Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Jason Raboin]

I did my first substantial installation this week and am now tasked with writing tech specs. for it.  The venue is 800 seats and does a variety of events from community theatre to national touring acts.  The stated purpose of the design was not to handle everything that the venue does, so I want the language to have accurate limitations of the system.  It will not, for example, work for the Dinosaur Jr. show apparently booked for the fall.

If you were coming in to mix, what would you want to see in the spec.?  Do you want theoretical spl based on speaker specs.?  Like - the speakers are rated at 127db continuous.  Mix is at the back of the orchestra, 55' from the pa, so you should be able to mix at 102db?  Or should I actually run pink up to "unity" and take measurements?  What about frequency response?  spl difference front to back?

When I'm touring I generally like to see a list of gear and possibly a picture of how it is arrayed.  But I am usually using well know systems that all perform far beyond my needs.  This install is based around 4 Fulcrum Acoustic CX1595 and 2 Sub215, all processed and powered by Ashly nXp amps.  It certainly punches above its weight, and I want to convey that to engineers without hyperbole.

[David Simpson]

If I were reading that kind of info as a BE, I would not necessarily put too much trust into any published SPL number by a venue. To me it is much more about the quality of the sound at any SPL than it is just hitting a specific number at a specific distance over a specific period of time. To me, it is more important to have an accurate list of the equipment available, and room layout (including any acoustical treatment). That combined with a timely conversation with the house engineer to advance the show is most important.



~Dave

[Jason Raboin]

Unfortunately in this instance there is no house engineer, per se.  It is a union venue, so the engineer is whomever the A1 on the call is.  There are 3 or 4 engineers in the local who will be there most often, but none of them will be available for system advancing.  There is a venue TD, but he is not a sound engineer.  That is part of the reason I am trying to quantify the system's capabilities rather than use terms like "good" and "loud".  They are subjective.  102a weighted at 50'  +/- x db at y resolution seems more accurate, no?

[David Simpson]

I would absolutely agree that the more objective and accurate you can be, the better. If the Venue TD could include good pictures of the house and system, that is always helpful too, especially if a house engineer is not available.

~Dave

[Rafi Singer]

It may be worthwhile to include a brief blurb about the company and speakers, since while they are awesome, they still aren't as widely known as D&B, L'Acoustics, EAW, etc. Alternatively, you may wish to see if there is a known box that you can compare it to. (IE: "This PA is comparable to two EAW KF850's a side") Otherwise, pictures of the hall and the PA might be helpful.

[Chris Johnson [UK]]

In general, there is no such thing as too much info in a venue spec.

Presentation is everything of course. I would personally do a one-sheet headline spec, and then provide additional detail behind that. That way I can get a snapshot at a glance, or get more detailed if I want.

[John Chiara]

Unfortunately in this instance there is no house engineer, per se.  It is a union venue, so the engineer is whomever the A1 on the call is.  There are 3 or 4 engineers in the local who will be there most often, but none of them will be available for system advancing.  There is a venue TD, but he is not a sound engineer.  That is part of the reason I am trying to quantify the system's capabilities rather than use terms like "good" and "loud".  They are subjective.  102a weighted at 50'  +/- x db at y resolution seems more accurate, no?

How will you do shows with no one available to advance?

[Justice C. Bigler]

I did my first substantial installation this week and am now tasked with writing tech specs. for it. 

Aren't you supposed to write the specs for a system BEFORE it is purchased and installed?   

[Helge A Bentsen]

Pictures of the stage including the installed sound/light gear and an extensive equipment list.

I don't care for fancy gig pictures showing the lead vocalist up close, I want a total of an empty stage with all the details please


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jason Raboin]

Aren't you supposed to write the specs for a system BEFORE it is purchased and installed?   

There is no one other than me involved in the project who would understand the technical capabilities of the system.  The discussions with venue staff were more about the shows that they currently need to bring in production for that they want to be able to handle with the install.  I have been bringing in a system for the past year to handle most of their national touring acts, and they wanted a similar system.  There were strict limitation as to where the PA could go, as well as budgetary limitation, so there weren't a lot of options.

But now I need to write them something that they can give to promoters and touring BE's.

[ProSoundWeb Community]