the other night i did a 150-person orchid society party in a gymnasium. along longer wall was a 4ft high full length stage. i played solo in front of stage, maybe 10-12 ft in front of a wall of windows. i try never to use monitors, consider them a necessary evil in some circumstances. i have almost always used either 1 speaker on a roller next to me, or 2 spkr low on either side, up on stands only if necessary. i had just the one Squier 12 w/GK 200MV on top on rollercart. usually have no problem with that.

this night i did. i had trouble hearing myself clearly, and seemed people directly in front were getting too much and everyone else, including me, were getting this diffused bouncy sound. ugh. wished i had monitor but that wouldn't solve problem audience had.

i don't know what inspired me, maybe panic--but i tried turning my whole rig around, facing me and the window wall behind me. immediately i at least solved the problem
for myself--everything sounded great. but i wasn't sure what would be going on out there..what happened amazed me. seems everyone now could hear as clearly as i could with no bouncy diffusion, there was immediate
delighted reaction from audience. i was puzzled..isnt
bouncing off glass supposed to be problematical?
(it wasnt a single sheet..had wooden 2" deep moldings
creating window box effect)

anyone had similar experience? can anyone explain this?
and does it indicate that maybe this might be the way to go in many other circumstances...ie,. to start out facing
'backwards and only change if that doesn't work well in particular circumstances? waddaya think?

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Miami Mo

Mo,

I've also encountered the same accustic problems while performing in a gymnasium. In my case, which was about three years ago, I was using a pair of Barbetta Sona 32C powered speakers. The walls were hard tiles, the floors were hardwood and the ceiling height must have been nearly 30 feet. Just like performing inside an empty barrel.

My solution was similar. I turned the speakers so they faced the wall behind me, which was a distance of about 18 feet. The sound distribution was outstanding, no one complained about the music being too loud when they were close to the speakers, and I was hearing exactly what the audience was hearing.

Unfortunately, every venue is different and requires different EQs, different speaker positions, different everything. If there were just one setting and setup for all venues life would surely be a lot easier.

Good subject,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Gary, thanks. did u ever try to set up that way on other gigs and find it did not work, only was good for gymnasium? seems to me it might solve many problems in many venues but i haven't had chance to test yet.

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Miami Mo

Yes, it worked well on a mid-size nite-club job that had all hard surfaces and a high ceiling. I think that ceiling height has a lot to do with this because when I use the Bose L1 in similar situations I don't have the problem.

Gary

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Travlin' Easy