EXTENSION CHORDS

HERE'S ONE FOR THE EARS!

EXTENSION CHORDS

Allen Hester

A few years ago, an up-and-coming manufacturer of sound reinforcement gear joined forces with one of the better established names in professional audio: Tapco merged with Electro-Voice to form EV/Tapco. Since then, an already good line of products by the younger Tapco has been enhanced by the years of experience and good reputation of the older EV, with musicians and soundmen being the prime beneficiaries of this merging of the minds— the talents and the solder guns.

The latest offering from EV/Tapco is the Entertainer Model 100M Powered Mixing System, a complete, portable powered mixer with two separate amplifiers, distinguished by its flexibility and thoughtful design. To complete the sound system,, two Model 100S Constant Directivity Speaker systems are added, with the total weight of the entire system less than 100 pounds! This makes it ideal for solo or small groups, church installations, schools and lounges. And since it is an openended system that can be used with external power amps, graphic equalizers, tape recorders and a wide variety of instruments and/or microphones, the 100M Entertainer is one to consider if you are in the' market for a small sound system.

The brain of the system is Model 100M stereo powered mixer, which is equipped with 10 ,inputs (eight with three-band equalization), a dual 8-band graphic equalizer and a power amp section rated at 150 watts per channel into 4 ohms (or 100 watts into 8 ohms). EV’s patented Powerlock circuit acts as a built-in protector against amplifer clipping, preventing harsh distortion and blown speakers.

The 100M has a switch that allows the user to switch from stereo to mono. In the mono mode, one amplifier and equalizer drives the main PA while the other drives the monitors. This not only means that system can drive both mains and monitors on its own, but that the two internal amplifiers can be assigned to a variety of functions depending on the situation. This is one of the high points of the entire system: its flexibility and compatibility with other outboard amplifiers, equalizers and signal processors. There is even a way to use the two internal amps for a mono bi-amped system, as well as a way to “freeup” both the internal amps for other uses. Integrating the 100M with an existing * house sound system in a club is simple and easy to do" making the musician’s job of filling up rooms with clear audible sound a lot'easier.

In the master control section, there is a Monitor Master fader, Left and Right Submaster faders, a rotary Mono Master control, Effects Master, Effects Return, Reverb Levekand Reverb Color. An internal spring reverb unit can be “colored” via the Reverb Color Control for a bright or a warm-sounding reverberation effect. The unit is also equipped with Phantom Power for use with condenser microphones that can operate on such power, and these types of mikes can be used simultaneously with other ribbon or dynamic microphones.

The chassis of the 100M as well as the cabinet of the 100S speaker system is made of polyethylene, a very lightweight and durable substance that reduces the weight of the system, at the same time resisting almost any chemical. The carrying handle is positioned at the center of gravity, so the mixer is easy to carry with ' one hand, as are the speakers. The input panel is angled for easy access to inputs and the patch bay, and it allows the entire unit to be placed close to a wall, to eliminate wasted space on a tight stage. And instead of VU meters that are hard to

read in the dark, the 100M has a dual fluorescent bar graph display that is easy to read from across a dark stage.

The monitor send control on each channel sets the level of that input signal in the monitor,mix. It is independent of all input channel controls except the Sensitivity control. It is not affected by the channel tone control or slide fader, so it is independent of and not affected by changes in the main or house mix. This means that the vocalists can have a lot of reverb/ effects on the vocals, and a wide variety of EQ settings to accommodate the different voices, but the monitor mix will be “dry” and.without tonal alteration from the input channels, so that it is easier to hear what is being sung. Of course, one of the onboard graphics, or an outboard graphic EQ can be used to balance out the overall sound of the monitor mix. Generally,

■ singers don’t want a lot of signal processing in the monitors, and the 100M was designed with this in mind.

/ The Effects/Reverb send control determines how much reverb from the internal spring reverb and/or external effects is added to that input signal. It is affected by the .channel tone controls and the channel fader. Since each channel has its own Effects/Reverb send, some channels can have reverb or effects and others none. Since the internal reverb and external effects share a common send, they will always have the same sources, which means that it is not possible to have reverb on one input source and effects on another input source at the same time . It-is possible to have reverb and effects simultaneously 6n both input channels, however,, and the Effects/Reverb send may also be used as a mono send, for a tape recorder for instance.

In the output section, the Effects Send master control sets the .level of the signal appearing at the effects send output jacks going' to any type of .Outboard effects device (echo, flanger, etc.), but it does not

affect the signal being sent to the internal reverb system. The source for that signal is the individual Effects/Reverb Send level controls. The Effects Return level control determines the loudness of externally generated effects signals in the main mix. This signal is mixed equally into the left and right stereo main, outputs, and also appears at the mono output.

What does all this add. up to? Flexibility and compatibility. The orte limitation—that you cannot have reverb on one input source and effects on another input source at the same time—is an accepted design in TURN TO PAGE 64 small mixing consoles throughout the industry. And when you think about it, it isn’t really,a drawback—in the sense that, next to reverb, the most common vocal enhancement device is an echo or digital delay unit, which is akin to reverb itself.The point being that, whether it is reverb or echo, the vocalists will want it, and the instruments can either be run dry or with the effect. As long as it is used sparingly, any external device will not muddy the sound quality. Also, instruments such as guitar and keyboards usually have some kind of pedal device or small effects box connected between the instrument and the amp. Mixing the amps would then allow various effect-laden sounds to be fed to the house mix.

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Panpot is an abbreviation of “panoramic potentiometer.” The panpots on all 10 channels allow-you to place the channel’s input signal within the stereo image by assigning more or less of the signal to the left or right main volume controls. Turning the panpot to the left of center, the result is mono. (Of course in the stereo mode this would be defeating the purpose, but who in their right mind would run a mixer in stereo with all the panpots centered!!??). It is best to separate harmony vocals, and similar instruments, such as two guitars, vi£ the panpots. Proper use of the panpot control can sometimes help to control feedback in a sound system by “panning” a mike away to the loudspeaker on the' opposite side of the stage. But be careful; in a room where the audience may have trouble hearing both speakers, it is wise not to “pan” to the extreme right or left, or the input signal may be" inaudible to certain people in the room. The smart thing to do in a room like that would be to run the 100M |n mono, so that both speakers carry the entire program, and anyone within hearing range of either speaker could hear all the material being presented.

To give you an idea of the extreme flexibility of the 100M, here are some suggested uses for the Line Input/Hi-Z Mic inputs on channels 1-8: a) high impedance microphones; b) guitar or other electric instruments; c) electronic keyboards or synthesizers; d) electronic drummers; e) tape machines (playback); f) turntables (with external RIAA preamp); g) signals from another mixer; h) effects devices (used as an effects return) and i) any unbalanced source with an output level from -40 to +26 dBu or .01 to 15 volts!! And that is just for the High-Z inputs! Each of the first eight channels also has a Low-Z balanced input as well, and some recommended uses for these are: a) balanced Low-Z mics (dynamic, ribbon or condenser);-b) phantom power compatible condenser mics; c) balanced Low-Z outputs from instruments; d) the balanced Low-Z output of a direct box and e) any balanced low-Z microphone level source. This should give you some idea of the kind of flexibility that is built into the 100M Entertainer from EV/Tapco. When you add on another external power amp, an external graphic equalizer, and another set of speakers, the possibilities really begin to open up to an almost unlimited variety of uses. You can run the system in stereo or mono, hook up a tape recorder for recording or playback, hook up turntables, external effects, or run instruments directly into the mixer. 'Externaleffects can be connected to either the High or the Low-level send jack, for compatibility, and they can be returned either through the Effects Return input, or through line inputs 1-10. If the line inputs are used, then the effects signal will be in the monitors as well as the mains; just turn up the monitor send control and you’ll hear the effect. There are two graphic equalizer outputs, left and right, that can be used in a variety of ways; to drive an external monitor amp (when the mode select switch is in the monitormono mode), to drive an external amp for stereo system, to drive the electronic crossover for bi-amping, and other uses.

Really, there is so much that this mixer will do, the things I have attempted to describe are really only a fraction bf the

useful functions that this product is capable of. I think it safe to say that in the past, the idea of “small club system” was a polite way of saying “I can’t afford a big, nice one.” And most small systems were designed accordingly; some of them were really little more than guitar-type heads with 4 to 8 inputs, and very little flexibility or expandibility. Not so the Entertainer 100M. It is a really professional mixer/amplifier, with features and flexibility usually reserved for systems with a much larger input capacity and price tag.

The speakers that are designed for use with the 100M, are the Model 100S, two-way constant directivity speaker system, comprised of a 12-inch woofer and a lVfc-inch tweeter coupled to a 9-inch direct radiator. The notion of ’“constant directivity” is pretty technical, and would require some explanation, but the idea is this: to get the speaker system to perform optimally in the critical frequency range from 500 to 10,000 Hz. The 100S has -a well-defined 100-degree wide horizontal and vertical coverage zone of acoustic output in the critical frequency range, which means uniform and dependable audience coverage without “hot spots” or dead zones at certain frequencies. By combining constant directivity and flat frequency response, the 1005 system delivers flat power response and uniform sound coverage throughout the audience in the critical four octaves of midrange. This is an important feature of the Entertainer, which was previously only available in higher priced systems.

The design of the speaker enclosures themselves speaks well of the manufacturer’s understanding of the practical considerations of the working musician. The molded polyethelene enclosure has two recessed mounts for the optional tripod stands; the speaker can be mounted horizontally as well as vertically—most helpful jn rooms with a low ceiling. In addition, there is an adapter that inserts into the rear of the enclosure which allows the -100S to be used as a floor slant at either 30 or 60-degree angles.

The Entertainer is by no means the house system at the Astrodome. But if you are pulling a club gig, you could do a lot worse than the Entertainer 100 system. %