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PA gear advice...

#21
I use a Yamaha 500 per side power amp to drive peavey tops, a behinger 1000 per side with peavey bass bins, peavey 20 channel passive mixer and the usual crossover, eq's with it.

Never had a problem with the behringer, it delivers and is robust - not out of place with the Yamaha and peavey gear and performs well. It's all in a good flight case and is looked after - whatever you get, good protection will repay it's cost tenfold.
Good luck with your venture, enjoy!
 
#27
I really wish the Behringer bashing would stop! My band uses a PMP6000 powered mixer. That thing pumps! Been with the band 2 years now and not a single issue!

I really like that Yamaha 512sc though. Gigged through one last Friday. For a small jazz combo, I don't see the need for a large PA. 2 mains, 2 monitors. If you need more monitors, there is a Mon out where you can hook up a powered monitor and you can daisy chain powered monitors infinitely. Need a sub? Hook up a powered sub to the mono main out.
 
#28
DWBass said:
I really wish the Behringer bashing would stop! My band uses a PMP6000 powered mixer. That thing pumps! Been with the band 2 years now and not a single issue!

I really like that Yamaha 512sc though. Gigged through one last Friday. For a small jazz combo, I don't see the need for a large PA. 2 mains, 2 monitors. If you need more monitors, there is a Mon out where you can hook up a powered monitor and you can daisy chain powered monitors infinitely. Need a sub? Hook up a powered sub to the mono main out.
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In my old band, the bandleader bought a brand new PMP2000. Second song, first gig, it decided to kill itself. It's replacement lasted 2 weeks. That was all I needed to know about Behringer.
 
#30
DWBass said:
I really wish the Behringer bashing would stop! My band uses a PMP6000 powered mixer. That thing pumps! Been with the band 2 years now and not a single issue!

I really like that Yamaha 512sc though. Gigged through one last Friday. For a small jazz combo, I don't see the need for a large PA. 2 mains, 2 monitors. If you need more monitors, there is a Mon out where you can hook up a powered monitor and you can daisy chain powered monitors infinitely. Need a sub? Hook up a powered sub to the mono main out.
Click to expand...

I think you're lucky then. Every piece of Behringer gear I've ever bought or used has broken or been so noisy it was unusable.
 
#31
Okay so you want a PA for a Jazz band. I would assume you don't need huge volume and thunderous bass and that you do need to mic up 2 vocalists, Piano, sax and maybe an acoustic guitar. Your bass amp will be the LA 15. A little reverb is nice for jazz and you will need a small simple system that sounds good, is easy to set up and allows you to squeeze onto a tiny stage.

Given all of that I would recomend a Yamaha stagepas 300

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My band has one of these that we use for smaller gigs and it can definitely handle everything I mentioned, sounds great and is really easy to pack and set up. That gives you more time to talk to people which is what it is all about in some respects. It is also $399 new. Spend the rest of the money on some Sure SM58 microphones, stands and mic cables and you should be good to go. Oh yeah you will also need a pair of speaker stands to get those speakers up at ear level or a little higher.

Keep it simple. If you start to play bigger rooms you can always use it as a monitor system. For now just position the speakers so you and the audience can hear you. Feedback shouldn't be a big problem at lower volumes.

Good luck my friend!
 
#33
gmarcus said:
Okay so you want a PA for a Jazz band. I would assume you don't need huge volume and thunderous bass and that you do need to mic up 2 vocalists, Piano, sax and maybe an acoustic guitar. Your bass amp will be the LA 15. A little reverb is nice for jazz and you will need a small simple system that sounds good, is easy to set up and allows you to squeeze onto a tiny stage.

Given all of that I would recomend a Yamaha stagepas 300

Invalid Link Removed

My band has one of these that we use for smaller gigs and it can definitely handle everything I mentioned, sounds great and is really easy to pack and set up. That gives you more time to talk to people which is what it is all about in some respects. It is also $399 new. Spend the rest of the money on some Sure SM58 microphones, stands and mic cables and you should be good to go. Oh yeah you will also need a pair of speaker stands to get those speakers up at ear level or a little higher.

Keep it simple. If you start to play bigger rooms you can always use it as a monitor system. For now just position the speakers so you and the audience can hear you. Feedback shouldn't be a big problem at lower volumes.

Good luck my friend!
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Thanks... The sax player pulled the trigger on this system. It should be arriving by Thursday and we are going to set it up in his basement this weekend to try it out.. make sure everything works etc.. He wanted to get one anyway so we will see how it all works out. I checked the reviews on that system and they were decent. The mixer and speakers if bought separately were selling for $399 and $99 each respectively.. so this package looks pretty good on paper. We will see when it all gets here and we power it up. As for my bass amp.. I will be using either a Shuttlemax 6.0 or a 900 through a mini12L+ most likely. The La is for rehearsals only. It was a decent enough amp when I first got it when I started playing again 11 years ago but I wouldn't try to gig with it.

I will let you guys know how it goes with the PA and the project.. I am kind of excited about it.
 
#35
Hmmm.....very similar to a Kustom system I bought off a craigslist ad several years back for backyard gigs and rehearsals. I have a Kustom powered mixer though. The GearOne has more power than mine. I have had no problems using mine so that should work fine for you. While it's not top (or middle) of the line and some folks here will shun it, try it out and see if it works for you.

Here's a video of mine in use in my backyard during a BBQ.
 
#37
On Friday we set up the system and tried it out in the sax player's basement. It actually sounded pretty good clarity wise.. and we are going to take it out and test it outdoors next week. We cranked it up very loud and at no point did anything distort.. The effects are clear.. no hum or hiss.. It isn't too heavy.. and it seems pretty solidly built for what we paid for it.. Of course all this will really show it's true face at a gig.. but we plan to do a few practice runs before we get to that point. Thanks to all who offered up insight into this.
 
#38
MonkeyBass said:
I think you're lucky then. Every piece of Behringer gear I've ever bought or used has broken or been so noisy it was unusable.
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I think you've been unlucky. I've used several pieces of behringer pa gear, and all have been great. At the moment my 4 piece country band uses a behringer mixer amp which has been great for the last 7 years with no problems and good sound, including some nice effects.

As to the op's question - I think what you have bought is ideal. You want to spend minimal time setting up and more time being personable.
 
#39
I keep a Mackie 808M on hand just for small room gigs. It's perfect and will easily power a couple of 15" mains and a couple of wedges, plus a basic IEM. 8 channels with digital effects. I purchased mine used on the big bay auction site about 6 yrs ago for just a few hundred bucks and it's paid for itself dozens of times over the years.
 
#40
4StringDave said:
I think you've been unlucky. I've used several pieces of behringer pa gear, and all have been great. At the moment my 4 piece country band uses a behringer mixer amp which has been great for the last 7 years with no problems and good sound, including some nice effects.

As to the op's question - I think what you have bought is ideal. You want to spend minimal time setting up and more time being personable.
Click to expand...

Can we agree that given the roll-the-dice nature of Behringer gear that they shouldn't be the first choice?
 

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