Road Tests

I have a great deal of respect for the QSC name. After all, they have been building rock solid amplifiers and gear for decades. The high quality of their products has made them one of the icons of the sound biz. That said, whenever I review equipment from the big boys I tend to put that gear under a microscope. So, now that you know where I am coming from with regards to this review, let’s go.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave somewhere for the last year or so, chances are you’ve at least heard about and probably have been impacted in some way by the changing regulatory landscape for wireless mics and monitoring systems.

I have been a fan of the X2 stuff ever since they were known as X Wire back in the 1990s.  The digital transmission — which meant no companding — offered a sound at least as good as a premium cable.

If you saw the June issue of FOH you may remember that we did a Buyers Guide looking at some of the “pre-packed” drum mic kits available out there. The bias against these kind of kits has been that they are just a way to package mediocre mics and that they weren’t really for pros. If that is your thinking you have not used the Earthworks Kits.

For all those sound persons feeling guilty about not stimulating the Elkhart Indiana economy, consider buying a Crown XTi6000 power amplifier. I got the blunt reminder after looking at the rear panel and seeing the decal with the U.S. flag and the words “designed and manufactured in the USA.”

Many engineers may have a box full of high-quality mics, but finding the one that’s “just right” is often difficult. Of course, many factors come into play when choosing a mic. Sometimes it is relative to the register or timbre of the singer, sometimes the venue size plays a role, or it may just be what’s available at the time.

When I first saw the ZED R16 last year, I initially wrote it off for the FOH audience. A 16-channel recording mixer did not seem like an FOH product. But I took a second look and am glad I did. This is one instance where things are not all that they appear on the surface.

Accurately miking an acoustic piano and doing it consistently is one of the eternal challenges of live audio (and recording for what that’s worth). Over the past year plus, FOH has covered at least a handful of approaches at prices ranging from downright cheap (the Helpenstill pickup system) to compromise (standard miking coupled with control of a MIDI piano module for John Legend) to proprietary and expensive (Tom Young’s Scheops array that he carries with him for every Tony Bennett gig).

For a long time the Radian MicroWedge (popularly referred to as the “Rat wedge” due to Dave Rat’s involvement with its development) was one of the “go-to” stage monitors for the live audio biz—especially for those of us who specialize in concert-type events. We could almost always be sure that the MicroWedge would be one of the rider-acceptable choices. The compact boxes put out plenty of clear SPL, and while everyone has their own personal favorites, few acts would turn down the MicroWedge when advancing the gig.

Most of my speaking gigs take place in houses of worship. I have found that a church congregation can be very critical when it comes to their ability to clearly hear the pastor, priest, preacher, rabbi etc.  The fact of the matter is that any speaking event is only successful if the speaker can get their message across clearly, and that is why we need good microphones.

Furman continues to be a leader in power conditioning units, due its features and ruggedness. Hardly an outboard rack can be seen without an ubiquitous Furman PL-Plus Power Conditioner or two providing both the power distribution and rack-face illumination from its light tubes.

The Electro-Voice Tour X series of loudspeakers sits in that middle ground of live sound reinforcement speaker—higher-end than most MI boxes, but not something you are going to find on tour riders either. In other words, great for clubs and bands in a van as well as local soundcos.