Les Cargill wrote:
I encountered one of these Sunday. It was actually two of the pole
arrays and two of the bass modules. I was listening from the perspective
of a performer ( weekend warrior band situation ) .
It's not bad at all. Sounds quite a bit better than most all MI store
small club kit. I was expecting sort of an Acoustimass experience - not
so at all. Sounds like a modest PA, but much better than the usual
weekend warrior kit. The absence of horns and tweeters ( and I'm sure
the sophisticated active crossovers in the brain box ) made it darned
smooth.
I think people often find it easier to get mediocre sound from these
than from most usual MI SR kit.
That said, the more I listen to them the less I like them. It's a stack
of ****ty drivers and at some point my ear went, "Wow - listen to that".
The horizontal dispersion is admirable. Up close to a performer, seated
front and center and below, I heard a lot of smearing, and I realized
that from such a listening position each of those up-the-pole ****ty
drivers was just a bit further from my ear.
I do like the concept, and in fact, for quality of sound around a
similar idea I much prefer the Fishman Solo rig. We've played a few
shows via each.
There is also an upscale offering of the type from Phil Jones.
http://www.philjonespuresound.com/products/?c=4
With the things behind the band, you get a much more open stage sound
and I'm sure it sounds more like it does in the room when heard from the
stage. It is sound *reinforcement*, not a kill-a-watt bullhorn.
It's quite expensive. But I'm not sure it's not worth it. For one,
weight is pretty respectable - each piece is roughly 20 lbs and it
doesn't take up that much cartage space.
The singer uses a Taylor with a quack-stick and it actually sounded
presentable. It almost sounded like a guitar. We're running both
electric guitars through it ( to address stage level problems in the
politest way I've ever seen but also the most expensive ).
Here's the thing that surprised me - it's the best "monitors" I've
heard onstage that were not full pro arena kit. And this actually
produced an improvement in performance, stage levels and coherence of
the band itself. You can *listen* again onstage instead of guessing.
I usually detest stage monitors in clubs - I'd rather use the room
return. Yes, this includes allegedly nice monitors in clubs. which are
invariably obnoxious, even with earplugs. These, I liked - and I
don't need plugs as much with this band anymore.
I'm not sure it's really road worthy, and the price is kind of out of
line with the sort of market you might use them in. But I was
impressed. It solved a lot of problems.
--
shut up and play your guitar * HankAlrich.Com
HankandShaidriMusic.Com
YouTube.Com/WalkinayMusic