parade sound

natebish

Member
I was recently asked to do sound for a float in a parade. they will have a live band which will be played off both sides of the float the entire rout of the parade. I have worked in several stationary settings so my first instict was to EQ every peice of the system. but then i got to thinking, since it is moving and no two spots are the same, is it worth it to EQ the mains? also since the band will be on the float (a large truck bed with fabric wrapped around a railing) would it work/beworth it to EQ the floor monitors that i'm planning on using?
 
You still need to throw graphs on everything. When you ring it out, ring it out next to a building or something so you can hear the reflections. As far as the wedges go, do what you would normally do, those should not really be effected by the moving.
 
The bigger issues are usually power and the fact that the environment around you will be constantly changing. To help with both, think about skipping floor monitors or any active amps on stage other than if you want them just for appearance and going to all direct inputs and in-ears or a personal monitor system. Also think about the fact that the changing environment will affect not just the sound from the speakers but also the sound picked up by the mics, including wind noise, so you may want to consider close miking. Finally, unless you mix wirelessly and walk beside the float, you're not going to be able to mix from the perspective of the audience. The bottom line, there are good reasons that 'live' performances on floats are rarely live or at least very limited in the live components.
 
if i had the money to do all this i would, but... i don't. it is for a group of churches and therefore money is very limited. long story short, i'm cobbling together some peices that they already have (beta 58's and 58 wireless' for mics and a peavey XR 1220 powered console) with a three hundred dollar budget for rental gear (power amp, a beta 98 for a djembe, a couple beta 57's for horns, main cabinets, floor monitors and possibly a couple of graphic EQ's)
 
if i had the money to do all this i would, but... i don't. it is for a group of churches and therefore money is very limited. long story short, i'm cobbling together some peices that they already have (beta 58's and 58 wireless' for mics and a peavey XR 1220 powered console) with a three hundred dollar budget for rental gear (power amp, a beta 98 for a djembe, a couple beta 57's for horns, main cabinets, floor monitors and possibly a couple of graphic EQ's)
So what is powering everything? Is somebody providing appropriate batteries and an inverter or a generator that can support everything you noted? And I don't know anything about the parade or your group but I have been involved in parades where the organizers had rules and restrictions regarding what could be on floats or how some things had to be handled. For example, how are you mounting the amps, monitors, speakers, mic stands, etc. so that they don't become a potential hazard if the truck makes a turn to avoid something or has stop suddenly or accelerate quickly? It would be a shame to spend the money and everything and then not be allowed to participate because of such issues, so just make sure all of the basics are covered before looking at how much you have for renting mics and EQs.
 
It is all going to be ru off a twenty amp honda generator that one of the church members has. I have already run the general layout past one of the assistant event coordinators who is in charge Stuff like that. So I don't think that it will be a problem.
 

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