The Boogie Man Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Hi troops, I've just put together a guitar rack and a vocal rack for festivals or anywhere I'm running through someone elses foh.I was just wondering which what be a good way to get a reliable reading for the output of the racks. I have put them into my old soundcraft and adjusted for 0db and I suppose I can do the same with any other desks I come into contact with, but I was hoping to be able to set to what I know is 0db so I can tell who ever is further down the line the exact output. I've also put the racks through my soundcard ( m audio delta ) and set at 0db, but I had to bring up the level to get it, so I'm wondering if the input may be attenuated. Is there something I could get ( probably just to borrow ) that is accurate beyond arguing?Baz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Telling someone further down the line is likely to be less helpful than you may think. As long as everything within the settings, (anything you mix together yourself) is balanced correctly and you are sending a strong but not overdriven signal from the outputs then they should be happy to adjust to their system. Everyone's gain structure is different.Anyone that is not happy plugging you into a pair of channels and adjusting the gain to suit is a lazy sod IMO. You do need to check the level it is outputting, but you've done that with your soundcraft board. It's an interesting question to ask and discuss (as are all of your ideas) but I don't think its and easy one to answer. Every desk is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Boogie Man Posted March 7, 2008 Author Share Posted March 7, 2008 Cheers Rob, I was curious if there was something I hadn't come across that gave an accurate reading as I was aware that the desks you meet are always a little differnt as are spl meters. I know I'm very unlikley to ever have a problem as nothing of mine is ever allowed to clip. It was more a case of if an exact answer was required what would give the truest reading. Are the inputs on spl measuring units in venues that are government controlled set with something or is there variations in them as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Well you'd expect them to be calibrated. I often find such claims to be rather comical though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 If you do a LOT of system setup work, then something like THIS can be worth it's weight in gold. It can be combined with a companion signal generator and there's even an SPL measturement add on. However, though considering what it does the price isn't bad at all, it's not something to buy unless you do a lot of system alignment. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Boogie Man Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 Thats a sweet bit of kit, but as you say, you'd need to be using it a lot to justify the cost. Being able to plug a source in as opposed to just a mic is very handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieR Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 A basic oscilloscope may be the answer here - allowing you to accurately measure the voltage of an AC signal. You would normally need a nice sine-wave signal source to assist in the readings. Second-hand ones are easily found on ebay. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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