P.A. system

[vyse933]

Alright..this thread could very well be in the wrong spot..so..move it if you must or w/e....but yeah So our guitarist/singer just left the band..and he always suplied the P.A. system...and since he's gone, the band needs a P.A.. I currently i have a 1x15 elektrovoice speaker cabinet that handles 100 watts at 8 ohms wich i plan to use as the speaker...so the band just needs to buy a P.A. head..or powered mixer i think it's called. I was wondering if someone could recomend a head/mixer to plug the mics into. The less expensive the better..like 300 dollars is realy pushing it.

by the way..the band consists of lead guitar bass and acoustic drums playing in the comfort of a medium sized basement room.

 

[bigbajo60]

Is this system solely for the basement? Or will it have to occasionally cut it at an actual gig? If it's just for the basement, there are several complete "mini PA" systems that can be found for about what you're willing to spend that will "suffice" for vocal reinforcement.

As for that EV speaker, is it JUST the 15" speaker? Or is there also a "tweeter" or "hi-frequency horn"? If it's just the woofer, I'd be surprised if you'd be able to get a satisfying vocal sound out of it.

 

[vyse933]

Best chance is that it will only be used for practice..i can't imagine a situation where we'd be playing a show and thier wouldn't be a P.A. we could borrow for a night or i can't imagine not using the venue's P.A., so yes, just practice. And the 1x15 is only the 15" speaker, the only reason i even have it is cause i was using it as my bass cab for a few months.

 

[Plain Old Me]

I use a Berhinger mixer into a small old Peavey power amp into an EV 215 with 6 inch mid for vox at practice. While I would never use it live, the thing works well for practice and we can all hear the vox.

 

[bigbajo60]

Well... the 1 x 15 might "pass muster", depending on your criteria. But maybe adding a couple of piezo tweeters to the box can get the highs to come through.

It just seems to me that your time and effort would be better spent shopping around for a little 4 or 6 channel mini PA head with a couple of small full-range speakers you could put on stands at ear-level.

Maybe something like:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Live/Sound/Packaged/Systems?sku=630130

 

[vyse933]

hmm...yeah..your right i'm gonna have to do that. The only quistion i have left though, how much power will they system have to have for it to actually be heard when we practice?

 

[bigbajo60]

Can't help you there!

There are just too many variables to consider.

For example, my band (drummer included) rehearses at a level that allows the vocalists to be heard without mics.

My son's band on the other hand, needs to run a 200 watt mini PA flat out when they rehearse... and you have to pay attention to hear the vocals!

 

[Stanley Design]

An old Peavey Mark III or something should do, snatch one up somewhere for 100-200 bucks.

 

[Plain Old Me]

The Peavey my amp uses is I believe delivering 500 watts to the 215. Its up about 1/2 way. But it really depends on how loud you guys practice.

 

[vyse933]

haha..i guess were gonna have to turn ourselfs down a bit for practice, oh well.

 

[Plain Old Me]

haha..i guess were gonna have to turn ourselfs down a bit for practice, oh well.

Turning down at practice helps your ears. We used to practice very loud until I just told the guitarist that if we didn't turn down I was out. No more ringing of my ears. Plus, if you are really loud you can't hear the drums.

 

[vyse933]

yah, true. me and my guitarist are smart enough at least not to play so loud that we don't hear the drums...not to mention..i don't think i've ever actually left a practice with my ears ringing.

 

[ESP-LTD]

These are cheap:

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I have never seen the speakers but the head is 'ok' for the money.

 

[4Mal]

Something like

http://cgi.ebay.com/YAMAHA-EMX-2000-POWERED-MIXER-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ7406239020QQcategoryZ41475QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or
http://cgi.ebay.com/yamaha-emx640-6channell-p-a-mixer_W0QQitemZ7407017424QQcategoryZ41475QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or even
http://cgi.ebay.com/Peavey-MP-600-Powered-Mixer-PA-Head-No-Reserve_W0QQitemZ7407236083QQcategoryZ41474QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

and one of these ...
http://cgi.ebay.com/12-CGM-Floor-Wedge-Monitor-Speaker-Cabinet-NEW-w-Warr_W0QQitemZ7407026152QQcategoryZ47093QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

would do nicely. Therea are a tone of powered mixers with reverb out there used... I would snag one with maybe 200 watts, XLR in and reverb. The ones I listed above are a sample of EBay between 100 and 199 current pricing. Each could do a small gig and with another speaker a cd player and a pair of stands you can power up a pretty good sized party ...