I'm saving up for a pa, what are some good brands. Peaveys obvious but I need a deal.
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What do you think about phonic.
- Thread starter Two-Spirit
- Start date
If you think Peavey is a high end PA brand, you haven't done much research yet. Look into Mackie, Soundcraft, Allen & Heath, and Yamaha.
Budget? I've been putting together a relatively inexpensive and IMO reasonably easy-to-schlep PA over the past year and a half or so, taking my time and finding quality older but still great quality stuff that's going to do the job and sound good. Got two JBL JRX 100 (115 & horn, passive) $300 for the pair, recently added a second JBL JRX118SP, $300 x 2, 500 watt powered subs. 800 watts x 2 stereo 20 channel etc Behringer PMP6000 lightly used for $350. With cords and a padded Gator bag for the board I've got $1500 In a system that will cover pretty much anything other than a big outdoor gig. Older generation stuff but sound wise you likely wouldn't know the difference. Yeah it's not digital, wireless mixing blah blah. But it sounds damn good, is reasonably quick to set up, and I won't lose much in resale when the day comes.
Don't discount the Behringer stuff, they make some good functional gear at a reasonable price point.
Don't discount the Behringer stuff, they make some good functional gear at a reasonable price point.
I can't agree with you on Behringer; my experience with their more recent gear is actually excellent. Sure, they cut some corners compared to the "traditional" high-end manufacturers, but IMHO Behringer provide great value for your money.
There is actually a lot of "common/budget" gear on the market today that is actually quite serviceable, decent quality gear. No it's not high end, boutique, latest tech stuff but it works well, sounds good, and with a bit of care most of it holds up. Actually later issue Behringer stuff is pretty good quality at its price point. Another "higher end"company (name escapes me right now, anyone else know?) bought Behringer a couple of years ago and their more recent stuff is really quite good because of their input to the products, again especially considering the price point.
Don't let the gear snobs brainwash you. Sure, you "get what you pay for" generally speaking. If I'm playing bars, parties etc using used older generation or newer lower price point gear, who the hell in the audience can tell the difference (other than perhaps the one table of "musicians" in the back looking for something to criticize anyway). If I'm touring, making a living with my gear then damn right I'll get the best gear I can possibly afford. I played every weekend for years using a Peavey PA and bass amp. Never a breakdown, never a comment about how "cheap" my gear was, never a complaint about sound quality etc. Interestingly a lot of the Peavey gear from those days (80's - 90's) is now sought after because it's so bullet proof and because of the sound quality. Go figure...
I bought a good condition, used, older generation 3-way JBL PA speaker system for $900. Comparable stuff new would be what, $2500 - 3000? Would a brand new latest version JBL speaker system sound $1600 - 2000 better? Actually I've also gigged with a latest model JBL speaker system and no, it doesn't sound better. Damn few here have the ears to tell any difference, whether they want to believe they do or not.
Don't let the gear snobs brainwash you. Sure, you "get what you pay for" generally speaking. If I'm playing bars, parties etc using used older generation or newer lower price point gear, who the hell in the audience can tell the difference (other than perhaps the one table of "musicians" in the back looking for something to criticize anyway). If I'm touring, making a living with my gear then damn right I'll get the best gear I can possibly afford. I played every weekend for years using a Peavey PA and bass amp. Never a breakdown, never a comment about how "cheap" my gear was, never a complaint about sound quality etc. Interestingly a lot of the Peavey gear from those days (80's - 90's) is now sought after because it's so bullet proof and because of the sound quality. Go figure...
I bought a good condition, used, older generation 3-way JBL PA speaker system for $900. Comparable stuff new would be what, $2500 - 3000? Would a brand new latest version JBL speaker system sound $1600 - 2000 better? Actually I've also gigged with a latest model JBL speaker system and no, it doesn't sound better. Damn few here have the ears to tell any difference, whether they want to believe they do or not.
I think it was TC Electronic that bought them. I didn't make the connection, I was thinking of their pedals not PA. Thanks for reminding me.
I think you got that backwards; it was Behringer (or rather the mother company MUSIC Group) that bought Midas, the high-end mixer builder. This cooperation led to the X32 and many other successful digital products.
But I agree with the conclusion, don't count Behringer out if you need some serious stuff at an affordable price.
TC is part of the MUSIC Group (aka Behringer mothership). You'll find all the Behringer brands at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] .
s0c9
Supporting Member
IME - Phonic ranks up there with Nady and Samson.
Buy once, cry once.
SAve up for gear that will perform and last !!
Buy once, cry once.
SAve up for gear that will perform and last !!
I've used a Behringer 2442FX for several years now on party and club gigs. It is lightly built, it has wobbly faders, but it still works. I carry it in a flat plastic tub filled with carefully cut pieces of foam that surround it. It rides to gigs in my front seat. So it will last, but only because I babied it.
Used Allen & Heath MixWizards are the best deal - they will last for years and years. The new active PA speakers from Electro-Voice are great deals used. Check Musician's Friend used gear for EV ZLX series. I actually like the ZLX12s over the 15s, their vocals sound really good. Best of all MF will give you a refund if you decide you don't like them (but I bet you will).
Used Allen & Heath MixWizards are the best deal - they will last for years and years. The new active PA speakers from Electro-Voice are great deals used. Check Musician's Friend used gear for EV ZLX series. I actually like the ZLX12s over the 15s, their vocals sound really good. Best of all MF will give you a refund if you decide you don't like them (but I bet you will).
Your best bet is to cobble together a rig with decent used components. You're near Houston so I'd imagine the second-hand market would have something to offer. Everybody wants digital this and powered that so the older-technology gear is going for next-to-nothing. A fellow TBer mentioned the A&H MixWiz board...I use a Soundcraft Spirit...which would be perfectly serviceable and cheap. Same holds true for passive enclosures, power amps, and peripherals. Heck, I've got an FX processor I'll send you for nuthin'! Throw everything in a rolling rack box, read the manuals, and you'll be good to go.
Riis
I bought a Phonic SonicStation32 a few years back and although it was not one of the "Names" It was great. Low noise floor, Direct outs on everything. Built in effects were very transparent. I have gone digital but still have it in the road case in case I need it.
You won't find a ryder on the planet that ok's them, but I had good results. YMMV..
Slightly OT, but
Mackie and Yamaha PA's are pro-sumer, at most. I'll exclude Soundcraft and A&H because they mostly manufacture mixing desks.
PA-wise, "high end" would be d&b Audiotechnik, L'Acoustic, Nexo, EAW, Meyer Sound etc...
Mixing desks' "high end" would be DiGiCo, Avid, etc... Plus, of course, the higher end models from Yamaha, Soundcraft and A&H.
To the OP,
I recommend you look into Yamaha. Well-made, nice sound and good reliability. Very good bang-for-buck.
A Behringer X32 is an amazing desk for it's price, but really has to be handled extremely carefully. It is fragile.
I'd be interested to know where you get this overly-generalized factoid? Personally I have two (a rack and a compact) that have been in my trailer/truck for the last 5 years with no issues. Yes, they're in road cases. Sure, if you don't bother with a case and toss it around like a six-pack, you're going to have issues but there's exactly zero evidence that an x32 is any more failure-prone than any other piece of audio equipment.
Not trying to be too much of a hard-@ass, but the x32 pretty much re-defined the entire market for lower end digital mixers. There's literally hundreds of thousands of them in use around the world and at no point in it's lifetime has there really been any indication of any lingering quality/production issues in that product line. Nearly every other manufacturer has had to change product strategies over the last five years simply because the x32 was executed so well at it's price point. So "fragile" to me sounds like a load of...well....ya know.....
I've come across 40+ individual X32's in the past 5 years or so, while on tour with differing bands, and there has been one (!) that had fully functioning rotary pots. A few of them had one malfunctioning (clunky, unreliable operation) rotary knob. It was usually the one that gets used the most, like a knob designated to "% of delay feedback" or similar. Most of them had 3+ malfunctioning rotaries. One of them had had a pair of headphones fall on it (from an adjacent rack, less than 2ft fall), and the impact had taken down *the whole row of rotary knobs next to the screen*, so none of them were operable.
Some of them also had a fader or two going south. Still working, but feeling scratchy, and in need of changing. I know, all desks will eventually need their faders replaced, so I'll chalk this up to dust.
Most of these X32's were house desks, installed and never moved. The ones that were taken around obviously lived in sturdy flight-cases.
Now, Midas M32 is basically the same desk. Yes, there are some differences, but the software is the same. The biggest and most important difference, IMHO, is the sturdier knobs and faders. Almost worth the double-price to me.
You can congratulate yourself for taking good care of your stuff. You might also be somewhat lucky. To me, calling them "fragile" still fits.
That said, I still consider X32 to be a great desk, especially at it's price point, and would have no problems doing a show on one. I just hope to find a healthy one.
i have no experience with phonic, but the rigs i just looked up online look a lot like many of the 'speakers on sticks' systems i see out there which are so useful. so a phonic system which enables you to play to the room/volume you need might very well do the trick! you might also look at some of the seismic audio stuff: Seismic Audio: Pro Audio Speaker Equipment - PA Speakers | DJ Gear
good luck on your PA quest!
We recently bought a new PA, a Soundcraft Sinature analog board and Yamaha DBR powered speakers. Very happy with it all for a reasonable price.
