My band, drums, 2 guitars, bass, keys needs a new pa system. Looking for a full setup and will be playing medium sized outdoor shows with indoors every once And a while. Would love to get detailed explanations and recommendations for pieces of gear. Prefer passive speakers and seperate power amps. Also need about 6 mic channels plus some 1/4 inch stereo ins.
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Best pa for around 8-10k
- Thread starter goldberg72
- Start date
Are you looking for new, used, or a mix? $10,000 will buy you a really nice rig, no doubt. This would be the perfect opportunity to hook up with a known, reputable soundguy for guidance.
Where are you located?
Riis
Where are you located?
Riis
Starting with the speakers, check out
http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/
There's a list of builders there. You will save nearly half in costs of what you'd pay for similar performing components from other sources.
6 mics doesn't seem like enough, even if you do DI.
Is the drummer electronic?
For a mixer, the Mackie DL1608 looks very impressive.
You will not need a snake
iPads add extra cost but you don't need the expensive ones.
Someone or several on stage can control the monitor mix.
Power amps - take your pick. Ones with DSPs built in have their own crossovers, and brands like Peavey/Crest add processional signal processing from Waves that would cost several hundred $$ on their own.
http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/
There's a list of builders there. You will save nearly half in costs of what you'd pay for similar performing components from other sources.
6 mics doesn't seem like enough, even if you do DI.
Is the drummer electronic?
For a mixer, the Mackie DL1608 looks very impressive.
You will not need a snake
iPads add extra cost but you don't need the expensive ones.
Someone or several on stage can control the monitor mix.
Power amps - take your pick. Ones with DSPs built in have their own crossovers, and brands like Peavey/Crest add processional signal processing from Waves that would cost several hundred $$ on their own.
I don't know where you are located, but this is a great deal on a system that is pretty much ready to go.....and you could probably get the seller to come down a little bit (but it is already in your price range)
FS: Near Complete System - Racks & Stacks & Desk
The QW gear from Peavey is great sounding stuff.....you just have to pull the lables off of it and you will be surprised how many people like it.
That rig listed could handle 500 people with ease.
FS: Near Complete System - Racks & Stacks & Desk
The QW gear from Peavey is great sounding stuff.....you just have to pull the lables off of it and you will be surprised how many people like it.
That rig listed could handle 500 people with ease.
If it were me with that sort of budget i'd be looking powered speaks. QSC KW's would be my choice. Board wise the Presonus Studio Live 16.4.2 has some real advantages. Power amps, outboard eq's, effects and crossovers... Man I am very over that at this point. I'm hoping to migrate to 1 mixer, a 1ru SMS (driverack) and more powered speaks for my rig this summer.
Primary advantages to the powered speak approach for me are
1. Integration between the DSP, power amp and enclosure design. The current generation of powered speaks sound great right out of the box. JBL, QSC and EV all have good offerings. From a construction, road worthiness stand point, the kWs seem to be to top of the heap to me. I also prefer QSC's more neutral voicing. I own their &10's and like them a bunch.
2. Simplicity and quick setup. 2 cables per speak and no or very little outboard ger to mess with.
3. Space and weight. No more racks to hold the outboard gear you no longer need.
The SL 16.4.2 is pretty much a proven entity at this point. It's incredibly powerful and by report, it's stable. The Mackie sl1608 looks great on paper. I'm highly interested there but... The ship date isn't unil June and / Loud doen't have the best reputation when it comes to digital interfces and 1.0 product... If Mackie gets it right, it's a killer option. Time will tell.
Primary advantages to the powered speak approach for me are
1. Integration between the DSP, power amp and enclosure design. The current generation of powered speaks sound great right out of the box. JBL, QSC and EV all have good offerings. From a construction, road worthiness stand point, the kWs seem to be to top of the heap to me. I also prefer QSC's more neutral voicing. I own their &10's and like them a bunch.
2. Simplicity and quick setup. 2 cables per speak and no or very little outboard ger to mess with.
3. Space and weight. No more racks to hold the outboard gear you no longer need.
The SL 16.4.2 is pretty much a proven entity at this point. It's incredibly powerful and by report, it's stable. The Mackie sl1608 looks great on paper. I'm highly interested there but... The ship date isn't unil June and / Loud doen't have the best reputation when it comes to digital interfces and 1.0 product... If Mackie gets it right, it's a killer option. Time will tell.
First off, shop used if you're comfortable with that, as your money will go a lot further. Second, listen before you buy...don't want to buy a speaker cab that somebody swapped Radio Shack drivers into after they toasted the originals. I'm not sure what "medium sized" to you is, but realize you need much more outdoors to achieve the same SPL's as inside. Some suggestions:
- The aforementioned Presonus 16:4:2 is a great all-around board...definitley a great choice for small-time bands.
- Look for used upper-range gear- Peavey QW, EV QRX, JBL SRX, Yorkville Elite or Unity series, Community SL, even Carvin TRX.
- Regardless of my opinion of them, the Behringer DCX2496 is a very good processor offering quite a bit more bang-for-your buck and features than a Drive-Rack costing much more. That being said a Drive Rack 260 can be found used at a pretty good price sometimes, otherwise I'd just get the Behr. My band's been using one for 3 years with our rig and it's been perfect.
- Amps...stick with name brand. Peavey, Crest Pro, Crown, QSC. We run two PLX3402's and a PL6. Rock solid.
- Budget plenty for road cases and cabling. You rig will look like trash and you'll be replacing gear left and right if you don't protect the gear from the road.
- The aforementioned Presonus 16:4:2 is a great all-around board...definitley a great choice for small-time bands.
- Look for used upper-range gear- Peavey QW, EV QRX, JBL SRX, Yorkville Elite or Unity series, Community SL, even Carvin TRX.
- Regardless of my opinion of them, the Behringer DCX2496 is a very good processor offering quite a bit more bang-for-your buck and features than a Drive-Rack costing much more. That being said a Drive Rack 260 can be found used at a pretty good price sometimes, otherwise I'd just get the Behr. My band's been using one for 3 years with our rig and it's been perfect.
- Amps...stick with name brand. Peavey, Crest Pro, Crown, QSC. We run two PLX3402's and a PL6. Rock solid.
- Budget plenty for road cases and cabling. You rig will look like trash and you'll be replacing gear left and right if you don't protect the gear from the road.
With a budget of $10k, you will be able to get a very nice rig for 300-400 people. Whether you go active or passive speakers is up to you. What's more important is the processing. Active speakers are typically processed for you so out of the box it's going to sound "nice". "Nice" depends on the listener. Believe it or not some people don't like the factory dsp. A lot of ppl b!tch that qsc sound sterile while others complain that JBL sounds lifeless. Whatever, tomaetoes/tomaatoes...
Just remember the buy once, cry once philosophy. Spend a little more and get quality gear. As much as you want the most "bang for the buck" AND think you will keep your gear forever, the fact is you will sell your gear one day. Resale value is always a factor. Cheap stuff will be hard to sell and there's nothing worse than being stuck stuck with cheap gear.
My recommendation:
Active 1) Yorkville LS801p, Yorkiville EF500p
2) JBL PRX618XLF, PRX612m/PRX615
3) QSC KW181, QSC KW122/KW151
4) EV ZXA Sub, EV ZXA5
Passive 1) JBL SRX718/SRX728, SRX712m/SRX722
2) Peavey QW2, QW118/QW218
Just remember the buy once, cry once philosophy. Spend a little more and get quality gear. As much as you want the most "bang for the buck" AND think you will keep your gear forever, the fact is you will sell your gear one day. Resale value is always a factor. Cheap stuff will be hard to sell and there's nothing worse than being stuck stuck with cheap gear.
My recommendation:
Active 1) Yorkville LS801p, Yorkiville EF500p
2) JBL PRX618XLF, PRX612m/PRX615
3) QSC KW181, QSC KW122/KW151
4) EV ZXA Sub, EV ZXA5
Passive 1) JBL SRX718/SRX728, SRX712m/SRX722
2) Peavey QW2, QW118/QW218
