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[Chris Markus]

I am in the market for a PA upgrade my current setup is as follows:

2 - RMX QSC 1450 Power Amps
1 - RMS QSC 2450 Power Amp
1 - BBE Crossover
1 - DOD Eq
2 - Yamaha Club 18 Subs
2 - Yamaha Club 15 Mains

I run the mains (the one bridged 1450 each) in stereo and mono (bridged 2450) to subs.  I think my setup is ok, but I want an overall improvement in sound quality and bass response.  I use Roland V drums so my pa is my only source of drum sound.  I think the best improvement would be from new speakers, but am not familiar with brands and I just don't know PA equipment.  My budget is $4k, and I'm looking mainly at speakers, but any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Paul O'Brien]

Mr. Markus....  Please update your alias to your full name. Forum rules.

You could spend a bunch of $$$ buying new speakers, but the single biggest weakness I see with your gear is that BBE thing. Throw it out in the street and get a Driverack, that will breath new life into your sound. You're certainly not underpowered, and you could do a lot worse than the Club series speakers. The Driverack will give you the tools to get the most of your gear.

[Tom Reid]

Paul O'Brien wrote on Thu, 19 January 2006 09:45

Mr. Markus....  Please update your alias to your full name. Forum rules. You could spend a bunch of $$$ buying new speakers, but the single biggest weakness I see with your gear is that BBE thing. Throw it out in the street and get a Driverack, that will breath new life into your sound. You're certainly not underpowered, and you could do a lot worse than the Club series speakers. The Driverack will give you the tools to get the most of your gear.

Yup, a driverack, and maybe another EQ so the DOD doesn't see monitor world.

Speaking of monitors ...how's that rig?
You'd be surprised how cleaning up monitor mixes also cleans up FOH.

[Ted Christensen]

I think you would get an overall better sound if you maybe changed up your amp comfiguration. Im not saying your will for sure, but just a possibility.

Try putting the 1400's bridged on subs and run the 2450 on tops stereo.

[Chris Markus]

I updated my profile with my full name.  Thanks for pointing that out.  Anyway, first for monitors, I just run 2 12" clubs with a 1450, which is more than adequate sounding in my point of view and since we use v-drums, my drummer monitors with headphones from the mixer.  In regards to the Driver rack, I've never heard of it.  Is it a crossover?  Any on-line stores where I can check it out?  The BBE thing is a crossover that includes the Sonic Maximizer effect if needed.  I don't use the effect as it drives my subs too hard and seems to make the highs too harsh, but the crossover seems to be ok. I wish I would have posted this earlier, because I just bought that stupid crossover.  The DOD eq is suspect, I think it is robbing signal causing one side to be louder than the other...I will replace the eq.  For speakers, I was thinking those Carvin TRX's would be worth a look, but if it's not going to improve my sound much , why waste the $...Also, I was wondering about Yorkville, or TCS, Mackie etc.  Thanks

[Chris Markus]

Ok, I found the Driverack...looks like around $500 bucks.  Actually, I've seen this before, but thought is was more for the JBL guys.  I like the idea of the eq presets..I am not a tweaking kind of guy and I hate making eq adjustements.  I think I may still be able to return the other crossover...  Thanks

[John Chiara]

Chris Markus wrote on Thu, 19 January 2006 00:07

I am in the market for a PA upgrade my current setup is as follows: 2 - RMX QSC 1450 Power Amps 1 - RMS QSC 2450 Power Amp 1 - BBE Crossover 1 - DOD Eq 2 - Yamaha Club 18 Subs 2 - Yamaha Club 15 Mains I run the mains (the one bridged 1450 each) in stereo and mono (bridged 2450) to subs.  I think my setup is ok, but I want an overall improvement in sound quality and bass response.  I use Roland V drums so my pa is my only source of drum sound.  I think the best improvement would be from new speakers, but am not familiar with brands and I just don't know PA equipment.  My budget is $4k, and I'm looking mainly at speakers, but any suggestions would be appreciated.

I would get a pair of Danley TH 115 subs. Real headroom and real low frequency response will add a huge amount of realism to the setup..and you will find you can run everything else lower.

[Nathan Schwarzkopf]

hello chris

I would say that your PA should be pretty adequate if your doing small places.  Maybe add another pair of subs but I like alot of low with my sound so that's a personal taste.  On the v drum issue I have mixed a handful of bands using vdrums and my options vary.
1 is it a cheap kit - I have noticed that the cheaper ones sound almost distorted or gritty.
2 is the drummer running it right. - if hes clipping that little black box your definitely not going to have your optimal sound
3 Are you DI-ing it or going straight to the board.
Another thought I had was what board are you using.  again opinion but unless your driving the snot of your your system I think it sound decent.  So I start thinking of mics and mic pre's. What board are you using?.  As others have said the BBE and the DOD might help by removing from the signal path(hit the bypass button and see if the sound cleans up alittle.)  

[Roy Richards NRBC Media]

Of course, before you bypass the crossover, make certain your amps have their bandpass filters set for your config, too much high freq in the subs will toast them.

[John Schmidt]

The Driverack is a good idea, but I'd recommend spending a few hundred dollars more and springing for the Driverack 260 instead of the Driverack PA, (shop around for prices - I've seen the DR260 for under $750 a number of times). The DR260 is far more flexible in its functions than the DRPA, and can also be controlled and set up from a laptop computer, which cannot be done with the DRPA. This makes it far easier to do initial setup and get into custom tweaks - you can pretty much jump directly between settings and functions, instead of cycling through a bunch of buttons and the control knob. It's also much easier to understand what's going on when everything is viewable graphically.

I just think it really makes sense to start out this way, instead of getting frustrated by the complexity of setting everything up via the controls on the unit itself.

John