Help picking a Sub! Aged Horse, and other sound pro's chime in!

[atrain]

I've allways received great advise hear so I thought I'd ask you guys to see what you think I should get. I play in a four piece rock band and in most of the larger venues we play there is PA already in place but we do play smaller venues (50-100 capacity 125 tops) that have no PA at all so we need to put together a small PA for these venues. What we have currently are 2 Yamaha 115 clubs for tops, two Yamaha 115 monitors, a 16 ch Mackie board, a 31 band EQ, a DBX compressor, a DBX crossover, 1 Samason sx1200 for monitors and mains and one Crown XTI2000 for subs that we got for subs. I've got several options here, I can pick up a pair of SW118 club series subs for $400 total or I can pick up 1 JBL MPro 418s for $340. Now I'm not expecting chest crushing bass with either of these and trying to be realistic about what to expect, I'm just wanting a decent thump and full low end. So given these two options which Sub (the two sw118's or the one mpro418) would give us better coverage and response? I've also considered skipping one these and getting one LS608 but it's not an option to get just yet cash wise and we have a need for the subs now.

[Axisplayer]

You can get a used LS808 for near that kind of money. Neither sub you mention will do it right. The Yammies are solid but anemic. The MPro is a good sub, but alone won;t do a 125 person room justice. You have not found the right choice yet. Keep looking at your Craigslist locally until you find the right sub.

 

Old sound maxim: The wrong piece of gear at the right price is still the wrong piece of gear.

[abzurd]

The Club subs aren't my favorite, but if your Club mains are in good shape and you intend on keeping them, I'd go with the Club subs, provided they are in good shape and haven't had the snot run out of them. Those boxes can develop rattles, especially if they've been ridden hard so have them fired up and listen for rattles. Also, take a flashlight and examine the paper for tears, especially around the outside edge as well as discoloration from things being spilled or splashed on them.

[atrain]

Thanks guys. I have been actively looking on Craigslist specifically for a Yorkie and did get an offer for 1 new for $600 but these two deals just came up so I'd thought I'd seek out the knowledge of those much wiser in pro audio than myself. The club series tops that we have are in great shape and considering that we don't plan on using them too often( As I stated before most places that we play have a PA)I really don't want to replace them so it's really only the need for a sub that I'm trying to take care of. I did have an option to pick up a pair of older Yorville e215's and wonderd if I did that would I even need subs at all for the smaller venues.

[Unalaska]

To me the output of the yamaha subs and the jbl mp418s are equal. Getting one would mean 1/2 volume overall. The yamaha is a large box for its output, the jbl is smaller i thing sounds the same. I'd prefer 2 JBLs because of size and, well, size. I'm not thrilled by either box's performance but we are talking MI grade sub here,

 

Fwiw I have 2 jbl mrx518s and though the size is nice the output is similar to the yamaha. The weight is a lot less though and they well as speaker stands.

[atrain]

Thanks for all of your advise. So I'm going to pass on both those subs. I do have the option to pick up 2 older Yorkville e215's. They're double 15's so I wondered if they would eliminate the need for a sub at all. Or do I pass on that as well and just get 1 Yorkville LS608?

[witesol]

Any of those subs mentioned would do well, considering your top cabinets and size venues. Powered right and tuned in they'd be fine and do what you need. I've had many years experience with yamaha subs with those same tops. The "V" series is a little better . Peavey has some decent low cost subs too.