on the
VoiceTone Create can be configured such that the
Left output contains only the wet signal, and
the Right output is 100 percent dry, allowing a
mix engineer total control of the clean and
effected signals.
The outputs on the
VoiceTone Create can be configured such that the
Left output contains only the wet signal, and
the Right output is 100 percent dry, allowing a
mix engineer total control of the clean and
effected signals.
The VoiceTone Create is a
bit like the TARDIS — small on the outside yet
bursting full of effects on the inside — but how
does it sound? Well the manual recommends that you
sit down and work your way though the patches to
find what will be relevant to you. All patches can
be edited and stored to the performance buttons —
a word of warning here though: if you forget to
store the edited patch to a button (simply by
pressing and holding the corresponding button you
wish to store to) the unit will forget your tweaks
once it has been turned off.
Just like the VoiceTone
Correct, you need to connect your microphone to
the input and then connect the XLR outputs to your
mixing desk, making sure all faders are off before
connecting the 12V 300mA DC power connector.
Connecting a dynamic microphone whilst the unit is
switched into 48V phantom power mode won't cause
any damage provided that you use a balanced cable,
however there might be a pop when you plug the
power in or disconnect it. Once you've tweaked the
microphone input it's time to start having some
fun. Once again, the selection of preset effects
is almost entirely usable out of the box. There
are a few gimmicky patches but TC make no effort
to hide them, as they are named on the patch list
as Showcase (patches 1-10) and Special FX (patches
91-99). I'm not going to go though every single
patch, but I will break down each effect type as
follows:
Reverb
Reverb is probably the
effect that you will use the most. The reverbs are
split into two types: Spaces, which emulate rooms
and halls, and Devices, which emulate plates and
springs. The most common assignments for the X and
Y tweak knobs are level, decay, style and
pre-delay. I found all the reverbs usable — again,
both as a solo singer and with my band. Once I had
tweaked patch number 13 I stored it to the 'A'
patch of Performance button 1.
Delay
The delay effect is
essentially a configurable echo. It is possible to
control the delay time from slap-back to almost
infinite echo (the manual describes this as like
being trapped in a hall of mirrors — a good
comparison methinks!) There is a good selection of
very usable delays including slaps, mono taps,
stereo taps, syncopated taps, and ping pongs (when
used in stereo mode, sound goes from the left to
the right channel). The most common assignments
for the Tweak knobs are feedback, delay time, and
high cut.
Thicken
These are called uMod
patches by TC, and are basically chorus and flange
effects that can thicken the voice and give the
impression of double-tracked vocals. The effect
uses a combination of stereo pitch-shifting
(detune), small amounts of stereo delay and then
some of that good old jiggery-pokery to filter the
feedback and modulation. The full range of uMod
effects includes micro-pitch, detune, thicken,
chorus and flanger. The most common assignments
for the Tweak knobs are level, feedback, depth and
speed.
Transducer
Regarded as 'ear candy'
effects by TC, these patches emulate vintage
audio, telephone voices, and so on. They also
include distortion, which can be used to great
effect to add altered character to your voice.
This is an effect that is often used by
thrash-metal singers. The Tweak knobs affect
bandwidth, pre/post gain, distortion and low cut.
Patches 51 - 90 cover
various vocal presets designed for different types
of music. 51 - 60 is pop and R&B, 61 - 70 is rock
and metal, 71 - 80 is country, and 81 - 90 is jazz
and ballard. TC Helicon explain that they often
get requests from customers on how to adjust units
for specific types of music, and after some
research their in-house experts have authored the
patches for each of the major music genres. I
managed to kill an entire afternoon working
through all of the patches and I have to say they
are all very usable in their existing state. After
tweaking five patches and assigning them to the
performance buttons on the unit, I turned up at a
gig with my band and announced; "Tonight boys,
it's my turn to sound cool" Looks of horror ensued
but I have to say the unit performed
fantastically. The only thing I needed to adjust
slightly was the wet/dry mix at the start of the
performance — all the patches that I had tweaked
whilst in my house worked and sounded just as good
through a 4kW rig as they did through my studio
monitors at home. Impressed — yes. Both units
perform excellently and give great results. As I
mentioned before TC Helicon will need a crowbar to
get these units back from me, as they are now an
integral part of my live setup. 
You can tune a guitar but
you can't tuna fish...
The VoiceTone Correct is
preset to work at the standard tuning of A=440Hz.
However it is often the case that you will be
working with instruments (real pianos, strings,
brass etc) that may not have 'A' tuned to 440Hz,
or you may hear that your corrected voice is not
in tune, in which case you will need to change the
unit's tuning reference. Fear not Blackadder, for
the VoiceTone Correct has a cunning plan
A simple process allows you
to retune the unit by letting it listen to a
monophonic note from the detuned instrument.
You can tune a guitar but
you can't tuna fish...
The VoiceTone Correct is
preset to work at the standard tuning of A=440Hz.
However it is often the case that you will be
working with instruments (real pianos, strings,
brass etc) that may not have 'A' tuned to 440Hz,
or you may hear that your corrected voice is not
in tune, in which case you will need to change the
unit's tuning reference. Fear not Blackadder, for
the VoiceTone Correct has a cunning plan
A simple process allows you
to retune the unit by letting it listen to a
monophonic note from the detuned instrument.
Driving on manual
The automotive adaptive
technology works fine, but there might be the odd
situation where you need more manual control over
the unit's EQ. This can be done with a few simple
button presses.
| Published
in Performing Musician Sept 2008
Mackie SRM450 v2
Active PA speakers
Can you really teach an
old dog new tricks? Those clever people at
Mackie certainly seem to have managed. Or is
it just my imagination
Aubrey Parsons
For
those of you who already own the active Mackie
SRM450s, here is the information that you
need: the SRM 450v2s are a different color
(midnight blue) and they weigh less (by almost
five kilos), but do they actually sound
better? You didn't think I was going to give
that away in the introduction did you? Whether
you are a Mackie virgin or veteran, read on to
find out if they've managed to improve on an
already great active PA speaker.
Mackie developed their
active range of SRM speakers (Sound
Reinforcement Monitors) over 10 years ago,
with the aim of supplying a system that could
deliver studio-quality sound in a live
environment. They followed the route of many
companies by producing a powered speaker
housed in an injection-molded polypropylene
cabinet, making the unit as sturdy as possible
but light enough to be carried in one hand.
The advent of their v2 range of speakers now
means the drivers have changed, the
electronics have been upgraded and the overall
portability of the unit has been improved by
making it lighter in weight.
What's in the box?
The v2s contain a new
lightweight neodymium woofer, an all-new
compression driver and Class-D Fast Recovery
amplification (300W LF, 100W HF). Their new
Class-D Fast Recovery amplifier and switching
power supply allow the units to stay
remarkably cool even when driven hard for long
periods of time. The transducers have been
upgraded, along with the neodymium woofer,
three-inch voice coil and heat-treated
titanium compression driver. All of these
improvements give these units more power,
clarity and punch than their predecessors.
Apart from the color,
the unit looks identical to its predecessor.
They've been designed to be pole-mounted from
the bottom, flown vertically or horizontally
via integral M10 mounting points (two each
located on the sides, top, bottom, and rear of
the enclosure), or used as a wedge monitor.
I've used the units in every way imaginable
and as well as performing really well as FOH
speakers, they work equally well as floor
monitors and side fills with surprisingly good
results — it takes a lot to make them
feedback. There are handles on either side of
the unit and one on the top, making them easy
to carry and manoeuvre.
Connecting to the
outside world
The back panel
features XLR Input and Thru sockets, a
mid-scoop Contour button, a Low Cut switch
and a Level control.
The back panel
features XLR Input and Thru sockets, a
mid-scoop Contour button, a Low Cut switch
and a Level control.
All of the connections
and controls are on the rear panel. The Input
and Thru output connections are made via a
pair of three-pin XLR connectors. The input
XLR will take either a line or microphone
signal, which allows you to use the units
purely as a simple vocal PA for speeches
without the use of a mixer. The input level
can be adjusted via a rotary control knob. The
line level XLR Thru output allows daisy
chaining of units, or taking a monitor feed
from your front of house sound to a stage
monitor such as the SRM150 (which we reviewed
in the July issue). There is no adjustable EQ
on the rear of the unit, which is the only
drawback if you are using a microphone
directly in to the system, however an SM58
plugged directly into the speaker gives a
clear, crisp tone. It is possible to slacken
off the mid frequencies by depressing the
Contour button, which reduces the frequencies
between 100Hz and 12kHz. It is also possible
to roll off the bass frequencies below 75Hz
via the Low Cut button. These are handy if you
are performing in a room that has a lot of
natural low end or mid frequencies, and saves
you having to re-EQ every channel on your
mixing desk. Finally there is a thermal
cut-out indicator that activates if the unit
has been driven too hard for too long a period
of time. It will automatically switch the unit
into protected mode until it has been given
time to cool down. No matter how hard I drove
these cabinets, however, I couldn't get them
to cut out, which is an indication of their
durability.
How do they sound?
On the day that I took
delivery of what I thought would be a pair of
SRM450v2's, I was a little surprised on
opening the door to find only one parcel
containing only one cabinet. Resigned to the
fact that they must have sent only one in
error I decided that one would be enough for
now, and this turned out to be somewhat of an
advantage. I had a wedding gig that very
night, in a medium-sized venue (around 200
guests) where I was singing to backing tracks
and DJ-ing. I set up my normal rig with a pair
of SRM450s per side, but in this instance I
used a standard SRM450 on one side and the new
SRM 450v2 on the other — this way I could be
sure of hearing the difference between the
speakers. Whereas the old SRM450s delivered a
great sound, I was pleasantly surprised to
hear that the v2s gave a little more punch and
certainly a significant increase in the high
end of the frequencies, and overall they were
brighter than their parents.
One thing to notice with
the v2s is that the flared horns contain a
'multi-cell throat aperture', which basically
means that the horn has been split up into a
number of cells to allow a wider dispersion of
the higher frequencies. This means that you
don't have to be standing directly in front of
the units to hear a well-balanced sound — they
sound pretty good no matter where in the room
the audience is listening. This has the
advantage of allowing you to use them at a
lower volume than some of their rivals,
because you are not trying to fill a room with
sound using brute force.
The original SRM450 has
a good reputation for its ability to deliver a
good low-end punch, and this has been beefed
up by the v2's servo feedback technology,
which locks the woofer in place with the
positive and negative outputs of the
amplifier. It's a nifty trick that makes the
units sound a lot bigger than they actually
are, and the new lightweight woofer's magnet
also allows the bass driver to move quicker,
giving more punch as well as cutting down on
the overall weight of the cabinet.
However, there was the
odd occasion with the new version where I had
to EQ out quite a lot of the middle
frequencies if my microphone was positioned
with a wall too close behind me — yes, I know
this is a phasing/feedback problem, but I
don't get that with my old SRM450s. I presume
this is a result of the upgrading of the
drivers and the electronics, making the new
units more sensitive to their environment.
This is not a gripe, just an observation.
The next gig was with my
band — a corporate event with around 600
guests, held in a marquee where extra low end
and overall volume was needed. By now the
second cabinet had arrived, and so the two
SRM450v2s were paired up with a pair of Mackie
SWA1501 active bass cabinets. Unfortunately,
due to a power surge, one of the subs popped a
fuse in its power board a few minutes before
the gig, which did not give me enough time to
make a running repair. However the new v2's
performed handsomely connected to a single
sub, and we managed to pump out a nice, clean
overall sound with plenty of punch from the
vocals, bass guitar, kick drum and snare with
just the one sub running. I'm not sure the old
SRM450s would have coped quite as well as the
v2s.
In conclusion, the v2s
give a great, punchy, clean sound, especially
considering their sound-to-weight ratio. I
wasn't considering replacing my existing PA,
since it does a great job night after night
(around 260 gigs per year), however I am
seriously considering upgrading my old 450s to
the new version — they definitely have the
edge compared to anything in their price
league. They might hurt your wallet, but they
won't hurt your ears or break your back.
|
Published in Performing Musician Sept 2008
Ryger Footlight USB-DMX
LED PAR can
controller
Using your feet to
control stage lighting is nothing new, but
this DMX foot controller from Ryger allows
you to literally trip the light fantastic
Aubrey Parsons
In a perfect
world, every live act would have a sound
engineer and lighting technician along
with a full compliment of road crew to
deal with any situation that might arise
at a gig. However, in reality the majority
of small to medium-sized bands cannot
afford such luxuries and control their
sound and lighting from the stage.
Lighting controller manufacturers Ryger
have been supplying equipment to DJs and
bands for over 20 years, and have recently
expanded their range with a DMX foot
controller capable of working with LED PAR
cans, scanners, floods and even smoke
machines — in fact, any piece of equipment
that is controlled via the DMX 512
protocol. So, in theory, anyone with a
spare foot should be able to control the
kind of light show that you would expect
to see on the stage of a high-end
production.
On the floor
Ryger are probably
best known for their range of lighting
chasers, which include the much-loved
Footlight FL4. The four-channel FL4 talked
to the outside world via a Bulgin
connector feeding 240 Volts of up to four
Amps per channel — which was enough to
power at least eight PAR 56 cans. The unit
is still in production and is ideal for
controlling standard lighting from the
stage. However the FL4 is slightly
limited; it cannot control DMX lighting
and its three footswitches only allow
selection between 'blackout', 'flood' or a
change of pre-programmed lighting
sequences. The new Ryger Footlight USB-DMX
LED PAR can controller breaks all those
boundaries. It is housed in the same
sturdy, pressed-steel box as the FL4 but
is adorned with six large, red
footswitches that look a bit like the
'fire' button from an '80s Space Invaders
machine. A green LED on the top of the
unit indicates 'Show Change' (the LED
flashes when the unit is connected to a
PC) and the red LED illuminates when a DMX
signal is active. The unit is quite
compact and takes up about the same
footprint as three guitar effects pedals.
It is powered by a 9V DC wall-wart that
hooks into the unit on the right-hand
side. The same mounting plate houses a
power switch and a USB connector, while
the left-hand side of the unit houses a
single DMX three-pin XLR connector. This
controller has been designed to allow you
to pre-programme lighting sequences from a
PC and download them onto the unit for
stand-alone live use. As well as working
stand-alone, the unit can be used as a DMX
interface when connected to a PC or
laptop, giving live stage control of
lighting using the appropriate DMX
lighting software. It is capable of
controlling non-DMX lighting, but an
additional fader pack would be required.
This is definitely not an 'out-of-the-box'
solution for your lighting needs, and the
mention of USB connectors and PC hook-ups
gives you some indication of what is to
come!
Let there be light —
please!
I have to admit to
becoming a little frustrated with this
unit, but that is because of my impatience
when it comes to trying out new gear. I'm
one of those people that will rip open the
box, plug it in and only succumb to the
instruction manual as a last resort. The
Ryger LED PAR can controller is a product
that takes some getting used to. Once the
unit is programmed it's easy to operate,
but setting it up requires quite a steep
learning curve for anyone who hasn't
experienced lighting control software
before. Having said that, the results are
more than satisfying enough to justify the
effort. The unit is supplied with a
12-page manual and a copy of Daslight's
Digital Virtual Controller software, which
needs to be installed onto your PC or
laptop. Since I am reviewing the
performance of the unit and not giving a
tutorial on how to program using DVC, all
I will say is you need to sit down and
learn this software before you try and
start programming your lighting. You also
need an intermediate level of DMX
knowledge. There is absolutely no
shortcut. The Daslight software allows you
to program lighting on a 3D virtual stage
and supports drivers for over 150
manufacturers, which means over 3000
different DMX lighting products (the
Daslight library is being updated all the
time). Lighting scenes and sequences can
be programmed and then uploaded to the
unit for use on stage.
Making it all work
The manual is only
12 pages including the covers, and works
through the process of programming the
unit. However as I have already mentioned
it doesn't teach you how to use the
Daslight software, which is why you need
to familiarise yourself with this first.
The basic process for programming the unit
is as follows:
1. Select the
lighting units from the supplied list that
can be updated from the Daslight website.
2. Add your scene.
3. Rename your
scene.
4. Make your steps.
5. Set your wait and
fade times.
6. Test and run the
scene.
7. Alter and correct
mistakes.
8. Save the show.
9. Add another
scene.
10. Rename the new
scene.
11. Make your steps.
12. Etc. etc
13. Make lots of
scenes.
14. Choose six for
uploading.
15. Allocate port
numbers.
16. Save the show.
17. Got to Options &
Stand-alone.
18. Transfer to
upload window.
19. Write memory.
20. DMX made simple
I have lifted these
instructions from the manual to give you
an indication of the fact that this is not
an out-of-the-box fix, but a quite complex
piece of kit.
Worth it in the end
All of the hard work
pays off once the unit has been
programmed. It can control 512 stand-alone
channels of DMX, or 1024 channels if a PC
is connected to the unit. The number of
stand-alone steps available decreases with
the increased number of channels used, but
unless you are Pink Floyd, it will cope
more than happily with most small to
medium band lighting requirements. The six
footswitches on the unit can be programmed
for any combination of lighting effects
you may have. I set my demo unit as
follows:
1. Blackout
2. Moody (a slow
sequence of fading PAR cans set to half
power along with slow sweeps from my
scanners).
3. As step two but
slightly faster fades at 100-percent
brightness.
4. As step three but
with a much faster sequence time for more
lively tempos.
5. Strobe (all DMX
fixtures strobing in different sequenced
colours).
6. Flood (all units
static and scanners onto the stage with
100-percent white light).
This is a pretty
basic set up but is actually amazingly
effective for small to medium gigs. It
allows you to control the mood of the
lighting depending on the mood of the
track you are performing. If you run the
unit connected to a PC it is possible to
operate in sound-to-light mode and even
control it via MIDI, but running it as a
stand-alone unit gives great results. Once
programmed, you can update the patches
(via a PC) whenever the creative mood
takes you. I have used the same patches
for both solo work and with my band and
I've been pleased at some of the comments
I've received from punters — especially in
the smaller venues where they are not
usually graced with a pre-programmed
lighting show!
In conclusion, this
is not an easy unit to set up if you are
not familiar with DMX programming, but
once you've cracked the initial setup and
programming routines it really does give
great results. I have only used the unit
with eight LED PAR cans, two Stairville
MH250 scanners and two Eurolight floods,
but the results were pretty spectacular. I
can easily see (thanks to the 3D
visualisation of the Daslight software)
that adding an almost limitless number of
DMX units could build an absolutely
amazing lightshow — and it can all be
controlled by your feet!
|
|
|
|
