PA shopping, I was suggested this....thoughts?

[Tunaman]

And why 12s better than 15s?

Better mid range projection for singer... we were AMAZED when we compared the PRX 712 vs 715s. We were gonna buy the 15s but it wasn't close to the same projection of her voice as the 12s. To me, its the most important instrument in the PA so went with 12s.

 

[tbirdsp]

Thanks guys! I ask this in total ignorance....does miking only the bass drum suffice as far as drum goes for non big gigs?

Many times it does. The vocal mics will pick up a lot of drums. If a little more is needed you could run one or two overhead mics.

 

[morgansterne]

our drummer got the xr18 board a couple weeks ago. It's a pain in the butt trying to figure this out and totally wrong for anyone who doesn't know the ins and outs of hooking up a PA. two of us use iems so we kind of appreciate the ability to wirelessly control our monitor mixes (or we will eventually, right now we're just grumbling at the lost rehearsal time spent figuring this thing out).
I suggest a good old analog board for your purposes. Used mackie? allen and heath?
He also just got behringer b112d tops and little 12" subs, which was definitely not the way I would have gone. The tweeters are harsh and the poles rattle when the subs are pushing hard. I'm really not sure why anyone would make 250 watt (rms) subs, that's loud enough for a killer home theater but not for a concert stage. We play lots of poppy dance music with four on the floor beats that would really benefit from a beefier sub. I'd have gone with a single sub 500 watts or more.
For your standard rock music I think you could skip a sub if the drummer has a good sounding kick that projects a little, and you have a solid bass amp.
I love my in ear monitors, but they're not for every one. It takes a lot of getting used to. Nothing wrong with wedge monitors if your stage volume is reasonable.

 

[Tunaman]

We play some pretty decent venues & we only mic the kick drum. I have one JBL 718XLF sub & that covers everything

 

[Tombolino]

Found this article on some of these new iPad controlled PAs:

Invalid Link Removed

 

[walterw]

Found this article on some of these new iPad controlled PAs:

Invalid Link Removed

i've used the mackie while i've only noodled with the other formats, but i have to agree; the mackie interface, the actual using of the ipad app to mix, the mackie seems way easier to figure out and more elegant overall.

 

[tycobb73]

I use a macke dl1608. I'm new to running sound. It is very intuitive. Got a good deal on it at proaudiostar. I had an Allen and Heath Mixwiz for a few weeks. Sold it in favor of the Mackie. Someone in the band had an ipad. When you consider the AH will need eqs, gates, and effects and the Mackie already has this its no contest on which way to go. Its so much simpler, lighter, and smaller. I wouldn't venture into the world of analog boards again.

 

[Tombolino]

I would go Mackie in no time, but it can only record 2 channels from what I have understand....? (we do want to record ourselves for our promo material)

 

[tycobb73]

I'm only a few weeks ahead of you and this is what we put together.

Mains: EV ELX112P
Monitors: Alto TS112
Board: Mackie DL1608
No sub at this point
Mics: Shure Beta 58, EV nd767A

I read like crazy in 3 forums before I put this together. Like I said, not much personal experience but this is what came up over and over again.

 

[Tombolino]

thank you tycobb

 

[tycobb73]

You're welcome. If you have to cut costs at any point I would switch out the mains for ZLX112P. Call proaudiostar or northern sound and light.

 

[frnjplayer]

I'm only a few weeks ahead of you and this is what we put together.

Mains: EV ELX112P
Monitors: Alto TS112
Board: Mackie DL1608
No sub at this point
Mics: Shure Beta 58, EV nd767A

I read like crazy in 3 forums before I put this together. Like I said, not much personal experience but this is what came up over and over again.

This is not a bad system at all. Personal preference would have me looking at non-shure mics (Just not a huge fan af the 58's beta or otherwise) and I'd rather have a mixing board than an ipad. However those are just personal preferences.
For mics:
Shure, EV, Audix, Sennheiser, Beyer Dynamic , all make good basic mics. Try them with your voice and see what fits best.
Stick with the 12's in the speakers for all the reason's mentioned above.

 

[Tombolino]

I have read that the XR18 software mixer is complicated and non intuitive. Is that true?

 

[Munjibunga]

JBL or QSC for the mains and monitors. I think a Mackie ProFX mixer would be better than anything Behringer, unless it says "Midas" on it. I use JBL PRX 715s for mains and PRX 612s for monitors. Depending on which band I use Mackie ProFX 12 or ProFX 16. They have rudimentary effects and EQ on board, so I don't have to lug any amps or rack gear. Mackie's not the best out there, but I think it's good bang for the buck and a notch or two above Behringer.

 

[Munjibunga]

And why 12s better than 15s?

Twelves generally reproduce vocals more accurately than fifteens. That said, I've switched to fifteens for my mains because my semi-acoustic group goes direct to the board, and I want something for my bass. There's really not much difference in the vocals, and a little EQ takes care of most of it.

 

[Tombolino]

Are there any analog mixers that can be tweaked from the audience side without using iPad? dunno, example.....via a MIDI controller with a very long cable hooked to the mixer?

Maybe Im making something up that doesnt exist.

 

[Tunaman]

Twelves generally reproduce vocals more accurately than fifteens. That said, I've switched to fifteens for my mains because my semi-acoustic group goes direct to the board, and I want something for my bass. There's really not much difference in the vocals, and a little EQ takes care of most of it.

We noticed a pretty huge difference in the vocals with the PRX712s vs the 715s. Also the one handle on the 715 made it tougher to move. Playback music was also pretty muddy through the 715 vs the 712 but again, the guitar center test didn't have many options to do EQ.

 

[walterw]

Are there any analog mixers that can be tweaked from the audience side without using iPad? dunno, example.....via a MIDI controller with a very long cable hooked to the mixer?

Maybe Im making something up that doesnt exist.

it's called a snake, and that's how it used to be done; the board was out in the audience.

 

[tbirdsp]

it's called a snake, and that's how it used to be done; the board was out in the audience.

And probably plenty of them for sale now with most going digital. Hell, I have a never-used 100-ft 16X4 snake in by basement right now.

Also gathering dust - a Mackie ProFX 16 as Munjibunga mentioned. Great little mixer, but we are hiring out PA most times (Behringer x32) or we use our guitarist's (Mackie DL1608).

 

[Tunaman]

I went on a PA selling rampage last year before its value went down

Analog mixer, snake, rack boxes, rack compressor, EQs, Driverack, poweramps, power cables.

Going to end up with a QU-16\X32 like mixer with the PRX active stuff. SOO much less stuff!! Luckily the band I'm in has a PA so when I need one again I'll just rebuy

Just put some stuff on craigslist for a price you cant refuse & see what happens