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PA system for wedding band!

jacobrownoly

jacobrownoly

Jun 16, 2007
257
32
#1
Hello, I have just recently joined a covers band that do weddings and other party functions. I need some advice on buying a full PA system. We will be playing gigs that are around 200-500 people so we need something that can easily cope along with quality. We are looking to spend no more that £750-£1000.

At larger events, the plan would be to put bass, kick drum, keyboard and guitar (as well as vocals) through the system.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated
 
#4
jacobrownoly said:
Hello, I have just recently joined a covers band that do weddings and other party functions. I need some advice on buying a full PA system. We will be playing gigs that are around 200-500 people so we need something that can easily cope along with quality. We are looking to spend no more that £750-£1000.

At larger events, the plan would be to put bass, kick drum, keyboard and guitar (as well as vocals) through the system.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

What have they been using, or are they not actually doing these gigs yet?

And are we just talking PA speakers and power? A mixer? Monitors? anything else?
 
#10
Our band is in a similar situation. We're just starting to play paid cover gigs in a variety of venues. Our plan us to initially purchase a good monitor rig (combo of wedges and in-ears) w/mixer and self-powered speakers, and rely on the house system or a rental setup for the mains, as needed. We have loaner access to a small "vocals-only" P.A. for small gigs and can cheaply rent a bigger system locally.

Once we're a little more established, and funding (i.e. profits) allow, we'll invest in our own full-scale P.A., drum kit mics, stands, etc.

But, yeah, still looking at close to two grand, just to get started...
 
#11
jacobrownoly said:
Hello, I have just recently joined a covers band that do weddings and other party functions. I need some advice on buying a full PA system. We will be playing gigs that are around 200-500 people so we need something that can easily cope along with quality. We are looking to spend no more that £750-£1000.
Click to expand...

Rent.
 
#12
Marginal Tom said:
First, increase your budget by a factor of three or so.
Click to expand...

This. Playing a conference room at a hotel (where many wedding receptions are held) will not go well without everything in the PA. Many of those rooms are very dry. They have carpet and huge drapes that will suck sound from the room. Add 500 fat bodies to that and you need every bit as much PA as club bands use. I have literally played more than 500 weddings. Many of them are the ones where they tell you to turn down all night. But many need every bit as much PA as any other working band and then some. We played a lot of those conference room where we wished we had more. (And we ran 13,500 watts out front with nice JBL's, good Crown power, good board and great sound guy.)
 
#13
Crikey, you could blow the budget on a mixer and snake. This honestly sounds like a bunch of enthusiasts getting beyond themselves. Where are you at with gear now?

Do you have a decent bass amp that can play indoors without PA? That is the biggest question. A couple of Mackies on sticks and a mixer can get a band going with a neutered kick drum beater noise and the guitars and vocals mic'd. Keys is going to need his own amp too or be neutered like the kick drum.

For big gigs you will have to hire a guy with a sound system and lighting to match. Factor it into your rates, which should be high.

Weddings are nothing like bar gigs, you better be damn good and versatile, able to add special requests by everyone learning them on their own time and putting them together with one rehearsal.
 
#15
We already have a 16 channel mixer (behringer), so its passive Duel speakers and a power amp that we are looking to buy.

Speakers would be (Pair): [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Power amp would be: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I know that we need other things like cables, snake, D.I box ect

We would be looking at putting everything through these speakers. The power amp is rated at 2000 watts which should be more that enough, with the dual speakers rated at 2000 watts of handling power again...enough to handle a band?:hiding:

My question is, would this be a reasonable setup??

Thanks for the help!

P.S the band has quality gear..its just the PA that we need to sort out.
 
#17
I echo bluewine's sentiment 100%. If you're planning on doing anything serious for 200-500 people, getting paid for it, and giving your employer his money's worth, you are going to have to start looking at "midrange" gear in the price range others have already noted, and IMO even those estimates are on the low side. If you lowball your sound system, then at minimum you'll be tagged as a bunch of bush-league know-nothings.

You might want to consider using a building block approach where you start playing for 75-100 people with a minimal setup, then in Year 2 double the setup so the band can accept jobs for 200 people, then in Year 3 go to 4x the setup for 500, making sure the speakers and amps you add for each upgrade are identical to the ones you already have. In other words, fix the problem by doing only small rooms for the near term.

I would respectfully disagree with the advice to rent. This does nothing for your bottom line in the long term. Not one cent (shilling) goes toward your future sound system purchases. Basically that money is just pissed away and does not follow you and the band forward in time. Again I would advise, instead, limiting your audience sizes at any given point in time while you're saving for the "next" scheduled upgrade.
 
#18
jacobrownoly said:
We already have a 16 channel mixer (behringer), so its passive Duel speakers and a power amp that we are looking to buy.

Speakers would be (Pair): [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Power amp would be: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I know that we need other things like cables, snake, D.I box ect

We would be looking at putting everything through these speakers. The power amp is rated at 2000 watts which should be more that enough, with the dual speakers rated at 2000 watts of handling power again...enough to handle a band?:hiding:

My question is, would this be a reasonable setup??

Thanks for the help!

P.S the band has quality gear..its just the PA that we need to sort out.
Click to expand...

Everything you have listed is bottom of the barrel. @15 PA cabs generally sound like crap unless you are willing to spend over $2000.00 for a pair of speakers. When my band is trying to cover 500 people we are using 4-6 subs and four 3-way tops.
 

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