carvin xp800l PM12

[eyesore]

hey ;i played farmers mkt today with my acoustic amp and guitar and vocals.they said it was good but couldnt hear in the back.wanna make the purchase of this PA;it's just me! maybe occasional guest to play .all i'll use it for is ...nothing serious.about $700.???

[eyesore]

no one?.....any small PA ideas?

[Dingoist]

Try to get the acoustic amp higher, if indoors use a tilted amp stand. People can't hear via their knees, especially at the back.

 

Even if you go the pa (mixer, speaker) route then still get a speaker stand. For $700 you should be able to get together something not too shabby. There's a couple different threads here about small pa stuff.

[Miko Man]

I agree that a tripod type speaker stand to raise a 12" two-way speaker above head height will (generally) allow folks further away to hear you, given the same spl at the speaker.

 

I personally like the ability of some speakers (and some stands) to have a "down angle." You need to get the speaker higher in the air with a tilted speaker, but the sonic energy from the speaker is better aimed at the listeners. (Less loss of the sound energy traveling up. Do a simple drawing of 50 degrees of vertical pattern at level, versus 10 degrees down, but higher up.)

 

Some speakers have dual pole sockets; there are also brackets that let you angle the speaker (up or down) on the tripod stand. (Be carefull of the shift of the speaker's center of gravity when using tilt adapters, however.)

 

The powered speaker, passive mixer vs passive speaker debate is another topic, however. There is no single correct answer; but remember the advice: Buy once, cry once. Don't just buy based on how little it costs now; think about all the gigs you expect to do in the next five years. YMMV. Mark C.

[daddymack]

I agree that the positioning of the speakers is crucial, the amp should be elevated and tilted, either on a stand, or even a chair, to get maximum sound dispersion. Also note that the PA from Carvin does not come with pole stands, so there is another cash layout required.

[Terry Allan Hall]

no one?.....any small PA ideas?

 

The Carvin xp800l PM12 is a nice little rig for restaurant, farmer's markets, private party gigs for solo/duos.

 

Have used Carvin PA gear for many years...decent sounding, dependable quality, excellent value...but it doesn't appeal to "gear snobs", and they tend to dog Carvin users, so you're officially warned! Currently gigging w/ the recently discontinued Carvin PA1200 (replaced by the RX1200L) and a pair of LM12s (same as the PM12s, really)...

 

The advice to get stands is worth listening to, btw...and the little angle doohickeys is very handy, as well (can't recall who sells those, but, hopefully, someone else here does).

[tlbonehead]

no one?.....any small PA ideas?

sure, tons of them. Including a powered speaker or 2 and a small mixer.

[Terry Allan Hall]

This is my Farmer's Market (and other low volume gig) set-up:

 

 

Crate Limo 50, on a tripod stand...my bassist friend, John, is also plugged into a Limo 50, although one of the older models, there on the ground.

 

The folks who hire us to play there tell me it produces the perfect amouint of volume, as it doesn't get loud enough to interfere w/ sales, yet is loud enough for patrons to enough the music.