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[Nimrod Webber]

Looks like a nice sounding gig…
I really like the 'side fill' arrangement of the guitar amps. Probably saved the ears of the front rows and helped you maintain a good balance.

As a rule of a thumb I generally aim the horns axes of the PA cabs at the furthest audience ears (pre show - using the Laser pointer aimed at the back seats backs…)

Another bonus feature of the (BT-12) variable angle tilter is the ability to adjust the tilt angle easily and safely on the fly.
That is while the stand is at full height and the speaker mounted on top of the adaptor. This can be done even mid show if the situation requires.
 
I have done various venues where the 'point of interest' shifted as the gig progressed, such as in wedding DJ setups covering the further audience for background music and speech in the beginning, and later moved the emphasis to the closer dance floor. Or in small open concerts where the audience happened to dramatically change its area or size at some point and by re-adjusting the speakers tilt accordingly, the coverage and the tonal balance were maintained.

            

[George Friedman-Jimenez]

...As a rule of a thumb I generally aim the horns axes of the PA cabs at the furthest audience ears (pre show - using the Laser pointer aimed at the back seats backs…)

Nimrod, that is very interesting, especially since you probably have thought about this issue more than anyone else here. Your rule of thumb is a bit different from what I have been doing, aiming the axis lower down, toward the center or rear 1/3 of the seating (or dance floor). My speakers' off axis and vertical polar plots show that the frequency response stays reasonably flat with little SPL loss up to about 10 or 15 degrees above axis and is no worse than the below-axis frequency response (RCF ART412A). The best sounding zone extends vertically from about +30 degrees to about -20 degrees. Also for indoor gigs without very high ceilings I want to keep as much sound off the ceilings as possible. Sounds like Mark is approaching it similarly.
What has been your experience with pointing your speakers down toward the center or rear 1/3 of the crowd, that you prefer to aim them toward the furthest ears?

[Mark McFarlane]

Looks like a nice sounding gig…
I really like the 'side fill' arrangement of the guitar amps. Probably saved the ears of the front rows and helped you maintain a good balance.

I consider myself extremely very lucky to get bands to do what I ask .

As a rule of a thumb I generally aim the horns axes of the PA cabs at the furthest audience ears (pre show - using the Laser pointer aimed at the back seats backs…)

Vari-tilt adaptors are on my shopping list.  I would have needed a ladder to point them with the stands fully extended.   As it was, I had to take all the seats out of my Landcruiser just to fit all of this rig in.   

I ended up lowering the speakers about 18" from full extension due to wind and weight.

These speaker stands are about eye level for me fully collapsed, tough enough to get the 51lb speakers on the stands. At the end of the night luckily I had help getting them down, I was completely exhausted.  My hands and legs started cramping up badly after setup and I was quite nervous because I was on stage on drums for a set then bass for a set for the two closing bands.  I sucked down a couple gallons of water (with two short breaks to pee) but at least the cramps went down enough to play.

I really need to hire some younger help.  I've got another outdoor gig next week.

[Nimrod Webber]

What has been your experience with pointing your speakers down toward the center or rear 1/3 of the crowd, that you prefer to aim them toward the furthest ears?

The logic behind aiming the horn axis at the furthest listeners is this:
The vertical pattern of a typical HF horn may be stated as 40 deg or so (for example) but its output may in fact be actually maxing only on a very limited 'cone' about its axis, and then rolling off, even if by only few dB toward the edges of that specified angle.
   
By aiming the horn axis at the furthest ears, I basically shoot the loudest HF at that direction. All other listeners in front of them will get less and less HF as they fall more off from the horn axis. Of coarse this is only very theoretical and in the real world the off axis dB loss will probably never exactly match (and compensate) for the dB gain due to getting closer to the source, but in my experience this is a good practice to achieve an acceptable and relatively uniform HF coverage throughout the distance of the audience.     

 

[Nimrod Webber]

I ended up lowering the speakers about 18" from full extension due to wind and weight.

 This surely called for an easy and quick way to readjust the tilt angle…
 Actually this is another good example for the easy-tilt-on-the-stand feature of the BT-12…

          

[ProSoundWeb Community]