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PA Challenge. Spec in a usable system for under $600.00

Big Hoss

Big Hoss

Up note, down note, blue note, brown note...
Sep 5, 2014
5,455
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In body. Texas. In spirit on the road.
daves-workshop.blogspot.com
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#1
The cheap PA threads and their responses got me thinking about the all too common situation, needing a PA for at least vocals. But I am going to add a layer of complexity just for fun, I want to see what you guys and gals can come up with...

The scenario.
You are starting up your own small band, as the BL you need to provide a PA. You plan on playing coffee house / small bar / party / Tiki Hut restaurant type gigs. The band is a stereotypical 3 or 4 piece, guitar, bass, drum or drum machine, and vocals. Your budget is limited strictly to $600.00, and you need to get geared up fast.
You already have mics, mic stands, and enough XLR, and XLR to 1/4" cables to get you there and back.

The rules of the game.
#1. Budget is hard limited to $600.00 in U.S. dollars, including any applicable taxes. If you are going to come in here and recommend the higher cost stuff, don't bother, you aren't getting the point of this.
#2. PA should support input from 4 vocal mics, and XLR or 1/4" line input from a guitar amp and a bass amp. More input options is better.
#3. Components can be new, or used. However used values should be something anyone could easily locate on Craigslist etc...
#4. Gear doesn't have to be purpose built, but it DOES have to be effective, and in budget. So say repurposing an old Estate Sale 200 watt home stereo rig is fair game...
 
#4
Big Hoss said:
Nice mixer. How are those Harbinger V2115 cabs?
Click to expand...
They actually had a pair at a benefit I played at last Sunday and they sounded surprisingly OK. My own "little system" is a Yamaha MG82CX mixer into a pair of Behringer B208D's - just used it with one of my bands a couple weeks ago, classic rock/blues with drums, two guitars, bass and vocals. Some careful shopping might get a pair of B210D's and that mixer right at $600 :) .
 
#6
Considering the given that you own cabling and microphones already, this is what I'd do if I was walking into the Geeter Center and ringing it all up on the Players' Card:

This mixer for $158 ($150 plus 6% PA tax) - Invalid Link Removed
Two of these speakers for Main/Monitor duty for $424 ($199 each today's sale price plus 6% PA tax) - Invalid Link Removed
That leaves me about 20 bucks for a speaker stand from amazon or craigslist - or you could probably get the sales guy from GC to include one for you if you ask nicely enough.

Nice thing here is that the Alto's are fairly well regarded speakers for what they are, and the board has built in effects, for whatever they're worth, and a dedicated monitor channel.



If I was going used, well, I sold a Yamaha powered box and matching 12" mains for $300. I'd buy that back and buy a monitor or two with the other $300.
 
#7
If it were me in my area.............

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All options totaled come in under $600. Doesn't include monitors but save some money after a couple of gigs and hit Craigslist again.
 
#8
Yamaha MG124CX V2112 PA Package | Musician's Friend

I would need to visit a GC to hear the Harbinger's (vs the 2115's), but without doing that, I would lean towards getting 12's for the mains on poles, and keeping the bass out of the mix for sure and use for vocals only, maybe acoustic guitar ... that really is a heck of a price for new, but is this a shipped price?

Before I saw this link above, I was thinking all used, Yamaha powered lunchbox mixer and two Club Series S115IV's (or S112IV's) ... that could be had for < $600, but by the time you add mics, stands, cabling, etc ... you are over ...

I have the MG-166CX-USB, and that is a heck of a nice budget mixer ... the 124 is just a smaller version ... tough to beat Yamaha Club Series used cabs ... they are are really going cheap ... but they are all passive ...
 
#11
I would look at the active FBT X-lite 10 (vocals only) or the X-lite 12 or 15 as the absolute lowest end cab. It is made in Italy and is a good speaker. One of these with a small mixer of choice would fall into your 600 budget and two won't be far from it. I have gigged several times with one speaker for vocals.

Here is the thing. Countless others, just like you, including me, have wanted to put together a PA system cheaply. Well, what we find is that there is a difference in cheaply and CHEAP. One can put together a PA system CHEAP, but when he/she does, it usually ends in dissatisfaction. Either in equipment failure or simply "it doesn't sound good" or "it doesn't do what we as a band needs". I admit I have done this, more than once, and it always ended in regret - when I could have spent just a little bit more and had a system that would work really well.

My advice is to do lots of research, speak with those that have been there done that, and buy from a qualified professional who can give good advice and who can offer products cheaply but not cheap; Also save a little bit more and get better quality than the absolute low end of MI. The next step up from this absolute lowest end is surprising in what it can do, and the above speakers I suggest are a prime example.
 
#13
#14
#18
Specs say that but we like them a lot and they're plenty loud. We have a loud drummer and we put bass, guitar, four horns, kick, keys, and three vocals through them. We have subs also so we don't stress them out. We like them, and for $199 at B&H what's not to like.
 
#19
DWBass said:
I'd have to agree. However, I did see a band using a full Alto PA system (powered mains, monitors and subs) and it sounded pretty damn good. It wasn't those speakers though. Was nice for a small compact system.
Click to expand...
Like my earlier post: We like them a lot. Sound good, plenty loud and with a sub they stay well within their limits and you can crank the heck out of them
 
#20
modulusman said:
What will you be using them for? According to the specs they don't get very loud.
Click to expand...

We've been mostly a basement band for just under two years. Recently we have started to play out quite a bit, but many of the gigs we have done so far have included a PA. At times we have had to supply our own monitors and mixing board. We've also done a couple of parties where we rent QSC 12s with matching subs and use our monitors and board. We're not particularly loud, unless we have to be.
The new speakers would be to replace our Behringer 210 2oow powered speakers which we have been using in our jam room and as monitors with both the QSC rental and some other gigs where FOH sound was provided. For smaller gigs the plan was to use the Behringers as monitors again and possibly the TX12s as the mains and that would also be our rehearsal room setup. For a mixer, we have a Behringer Xenyx 2442FX USB that our drummer owns. I'm not big on Behringer, but I really can't say anything bad about it. We've used it with the QSC rental speakers, with bar PAs and in our practice space. It does the job and no complaints about the effects.
In any case, on the way to today's band practice, I and one of our guitarists went to look and hear the Alto TX12s at the store which carries them. They did not have any 12s in stock, but offered up a pair of TX15s for almost the same price. We compared them to EV ZLX12s, Behringer powered 12s, QSC 12s, new Mackie Thump 12s, and a couple of others. I had some recordings of our band on my phone so I plugged them in. I am familiar with QSCs and obviously they were great, but we really cannot afford them at this time.... they were just the measurement baseline. The EVs were very good and less than half the price of the QSCs, but again slightly over our budget and the store would not deal at all on them. The Behringers and Mackies were just below them in both price and audio quality (to our ears with the recordings provided). The Alto TX15s, which were $100 per speaker less than even the Behringers were very nice, and very light, but really I was not feeling the love and neither was the band guitarist who was there with me to split on a set of powered speakers for the band. There really was a big difference between the EVs and the rest and then another step up to the QSCs. We were about to leave and think it over some more, but then we started checking out the used stuff and they had a pretty nice selection, including a pair of former rental Yorkville NX25P 200 watt powered speakers that they would sell for just a bit more than the Altos.
Anyway, we listened to, fell in love with, did a bit of negotiating and walked out with the used Yorkville NX25Ps for the price of a set of Alto TX12s, less than what they would have done on the TX15s. At 200 watts they are perhaps not as powerful as the Behringers, Thumps and Altos, but much better sounding, as good or better than the EVs, maybe even close to the QSCs. Again very subjective. Also, I suspect they are closer in volume to the others than the wattage would indicate. They are also built like tanks.
We showed up an hour late for band practice with them and the rest of the band immediately forgave us. Set them up on stands, switched the Behringer 210s to being the monitors and started practice. They were.... amazing and should be absolutely perfect for our current purposes. We barely turned them up at all and there was plenty of headroom left. In fact we have the QSC setup reserved for a private backyard party next weekend and we were thinking 'damn, we might have been able to just use the Yorkvilles'. In any case we will use the NX25Ps as monitors next week with the QSC rental. Over time we'll see how often we need to rent more power or subs and decide if we need to upgrade from here and switch the NX25s to being the monitors, but for now we think we will be OK. They really sounded great, even better at rehearsal than we expected from hearing them in the store.
 
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