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Speakers, amps.

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#42064 by MMFleming
Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:47 pm
I have a 4 piece classic rock band (2 guitars, bass drums and 3 vocals)that plays 2/3 per months. Usually we play in some pretty small venues. We have been micing everything and running sound from stage (with pretty decent, but not great) results. Currently we have 24 channel Mackie board and a rack with QCS power amps for tops and subs and Carvin monitor amp for up to 4 wedges. Also 2 of us use Sure in ears for monitors.

Due to a member leaving, we are losing our transportation and storage of the equipment. Other remaining members feel that we should go with powered mixer and speakers on a stick as that's what his old band did. I'm not looking forward to this change, but due to equipment logistics amd considering trying this. We would run vocals and kick drum through the PA and run stage volume from back line amps.

I am interested in anyone opinions of this kind of setup.

Secondly, we are considering powered mixers from Mackie, Yamaha and Carvin. I am VERY interested if anyone has opinions, good or bad, regarding these mixer/amps or any of the different models available.

#55358 by LKTraz
Sun Feb 01, 2009 5:27 pm
The powered mixer isn't such a bad idea but the smaller cabinets on a stick would be a mistake for the application you have.

Mackie makes some great powered boards (those that look like non powered mixers are best as opposed to the type that look like guitar heads on steroids).

If you want to pare down on cabs then full range cabs with horns and a pair of bass bins would be the best .

Running just the drums and vocals through would be a bad idea. The best bet would be to run as much guitar and bass direct as possible and mic the rest. (Guitars mic better than bass) Use your backline amps for monitoring purposes and run just the vocals through your monitors.

This way you could pare down the size of your system but not sacrifice overall quality.

#55360 by gbheil
Sun Feb 01, 2009 5:57 pm
Humm. Just vocal on monitor 1. I utilize a Carvin RX1200.
Could use the monitor 2 amp as main support. Something else to play with he-he-he-heee.

Drawback. Amp failure in powered mixer, your screwed.
A small rack would be more reliable as spare components can be on standby in the same case.

If I had an opportunity financially to redo my system I would start with a good road case, power conditioner, applicable amps plus a spare. Equilizer system Three way speakers plus subwoofer cabs. And a good mixer preferably witha recording system set up as well.
Shoot, now I'm dreaming. :roll:

#57233 by jeffshoup
Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:26 am
All the ideas posted will "get you by". If you want to do it right, get a decent sound man/engineer and you guys focus on playing music. You shouldn't have to worry about what it sounds like. Your focus should be on putting on a good show and letting your engineer make it sound like a concert. :D
#86754 by utopiaskyman
Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:43 pm
I have a full stereo three way system that i use, we started with those speakers on a stand and found out why they call them an"S.O.S." speaker system. The sos stands for sh-t on a stick, when you try to put low end freqs. into the cabinet along with high end freqs. you get low end distortion on the mids and high as it is full range. Those speakers are generally not suited well for low end. Get yourself a pair of 2-15/horn cabinets for the application your after. You can pick up a pair of used cabs all the time for a good price. If you are so bent on running full range these cabinets do well. but i would suggest a good crossover and a seperate power amp and get this 2-15/horn setup that has biamp capibilities Hope this helps :lol: :D

#97395 by Daystar900
Tue Jan 19, 2010 3:32 pm
You can't go wrong with a Carvin Pa system,I have owned 2 so far,one 12 channel,one 8 channel & thay kick.both have been powered boards with cabnits.All other brands do not match up to Carvins sound & quality & hay you can get a carvin pa for half the price of a crappy brand like PV,or yamahahaha.You want to do gigs in a hugh venue,just upgrade to a larger system.Get yurself a catalog from Carvin thay will have a PA for you.
#98542 by dwguy
Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:19 pm
I wish we could all have the answer to that problem! I ended up finding two powered mackies, and like you, we play a lot of smaller venues and Being a PA man and a Drummer, (they kinda relate), I went with ONE sub. I actually built it, and its a kicker, not that big, but big enough to cover most rooms. I got plans off the web, bought a speaker, found a crossover at Parts Express, so its already bi amped. Since bass is omni directional, you can hide that out of the way, and not take up all your precious stage space. Make sure you have enough power to shake that thing. One amp bridged will work, whatever your flavor. Fire the system up, find the sweet spot, and adjust the balance, and your set.
#238669 by wesleybyrd1045286
Sat Jan 10, 2015 11:28 am
All the thoughts posted will "get you by". HP0-J73 exam questions In the event that you need to do it right, get a better than average sound man/architect and you folks concentrate on playing music. You shouldn't need to stress over what it seems like. Your center ought to be on putting on a decent show and letting your designer make it sound like a show.

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