Posted by Bink on December 02, 2003 at 02:09:34:
Hi, Folks --
This is to announce a Graphic EQ shootout I'm organizing in San Francisco in two weeks. It will be at Noe Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez at 23rd Street on December 17th from noon to 10pm. This is a peak-roofed, bright wooden performance space typical of town hall meeting rooms and small wooden country churches. It's also the home of Larry Kassin's Noe Valley Music Series, an eclectic program that ranges from local rock to jazz to world music.
Our event is on a Wednesday so I hope a bunch of local sound guys and gals will be able to bust out of their hump day gigs and attend. Any interested sound person is welcome and there's no door charge other than an optional donation or the church. There's also no bar or restaurant on site but you have a wealth of choices on nearby 24th.
We will be testing EQs electronically with SmaartLive stations and then putting the best EQs to the real world trial up on stage with a vocal mic and a pair of wedges. Yes, this is a test of potential monitor world EQs so the only ones I'm interested in looking at will need to have at least 27 bands per channel and have a fast fader control. Digital and analog are both welcome. If digital, make sure there's a fast way to tweak faders!
Please RSVP me so I can get an idea of numbers. And if you have an EQ to bring send me its manufacturer and model number so I can make sure we all don't bring the same two models! Tell your coworkers, too. Except that FNG who has to do Wednesday night's gig... ;^)
I'll need a half dozen SmaartLive rigs run by attendee/participants. If you bring your sandbox with all its accessories you'll really be appreciated.
Needed, too, is a decent small monitor mixer and biamped wedges with amps and DSP. The house system at Noe Valley isn't conducive to touring- and club-style testing since the wedges are passive. They have an older RFI-hammered Mackie 24 and a single pair of UPA/USW mains that are appropriate for the room. Me, I have no gear other than two computers -- I'll need to have all of YOUR help rounding up the right amount of audio gack. If you can bring some gear please email offline with your thoughts.
I will welcome any ideas from LABsters regarding which bench tests will help us sort out the best few EQs from the pack. What's your favorite torture test for line level audio gear?
One of the more interesting questions on my mind concerns the different filter types and how well they each tackle the role of monitor wedge EQ. I'd love to get a strong A/B comparison of a carefully tweaked Proportional Q box versus Constant Q, Interpolating Q or Perfect Q.
Other than all that technical stuff, this is merely an excuse for a party! It will be a kick to meet a bunch of LABsters and other local sound folks as well as anyone whose tour is swinging through town that day. Also present will be host Ramon Sender who helped found San Francisco Tape Music Center with Morton Subotnick in 1961. He's very interested to see SmaartLive in action and might have a story or two to tell.
Any comments?
- Michael 'Bink' Knowles
www.binkster.net