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Help me spec a PA system
- Thread starter smeet
- Start date
So after putting this system together and working out the bugs in rehearsal the last couple of weeks, we deployed it last night. We had to patch into a club system (Yamaha powered board, passive speakers with Speakons and a sub). Worked out really well - monitoring was clear and crisp, we didn't get into the feedback vs. volume war that we usually do. Got some really decent live recordings direct from the board.
Venue was really happy with our sound. Still a couple of very minor gain/level and EQ things to work out on vox and acoustic guitars, but not far away from having really good sound and monitoring. The real plus was being able to fully set up in a half hour. For a gig where we supply mains, it'll be about the same since I'll have to hump and set up the speakers and lights, but won't have to futz around connecting to a house system.
I think we have a winner. It's been a long trip that included at various stages, three wedge monitors, a Presonus SL16.4.2 and a Behringer X16 and a couple of new iPads. Another nice thing is I have mounted my SansAmp RBI so I can roll without a bass amp. My entire PA and performance rig can be transported in three or four light loads.
Venue was really happy with our sound. Still a couple of very minor gain/level and EQ things to work out on vox and acoustic guitars, but not far away from having really good sound and monitoring. The real plus was being able to fully set up in a half hour. For a gig where we supply mains, it'll be about the same since I'll have to hump and set up the speakers and lights, but won't have to futz around connecting to a house system.
I think we have a winner. It's been a long trip that included at various stages, three wedge monitors, a Presonus SL16.4.2 and a Behringer X16 and a couple of new iPads. Another nice thing is I have mounted my SansAmp RBI so I can roll without a bass amp. My entire PA and performance rig can be transported in three or four light loads.
Here's what I've got wired up right now. Had to exchange the first ART HeadAmpPro6 I bought because it had a dead or fried channel. Got a new one upon exchange so all good to go! Downside is this required buying a whole bunch of new cables!
Slapped everything into a 4U Gator case. I put in a dedicated power supply and hardwired the router in there as well (along with some creative use of Velcro tape). Left the bottom rack 1U open so I could route the AUX cables from the board to ART head amp and reduce cable runs outside the box. Also a nice spot to stow the IEM extension cables down there. DL1608 travels in another case, but I have the external PS mounted inside the rack (Velcro tape again). You may also notice that I put my SansAmp RBI into that rack for at least rehearsal purposes. I'm going to try and see if I can get away with that for gigs! I'm running the main LR into the ART head amp first - it's got a through connect that will go to the main speakers. That way I can take advantage of the "more me"/"more band" mixing capabilities of this head amp thereby simplifying what need to do to create and manage monitor mixes for everyone. Even our drummer now gets a custom mix and not just the headphone out mix!
got all the loose cable ends coming out of the back of the rack marked with printed labels so as to reduce confusion during setup.
Not sure of the weight yet, but definitely less than my Presonus SL16.4.2 AND my bass rig and a hell of a lot more compact.
I'm REALLY liking the MasterFader app - and it seems that Mackie is constantly improving it and adding more features.
Still need to sort out a stand/table/platform for this rig. The piano bench there will not be deployed! Any suggestions?
Here's what I've got wired up right now. Had to exchange the first ART HeadAmpPro6 I bought because it had a dead or fried channel. Got a new one upon exchange so all good to go! Downside is this required buying a whole bunch of new cables!
Slapped everything into a 4U Gator case. I put in a dedicated power supply and hardwired the router in there as well (along with some creative use of Velcro tape). Left the bottom rack 1U open so I could route the AUX cables from the board to ART head amp and reduce cable runs outside the box. Also a nice spot to stow the IEM extension cables down there. DL1608 travels in another case, but I have the external PS mounted inside the rack (Velcro tape again). You may also notice that I put my SansAmp RBI into that rack for at least rehearsal purposes. I'm going to try and see if I can get away with that for gigs! I'm running the main LR into the ART head amp first - it's got a through connect that will go to the main speakers. That way I can take advantage of the "more me"/"more band" mixing capabilities of this head amp thereby simplifying what need to do to create and manage monitor mixes for everyone. Even our drummer now gets a custom mix and not just the headphone out mix!
got all the loose cable ends coming out of the back of the rack marked with printed labels so as to reduce confusion during setup.
Not sure of the weight yet, but definitely less than my Presonus SL16.4.2 AND my bass rig and a hell of a lot more compact.
I'm REALLY liking the MasterFader app - and it seems that Mackie is constantly improving it and adding more features.
Still need to sort out a stand/table/platform for this rig. The piano bench there will not be deployed! Any suggestions?
Here's how the whole thing is being deployed. Everything sits on top of ProX UTL4 rolling case; everything stowed inside during transport (except Gator rack case). One trip from the car for the entire rig - easy peasy and super stable!
