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PA suitable for practice

baceface

baceface

Dec 28, 2014
445
291
Pennsylvania
#1
I'm in the process of possibly doing vocals for my band because finding a singer... especially one that plays an instrument is the most annoying and exhausting thing ever.

I've never owned a PA or anything but I basically want to get something cheap that will get over a loud rock band for practice... so I have no clue of what to get. I will end up getting a good quality mic but need some guidance on what I should get.

I was browsing through GC last week while my drummer was buying some heads and saw a portable 60w harbinger portable jobber with 2 speakers for $150, I think... doesn't sound like that'd be enough though.

any help is appreciated
 
#3
I would get something for gigging but the one ir two other bands that we planned to piggy back with always play venues that already have sound there. I was just looking to get something cheap and decent to get started. Used probably will be the best route
 
#4
Just like bassists are moving to better and lighter rigs, bands are moving to better PAs. Lots of powered mixers out there.. not necessarily this, but something like it.[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

And now you may be playing with others bands, but you don't want to be tied to them.

Also, volume control will make everyone's life easier.
 
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#5
I have a feeling I know what's going to happen here, lol..

I was checking around the internet and there's a site for Kraft Music and they sell complete bundle packs with mics, chords and everything. I'll probably be taking a nose dive into one of those
 
#6
Don't get cheap brand new crap. Search for used stuff on CL, there are almost ALWAYS deals on PA gear. My PA I have probably less than $500 in (for the main pieces) and it will blow away just about anything costing 2-3x as much new. Cerwin Vega 15" 3 way speakers, QSC 300Wx2 power amp, and a mackie 12 channel mixer. Actually the Vegas came from GC, sometimes they have good deals on PA speakers in a back hallway (usually by the bathroom or someplace weird like that). Add a mic or 2 (maybe an SM58), stand/s and all the cables to hook it up, and for a few hundred bucks you have a PA that you don't have to fight with every practice and won't be embarrassed to take on a gig should the need arise. And it pays for itself really. If you basically put $50/show into the PA, in 10-12 shows you're pretty much paid off, and then you have a great PA that work well and actually sounds good. We use mine at practice for my instrumental band mainly for keys and it sounds amazing, and then I also use them for live sound gigs I do (mostly for vocals, sometimes keys and/or a bit of kick).

When you can just turn the thing on and go rather than fighting feedback issues (have you heard what a plastic speaker cab sounds like turned up all teh way to its limits?) and dealing with lousy sound quality, you will quickly forget "how much you had to spend" and instead be thinking what a great deal it was.
 
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#7
+1 look for good deals on used gear. Look at ads & research what the stuff is that's for sale. Research what it does & what people are paying for it so that you'll understand what you need & how much you should be paying for it. I've bought whole PA systems just to get 1 piece of gear, then sold off what I didn't need, sometimes winding up with what I wanted for nothing, or close to it. I'm generally leery of used mics.

I'm not a fan of powered mixers, but I am a big fan of powered speakers! Powered speakers give you some important advantages, including the fact that most have built-in 2-channel (or sometimes 3) mixers & can handle mic. or line-level inputs as well as line-level outputs for daisy-chaining. Also, most of the critical engineering to match components has been done by somebody a heck of a lot more qualified than you or me. You can build a very flexible rig over time, & pretty much plug & play into anybody else's PA system. I even use a powered PA speaker for a small, light-weight bass amp sometimes for rehearsals or small gigs.

Add an unpowered mixer someday when you need one. You can always upgrade to more channels when you need to without upsetting the rest of the rig.

Expect to ultimately spend as much on mics, stands, & cables as you do on a mixer, speakers, & effects, not to mention some way to transport everything.

There are a lot worse things to be than a bass player with sound gear!

As for practice, I recommend setting up a killer monitor system. Get used to the idea of creating a great sonic environment for the band. When you're ready to gig, recreate that great environment for yourselves on stage. Some of that sound will bleed out into the FOH (Front Of House; audience space) & you can reinforce that with your mains (when you get them).
 
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#8
One thing about some powered speakers, like the active Carvin PM series, is that some of them can function as a mini-PA on their own, plugging a mic right into it. If this is JUST for a minimum to get vocals heard in practice, rather than running a whole band through, that can do the trick. When you go on to a full PA later you can rotate it to be a monitor.
 
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#10
We are a three piece bluegrass band so we don't play a high volume but I thought I'd share.

We use one of the Bose powered systems for practice (through a Yamaha mixer). Very clear and easy to set up. For most gigs we use this as our monitors, setting it behind us. Works great as a monitor (or as mains for very small venues). The frequency response of it seems very flat so we have never had any feedback problems with it. We will run guitar, banjo and vocals through it but not my bass as I don't think it would handle that.
 
#11
you'l want 200w RMS per channel minimum... more (300-400w RMS per channel) if its gunna see you through small/medium gigs.

Grab a couple of powered speakers rated as such and a Passive mixer with enough channels to see you through for backing vox and possibly kick drum. maybe 8 channel or even better 16 is usually enough for a 4 peice band.
If you only use 1 mic it can plug straight in the back of one of the speakers and mixed and EQ'd very basicaly without needing a mixer.

Upgrade options down the line could be add a sub to do large venues.

A guideline

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and a couple of speaker stands
 
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#12
For our practice space, I have an old Peavey Stereo Chorus guitar amp (two 12" Scorpions and two 130 W amps). I run vocal Mics into a little 12 Channel Mackie mixer, then two XLR to 1/4" cables into the two Power Amp In jacks on the back of the Peavey. Not very aesthetic, but plenty loud for the practice space. As money and need permits, I'll probably pick up some powered speakers. Probably go used to start as Craigslist seems to have a lot of guys who buy a PA, use it twice and realize they should have never bought it in the first place.
 

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