May 9, 2012 at 3:34 pm 
Today’s Tech Corner Term: AUX SEND
Definition
An AUX SEND (auxiliary send) is an electronic signal-routing output used on multi-channel sound mixing consoles. The knobs for the AUX SEND are normally located under the EQ section of the channel strip and are typically labeled AUX and numbered if there is more than one available.
So, what does it do?
The AUX SEND has many important uses for live sound and recording applications. The primary application for the AUX SEND is to route that input channels signal through outboard audio processing units (e.g., reverb, compression) and then returned to the mixer using an auxiliary return input jack, thus creating an effects loop. This allows effect to be added to the audio source or channel within the mixing console. An example of this would be using the AUX SEND to route sound to an outboard vocal effect for your lead singer’s microphone. The AUX SEND routs the audio out to the effects processor and then from the processor you can bring the sound back to the AUX RETURN or to another input channel on the board for more precise control.
Another common use for the AUX SEND is to create a monitor mix for your performers. Most mixing consoles have at least two or more AUX SENDS on them. That means that you can take the audio from each AUX SEND on your mixer and send it to an amplifier and stage monitor. This provides you with an easy method of creating a monitor mix on the stage for your performers. It also gives you precise control over the level of each microphone or instrument going to that monitor by simply adjusting the correct AUX SEND knob.
Not only can the AUX SENDS be used to create a separate monitor mix, but you can also use them like a simplified mixer to create a recording mix separate from your main house mix. This helps you record only the program material that you want that may or may not be in the whole mix. Another great application for installed sound is using your AUX SENDS to route audio or a separate mix to an amplifier and speakers for another part of the building such as a lobby or office. Doing this with an AUX SEND lets you select what specific program information you want to route to that part of the building and independently control the volume of that program for that specific part of the building.
Today’s Tech Corner Term: CLIPPING
A small word with BIG consequences!
So, what is clipping?
Definition
Clipping is an amplifier overload causing an undesirable change in the output waveform, AKA square wave or
distorted wave forms.
What does it do?
Clipping results in distortion to the output signal and puts additional strain on loudspeaker drivers and amplifier. This excessive strain can cause driver failure and damage to the output stage components of your amp. When your amp goes into clip you will notice the sound becomes very distorted and even make a loud popping sound when clipping occurs.
How to prevent
Most professional audio amplifiers and powered speakers have some form of overload or clip indicator. When you see that indicator start to light, that’s your cue to back the volume down a little to prevent clipping and potential damage to your sound system. Be aware of your volume at all times.
Out In The Field With The EV TX2181
Over the weekend I had a chance to take home a pair of the EV TX2181 subs and powered them with the QSC GX7 amp. They were a perfect match for each other. I could easily sum up the experience with one word…WOW! But, let’s go a little further in depth about the gig and how they performed.
They were used for a small live sound event at a local college. This was a great event to field test them since that event had such a diverse selection of music between the two bands.
First, let’s talk about the GX7 amps. Unlike the GX3 and GX5, the GX7 is built on the PLX chassis (it’s basically a PLX amp without the bells and whistles), so they are about 13lbs lighter than the GX3 and GX5 models. It is a very fast responding and musical sounding amp. I was quite surprised when I did an A/B comparison on both the subs and full range boxes between the GX7 and my Crown XTI amps. The GX7 just sounded better. The low end was a lot tighter and the vocals were in your face.
Now, let’s talk about the subs and the show. The venue was the student center at a local college that I do a lot of volunteer teaching at. There were two bands performing that night. Our first band was a Christian rock band. The TX2181 subs powered with the GX7 amp absolutely delivered beyond anything I had expected. The kick drum was clean and had plenty of punch. Bass guitar didn’t sound like mud. Just plenty of chest pounding low end throughout their performance. It just felt good. I was also very surprised on how small of a footprint the TX2181’s have compared to many double 18”s that I have used over the years. EV has delivered an amazing sub that’s built like a tank and won’t break the bank!
Band number two was a Christian hip-hop/gospel/jazz group. This really gave me the chance to stretch their legs a bit more. Again, the low end was very musical. You felt it in your chest…..it made you want to get up and dance with the crowd!
Our average SPL for this event was about 97db peaking at about 102db during the appropriate spots. During sound-check, while there was only me in the room, I took the room up to around 114db just to see how these subs would perform at higher levels (the room is 50feet x 90 feet). I was amazed how well these subs sounded. They handled anything I could throw at them and gave me back clean, good sounding bass.
Over the next three weeks, these subs will be going out for a college musical, Dj gigs and a college awards ceremony. I will post updates after each event so you can get a good feel of how they will perform in a variety of applications.
Good sounds to all!
T-Dawg
Tom Murphy
JBL Reps Bring Us Gifts
The JBL rep was in and dropped us off some new toys to play with, except these are no toys!
http://www.proaal.com/Brand/JBL/CBT70J.html
The JBL CBT 70J paired up with an XTI 6002 and a PRX 618xlf HOLY COW!
http://www.proaal.com/Brand/Crown/XTI6002.html
http://www.proaal.com/Brand/JBL/PRX618S-XLF.html
Granted the amp is a bit overkill for the speakers, but I have to say that the system sounded great. The CBT series speakers were originally designed for solution application in the contractor world, but these speakers are starting to catch on in the mobile world and I can see why. There are several reasons these fit the mobile need. They have a switchable 25 to 45 degree coverage pattern vertical, with a 150 degree coverage left to right, and are rated at 500watts. They also have a switchable music(flat) / speech selector, based on your need. Without getting technical, Constant Beamwitdth Technology (patent pending) puts an individual cross over on each pair of tweeter giving an extremely constant sound pattern. The “J” shape offers lower volumes close up and the line array offers an extended throw. We were impressed as we put the speaker outside and fired it up in the parking lot. We measured the drop off of audibility to be between 80 and 100 feet. They are rated indoor and outdoor speakers that can be left out all year round. (a JBL weather boot has to be used on the input plate) If you see press conferences the white house, you would see the white version of these being used.
Jbl has come up with a mounting bracket for mobile applications that allow pan and tilt to be adjusted based on your needs. The only other add I see the need for is the input plate needs to be changed to a speak-on connector (available JBL) as it currently comes with the install back plate.
We told the JBL guys they couldn’t take the speakers, so we made them leave empty handed. They are on display, working in our Warren store. SO, if you want to hear something new and different in the speaker world, come see us for a demo. We will have them here for a few weeks or until the reps get passed the watch dogs up front.
Chauvet Freedom Par and Freedom Strip Mini In-Depth Video
In case you missed it, we had already posted in our blog a quick video showing stock and a few of the neat features of the Chauvet Freedom Par and the Chauvet Freedom Strip Mini wireless led fixtures. You can view the blog post and video HERE
We really didn’t get too far in-depth in that video because we wanted to make another video that shows the lights in action. So, we now have that video available for viewing.
The Chauvet Freedom Par sells for $299.99 and the Chauvet Freedom Strip Mini also sells for $299.99. We are the only ones in the US that has stock on these units at this time and they are selling fast! Feel free to email us at sales@proaal.com or call us at (800) 357-8991 or (586) 582-0871 to place your order today!
Chauvet Freedom Pars & Freedom Strip Showcase Video
If you saw us at the MBLV16 show in Las Vegas, you would have seen us there with Chauvet showing off the new completely wireless Chauvet Freedom Pars and Freedom Strip Mini’s LED light fixtures. They were quite a hit at the show and they are the first to offer a truly wireless uplighting solution. If you didn’t attend the show, you are in luck because we just received our shipment from the show and are currently the only dealers in the US with both of these fixtures in stock!
So now that we have them in our possession at our stores, we made a quick video showing off some of the features of the Chauvet Freedom series lights. This video doesn’t get into a lot the deeper technological areas of the fixtures, but that video will come within the next couple of days.
Anyway, you can check out the video below:
Stay tuned for more updates on the Chauvet Freedom Par and Freedom Strip Mini!
In the meantime, feel free to order the lights as we have them in stock and they ship for FREE!
LED strip lighting case from Gator rolls right out!
So we had some cases our rep dropped off for us to try out here in store. Amp case, controller bag, and a few microphone bags, plus this longer box labeled G-LEDBAR-4. What could this box possibly be for???
LED strip or bar lights, exactly! At first, we thought it might be a bit large for say a Megabar or a Colorstrip, but we were wrong. The bag, or I’d call it a case, is padded very nice, with 3 dividers that attach with velcro to the inside lining of the case. A heavy duty zipper opens up in either direction, and a side handle and top hand for carrying or rolling out on the caster wheels. There’s also some strips of plastic on the back side that protect the case if your lifting it up into say a truck bed or the back of a van, or even your cars trunk. There’s a large pocket on the front for maybe some linking cables and power cords, but we also had enough room on the inside to rap up several cables we’d use with each of the lights. I put 4 of the Chauvet Colorstrip LED’s in the case as you can see in the pictures, and there was room for 2 more easily, possibly even another 4. But, you would have them right on top of one another so they might get scratched up unless you put a towel or additional padding in between.
So, if you are using any of the LED bars or strip lighting, you may want to consider the Gator G-LEDBAR-4 to save you some time and protect your lights at the same time. Any 4′ foot fixture should fit just fine, and here’s some other models that would work with the G-LEDBAR-4 case:
- Blizzard Lighting STORMChaser RGBW
- Chauvet COLORtube EQ
- Chauvet COLORrail IRC
- Chauvet EPIX Strip
- Chauvet Colorstrip
- Chauvet Colorstrip IRC IP
- Chauvet 6 Spot
- ADJ Revo Express
- ADJ Color Burst 8 LED
- ADJ Eco UV LED
- ADJ Mega Bar LED RC
- ADJ Mega TRI Bar
- ADJ Mega Bar PRO
- ADJ Mega Pixel LED
So if you need protection and pricing, Gator has you covered[no pun intented!] It’s time to take back those extra minutes in your set up and tear down at events. Make it easier, protect your investment, and save your back! Gator Cases and the full line of products are under this click!
email me at justin@proaal.com with any questions or call 586-582-0871 and ask for Kruse!
Day 2 recap of the 2012 NAMM show. Numark, AKAI, Gemini, Chauvet + more
So we kick off the day with the 3 threat booth from Numark, Akai Professional, and Alesis. The buzz was already ready going with the news of the new Akai MPC pieces for 2012. But, first we stop over at Numark to check out the gear with our man Damien.
Numark shows off the new iDJPRO mixing station, the latest installment in the iPad friendly gadgets. Although this is in a very early faze, the design and layout were very nice. Being a fan of the rotary controls, this unit adds a classic feel like an old GLI or PPD mixer, just to name a few. I did lift the glass when no one
Part 2 of Day 1, NAMM 2012
So I simply ran out of time to finish my recap of day 1, and added to that, ProAAL and gang set out and walked a complete day 2. Pause, talk a break, and here I go!
I left off walking out of the American Audio booth, and headed over to RANE. You probably already got Rane’s email on the new dj mixers, but if not, you’re going love what they announced for 2012. First off, I got a tease but just couldn’t even mention the mixers. I passed the booth earlier in the day, and it was a mad house, no joke. DMC champ and signature mixer name………… DJ Z-Trip hanging out giving a set for all those in attendance. As expected, a good time all around their booth. When I walked up, I was back of the crowd, so I took in some of the other Rane releases for 2012. Introduce HAL, Rane’s new expandable DSP platform for the installation market. Keep in mind, I’m not a system specialist or installer, but these products were impressive for the event hall or business audio network. HAL is a audio processing and routing management system with expandability, RAD I/O and control units, expansion I/O’s, paging stations, digital remotes, and more than makes sense to me. For now, please visit the www.rane.com website for more information. I got a short run down on the system, and how it works. Software based routing is modular, which you then make connections between those modules. The modules are smart, really smart, and they detect all possible routing options without you having to wire them together. You can save several types of configurations, which are then accessible via the digital remote control units. 2 advanced features new to the HAL system, is a detection letting you know when a error in recall or routing is detected. LED’s light up letting you know your selection is or isn’t ready for you, so you’re not tracing down a problem in one room, when it’s all together in another. On the digital remote units, there is a back lite screen displaying all of the preset or custom labels you’ve set up in the HAL software for your recall. Again, not anything I work around what so ever, but what a product line should be making several protection keys built right into the system. Installation and system specialist be aware, this looks to be a hot product for 2012.
NAMM 2012 Day 1 manufacturer recap. ADJ, Rane, Allen & Heath + more
So the first day of the 2012 NAMM show has come to a close. Originally, we planned on giving you a booth by booth update for each of the manufacturers we visited, but scheduling and internet connection kept us from giving those updates. That being the case, we’re here to go over many new products from today’s companies.
First up, Audio-Technica. ProAAL has being carrying ATW for years. Although we’ve only carried key products from their line, we’ve always found ATW has delivered a reliable product in the price bracket we’ve worked in. ATW has released a few new products we keyed in on. The ATH-M50 headphones have 2 special editions for 2012. Being their 50th anniversary, the have 2 new colors for this model to add to their lineup. A full-out white color that falls right in line with a new iPhone or iPad purchase, and a silver with blue metallic finish. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if my Sony MDR7506′s ever break, the ATH-M50 will be my next pair. Although the market is so full of headphone options, crazy colors, not to mention a real choice in quality and performance, price and comfort are my top buying reasons. I wear glasses, and the ATH-M50 are a bit tighter than my Sony’s, but they will stay right in place if you have to make a quick move while you’re performing, and the headband doesn’t bind into my glasses. For me, that is a issue I can’t pass on because so many headphones I’ve tried, are just to small in width, and they squeeze in on glasses, and it just adds to problem.
