Portable & Compact PA - Vocals only : suggest please

[hsp-sandiego]

Need advice as to how small we could go for doing small room gigs from bar to ferry boats, etc... Vocals only. 4 piece group playing smooth jazz to disco funk. drummer on light sticks - Would one of the small Mackie 150w SRM's do it? vocals only. We would do two mics with guitar player and myself sharing one.

Any insight here appreciated. thank you,

link to the Mackie

 

[fclefgeoff]

Are you looking for FOH & monitors? Since you don't seem to have budget constraints, I'd go with Electro Voice ZLX series. I've been using them as mains & monitors and they sound great. Lightweight & pretty amazing for the price. The powered 12" version are only $150 more than the Mackie you linked to.

 

[modulusman]

I would get something like this.Yamaha STAGEPAS 400I 400W Portable PA System | Musician's Friend or else the Yamaha stagepas 600i. One of the bands I play with has the older 500 series which is OK but the newer 400 and 600 has a lot of improvements.

 

[hsp-sandiego]

Are you looking for FOH & monitors? Since you don't seem to have budget constraints, I'd go with Electro Voice ZLX series. I've been using them as mains & monitors and they sound great. Lightweight & pretty amazing for the price. The powered 12" version are only $150 more than the Mackie you linked to.

Cool, thanks. I am thinking a powered speaker, although would love to have a 2 or 3 channel mixer built in. Group I use to play with, we had a pair of JBL eons'... one would have been enough.

 

[hsp-sandiego]

I would get something like this.Yamaha STAGEPAS 400I 400W Portable PA System | Musician's Friend or else the Yamaha stagepas 600i. One of the bands I play with has the older 500 series which is OK but the newer 400 and 600 has a lot of improvements.

thanks. too expensive... I am most likely going to have to purchase solely. just need one main. thank you.

 

[Bufalo]

I wouldn't trust the SRM150 to cut it with an audience. It's probably great for an office meeting room or lecturn - a situation with spoken word in a quiet environment, but in a venue like a ferry or a bar with a lot of extraneous noise, you'll probably be searching for more.

How about this Yamaha or these larger Mackies:
Yamaha DBR10 10" Active Speaker | Sweetwater.com
Mackie SRM350v3 | Sweetwater.com
Mackie Thump12 | Sweetwater.com

All would outperform the SRM150 in the scenarios you're describing, and the DBR10 and SRM350 have built-in 2-channel mixers and some processing. The EV ZLX12P mentioned above would be right in line with these, as well.

 

[Fishyfishfish]

We went with a set of JBL Eons
For FOH, two for monitors. If you
Have the cash and want really small
QSC has some smaller.

 

[hsp-sandiego]

The Mackie Thump looks great for $299 shipped... may just order one. one will be plenty. Group is played with years ago "Sweet Deal" - we bought two JBL EON 12's pretty good. Honestly, one would have been plenty - vocals only and between sets music. Larger Venues all have full PA support. *Our singer sings at a restaurant with a pianist. They use the little Mackie SRM150 for their vocal main. sounds great and fill the room surprisingly well. Piano is a baby grand.

 

[elgecko]

How bout Carvin PMs? $259 for the 10" and you can pick it up (if your username is accurate).

PM Series Active & Passive Lightweight Molded Speakers – Carvin Audio

 

[hsp-sandiego]

Good Point. I have been to the Carvin outlet several times. Bought my BX500 head there when it first came out. They have good deals on cables and such as well. Probably will go for the 12" The Mackie says 800w RMS where the Carvin is 400w same price. Carvins spec may be more realistic. 29lbs is nice. thanks

 

[bebass]

Are you looking for FOH & monitors? Since you don't seem to have budget constraints, I'd go with Electro Voice ZLX series. I've been using them as mains & monitors and they sound great. Lightweight & pretty amazing for the price. The powered 12" version are only $150 more than the Mackie you linked to.

These are a good suggestion. Better IMO than the Mackies and good warranty support..

 

[4Mal]

I had reliability issues with thumps. I suggest ponying up for a single QSC K10 and a small mixer. Sound quality is great. Reliability is proven. 6 year warranty if you buy new. Put it on a stand behind you. No need for a monitor a lot of the time. My band does regular restaurant and lounge work all winter, we use K12 behind us and a single K10 on the floor for our kbd playing diva. We're all in the pa and for me it's like wearing half of a really big set of headphones.
I love that thing in my ear...

 

[cultrvultr]

The Mackie Thump sounds terrible. Really enjoying the Alto 10" speakers for a small PA. One is good for vocals, 2 is good for a full band setup similar to how you described. Not a ton of low end, but they are light and have a much nicer tone than the Thumps.

 

[hsp-sandiego]

Thanks for the reply. I actually purchased a Alto 12. with stand, one monster TRS-XLR 25ft. out the door from GC for $300. Mixer is a Behringer 1202FX. 4 XLR ins. compact and light. thanks,