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Any opinions on this PA?

NYgiant

NYgiant

Sep 22, 2023
628
1,327
Virginia
#1
Well, just signed up for a Sweetwater card and got approved for a decent limit and 48 months 0% finance charges.

Tired of trying to find a band to play in with no PA for practice or to play out anywhere. Figured I ain’t getting any younger and time is flying. Anyways, enough of the back story.

I was looking at this PA and it seems everything I read about it is really positive. Will also need a mixer. With the price of the PA, might need to go more a value route. Figured I post here to see thoughts on the equipment, not necessarily the decision to get it, but if the PA and the mixer seem like good pieces of gear.

Electro-Voice ZLX-15P G2 Powered Speaker Pair With ELX200-18SP Subwoofers, Stands and Cables


mackie.com

ProFX22v3 22-Channel Professional Analog Mixer with USB - MACKIE | MACKIE

Designed for musicians and creators who want high-resolution audio, the Mackie ProFX22v3 is a professional USB analog mixer with award-winning Onyx mic preamps.
mackie.com mackie.com



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#3
mcrawfordmusic said:
Looks more than adequate. Depending on what size venues you're doing, one sub would probably be enough which might allow you to get some monitors too.
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Thanks. You know I think you’re probably right. I think set the one subwoofer in the middle and that would probably be sufficient. I was just thinking about monitors after I posted this.

Generally speaking, I’m assuming as a start, maybe two up near singer and guitar players and one back by the drummer.
 
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#5
I used the same mains for a bar band for years. Ran my bass through those no problem.

For small outdoor gigs (parties/beer tent), I used those exact subs when I needed more oomph to fill the “room”.

Sold the PA when I retired from gigging but would buy those again if I needed to.

I ran a series of digital boards so no opinion on the mixer.
 
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#6
DirtDog said:
I used the same mains for a bar band for years. Ran my bass through those no problem.

For small outdoor gigs (parties/beer tent), I used those exact subs when I needed more oomph to fill the “room”.

Sold the PA when I retired from gigging but would buy those again if I needed to.

I ran a series of digital boards so no opinion on the mixer.
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That’s good to hear man. Appreciate you posting your thoughts on that. Makes me feel a little better. I’ve been out of playing for a while. Lord knows the last PA I used was purchased back in 97. I know a lot has changed.

Do you think it would be smart like the other poster said, and just purchase one of the subs and put $1000 towards the monitors or is it better just to have the two subs and maybe work on saving for some monitors?
 
#7
NYgiant said:
That’s good to hear man. Appreciate you posting your thoughts on that. Makes me feel a little better. I’ve been out of playing for a while. Lord knows the last PA I used was purchased back in 97. I know a lot has changed.

Do you think it would be smart like the other poster said, and just purchase one of the subs and put $1000 towards the monitors or is it better just to have the two subs and maybe work on saving for some monitors?
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no problem my friend!

For the sub question, depends on your gigs. Most bar gigs you won’t need the sub. For larger gigs you could probably make do with a single sub. Bigger gigs, especially outdoors, the second sub comes in handy but I can tell you even when had to “crank it”, the subs were barely taxed. Sometimes I wondered if they were even switched on!

Having a second won’t hurt anything but your pocket book. ;-)
 
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#10
I'd say start with one sub but get a back up.. but a few mains should do a lot of the work.. 2 and 2.. facing forward and two facing you.. so you don't have to use a lot of power.. to be heard.. if you have a band it's 4 mainforward. 1 monitor for each person with two spares.. and extra sub for drummer.. but in ears is becoming the thing to do.. especially with places that have standing waves..
 
#12
NYgiant said:
Do you think it would be smart like the other poster said, and just purchase one of the subs and put $1000 towards the monitors or is it better just to have the two subs and maybe work on saving for some monitors?
Click to expand...
Similar to what others have said, unless your band is loud and playing big rooms you probably won't even need to lug one sub let alone two.... those EV 15's more quite a lot of air... but without monitors (or everyone having in-ears) it's not really a full rig ready for gigging.
 
#13
While I haven't got exact experience with this rig, it's all got the pedigree; EV and Mackie know what they're doing with live sound solutions. That said, if you're playing somewhere that might need a sub, 96% chance you're playing somewhere with a house system. At least, long as you have a bass amp.

Are you going ampless, running a small low-wattage bass amp, etc? Then a sub might come in handy more often (adding some kick drum mix and all too), but I'd call it nigh unthinkable to need two unless you OWN the venue you're playing in heh.

Also: depending on a few factors, it might be doable to set up a simple in-ear system coming out of that mixer. Maybe not one with the customizability of a business-scale solution, but if everyone's good with bus-mix monitors, they may be good with bus-mix in-ears... which weigh a WHOLE lot less than speakers.
 
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#15
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#16
I would suggest that you consider a digital mixer. The advantage is that they would give you additional functions that would otherwise require additional outboard gear. For example, having 1/3-band EQ on main and monitor outputs to help control feedback and adapt to different venues. You would also get a lot more capability in terms of effects, compression, gates, filters, etc. I have had several of the analog and digital A&H boards (currently using an SQ-5 and a CQ-18t) and they've been great. If you're thinking about the CQ-20B, make sure you're comfortable with having to use an iPad or tablet to set up and control it. Personally, I love the built-in WiFi and have not had a problem with remote control, but am paranoid enough to want the redundancy of a screen so chose the CQ-18t instead since I didn't need the extra channel count. There are other digital mixers options, of course, but the additional capabilities and less space and weight are definitely benefits whichever you might choose.

I'll ditto what others have said about EV being a solid choice for speakers. You'll want monitors.
 
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#17
IME there are plus and minuses to analog and digital mixers. Analog are more limited but much easier to adjust on the fly when you are running your own sound while playing. Digital give you a lot more controls but typically you have to so through different screens to get there and that is harder to do when you are playing. A digital eliminates the need for a snake for when you do have someone running sound for you which makes set up much easier. IMHO that is kind of the key, are you going to be running your own sound or will someone else be doing it? You could also opt for a smaller mixer depending on what your inputs will be, If you really will be micing drums, etc and need 22 channels then you will hopefully be having someone run sound for you. But don't get one of the tiny 6 channel mixers, IMHO they are inadequate.

You don't say the composition of your band but monitors are a must and make sure there are enough for everyone. (I don't have any experience with in ears.) If you have a drummer they need one as well. I am in two bands using Yamaha 12's and 10's and no subs, one band a soundcraft analog and the other a soundcraft digital mixer. I would consider using 12's, one sub and three 10's as monitors. I could not see how much those 15's weigh but you are going to be lifting them on top of those poles. My band that uses an analog board has a much simpler set up, 2-3 mics, sometimes acoustic guitar and mandolin. My other band runs more through the pa, 3-4 mics, acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin. The digital let's us set up all the channels and then save it.
 
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#18
I used that exact pa to run an official sxsw venue for years. Great bar band stuff. Probably don't need the subs. As for wedges, the singer definitely needs one, but you might get away doing two as fills instead of individual wedges.

I would definitely get a digital board so you don't need an effects rack as well. That Allen and Heath is more than capable.
 
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