A few of you know that I've had the Dolby Lake processor out for a quick spin. There's been surprisingly little talk about what looks to be an incredibly powerful box, so I think it's about time to get it going.
Ervin Grinberg with Dolby Labs out in California took time to pull a bunch of strings and make sure that I'd have this processor to play around with. Unfortunately, they needed it right back for PLASA, so I didn't get much time with it. My local rep is making sure I've got a different one to use at the Wedge Fest this weekend... and beyond!
In any case, the DLP (as everyone "in the know" seems to call it, makes me think of digital projectors) arrived in a hefty Pelican case containing the processor, a tablet PC, and a Cisco access point... no skimping on quality here. I ordered it loaded 8x8 for monitor use, and I had an extra output card in case I wanted to switch it over to 4x12.
Show day, my monitor hombre Geoff and I roll in to the venue, roll stuff off the truck, and set about patching things in. The DLP gets racked in my monitor amp rack along with a few other toys, Geoff cables it up to the inserts on the MH2 (more on that in another review), and turns it on.
Here's what it looks like sitting pretty:
The tablet PC Dolby provided finds the access point and the Dolby Lake Processor easily. By default the DLP is configured as four three-way crossovers and EQ. Since we were running everything passive, Geoff needed to configure the unit to run as an 8x8 monitor EQ. As we'd never seen it before, I had him give Chris Bratveit at Dolby a call to get the 5-minute rundown and be all prepped for the upcoming show. I feel I need another photo here:
I'll have to pass you over to Geoff at this point (Arrr! A cliffhanger!), since I was out patching and finishing FOH as well as greeting and setting up the band. If it seems our timing was a little close, well, it was... but this is a show I've had for several years now, and I know the band well so they don't mind me using them an guinea pigs. Yes, I had a backup plan involving analog EQ, don't you worry.
I'll hop back in after Geoff's filled you in with what I saw in the few brief times I dicked around, and then after Wedge Fest this weekend I'll have a lot more to add, I'm sure!