Using a QSC K12

I'm new and I searched but came up with limited information........my XL+ sounded really dark and a bit muddy when using everything flat on the back of the speaker. I flipped the vocal boost switch and the speaker came to life. It sounded killer; no more muddy darkness. It sounded like what you'd expect from FOH or from your speakers from a finished track on a record. It didn't sound like an amp and cab but a finished product (what I'm looking for). Sizzling highs, good mid range and even some bottom end.

Now here's where I'm thinking issues might arise........While going FRFR and flipping the vocal boost on the K12, will FOH board EQ out the dark muddy sound I was getting from my K12 or should I use the EQ's in the unit, flip vocal boost back to normal and make the unit eq'ed to the K12? Just want to make sure I'm not band aid fixing one speaker to run into issues going into the board.

A bit confused and a little unsure how to approach this......FOH is the most important but the sound you hear from your back line does help you play better (at least me)

Thanks in advance (don't trip on me....I did search)
 
I don't use a K12, I have an EV ZLX 12 that I run the dsp flat. I think my approach would be to set the speaker flat so that you get a true sense of your patches. Once it's all flat then RE-EQ your patches. There are a number of ways to cut mudd with pre and post amp EQ. Couple things I almost always do is, I drop a PEQ block right in front of the amp block and I cut 300 by 4-6 DB, I also use the EQ in the amp block and cut 250 a couple DB. Plus the normal cuts in the cab block.
 
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I always found the K12 a touch harsh in the upper mids, but generally I'd avoid using the vocal boost and eq to the speaker. I created lots of patches on the K12 without the vocal boost and they tended to translate fairly accurately to other PAs.
 
Cool....thanx for the responses. It sounds ok with the pair of them on the floor but just a bit muddy and not the highest fidelity...if that's the proper term.....flicking the vocal boost really made them come to life.

I'll put them flat again and eq it within the unit.

Does anyone know exactly what the vocal boost does? because I'll just add that eq to the axe-fx.....that should give me the sound I'm digging from the vocal boost.

Thanks again!

edit:

Just found this....just in case anyone was wondering.....vocal boost is: " +3 dB, centered at 2.5 kHz, with a Q of 0.5 (a Band Width of approximately 2-1/2 octaves)."-Fred Thomke (QSC forum)
 
I'm new and I searched but came up with limited information........my XL+ sounded really dark and a bit muddy when using everything flat on the back of the speaker. I flipped the vocal boost switch and the speaker came to life. It sounded killer; no more muddy darkness. It sounded like what you'd expect from FOH or from your speakers from a finished track on a record. It didn't sound like an amp and cab but a finished product (what I'm looking for). Sizzling highs, good mid range and even some bottom end.

Now here's where I'm thinking issues might arise........While going FRFR and flipping the vocal boost on the K12, will FOH board EQ out the dark muddy sound I was getting from my K12 or should I use the EQ's in the unit, flip vocal boost back to normal and make the unit eq'ed to the K12? Just want to make sure I'm not band aid fixing one speaker to run into issues going into the board.

A bit confused and a little unsure how to approach this......FOH is the most important but the sound you hear from your back line does help you play better (at least me)

Thanks in advance (don't trip on me....I did search)

+1 on vocal boost. Also make sure you are filtering lows and mellowing the highs.
 
If everything sounds dark and muddy, it's probably the room you're EQing out, not the monitors. If that's the case, then the adjustments you make for your room are likely to translate to shrillness in FOH.
 
Ok.....so let me ask this....how accurate or how good do the built in presets sound running through a board out to FOH? if anyone's tried it (I understand there are many types of setups and variables....but just looking for peoples general experience). Because if the built in presets sound good through FOH with the built in eq settings, then Using the vocal boost to achieve a good backline sound shouldn't matter...that way I'm not messing the patch Eq's to make FOH sound too shrill.

Thoughts?

I should add that It won't be a consistent PA setup and with rooms varying in size. I also use mainly Les Paul's. Would like to sort this out before I show up at gig than trying to fix it on the fly.
 
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Ok.....so let me ask this....how accurate or how good do the built in presets sound through FOH?
That depends. How accurate is your next gig's FOH? How close is your guitar to the one that was used to make the preset? :)

Some of the built-in presets sound fantastic with some of my guitars. Some of them sound fantastic with some of my other guitars. Some of them don't suit any of my guitars.

Bottom line: your best bet for good translation to FOH is to dial in your sound on the most accurate monitoring you have available. And still, sometimes the FOH of the evening will throw a curve ball at you.


...Using the vocal boost to achieve a good backline sound shouldn't matter...
You're right. It won't matter...unless you used that EQ'ed backline as a reference to dial in your tone.
 
Fair enough. I appreciate the advice. Thanks. I was just hoping it sounded really good and similar with all FRFR speakers with limited adjustments (just the different boxes giving their different flavor to the sound.......but the vocal switch is a drastic change, for the better. It even changes the gain structure it seems)........experimentation time!
 
I always found the K12 a touch harsh in the upper mids, but generally I'd avoid using the vocal boost and eq to the speaker. I created lots of patches on the K12 without the vocal boost and they tended to translate fairly accurately to other PAs.

Could you let me know what eq'ing you did and I'll use that as a baseline. Much appreciated.
 
Could you let me know what eq'ing you did and I'll use that as a baseline. Much appreciated.
I didn't do anything specific across all patches, I just assumed the K12 was my "flat-esque" reference and tuned the patched accordingly. It really depended on the patch. I think if you created patches with the vocal boost on, they'll be a little dark when they go to FOH. I always found the K12 to be just a little harsh, and am much happier with the EV LiveX 112p. Might look at around 2.5kHz as the problem spot on the K12s.
 
Cool thanks....I might pick up a coupla EV's since they're not that expensive. I could always use my K12's for building a small PA...... monitors or mains.
 
When using a k12 make sure sub ext is on to jell excessive bass. Now for your question about what FOH will do. It is hard to answer that. FOH is supposed to mix the band so they sound good in the room they are in full of people. Not all FOH guys do their job as they should
 
Thanks. It was just a general question....I know most guys won't use the factory presets for their setup but was wondering if anyone ran them through the board and if the built in presets sounded good. If that was the case then messing too much with the eq in the Axe-FX to fix the K12 might cause FOH to sound not great.......If they did sound good as is, then just flicking it to vocal boost to fix the stage sound would be a very simple basic fix......but it seems to be a bit more complicated than that......at least I'm making it out to be complicated.

I'm gonna set up my cheap Behringer board to my K12's and lift them up and see what it sounds like going through a cheap board....I should be able to see if it makes a difference going into a cheaper board.....I'll report back if anyone is interested.

On a side note...this thing is friggin awesome! I'm a little nervous to start diving into this thing; so much stuff in there.......and here I thought my Grandmeister 36 was complicated lol!
 
I'm gonna set up my cheap Behringer board to my K12's and lift them up...
Getting the speakers off the floor will do a lot to tame the bottom end and make them sound less dark.


...and see what it sounds like going through a cheap board...
It's not the board you have to worry about. The room, the FOH speakers, the installation, and the skills of the sound guy will make a much bigger difference than the cost of the sound board.


On a side note...this thing is friggin awesome! I'm a little nervous to start diving into this thing; so much stuff in there...
Yes. It's beyond awesome. But don't let it scare you. Bite off little pieces. Stick with basic amp and effects controls. Once you're comfortable with that, you can start digging into the deeper stuff.
 
I use a K12 also. I would leave it flat & EQ in the Axe Fx as well. Before gigging set it up in the biggest room you have access to upright around head level & crank it to 100 or so decibels. That will get you somewhat close to how it should sound out of the PA & then EQ from there. You can always run the K12 through output 2 & EQ output 2 to your liking with the K12 as a floor monitor. Live I run out 2 to in ears & have it tweaked differently than out 1 going to FOH. Good luck.
 
Awesome....didn't realize you could eq the separate outputs! Like I said above....was hoping all FRFR speakers responded similar and just added their own colour, not the case it seems.

I can't wait till I have a day off to start digging into this thing.....I find right now I just click through the built in presets noodling around....next thing you know a coupla' hours passed and I'm late for work! Today I played ice cream man solo on the 50-watt Plexi.... awesome....except I played & sounded like drunk Eddie from one of those youtube video's! but the tone was killer!

Good to know stuff & info. Thanks everyone for the helpful advice.
 
Ive just bought 2 isc k12.2. Sound really crappy with my axe. I play some u2 tune and now all my sounds are way too bright. All high e notes feels like playing in a food can. Tried eq the qsc. Not working. Hi pass on axe delays. Not working. Lowering the treble tone in amp block.... Not working. Any suggestions please. Some suggested an hi cut in cab block amd lowering 2k and 4k. Any other advice before o bring them back to the store.
 
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