What is your bands PA set-up like?

[walterw]

Originally Posted by seanm

I have a Carvin XP1000 powered mixer. Wish I had gotten the bigger one since I really need at least one channel with an insert. Two monitor mixes would have been nice too...

and that's why you don't buy a powered mixer (unless it's a craigslist prize for your practice room). whatever you get, it ends up being left behind as you improve the rest of the PA.

+1 to the OP ditching the pointless 2x15 top cabs; getting the other 1x15 working and putting the 2x15 money towards subs would go a long way.

with everybody going digital and powered, now's the time to score good analog and passive cheap.

i've scraped together a decent little bar system over the years from used purchases, as good as is practical before making the leap to digital/powered:

mixwix (earlier british-made thankyouverymuch), all other small analog boards are either way crappier or way more expensive

yorkville boxes, 2 E15 tops, 4 LS608 subs; strong, good-sounding cabs, not too big or heavy. (i admit, i got these new)

QSC old-school touring amps, PL 2.0HV for tops, PL4.0 for subs; big, but not too heavy, the real deal back in the day.

rane EQs and crossover; the XLR-equipped stuff is great, true +4 balanced, and cheap used.

old DBX comps (nothing that says "XL"), random cheaper/older lexicon verbs and delays, aphex quad gate, done.

[Rockin Mike]

Originally Posted by modulusman

Buy once cry once. I would be looking to sell/trade in your 215 cabs and buy some powered speakers. You might be able to get some used mackie 450s or older JBL 500 series for a good price. I also like the Presonus boards. Mackie just came out with digital DL1608 that is getting alot of love. You do need an I-pad to use it. You can't go wrong with an Allen and Heath Mix wiz if you want to stay with an analog board. I would not go with a powered mixer because you will probably out grow it.

+1 powered cabs
+1 MixWiz

[DWBass]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

What kind of mains are you running?
It sounds like a powered mixer might suit my immediate needs without needing a power amp just yet.

Depends on what's working at the time! LOL! Typically JBL 15's or Yamaha 15's. If either of those are down, We've used Behringer 12's (trust me, they are solid and sound good) or JBL 12's and I just bought a set of Carvin 12's. And we still have a set of JBL dual 15's (but I hate the sound of them...ugh!). Surprisingly, the Behringers and Carvins are the only ones that provide protection circuits for the HF drivers. They can take a beating!

[DWBass]

I don't agree with the anti-powered mixer sentiment! Full featured ones can be quite useful for indoor gigs. I've done great sounding, fantastic gigs with powered mixers. Carvin has a great one with 4 internal amps. I'm not a fan of carrying more equipment than is needed. Especially a rack full of amps (older heavier amps because we can't afford to just upgrade all willy nilly like some of y'all). I don't like the dual 15's either! So I agree there!

A band I was in during the '90's used a Mackie 808s! Great powered mixer! Worked wonderfully!

S/N: I own a Kustom 8ch powered mixer (w/Kustom mains and monitors) that I use to do a backyard gig (and other REALLY small gigs) with every year and it works great even though it's low powered (2x200w). No problems in the 5 or so years I've owned it! Has a lot of options to be able to use it with power amps/powered speakers (has mains and monitor outs) and powered subs (has a dedicated sub out already crossed-over).

[musicman7722]

Originally Posted by SteveC

Why anyone wouldn't use a PreSonus Live board is beyond me. Mix from anywhere with your iPad. Individual monitor mixes via iPad/iPhone. Effects, memory, presets, etc. Best board ever.

The new Yamaha powered speakers are killer...and small, and light.

Might be good to add that to use the ipad you need a laptop as well.

[musicman7722]

mackie 1608 Board
or Presonus 16.0.2 Board
QSC K12 x 2
QSC K10 x 2
QSC K212 Sub (???)
That's it for us. 1000 wats per cab (ish)

Very flexible and small to no foot print.

[modulusman]

Originally Posted by walterw

and that's why you don't buy a powered mixer (unless it's a craigslist prize for your practice room). whatever you get, it ends up being left behind as you improve the rest of the PA.

+1 to the OP ditching the pointless 2x15 top cabs; getting the other 1x15 working and putting the 2x15 money towards subs would go a long way.

with everybody going digital and powered, now's the time to score good analog and passive cheap.

i've scraped together a decent little bar system over the years from used purchases, as good as is practical before making the leap to digital/powered:

mixwix (earlier british-made thankyouverymuch), all other small analog boards are either way crappier or way more expensive

yorkville boxes, 2 E15 tops, 4 LS608 subs; strong, good-sounding cabs, not too big or heavy. (i admit, i got these new)

QSC old-school touring amps, PL 2.0HV for tops, PL4.0 for subs; big, but not too heavy, the real deal back in the day.

rane EQs and crossover; the XLR-equipped stuff is great, true +4 balanced, and cheap used.

old DBX comps (nothing that says "XL"), random cheaper/older lexicon verbs and delays, aphex quad gate, done.

Well if you keep your eyes open you can get digital and powered speakers cheap. A few months back there was a pair of mackie 450s and a 1500 sub for sale for $850.00. a year ago a local church sold there studiolive 24 channel mixer for $1500.00. I bought a pair of JBL PRX 535s for $900.00 that were less than a year old.

[DWBass]

By the way, I do own some power amps and have access to more gear if I need to go bigger. I have a Crown XLS2500 and I just grabbed an Alto APX1000 off MF's Stupid Deal Of The Day (will see if it's worth the $99 I paid for it). Also a couple of Behringer amps (both solid, no issues ever). I have access to another set of subs and a couple of passive mixers that can used as sub mixers.

[nutdog]

Buy once, cry once. Yes and no. Great if you can afford what you want now. But if you need something now and don't have the money...

Currently using:

FOH:
2 JBL eon 15's (the generation before the latest). $700 on CL with rolling gator bags, cables and stands.

Small places, vocal, keys, guitar in PA. Larger places we add a Mackie 15 powered sub and run everything in the PA. Even bigger or outside we add a second mackie. The subs belong to the church (who says religion has no benefits?).

Monitors: 2 db powered 12's and 2 15's. Belong to one of the singers.

Mixer: Just got a Mackie dl1608, haven't used it yet.

It's a very flexible system. Sometimes we just use the db's for smaller, quieter things.



My PA journey: Bought 2 Peavey 12 monitors for my first band that already had a PA. They fried them the first practice. Replaced with 2 Peavey 15 wedges.

Got Peavey 6 channel mono powered mixer to use with monitors as mains. Didn't realize at the time I needed a separate amp for monitors. I still use this head in my basement.

Church owned Mackie 808m with Community 15 mains and my peavey monitors. More than adequate for a 5 person cover band in a 50-150 room. Add powered subs as needed. The mackie will run at 2ohms so you can chain 4 monitors.

Yamaha 6 channel powered mixer with club 15 mains. CL $550 with stands and cables. Wish it had 8 channels. Good sound. Heavy tops. 4ohm minimum so only 2 monitors.

Church owned mackie 16 channel mixer, 2 qsc amps, off brand 15 mains. Good. Heavy. Needs external effects, compression, reverb, etc...

Mackie 12 channel->yamaha 16 channel->Mackie 1604vlz->Mackie dl1608

Need more inputs causing each upgrade. Got the yamaha on CL for $115 with case. Sold for $250. Didn't cry either time. When we went to the used 1604 I didn't realize it didn't even have a main graphic EQ or effects. So we ended up with a heavy road case and outboard stuff. The new 1608 is 8lbs and has everything we need built in.

TLDR version: Powered mixer will get do fine for vocal PA. Add a sub if you want kick. Good deals on the used market, especially if you don't mind heavy. Look hard at features before you buy. Most separate mixers don't give you graphic EQ on the monitors where, IMO, you need it most for feedback control. Powered mixers do. If you have to add outboard EQ, comp, xover... your good deal may become a PITA.

If you've got a lot a cash get nice stuff now.

If I lived in CA I would probably have tried Carvin. The PM stuff is light and cheap. But I don't want to deal with shipping if it breaks.

[modulusman]

Originally Posted by DWBass

By the way, I do own some power amps and have access to more gear if I need to go bigger. I have a Crown XLS2500 and I just grabbed an Alto APX1000 off MF's Stupid Deal Of The Day (will see if it's worth the $99 I paid for it). Also a couple of Behringer amps (both solid, no issues ever). I have access to another set of subs and a couple of passive mixers that can used as sub mixers.

Sounds like a big mess of unmatched components to me.

[nutdog]

Originally Posted by modulusman

If you forget your I-Pad at home you can use the Mackie as a door stop.

And if you forget your bass your amp is a door stop. The band will play without you. The crowd won't notice.

If your a bass player doing PA duty you need to be like Santa. Make a list. Check it twice. Don't lose the list.

[Wadge]

With two of my bands we have a pretty similar set up consisting of a Presonus 24.4.2, 2 EV Tour X 1x18 subs and 2 EV ZX5 (passive) tops with one band and 2 EV Tour X tops with the other. For amps we have a EV Q1212 - giving tons of power.

Really happy with these rigs. With both bands we are transitioning to In ears although we have a couple of EV monitors.

I would look at getting at least a 16 channel digital mixer - although relatively expensive when compared to analogue boards they are cheaper than acquiring the gates and compressors and eqs which come inbuilt in the digital consoles themselves. Presonus or Mackie's 16 channel digital mixers are the most obvious choice. Yamaha make a few digital mixers which some prefer but can be more expensive.

[modulusman]

Originally Posted by nutdog

And if you forget your bass your amp is a door stop. The band will play without you. The crowd won't notice.

If your a bass player doing PA duty you need to be like Santa. Make a list. Check it twice. Don't lose the list.

I don't own an I-pad so that would be the deal killer on the mackie mixer for me. I don't use any computer gear with my studiolives and like the fact that it can be used by itself.

[5StringFool]

Behringer Xenyx 2442fx mixer
Samson Stereo Corssover
2 QSC USA 900 power amps (one stereo for mains, one bridged mono for sub)
2 Peavey PR 15's as mains
1 Peavey 18 inch sub
2 Carvin PM10A powered speakers as monitors

This setup has worked well for up to about 300 or so indoors. My next purchase will be a Mackie DL1608 mixer, then start working on some powered mains, and a decent powered sub.

[DWBass]

Originally Posted by modulusman

Sounds like a big mess of unmatched components to me.

Maybe so but we make it work and it works fine. I'm just saying we have a lot of stuff compiled from several musicians in the band (not just me). It'd be nice to able afford a nice expensive and nicely matched PA but remember, we all come from different places and can't afford go out and buy the 'nice' stuff. I haven't even been paid yet for 2 gigs back in December! So thanks!

[Joe Louvar]

years ago the band I was in a had a 24-ch, 5kw, FOH and a separate monitor board with 8 sends - but, the guys I last played with only had a small Yamaha 600w power mixer (300w main/300w monitor) with 2 Peavey main cabs (12”w/horns) on stands and 4 Peavey floor wedge monitors (3 across the front and 1 back by the drummer) . They only ran 3 vocal mic’s through the PA (the un-mic’ed acoustic drum kit volume determined the overall band volume “and it was plenty loud too“), so it was perfect for small parties, weddings, and bars that didn’t provide PA support and it easily fit in the van and it was a quick load in/setup along with two small 4 par56 lighting tree‘s - lighting and PA support was always provided at larger venues/events, so I wouldn’t waste money on a large PA.

[DWBass]

Originally Posted by Joe Louvar

years ago the band I was in a had a 24-ch, 5kw, FOH and a separate monitor board with 8 sends - but, the guys I last played with only had a small Yamaha 600w power mixer (300w main/300w monitor) with 2 Peavey main cabs (12”w/horns) on stands and 4 Peavey floor wedge monitors (3 across the front and 1 back by the drummer) . They only ran 3 vocal mic’s through the PA (the un-mic’ed acoustic drum kit volume determined the overall band volume “and it was plenty loud too“), so it was perfect for small parties, weddings, and bars that didn’t provide PA support and it easily fit in the van and it was a quick load in/setup along with two small 4 par56 lighting tree‘s - lighting and PA support was always provided at larger venues/events, so I wouldn’t waste money on a large PA.

+1.

[two fingers]

These days I would do things very differently than our current setup, which is about 8 year old technology. Go with the new Mackie DL1608 mixer.
http://www.mackie.com/products/dl1608/

It does all of the effects and can be run by wireless iPads/iPhones. That does away with the need for effects racks, snakes, huge boards, and in many cases sound guys. It takes the place of thousand of dollars and many hundreds of pounds of gear. Each band member can set their own monitors using an iPad or iPhone. (If you go IEM, that's even less weight and space.)

Then get yourself some good quality Class D powered speakers. There are many good ones to choose from.

That digital board and some powered speakers along with one case for stands, one for cords, and one for mics will fit in any regular van, take much less time to setup, take up much less room both in transport and on stage, and can even store your setting from any gig at a given venue. It's so small and convenient you could set it up in minutes for PRACTICE. Literally your BACK LINE could take up more space than your PA.

Anyone going analog these days isn't thinking very hard. There are just too many economic, ergonomic, and logistics advantages to going digital with Class D powered speakers.

[tbirdsp]

Originally Posted by two fingers

Anyone going analog these days isn't thinking very hard. There are just too many economic, ergonomic, and logistics advantages to going digital with Cladd D powered speakers.

Certainly the way to go - IF you already have an iPad (I don't, nor an iPhone) and have the money for all that high $$$ Class D stuff.

[David Grunigen]

Mackie 24 channel board,Carvin twin 15" columns on their sides as subs, 2000watt Crown for the subs
Mackie powered columns....plenty of poop for small to med. rooms, even smaller outdoor gigs