My brother and sister-in-law own a Christian rock band, Pure Fusion. For reasons beyond my comprehension, they asked me to be their sound-man, and audio tech. What makes this a bit humorous is the fact that my hearing's not the best in the world -- I've been teased about the things I misunderstand for years.
My brother loves me, but most of all, he loves my horns! He also places a great deal of trust in my ability to produce a rock solid sound -- which I discovered is easier to do with commercially recorded music, than raw from the stage.
When I first hear Pure Fusion rehearse, I feared the worse. The music had tremendous potential, but when everyone played towards a song's climax, the notes became a turbulent sea of crashing, churning, choking hell. I say this with the greatest respect for the musicians in the band -- you see, it wasn't their fault, it was the sound system.
I had fabricated a folded bass horn for the band, but it couldn't do much for the garbled midrange/high-frequency section. I had just completed the 80hz bi-conical horn and suggested that my brother come to my audio chamber and listen to my version of performance.
He did just that.
Though Jade (my brother) loved the sound, everyone in the band who had an opportunity to sit in on the music session thought it would be too much hassle to cart around -- especially when paired, which they are when he runs a stereo mix from the sound board.
"I could build you a 100hz version," I said.
His eyes lit up. "How much smaller would it be?"
"I don't know, but it will be smaller. Let me cook up a design and get back to you," I said, hoping he had the patience to wait for my calculations and simulations.
Long story short, we fabricated one of the cute little beasts and hooked it up to my sound system. It performed like a trooper -- strong, punchy, accurate. We immediately began the second horn.
For a professional looking finish, we sprayed the horns with a rattle can drywall orange-peel effect. Since it's oil based, it would cure into a hard, tough finish which would be rolled with several coats of black urethane. The end result had me wishing my horns looked as good as Jade's.
Last Thursday, we began sitting up his horns and equipment in a church that would be home to Friday's concert. I asked my brother to purchase a three-way, 4th order, electronic crossover, and beg, borrow, or buy a few more power amplifiers. He didn't have to beg, but the other two options were exploited to their fullest.
I happened to have a couple of speaker enclosures loaded with JBL 2123 10" drivers for the midrange. They would take the load above 400hz (where the 100hz mid bass horns rolled off). Turns out, this was a very good move. The mids turned from mush to warmth and clarity. The 1-1/2" high frequency horn could now be lowered to 3.2K hz without fear of overdriving the diaphragm (he had it previously crossed at 7k with a solitary capacitor). The highs were, now, a pleasant sizzle.
All in all, the combination rated an 8 out of 10, whereas before they didn't even make it onto the scale. There's still more improvement to come -- I want to horn load the midrange. There's also room for better sounding amplifiers in the upper frequencies where high wattage is unnecessary. I'm thinking Class A in the mids and high frequencies. I'll probably be modifying my amp, or the bridged version of Nelson's F5. It should be quite the adventure.
Oh -- the band really rocked the house that night! Everyone said that they had never sounded so good! Afterwards, I got a lot of hugs from everyone in that lovely group of people.
It just goes to show, that even with a handicap, a person with passion and a bit of experience can make a difference. So remember, you can make a difference too.
My brother loves me, but most of all, he loves my horns! He also places a great deal of trust in my ability to produce a rock solid sound -- which I discovered is easier to do with commercially recorded music, than raw from the stage.
When I first hear Pure Fusion rehearse, I feared the worse. The music had tremendous potential, but when everyone played towards a song's climax, the notes became a turbulent sea of crashing, churning, choking hell. I say this with the greatest respect for the musicians in the band -- you see, it wasn't their fault, it was the sound system.
I had fabricated a folded bass horn for the band, but it couldn't do much for the garbled midrange/high-frequency section. I had just completed the 80hz bi-conical horn and suggested that my brother come to my audio chamber and listen to my version of performance.
He did just that.
Though Jade (my brother) loved the sound, everyone in the band who had an opportunity to sit in on the music session thought it would be too much hassle to cart around -- especially when paired, which they are when he runs a stereo mix from the sound board.
"I could build you a 100hz version," I said.
His eyes lit up. "How much smaller would it be?"
"I don't know, but it will be smaller. Let me cook up a design and get back to you," I said, hoping he had the patience to wait for my calculations and simulations.
Long story short, we fabricated one of the cute little beasts and hooked it up to my sound system. It performed like a trooper -- strong, punchy, accurate. We immediately began the second horn.
For a professional looking finish, we sprayed the horns with a rattle can drywall orange-peel effect. Since it's oil based, it would cure into a hard, tough finish which would be rolled with several coats of black urethane. The end result had me wishing my horns looked as good as Jade's.
Last Thursday, we began sitting up his horns and equipment in a church that would be home to Friday's concert. I asked my brother to purchase a three-way, 4th order, electronic crossover, and beg, borrow, or buy a few more power amplifiers. He didn't have to beg, but the other two options were exploited to their fullest.
I happened to have a couple of speaker enclosures loaded with JBL 2123 10" drivers for the midrange. They would take the load above 400hz (where the 100hz mid bass horns rolled off). Turns out, this was a very good move. The mids turned from mush to warmth and clarity. The 1-1/2" high frequency horn could now be lowered to 3.2K hz without fear of overdriving the diaphragm (he had it previously crossed at 7k with a solitary capacitor). The highs were, now, a pleasant sizzle.
All in all, the combination rated an 8 out of 10, whereas before they didn't even make it onto the scale. There's still more improvement to come -- I want to horn load the midrange. There's also room for better sounding amplifiers in the upper frequencies where high wattage is unnecessary. I'm thinking Class A in the mids and high frequencies. I'll probably be modifying my amp, or the bridged version of Nelson's F5. It should be quite the adventure.
Oh -- the band really rocked the house that night! Everyone said that they had never sounded so good! Afterwards, I got a lot of hugs from everyone in that lovely group of people.
It just goes to show, that even with a handicap, a person with passion and a bit of experience can make a difference. So remember, you can make a difference too.
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