The Peavey 32FX
By Roddy Pahl
Greetings! I'm Roddy Pahl, sound engineer of 20 years — long-time reader, first-time reviewer. I have done everything from duos to orchestras, rock to country, punk to jazz, full-on production shows to my daughter's 2nd grade school production and 10 years of touring. I am currently the lead audio engineer for the Fremont Street Experience 3rd Street Stage, and I am an audio tech for the New York New-York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Since this is the first time I have written for FOH, I thought I oughta clue you in and let you know who I am. After working with some of the FOH crew at a Fremont Street gig a few months ago they asked me to review some gear, and the first piece they gave me was the Peavey 32FX mixer. The Gear
Peavey's FX mixer series is available in 16-, 24- and 32-channel formats. The 32FX features a three-band EQ section with one mid sweep on each of the mono inputs, along with a 75Hz HPF. The two independent DSP engines built into the console have a lot of different effects, along with some signal processing such as comps, gates and limiters. There are a ton of parameters on each effect that you can choose for fine-tuning to your specific needs. The large LCD display also has some parameters you can adjust for easy viewing. There are a total of six aux sends. Auxes one through four could be set up for monitor mixes and are set at pre-fader and post-EQ (an internal jumper switch allows you to change them to pre-EQ) while five and six can be either FX sends or more mix sends. There is a four-bus assignment section, along with straight-to-L&R assignment, for easy grouping of inputs in the master section. Signal can be monitored at the input stage, the group stage or at the main output with a bright LED in the master section activated by the PFL/AFL buttons along the signal path. The console also features dual USB ports for connecting with a USB device for direct recording or playback. In other words, you can leave the laptop at home and record directly to a USB memory stick. Phantom power on all mono inputs, as well as mutes for channels, groups and returns, along with the two BNC lamp jacks, top off this console. The rear of the console has 1/4-inch and XLR balanced L&R outputs, of which all four can be used at the same time for the P.A. and a possible house mix for stage, or an additional recording or press feed. Mic and line mono inputs also have inserts along with groups one through four. The groups and aux sends all have balanced 1/4-inch outputs.
The Gig
Fremont Street is an outside venue where we provide live entertainment five nights a week during the season, along with many different special events. I was able to use the Peavey 32FX for the 2006 Las Vegas Marathon. I had a four-piece jazz band during the event, coupled with emcees and press. The 32FX worked very well for everyone. I used auxes one through three for band mixes, aux four into a multi box for a press feed and auxes five and six for FX sends. Being an engineer who loves to play with FX, this console had it all built in with no additional outboard FX needed for the gig. I did patch in some outboard comps and gates for vocals and drums, though. I found a nice and warm 'verb and a delay that, with a little tweaking, sounded really good. The parameters available on each program were great and stored into the user section easily, where you can actually put a password on your program to keep all your tweaking safe from being altered by others. The metering on inputs, groups and returns are good and bite for easy viewing. I liked the USB feature in the rear of the console with the RCA inputs. (If you're in a pinch for adaptors, to go 1/4- inch in from a CD player, etc.) You can also plug your iPod directly into the USB B port for digital playback for break/background music. The EQ section is nice; you can actually hear a two–three dB cut at a given frequency where in other similar consoles it may take a three–five dB cut to hear. One more mid sweep in the EQ section would have been great, though. [Peavey responds: "With digital output processing, there are dual 1/3rd octave graphic EQs or five band parametrics with Feedback Ferret. There's also a delay line so you can align your backline amps to your FOH speakers, an output limiter so you don't clip your amps and an electronic crossover for subwoofer output." –ed.] The pre-amps are warm and quiet, until around the 1:00 position where they start getting a little noisy, but in a live show situation, you would never notice it. [Peavey responds: "There's only noise on un-terminated inputs if you crank them up wide open. Otherwise the noise is within 1/2 dB of the theoretical noise limits." –ed.] I have to say that in this price range, I think Peavey did a great job on this console and will give all their competitors a run for your buck.
What It Is: 32 input, four-bus analog mixer
Who It's For: Bands, small soundcos, church and small theatre installs
Pros: Full-featured, good channel EQ, great price
Cons: Pre-amps get a little noisy when cranked
How Much: $1499.99
Web site: www.peavey.com
TC Electronic C300 Compressor
By Bill Evans
I'll never forget the time I went out on a briefcase gig to step in for a guy who had gotten himself double booked and had to leave for another gig. The rack at the mix position included a number of compressors — none of which were even patched into the system. When I inquired why this was so, I was told by the other engineer that he didn't really "get" compression, so he didn't patch them in, but I was welcome to. Truth is, that is a great attitude to take. Misuse and overuse of compression can send your sound south as fast as any other misstep I can think of, and by not insisting that something get used just because it was there, this mixer showed real maturity and restraint. Now, given that this mixer is far from alone in not "getting" compression, here is one to strike fear into the bravest of audio hearts — multi-band compression.
The Gear
A multi-band compressor is basically a group of compressors, each of which is frequency- dependant (in other words, it only compresses within a selected frequency range). The idea is to be able to compress the parts of a signal that are causing problems without affecting the rest of the frequency range. For example, using a full-range compressor on a vocal channel can cause a perceived "dulling" of the high frequency content of the channel, because it is the midrange that needs compressing while the whole signal gets compressed equally. While multi-band compression is really something more common in the studio — especially in the mastering process — than on stage, there are still a couple of units near and dear to the hearts of your more compression-savvy sound geeks. Chief among these is the TC Electronic Triple C. If you want one, you can occasionally find a used one on eBay for near the price it costs new. The C300 is an attempt at giving sound pros most of the advantages of the multiband compression of the Triple C while improving its ease-of-use and getting the price down. To do this, the software gurus at TC have created algorithms based on the typical settings of a multi-band compressor for different specific uses, which are accessible from the front panel as presets. After dialing in the preset or source, you still have control over threshold and ratio — although attack and release are handled by the algorithms — plus makeup gain. You also have a knob labeled "Mix," which we will get to in a minute. The C300 can operate in dual mono, stereo or serial modes. As a mono insert for a specific channel or group, you plug it in like any other compressor; ditto for stereo use. But when hooked up for stereo use, you can also do serial compressing with the first compression engine as a compressor and the second as a limiter, or the first as a gate and the second as an expander. I/O connections are balanced 1/4-inch plus S/PDIF and MIDI for program changes. The power supply is internal and accessed via a standard IEC jack.
RT The C300 saw use in a number of applications and shone in every one. We used it on vocals, acoustic guitars, bass and drums. The presets gave us a great "base," and then it was just a case of dialing in the amount of compression and at what point it kicked in and then adjusting the gain. The final knob — the one labeled "Mix" — allowed one to do a trick that a lot of engineers do that requires two channels on the console, but the C300 does it all inside the box. This is the "parallel" compression feature, and what it does is split the incoming signal into two sources, compressing one and leaving the other "dry." This is perhaps the best feature of the unit, as it allows you to get the compressor punchiness without stepping all over the input's dynamic range. In other words, it allows for compression without "squashing." Very nice. And best of all, the C300 — which sounds great, is easy to use and has capabilities far beyond most units in this price range — sells for about a third of what its predecessor did. And you won't have to scour eBay to find one.
What It Is: Easy to use multi-band compressor
Who It's For: Everyone
Pros: Quiet, sounds great, easy to use
Cons: I have to give it back.
How Much: $295.00
Web site: www.tcelectronic.com/c300
Behringer UL2000M Wireless Mic and Receiver
By Bill Evans
Expectations can be a bitch. Personally, my approach is to under-promise and over-deliver. This way, I can always be sure that what I provide is at least what the client expects, if not more. Sure, there are times when expectations are so out of touch with reality that nothing anyone can do or say will get them met, but I still find this to be a good approach. But for some reason I can do that when I am providing a product or service but have a much tougher time when receiving — especially when it comes to review gear. I expect that if a manufacturer puts out a piece of gear for us to review that it will be something cool.
The Gear
The UL2000M — dubbed the UltraLink — looks promising. A half-rack, true diversity receiver operating in the 795-810 mHz range (the lower part of the FM range). The receiver features all of the stuff you would expect, and some you might not, in a unit at this price point: a scan function, squelch, auto mute and 24 preset channels. The two antennae mount to the front of the unit, and all functions are accessed via three menu controls, also on the front. The rear panel has an input for the wall wart AC adapter, a ground screw for attaching a ground wire (something you don't see really often) and two balanced outputs — one XLR and the other TRS 1/4-inch. The mic (transmitter) itself is a condenser (electret) with a Panasonic element. Lightweight, all-plastic, except the grill, and no readout. All functions are accessed via a button and a 10-position rotary control of the too-tiny-for-fingers variety. You will NEED the little screwdriver. As far as specs go the package is respectable with a frequency response of 30 Hz- 19kHz, max input of >120 dB and distortion at less than .4%.
The Gigs
Here is where the expectation thing got in the way. I expect that the manual will give me the information I need in a way that it can be easily understood and used. Not so. [Behringer responds: A new Quick Start guide has been posted online since the release of the product in response to questions received by tech support.] For example, there is no mention anywhere except in the listing of specs that says what kind of battery the mic needs or shows how to install them. Most of the world has gone to AA batteries in wireless, and the UltraLink uses 9-volts. I actually prefer the nines (easier to change out in the dark), but had to go out and buy batteries before I could start using the mic. Next, I expect the build quality to be such that it can take a bit of "handling." Unfortunately, that was not the case. The mics (we used a pair of them on two female singers) performed fine in a series of rehearsals, but when I went to change batteries out just before hit time on the gig, the mic actually broke in my hand. To be specific, the battery compartment broke where it joins to the mic body. I was in a hurry and maybe I twisted it a little too hard. Whatever. It was not dropped or stepped on or abused. It just broke. Ditto for the unique AC adapter, which uses interchangeable plates with different plug configurations to handle the different kinds of AC connections around the world. Nice idea, but the spring that holds the plate in place came flying out of the unit, and the locking tab broke off. Behringer got me a new one right away, but it didn't help me that night. I also found the programming and setting process to be very confusing. Without an LED on the mic, you are stuck "reading" patterns of the power light flashing in order to determine where you are in the process of setting a channel or engaging a feature like automute. It's fine if you have the manual right there, but on the gig we found some interference in the band we had chosen during rehearsal, and trying to change it was less than intuitive. All of this is a shame because I like the performance of the UL2000M. But the buildquality — essentially the lightweight plastic mic body — on the transmitter end does not feel like it will hold up under real-world gigging conditions. And I found the way the features are accessed to be confusing. Your mileage may vary…
What it is: Wireless condensor mic with highend features at an entry-level price
Who It's For: Bands and small sound providers
Pros: Good sound quality and nice price
Cons: Review units broke easily. Manual hard to understand, programming less than intuitive.
How Much: $249.99
Web site: www.behringer.com
