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Before I spend the $: yea or nay on budget PA setup?

#21
Ahhh......another satisfied Kustom user. My system consists of the Kustom KPM8420 400w (2x200w) powered mixer, 2 15" cabs and 2 10" monitors. I usually run 2 sets of mains (second set, Behringer B212XL's, off a power amp). As I said, I only use it during my annual BBQ and when a really small setup is needed in a bar/club setting. It's main use is as a rehearsal PA. Too bad Kustom discontinued that mixer. I would have loved to see a higher powered version of it. I've owned mine since 2008 and have not had a single issue with it. It is what it is and I don't ask more from it as I am realistic about it's limits.
 
#22
bwardmusic said:
I'm your man for budget sound. I have been using two 15" Kustom passive monitors as my speakers for a jazz gig. We do have vocals now and then, and for talking, and its mostly crowds of less than 200 in restaurants, corporate settings and malls. If its's a music festival we have a sound man usually that the organizer provided for us. Crap shoot-ola on that one.

Anyway, back to budget sound.

I have been using the 2 15" Kustom monitors as Mains
I use a Crown 250 amp
http://www.amazon.com/Crown-NXLS1500-0-US-Power-Amplifier/dp/B003HZV2JS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419560486&sr=8-2&keywords=Crown amplifier

and a Behringer Mixer.
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-X1832USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B0036E8DE2/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1419560527&sr=8-12&keywords=Behringer mixer

All of the cats I know in this town use that Behringer mixer (3 different bands) so I didn't even think about it and just bought it It does the job.

The only thing I would change -- I wish I had a more powerful amplifier. I would go a step up from the amplifier I just quoted above. Mine is fine for most gigs, but I noticed it sounded quieter than I liked on near full volume at an outdoor gig recently. For indoor gigs, it seems more than OK.

Here is the one I wish I had've bought:

http://www.amazon.com/Crown-NXLS2500-0-US-Power-Amplifier/dp/B003HZV2OI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1419560631&sr=8-4&keywords=Crown Amplifier

Remember, though, I'm a hack sound man. But no one is complaining. We run everything through the mixer (drums with kick and overhead mike, the bass, a microphone for sax or flute, guitar miked, and the keyboards) and it's working out just fine.

Good luck!
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The only thing a more powerful amp would accomplish is it would destroy your speakers faster so then maybe you could buy something worth owning.
 
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#24
R&B said:
Went to GC to do a little listen. EV ZLX12 is bulky but sounds great @ $350 each. Out of stock on Yamaha DBR10. QSC K12 did not sound much different from EV under those imperfect conditions.
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I think that the qsc is are nice but over priced. I have the yamaha DXR10s which is the next model up from the DBR and think they sound as good or better than the QSC k10s and they are a $100.00 cheaper.
 
#27
I don't see how you can possibly go wrong with a set of the powered KPC12s at their current price of $110 each from MF. Were I in the US I would probably grab a set myself while they are on sale. At worst they are great for a basement jam room and they should have no problem with small to medium size shows. They are certainly not QSCs, but they'll sound as good or better than many powered speakers costing twice as much.
I've had a fair bit of Kustom PA stuff and all of it has been excellent bang for the buck. I've owned a pair of the Kustom PA50s for the past 3 years and have used them for practice, as mains for small shows, vocal stage monitors with a classic rock band, playing music on the deck... I even take one to parties and campgrounds and run a bass and a microphone through it. Also have a Kustom Profile 1 which has been the main PA in my jam room for years and has seen a few gigs. Everyone who sings through it loves it.
We used two powered KPC10s as the mains for vocals for rehearsals with our classic rock band for the first year or so. Once we got larger powered mains we just made the KPC10s the monitors. They've never missed a beat.
 
#28
MakoMan said:
I don't see how you can possibly go wrong with a set of the powered KPC12s at their current price of $110 each from MF. Were I in the US I would probably grab a set myself while they are on sale. At worst they are great for a basement jam room and they should have no problem with small to medium size shows. They are certainly not QSCs, but they'll sound as good or better than many powered speakers costing twice as much.
I've had a fair bit of Kustom PA stuff and all of it has been excellent bang for the buck. I've owned a pair of the Kustom PA50s for the past 3 years and have used them for practice, as mains for small shows, vocal stage monitors with a classic rock band, playing music on the deck... I even take one to parties and campgrounds and run a bass and a microphone through it. Also have a Kustom Profile 1 which has been the main PA in my jam room for years and has seen a few gigs. Everyone who sings through it loves it.
We used two powered KPC10s as the mains for vocals for rehearsals with our classic rock band for the first year or so. Once we got larger powered mains we just made the KPC10s the monitors. They've never missed a beat.
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The OP already bought something worth owning. BTW how have you owned a pair of PA50s for 3 years when you were talking about your new purchase on June 1 2013. http://www.talkbass.com/threads/kustom-pw50-pa-system-just-a-recommendation.988494/
 
#29
modulusman said:
The OP already bought something worth owning. BTW how have you owned a pair of PA50s for 3 years when you were talking about your new purchase on June 1 2013. http://www.talkbass.com/threads/kustom-pw50-pa-system-just-a-recommendation.988494/
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Sorry, you're correct. I've had mine for a year and a half and the other we used originally for our acoustic duo for about a year and a half previously. So one for 3 years and the other for a year and a half. As it says in the post you linked to, I was using the first one quite a bit for well over a year before I bought my own and it's always been kept at my house so I guess I just think of it as mine, even though it is technically still owned by my acoustic duo partner. I've since bought the subwoofer and we link the two together with the sub for small shows.
I originally bought my PA50 so I could give my duo partner his back but they've both just ended up at my place along with the sub. I'm honestly not sure anymore which is which.
I'm glad the OP bought something 'worth owning'. I still don't think one can go wrong with any of the Kustom stuff for the price.
 
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#30
MakoMan said:
Sorry, you're correct. I've had mine for a year and a half and the other we used originally for our acoustic duo for about a year and a half previously. So one for 3 years and the other for a year and a half. As it says in the post you linked to, I was using the first one quite a bit for well over a year before I bought my own and it's always been kept at my house so I guess I just think of it as mine, even though it is technically still owned by my acoustic duo partner. I've since bought the subwoofer and we link the two together with the sub for small shows.
I'm glad the OP bought something 'worth owning'. I still don't think one can go wrong with any of the Kustom stuff for the price.
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Are you using it with a full band? It might sound OK for an acoustic duo but a 5 piece blues band probably not. As I pointed out earlier in this thread one of the Speakers the OP bought would be as loud as 2 of the Kustoms and sound better.
 
#31
modulusman said:
Are you using it with a full band? It might sound OK for an acoustic duo but a 5 piece blues band probably not. As I pointed out earlier in this thread one of the Speakers the OP bought would be as loud as 2 of the Kustoms and sound better.
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Hudson Vet 7.jpg


With our full classic rock band I will use one or both of the Kustom PA50s as monitors. They obviously don't have enough oomph for a full rock band. We did get by with one and then eventually the two PA50s for jamming with a full band when our classic rock band first got together. The one had to be turned up right to the limit to keep up, but it got us through for a few weeks until I got my own PA50 and then the two of them were good enough for vocals until we got a PA in the jam room. We'd have killed for a set of KPC12s back then LOL!
Here's a photo of our ultimate garage band playing in a driveway in front of a garage for a neighbor's backyard party for free this summer with me using one of the PA50s as a monitor. We got by playing for about 50-75 people and a portable mechanical bull setup with one of the PA50s as a monitor and the other PA50 pointed to the crowd as the third main in addition to two 12 inch Behringer powered speakers. It was a freebie and we didn't feel like setting up a whole PA in the driveway (either the one from the jam room or a rental). Everyone thought we sounded great LOL!
For some of us purely amateur musician folk the cheaper stuff will do fine. I played 5 acoustic duo shows this year and 3 were freebies. Our full band played out 8 times... 3 were charity events with several other bands and full PA support, 2 were in bars where all we needed were our amps to link to the PA, one was a festival with PA setup and then there were two backyard parties where we played for free and with our cheapie stuff. When it rained at the second one we didn't panic, we kept playing LOL! Notice how I also used my $50 Peavey TKO65 that usually sits in our jam space.
Some people really don't need spend thousands on a PA. I'm not saying Kustom is the be all and end all of PA equipment, but if you only have 100 bucks to spend on your musical hobby one could be pretty happy with the Kustom 100 watt 12 inch powered speaker.
Interestingly I had read your reccomendation on the DBR10s earlier in the thread and actually was checking them out when I was at Steve's Music yesterday, along with QSCs, EVs, Mackies, Altos, Peaveys and Behringers as potentials for my next PA upgrade. They appear to be amazing speakers, but out of my budget at the moment.
Anyway I am certainly no PA expert and one day if I get to be a much better musician playing for much bigger and higher paying crowds I may buy myself a set of QSCs or DBRs and realize what I was missing. :laugh:
 
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#32
R&B said:
Awww, geez. I think you guys have got me looking at Yamaha after all. The reviews are great and the DBR10 boxes are 23 pounds. Now to search out a deal! I knew I could count on the TB brotherhood to give honest feedback. ☺️

Re: cables, any opinions on the combos with XLR and AC in the same cable?

Thanks for the posts and Merry Christmas to all.
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I bought a pair and they failed.
 
#35
modulusman said:
Definitely be interested in what you think of it.
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Played a gig with the one Yamaha DBR10 as a pole-mounted main for vocals only. (I am still waiting on fresh stock at the Internet retailer to get the second one.) We used a baby Yamaha PA system for floor monitors. Very pleased with the sound. Never got the volume past 9:30, plenty loud against a 5 piece blues band. The singers could hear themselves for a change, and the audience heard them loud and clear!

I sang one song in the set. Some people I know came in right then. Later, they said I was singing "at the top of my lungs." Nope, just plenty of clean amplification.

The powered 10" Kustoms may be worthwhile as inexpensive monitors if they show up on the SDOTD. But I'm glad to have gone with the Yamaha DBR10 for mains. Good call, they fit in a Gator GP40 bag so they're quite portable. The EV ZLX12s also sound good at a similar price point, though they're bulky.

/thread
 
#37
I have had a number of systems from cheap to expensive, and honestly, go test before you buy. Get what you want the first time before you change your mind 50x's getting equipment that might leave you feeling inadequate and doesn't do what you want it to. Especially considering trade in value and resale rates.
 

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