P.A. Equipment

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer-P ... 1537604.gc

what are your thoughts on this? Not so much the package but the PMP6000.

This will be a starter pa setup for a Guitar, Bass, Drummer, Lead vocal set up.
I only planned on running vocals through it and maybe bass for better volume control (when i get more speakers that is).

Ive read good and bad reviews on this product I know that (being a bassist whose first combo was a behringer) behringer gets a bad wrap for not being a reliable brand. But i figured when utilized correctly and not mistreated it would do well.

Then again, im only a novice to the PA world.

I'm not real familiar with Behringer stuff,
but for the money you could get a similar
Yamaha pa system. Most of my small Yamaha
pa system is being used for monitors now,
but I've been very happy with it's sound,
durability, and weight.

Carvin ...

Having used Berhringer ... I'd pass.
It's also my not so humble opinion that you will not be pleased with any form of speaker in a damn plastic box.
Been there done that ... sold them.
Carvin has package deals.
Their is no middle man.
Their service and their stuff is world class.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/proaudio/mixers.php

For PA's I never met one I liked as much as Yamaha.

I have a Kustom PA which is weird, (power mids and low everything else).
(very 60's)

And the old Yamaha, which I think sounds the best.

A new PA? echh. All I know is that a guy I know has a Berhringer PA he just bought and is already trying to sell it.

It might be ok, just make sure you test the sh*t out if it before you lay down the ducats for it. Else you'll be trying to sell it in 2 weeks as well.

You lost me at Behringer.
Buy and inexpensive quality pice of equipment even if it is used.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
If you have equipment difficulties at a gig especialy whe you are starting out it will make it twice a hrd to get going, bad news gets around quickly.

Just my thoughts.

You lost me at Behringer.
Buy and inexpensive quality pice of equipment even if it is used.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
If you have equipment difficulties at a gig especialy whe you are starting out it will make it twice a hrd to get going, bad news gets around quickly.

Just my thoughts.

Ditto

JBL, YAMAHA, CARVIN and CROWN

Peavey speakers but test them first, not all are good

After spending time in my local Guitar Center and chatting with the techs ive decided to go a completely different route. I was sketchy on the whole Behringer idea so ive moved on to a Yamaha MG166CX

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha-MG16 ... 1322015.gc

I decided in the long run just going all out and buying unpowered now will save me money instead of upgrading later.

So now my question is what sort of Power Amp should i go with? Also speaker recommendations would be appreciated, im partial to Peavey but im open to suggestions

Two Crown amplifiers for sure

http://www.crownaudio.com/amps.htm

For speakers I would suggest a decent pair or four single 15's with a 2 inch or 4 inch horn and a couple of single 18's. This will make for a very flexable system and they won't kill your back.

Any of the Peavey QW speakers are very good.

http://peavey.com/products/proaudio/loudspeakers/qw/

Beginner PA help?? Ask 20 musicians and get 20 very different opinions. Here is mine: Keep it simple. You are a band, not a sound company. Focus on the music and let others focus on serious sound reinforcement.

Yes that Yamaha mixer is a workhorse for gigging musicians and will serve you well. We used the powered version for 5 years and it was a very good live sound mixer. Not the best... not the worst and reasonably easy to use.

For speakers we use a pair of JBL powered EONs for 98% of our gigs.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/JBL-EON-515 ... e=4WWRWXGB

Contrary to popular belief those plastic boxes sound FANTASTIC on vocals, keys, percussion, acoustic and electric guitar if used as designed. They will easily cover a crowd of 200 with a max output of 132db. If you want to mic the bass and drums you will need to add a slew of mics and a pair of powered subs (Not recommended as a beginner PA).

When we play a gig large enough to warrant running everything through the PA we hire a sound company and add their cost to our performance fee. They carry all the gear in, set it up, sound check it, run it, tear it down and pack it home. We play music and entertain our clients. Love that!

Sounds like you've got it figured out
Johnny7. Setting up a large show is
alot of work, especially if then you
have to perform.

Sounds like you've got it figured out
Johnny7. Setting up a large show is
alot of work, especially if then you
have to perform.

Well, we have been gigging since 1969, everywhere from small acoustic coffee houses to clubs, city concerts and minor league baseball stadiums. We have used a few PA systems over the years.

A simple, high quality PA is easy to transport and carry and can be set up in about 30 minutes ready to gig. This works great for car shows, landmark birthdays, corporate parties, clubs up to 200 people, grad parties etc.

In the old days we used to drag around 2000lbs of gear and spend 4 hours setting up, testing, and sound checking for every gig. By the time we were scheduled to play we had no energy left for the music. After the performance we had to tear it all down and load it out... another 2 hours. Too much gear sucked the joy out of making music.

Now we give our clients a choice:

-Standard high quality system for up to 200 people (our system)= $$$

-Full range system for up to 800 people with huge kicking bass (sound co)= $$$$

-Stadium system for 1k-5k people including sound, stage and lighting (lighting and sound co)=$$$$$

Which show would you prefer Mr. Client?

My bands system will handle up to 800 people or so, its large but we can set it up in an hour, and tear it down in 45 minutes, pa, lights, amps the whole nine yards. Everything is on wheels, or if not we dolly it, I put our mixer, amps, effects all in one big roll in box. Just hook up mics and speakers and your good to go. If you are in this long term then I just feel its best to have your own setup.

We tryed hiring people for a while, and after being stood up a few times we just built up a nice system over time. A couple of times some sound guys brought less equipment than we thought we needed.

Almost any band needs a smaller setup to practice and hopefully one that will do some small clubs.

I have a 10 channel Behringer at the house, and we just hook up 4 monitors to it to practice, and honestly this little system could probably handle 50% of the gigs we do these days, but we are just throw backs to the 70s when you had to have a huge PA ! LOL

For a few beginner system...from what I have used and heard...definitely stay away from behringer. I don't mind some of the rack mount gear, but stay away from their mixers and speakers. A Mackie 808S in my opinion is a wonderful powered mixer. Get a decent pair of single 15 mains, I went with Yamaha S115V. A pair of single 15 Kustoms are serviceable for monitors. That will get you started. Once you make a few bucks gigging, add a pair of single 18 cabinets. Match them up with your 15's.

Don't go cheap with the mics and cables either. You will regret that.