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Weekend warrior PA set up thread.. what are you using?

NickFromNY

NickFromNY

Nov 2, 2010
1,903
2,244
Long Island, NY
#1
Ideally we'd all have gigs where there would be a quality sound engineer running the board for you. When that's not possible, however, what is everyone using for sound? I am back playing in a band for the first time in a while and trying out a few things to see what is going to work. I usually play solo acoustic and my PA for that is very simple. I am open to ideas and discussion about what you band guys are using. I've been trying some of the Ipad controlled stuff with mixed results. Not here to re-hash digital vs analog, etc..

I am talking your own PA, running your own sound from the stage. Generally, are you playing bars? Outdoors? What is your set up? What mixer and speakers? What are you mic'ing? How many monitor mixes are you running?

Still searching for the right mixer, but I have the following speakers:
2- Yamaha DXR 12s
2- Yamaha DXR 10s
1- EV 12" sub
1- Behringer 12" sub
2- EV Evolve 50s ( I use these more for my solo stuff)

for my 4 piece band, I mic 3 vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass DI, Kick and snare. We try to keep stage volume down. Lead guitarist mostly plays a mic'd Princeton Reverb. Bassist uses a Rumble 500 combo.
 
#2
My PA is unsophisticated. I'm using two Yamaha S115V 500 watt PA speakers (with the subs on them), running out of a Yamaha EMX 5014C powered mixer.

It's my home music room setup, but we've used it at a few small venues and outdoors at small gigs. When with the band usually I have a single mic for the drums (to give some presence in the mix), and then everybody else uses small amps as monitors and send their line out to the mixer, of it no line out we mic them with SM57s. When we've used it in a small room (like 50 ish people intimate venues) everybody is just DI into the mixer. It's actually surprisingly loud, and very clear sounding.
 
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#3
QSC powered K12s on top
QSC powered 18 subs on bottom.
Midas M18 Air mixer run from an iPad.
Three trees of Chauvet LED lights with an adapter that allows me to run lights from an iPad as well.

We're all in-ears for monitors (finally).

It all fits in the camper shell of my full-sized truck with my bass rig and basses as well. It takes about thirty minutes to be ready for sound check once I flip the tailgate down if we're going at it. It sounds fantastic and takes up virtually no space on stage. Couldn't be happier.
 
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#4
Been through a few different PA configurations but currently running for my three piece band
-Behringer XR18 and 2 Ipads
-2 PV 18 subs
-2 PV 15+horns on poles out of the subs
-Power Amps (just fixed) PV IPR 7500 and a PV IPR 5000
-Behringer stereo 30 band EQ and a PV stereo 30 band (not really needed anymore, but have in the rack to tweek mains and monitors)
- Sure SM58's for three vocal mics (and a few back ups)
- Samson Full drum kit mic set for 5 piece. We mic all the kit
- SM57 on the guitar cab (Marshall 4 12 cause he likes the look (and back up mics in the case)
- 2 sennheiser OH mics (don't remember the model) for larger shows
- DI out of Ampeg head for Bass (depending on size of gig for what amp I bring)
- Back up DI boxes
- Yamaha DTMX12 drum pad into board
- 3 EV ZLX 15 powered for monitors
- 1 Alto Pro 10 powered for monitor (drummer uses for smaller shows)

We play Bars, Outdoors, Corporate shows (usually hotel conference rooms etc) and weddings

The system I have built works very well for us and most clubs we play do not have PA or the PA is so bad I prefer to use my own. Sure, it may be overkill for smaller bars, but we know volume control very well and have lots of repeat bookings because of how we mix and balance the sound in rooms. My drummer is not a loud drummer in this band and my guitarist doesn't need to blast his amp either. In addition, having more is better when you do have larger shows or outdoor shows. If I was updating the system, I would for sure go to powered subs/mains, but everything I have works so not spending more money right now (was able to get my power amps fixed cheaply, if it had not been for that I would have replaced the mains)

It is worth noting that I have used this set up for some through together 4 piece bands I have done because I have the extra mics and monitors and will soon be renting the system (and myself) to some friend's kids band as they have some shows coming up with no PA support so that will be me and my system.

This system works very well for me at least. Also worth noting, nobody messes with their volumes during performance. The guitarist has all his levels balanced based on his effects he is using and solo boost etc, and if I change basses, for some songs, they are also volume balanced. When we have done the four piece thing, it is the same. We very rarely have to adjust sound once we have completed a sound check and the only time we do is when a trusted friend that is their tells us something is off (usually the guitarists vocal mic is not loud enough, he tries to hide.....LOL).

Best of luck in your system design and search for what works for you.
 
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#5
We generally play bars/small outdoor shows. Both guitar and bass are direct to the board (I run an Olympic MkIIIs at the end of my chain to send to the mains, guitarist runs an older analog rackmount from the 90s that he really likes, I forget the name). We mic the drums, but generally don't send anything besides the kick to the mains. Mics for the band are whatever they prefer. Currently, I'm using an Audix and others are using SM58s.

2 QSC K10.2s for tops
1 QSC KSub (one of the older ones with 2 12s in it)
XR18 into IEM boxes, so no monitors (run with a Galaxy Tab)
2 Chauvet WashFX (turned way down)
2 Chauvet 4-Bars (for spotlights on band members and colored emphasis lighting)
One of the Obey (40 or 70) boards to run the lights (with a FCB1010 to change them)

It all fits into my Scion xB to take to gigs and stays plenty loud for the locations we play. I have also used this setup to run sound for other local bands with no problems. Most of the outdoor shows in the area are covered by a local sound company who do a pretty good job with everything, so I really only need enough equipment to run the indoor shows and the small outdoor (back of bar, etc) types of sound.
 
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#6
i quit using powered cabs and went back to passive options to increase my version of "modularity" --- every venue requires something different in my world, and sometimes i just need to bring a mixer (Ui24R) to use house systems. also, my gear is used/rented by several bands playing disparate venues so versatility is always cool.

my smallest might be a couple of 10" full range cabs on sticks with an 18" sub (or two), and my largest is a stereo/4-way system (~10k-12k watts, up to four subs). most of the cabs are DIY. monitors vary: wedges and/or IEMs. lights: typically, 4 LEDs per bar, 2-4 bars.
 
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#8
I'm in a 4 piece band, singer, 1 bass, 1 guitar and drums. My current setup is as follows.
Mains - 2 Yamaha DSR112
Guitar and Vocal Monitors - 2 Yamaha DBR112
Drum Monitor - Harbinger Vari 2315
My monitor is a Behringer P2 IEM
All ran through a Behringer XR18 with an external router. One old laptop hardwired and a couple Kindle Fire tablets for wireless.

Lights are 2 Chauvet Wash FX 2 mounted on top of the mains operated by the Chauvet IRC-6 remote. They are super bright and turned way down. Best bang for your buck for stage light and transport in my opinion.

Vocal mics are SM58 and Senn e935. Kick is mic'd with Beta 52a for my in ear mix only.

Guitar player uses a Line 6 Pod Go directly into the PA and I am using a Rumble 500 to amplify my bass. I will be picking up a Yamaha DXS18XLF powered sub in the near future so we can DI my bass and mic the drums for a better overall mix. This should also allow us to play at most local outdoor beer gardens etc. in my neck of the woods.

Eventually I would like to ditch the floor monitors (minus the singer probably) and have the band go all IEM for the sake of lower stage volume, less vocal mic feedback issues and easier transport/pack in/out.

EDIT - I will add that I love loud music but most bands I listen to around here are way too loud for the venue. I would not recommend running sound from the stage. We don't make enough to hire a sound guy but we do use a friend to monitor sound from the bar to help us ensure the mix and volume is sufficient.
 
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#10
NickFromNY said:
there is a lot of love for the Behringer XR18. I have one and have really never done a deep dive on how to use it. and have had issues. Must be operator error. Going to give it another go this weekend.
Click to expand...

The built-in wireless router is unreliable. If you are not using an external router you will need to get one. A $50 dual band router is all you need...nothing fancy. TB member @s0c9 has published a document on setting up the XR18 that is very helpful. Also check out Alan Hamilton's You Tube channel. He has a bunch of very helpful videos on how to set it up and run the XR18. It's helped me tremendously.
 
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#11
We play pretty quietly, blues and roots mostly. I have a Yamaha EMX312SC powered mixer and a pair of Peavey 12s on sticks. The only mics we use are for vocals(4) and occasionally one in the kick drum. Recently we’ve been using the Yamaha to feed a fancy Bose L11?. We set it behind and beside the drums. It sounds great and we can’t seem to get it to feed back at all. We can handle a fairly large bar or brewery without micing the amps.
image.jpg
16EBDABA-11FC-4994-856A-1FFA274E3560.jpeg
 
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#12
DJWhitJr said:
The built-in wireless router is unreliable. If you are not using an external router you will need to get one. A $50 dual band router is all you need...nothing fancy. TB member @s0c9 has published a document on setting up the XR18 that is very helpful. Also check out Alan Hamilton's You Tube channel. He has a bunch of very helpful videos on how to set it up and run the XR18. It's helped me tremendously.
Click to expand...

I could not agree with DJWhitJr more. Plus s0c9's document is fantastic.
 
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#13
My band (quintet) is using QSC digital mixer, 2 powered QSC 12s and an older jbl powered sub. We’re not going to fill up an arena with this set up, but it has quite a bit of power for its size. Most of this belonged to our newish lead singer already. We did trade in his 8 channel QSC for a 16 channel. I’m not personally running it, but I’m very impressed. It’s very easy to use. It’s very versatile and initially sets up with setting suggestions for whatever you’re running in each channel. Mixer for dummies, but can be endlessly tweaked for the more experienced. QSC stuff is expensive, but worth it in my limited experience.
 
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#16
Last PA where I was owner/operator

5 peice country/rock cover band playing at least twice a month in bar type venues…say 50 to 100 seaters. A couple of county fair type gigs in the summer and the odd special event (wedding, barn dance etc).

Mackie DL1608
2x EV ZLX 15P
ART headphone amp (to wired IEM)
16 channel snake
Bunch o’ mics
And a lighting system

Supplement with rented subs for the fair/outdoor/barn gigs.
 
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#17
Bass, Drums and Guitar with Female Lead singer. TurboSound powered subs and powered full range cabs. Digital 16 channel mixer, we all use IEM's. Chauvet lighting. Takes about 30-40 minutes to set up, another 10 to soundcheck, good to go.
 
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#18
5-piece rock covers: 1x lead vox, 1x keys/sax/vox, 1x gitfiddle, 1x bass/vox, 1x drums/vox. We play 3-4 bar gigs per month and the occasional private gig.

Fully DI/IEM setup
Behringer x32, using all 16 inputs
2x Whirlwind 12/4 snakes
Each side: 2x QSC K12s mains pole-mounted over 2x KW181 subs

Behringer P1 wired ears (until we go wireless)

Loadout takes about 30 minutes from a routine bar gig
 
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