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johnaec
08-07-2006, 08:05 PM
Well, 'made the annual trek on Sunday to San Francisco to catch the "Jerry Day" gig, (in honor of Jerry Garcia), that Bo does the FOH mix for.

It was an absolutely beautiful day, with just enough breeze coming and going to keep it from getting too hot. One interesting thing - whenever a particularly strong gust would go by, it literally made it sound like the music was being panned L-R.

A good-size crowd of several hundred was there, but may have ended up even more, since I had to leave early.

Bo was using a rig that consisted of L-Acoustic V-DOSC mains and also L-Acoustics subs. I'm not sure of the exact model numbers, but each side consisted of five mid-high cabinets, with dual 8" drivers and a HF horn in each. The lows were covered by two subs on each side, each containing three 15" drivers in some type of manifold system.

I didn't catch what kind of board was being used, and the monitors came with the system, not the JBL monitors Bo provided last year.

The only band name I can remember is "Grapefruit Ed", but a bluegrass type of band opened before that. As expected, sound was real good, though I think Grapefruit Ed's bass guitar sounded a little clearer last year - that may be because for some reason, he was playing the bass with his thumb this year, instead of the pick he used last year - it just seemed a little muffled to me, though when he did use a pick at times, I felt it was noticeably better, (I don't use a pick myself - rather, my fingers usually). The vocals and everything else were crystal clear! 'Serious thud for the kick drums, too!

Anyway, a really great time was had by all, (Deadheads really like to party!) ;) The place, (including Bo!), was boogying like crazy when I left!

I took a few pics - I'll let Bo fill everyone in on all the technical details. BTW - picture the crowd infront of the stage dancing, (writhing!), crazily to the tunes - (still pics don't do it justice...). And most that grassy area in Bo's pic was also covered with people by the time I left.

John

Oldmics
08-07-2006, 09:38 PM
Looks like a good time was had by all :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: .

I will be interested in Bo"s assesment of the P.A.

The speaker system is an L-Acoustics dV-Dosc rig.

Its the smaller brother of the V-Dosc speaker system.The subs are dV-Subs.

F.O.H. console appears to be a Yamaha P.M. 4000. Referred to as a 4K

Looks like its mate is living in monitor world onstage.That would be a P.M.4000M.This would be a 4KM.

I"m gonna guess that there was some serious recording of the event going on.Looks like a lot of trunk lines leading out from the microphone splitter to more than just F.O.H. and monitors.

Appeared to be excellent weather.Always a plus for success in outdoor shows.

Wish I could have attended.Maybe next year!

Oldmics

boputnam
08-07-2006, 10:44 PM
Looks like a good time was had by all :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: .I cannot have any more fun than that. It is simply impossible. It is like the rush of a 6 hour roller coaster ride...


I will be interested in Bo"s assesment of the P.A. The speaker system is an L-Acoustics dV-Dosc rig. Its the smaller brother of the V-Dosc speaker system.The subs are dV-Subs.Bingo. Perfect configuration for this venue. The ability of those mains cabinets to throw an even disperson across a wide field is unequalled and very pleasing for the fans.

To John's remark, I did struggle with the low frequency response. I worked a lot, all day, on improving tonality - but I could not filter the strips to any effective improvement. The LF just wasn't as "clear" as last year. During GrapefruitEd, their Alembic bass was just not right - it wasn't coming through with it's characteristic sound to my satisfaction; and the kick was not as punchy as I wanted. There is a VERY problematic coupling in that stage/concrete backdrop that is maddening. I wonder if going with half the "modelled" subs might be a better approach...?


F.O.H. console appears to be a Yamaha P.M. 4000. Referred to as a 4K. Looks like its mate is living in monitor world onstage. That would be a P.M.4000M. This would be a 4KM.Your experience far exceeds your eyes!! Exactly what we ran. I requested analogue because I was working with a true luminary at FOH - Sound on Stage System Engineer Dennis Deem. I wanted to be able to study what our strip EQ was across the desk at a glance, rather than have to page through screens. I'm still a knob guy... The 4K sounded really great to me. The strip filters are very effective and tune-able. And, we had some great outboard gear that was wonderful...


I"m gonna guess that there was some serious recording of the event going on. Looks like a lot of trunk lines leading out from the microphone splitter to more than just F.O.H. and monitors.Actually, no recording gear on stage. Those are all feeds in/out from the splitter. The L-Acoustics have quite a few controllers on-stage near monitor world. And, we were running up-to 8 monitor mixes so there was all sorta gear and capabilty up there. We did take some Stereo Aux sends post fader at FOH - 40 channels to L/R. The results were to me, really great.


Appeared to be excellent weather.Always a plus for success in outdoor shows. Wish I could have attended. Maybe next year!Yea, it was stunner. The reason the grassy knoll was sparsely populated was the crowd was huddling in the shade. A rare need in SanFran, that's for sure!

Jerry Day just keeps truckin' on - growing with each passing year. It is a great tradition for all who attend and for all involved. I hope to be there again, next year!

johnaec
08-08-2006, 06:25 PM
I cannot have any more fun than that. It is simply impossible. It is like the rush of a 6 hour roller coaster ride...I have to second that opinion - doing live sound outdoors with a good system is like sitting in your living room with the very best stereo, and having control over every last option, (tone, balance, volume, etc.), for each instrument! And a good band only makes it better! It's truly nirvana for audioholics! ;) :p

John

boputnam
07-27-2007, 09:03 AM
In the midst of preparing for upcoming Jerry Day 2007, I was reviewing photos to remind of stage layout, and various stuff, and realized we had a cameo shot of johnaec last year!

He's here, in the blue ballcap. He paid us a visit at FOH and was headed back down to the party. Good to see you, John!

www.jerryday.org (http://www.jerryday.org) - 5 August

johnaec
08-01-2007, 04:55 PM
Yeah, but I've lost over 20 lbs since then! (shooting for at least another 20...) ;)

John