PA Systems

[tomjackson]

Need a new PA for my band, something not too expensive that will be adequate for vocals for a loud rockin' band.

How many watts?
Active or Passive?
If active would one speaker do?
What size of driver, is 10inch enough?


I need about 4 channels only and not too bothered about effects.  Any ideas folks?

[mikeluke]

Budget?

We have a Mackie system which works quite well for pub sized venues

Speakers - SRM450
Mixer = CFX12

We run it at about 50% of max volume for a vocals for a 5 piece rock band.

[tomjackson]

Budget is as little as possible!  Basically the minimum we can spend to get something to do the job...

I'll take a look at the Makie gear but it will probably be too much :(

[mikeluke]

My only advice would be to spend as much as you can afford - we started off with a cheap system and the difference when we shifted to the Mackie system was really incredible

[nfe]

What size of venues are you playing?

What will be going through the system?

How much experience do you have with PAs?


I work primarily in our PA department, and am admittedly something of a PA snob. But you REALLY need spend as much as you can. Cheaper PA gear sounds dreadful, and breaks down all the time.

Oh, and to contradict mikeluke, I don't know how new his Mackie gear is but their more recent stuff is dreadful. They still sound acceptable but they break down non-stop. I probably send five to ten 1501 bins back for repair every month, and they're service turnaround is laughable. Then there's the 350s and 450s...

The stuff they put out when they were still manufactured in Italy is great though, for the money, Find yourself a second hand Mackie set up that's more than 4 or 5 years old and you're laughing.

Stuff to look at now, in terms of lower priced PA, you can't beat KX Audio for bang for buck. Amazing gear for the prices.

[HTH AMPS]

the last time I bought PA gear I got some Mackie active 500w-per-side jobbies, they were beasts with a 15" (or maybe even 18") sub, a 12" mid driver and a horn.  They had built-in overload circuitry and were pretty reliable (one breakdown/repair in three years of weekly gigging), we used to flog them to death as well running them just below clipping which was VERY loud.  To explain further, we'd mic the kit and run it through them and you could barely hear the acoustic sound of the drums coming through.  Sounded awesome  :D

[tomjackson]

We are just playing small venues, pub rock really and the PA is just for vocals, may be a little bit of guitar.  Any bigger venues we would play would have a house PA so it's just for gigs in pubs and bars.  We have a very loud drummer but as long as the PA can project clear vocals above the drummer guitar and bass then that will be okay.

What size of venues are you playing? Small - pub gigs

What will be going through the system? Vocals, some guitar, perhaps some keys at some point

How much experience do you have with PAs? Not much. I know how to set up / work a PA but that's about it...

[tomjackson]

What about this?

http://www.andertons.co.uk/ActivePASpeakers/pid14629/cid627/TapcoThumpTH15AActivePASpeakereach.asp

I have a mixer so presumably 2 of these and we's be away?

Currently using a dying late 80's Laney thatre, the other option is to give that some TLC,  ever single pot is damaged and I don't think either horn works becuase the sound is very dull.

[Ratrod]

Go for secondhand stuff.

Get a Yamaha powered mixer. They're excellent bang for the buck. Around 300W RMS per speaker output is more than enough. Get speakers in a wooden enclosure. Plastic sucks. Be sure to match the ohmage.

Some brands advertise with peak wattage. That don't mean a thing. RMS wattage is what it can constantly run at.

[nfe]

We are just playing small venues, pub rock really and the PA is just for vocals, may be a little bit of guitar.  Any bigger venues we would play would have a house PA so it's just for gigs in pubs and bars.  We have a very loud drummer but as long as the PA can project clear vocals above the drummer guitar and bass then that will be okay.

What size of venues are you playing? Small - pub gigs

What will be going through the system? Vocals, some guitar, perhaps some keys at some point

How much experience do you have with PAs? Not much. I know how to set up / work a PA but that's about it...

Cool. I'd advise you to look at active stuff then since it's so much easier to set up and trouble shoot should anything go tits up and you've half the cabling to worry about.

Purely vocals, great, you can save a bunch of money not having to worry about a sub, being fine with 12" drivers and with only needing a very small mixer.

A small passive mixer with effects, the Yamaha MG series are decent, but look second hand and anything by a well known brand will be adequate and reliable - avoid Behringer.

Then take as much money as you can and get PA shopping. You really do want to spend every penny you can muster - bearing in mind you can pull that money back in a few gigs.

It's really so much easier with a budget to try and cater too  :P Second hand is going to be your best bet, older Mackie stuff probably being the "safest buy". You can look at new Wharfedale stuff but they're getting to have a reputation for breakdowns these days - never used to however. And their stuff second hand will be CHEAP.

[mikeluke]

nfe,

Sounds like we are lucky then! We do indeed have Made In Italy Mackie stuff....

We play fairly loud classic rock in pub-type venues - just vocals though the PA and we run just the passive mixer plus two active speakers (no bass bins) - would agree that this is very simple to set up and (touch wood....) no issue so far!