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Is this a good PA for a solo act?


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Hi all. I'm building my first PA system for a solo piano / vocal act. I spent a while at the local music store yesterday, where the live sound guys recommended an A&H ZED 10fx mixer and a pair of either QSC K8 or EV ELV112P active speakers. I probably won't be playing anywhere bigger than a typical sit-down restaurant to start. Does that sound like a good setup for my needs? I'm not on a budget strictly speaking, but I'd like to keep it below $2000.

One of the sound guys said the K8 is on par sonically with the ELV112P despite being smaller. They weren't set up to do a proper A-B test (they're moving everything around), so I couldn't hear them side by side. Can anyone speak to whether that's true?

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I would wait for guys like Andy or Axis to answer, but my first gut level response is that this would be an absolutely amazing little system for a single acoustic act, either the EV's or the QSC's. My only concern might be that the keyboard has nice, fat lows and perhaps the K12 would be a better choice for the reproduction of the wider spectrum than would the K8?

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Is the piano going to go through the PA? Will it typically be a real piano, electric piano, or keyboards on a piano setting?
Not sure if that last question would really change my answer much.
My initial thought is use the K8 but also get a QSC subwoofer to go with it. If you can, AB with and without a sub and that might sell it to you. Depending on how wide a coverage you need and also it affects your budget I would get 1 speaker + 1 sub rather than 2 speakers and no sub. (2 speakers and 1 sub is what I would recommend if the budget allows.) Let your ears be the judge on that.

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It will be a stage piano plugged directly into the mixer.

I had a similar concern about the K8 being too small, especially with how much time I tend to spend in the low end of the keyboard. One of the sales guys was pushing more towards the ELV112P for what he said was better sounding vocals, which would put me up to 12" anyway.

Subwoofers were discussed with the sales guys. They didn't think I'd need one with either of those speakers, but I'll look into it further when I go back tomorrow.

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Love your mixer choice, and have one myself. ~$300.00
Microphone - EV ND767a - ~$120.00
Speaker - Yamaha DXR15 ~$800.00

Both the K8 and the ELX112p are going to lack on the bottom for your keys. A single DXR15 will easily put out as much sound (likely more) than a pair of K8's, or ELX112p's (same for the earlier mentioned RCF312a which is also a great speaker, but not enough bottom for your application).

You can audition all the speakers mentioned here (except the RCF) at your local guitar center. You might even be able to get them to pull a keyboard in for you to see first hand how the speaker performs.

I think you will be impressed.

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A music store where the dudes recommend decent gear?!?

Some might quibble over the exact choices, but a Zed mixer and K-series is a very solid system. And QSC has a truly badass warranty to boot. The Yamaha DXR, as suggested by OneEng, is a good choice as well. I'd personally recommend buying from that same store, from the same dudes. Reward good behavior, basically. Too many stores recommend all kinds of useless crap.

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K8s are amazing speakers for their size, but personally I'd play it safe and bump up to the K10 - which are only $50 apiece more and still weigh in at a very manageable 30 pounds each. I'm a keyboard player myself. Those are very nice keyboard speakers.

I have no experience with EV's Live X series but I believe that QSC's K series would be considered by most to be a step up from that.

Dissenters are welcome to disagree biggrin.gif

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I have Yorkville NX 550P (powered speakers - 12" woofers with a horn). They are probably "similiar" to the 12" powered EV speakers that you mentioned. Two of those - with a small mixer - would indeed be a nice set up for a solo artist - keyboards and vocals. It would be great. I also have one EV SAX 100 - which is a 12" + horn - powered speaker - and frankly - I do like the Yorkvilles "better" - but really - the EV is also "fine".

I will say that you will get "plenty" of "low end" out of a good quality powered 12" speaker. I would say that a Sub Woofer will not be required - and frankly I think the 12" will be better than a 15" - although - there are (of course) several very good powered 15" speakers.

Steve Robert

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Quote Originally Posted by ChiroVette

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I would wait for guys like Andy or Axis to answer, but my first gut level response is that this would be an absolutely amazing little system for a single acoustic act, either the EV's or the QSC's. My only concern might be that the keyboard has nice, fat lows and perhaps the K12 would be a better choice for the reproduction of the wider spectrum than would the K8?

 

The Guitar Centers out here all seem to be using the K10s for demos of pianos. They sound great with the real piano sounds.
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I thought the K10s did well when used with a keyboard and/or a guitar vocalist.

I would only suggest to think down the road. Are you going to use this stuff for a long time? Are you interested in using the gear outside of a solo act? Will (could) there come a point where you will need more channels on your mixer? Will you want direct outs for each channel at some point? Will you want more auxes? Just food for thought. The USB in/out on the zed series is great.

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Quote Originally Posted by mrcpro View Post
K8s are amazing speakers for their size, but personally I'd play it safe and bump up to the K10 - which are only $50 apiece more and still weigh in at a very manageable 30 pounds each. I'm a keyboard player myself. Those are very nice keyboard speakers.

I have no experience with EV's Live X series but I believe that QSC's K series would be considered by most to be a step up from that.

Dissenters are welcome to disagree biggrin.gif
Consider me a "dissenter". tongue.gifpoke.gif
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Besides dabbling in sound and playing in bands, I've also played for years as a solo guitarist and in a duo with a variety of keyboard players, I think you're headed ni the right direction PA wise. I would probably suggest bumping up a size to the K10's or similar but depending on make and model (and needs) 12"s might be okay as long as they weren't physically too big. Many of the places I play are hotel lounges, and the sight of larger speakers tends to make management and/or patrons think you're louder than you actually are.

As to bottom end - I've found that for lounge and restaurant piano or similar, big low end is not neccessary or even desirable. If and when it does become an issue, add a small sub like this one http://www.yorkville.com/products.as...cat=58&type=29

And I would suggest getting two smaller (10", or perhaps 12") powered speakers instead of one large one. It's nice to have the option of using two speakers when coverage becomes an issue, and it's nice to have redundancy in case a speaker goes down - and that has happened to me.

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I agree that getting two speakers is the way to go - just "sounds" "fuller" + of course - if one "goes down" for any reason - you still have the other.

And I agree that some powered 10" speakers could also work ( good ones ) - but I also agree that looking to the future - a 12" powered box is going to have LOTS more uses as a "utility cabinet" than a 10" would. If you get in other bands or whatever - there are tons of uses for a powered 12" cabinet (especially if you have two).

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I can speak on behalf of the LiveX cabs. The 12's make a great pair, I let an acoustic duet use mine several times and they love them. For the price (and if you can find a dealer who can get you a better price) they're a great value.

Both speakers have 2-channel inputs with level control, both have combo 1/4"+XLR inputs, both have tone control (boosted/flat/HPF on the EV's, flat/vocal boost/DEEP bass boost on the QSC's) the main difference in both is the price ($599 for the EV's vs $749 for the QSC K10) and the enclosure (ABS plastic in the QSC's vs wood for the EV's). The QSC's have a slight edge over the EV's volume wise, and have a very even sound to them, but the EV's will be plenty for standard solo/duet gigs. Definitely wouldn't hurt to go to a nearby store and demo both at the same time.

As others have said though, one thing to think about is, are these just going to be mains for a solo act, or are you eventually going to have a larger rig that these would fit in, or do you want them to do other things as well?

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Quote Originally Posted by BlueGreene

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I would only suggest to think down the road. Are you going to use this stuff for a long time? Are you interested in using the gear outside of a solo act? Will (could) there come a point where you will need more channels on your mixer? Will you want direct outs for each channel at some point? Will you want more auxes? Just food for thought. The USB in/out on the zed series is great.

 

I do plan on using whatever I buy for a long time. I tend to not replace hardware until it dies or is clearly no longer adequate for my needs. I'm not planning on anything bigger than an acoustic duo, and that's more of an "I could do that" than an "I want to do that". The 10fx should have enough channels for it.
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Quote Originally Posted by Craigv View Post
The Bose system will sneak in at that budget amount. There are plenty of detractors here, but this is exactly what the L1 was designed for.
As I said - there are a lot of good ways to do what you are talking about doing.

I have a firend who has the Bose System for a solo (guitar and vocal) gig - and he loves it (and indeed - it sounds good).
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Shaster hit on a lot of good points. Space in restaurants can be tight, and most of the time great volume/bass is not required. A system I would love to have myself for similar circumstances, would be two 8's (the K8, DSR 8's, the new Mackie DLM 8), augmented with a sub. I would venture to say that in many restaurants, you wouldn't even need the sub, and when you do, your two speakers on a stick are relatively small and can more easily be placed so you have good stereo for your own satisfaction. You'd need to have feedback resistant mics and work at optimal placement of the speakers, but what a pleasure, having stereo keyboard sound!

I know one guy who took a self-powered surround sound system, and rolled his own 4.1 setup. As an extension of the keyboard stand, he had a small stand for two small satellite speakers on each side: one on each side facing towards him, one facing out, and of course a sub at his feet.

The Bose system is pretty ideal in many ways- being inherently feedback resistant, you can easily use it for a monitor and pa, just place it behind you, and is well know for dispersing sound evenly through the room- it would have the smallest footprint and easiest setup, and of course it would be mono. I believe the Bose stick is best suited for guitarist/singer 'cause of the small woofer.

What stage piano are you playing?

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I use a Yamaha CP33.

Personally I've never been impressed with Bose equipment, although I've never encountered any of their PA hardware. The Bose systems I have heard have struck me as just adequate or a little better. While the light weight and simple setup of the L1 does appeal to me, it wouldn't be as flexible as standalone speakers.

I'll probably not worry about a subwoofer initially and add one later if the need is there.

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Don't compare Bose's consumer electronics with the L1. The L1 is well-made and feels robust. I know of one guy who had a failure and a warranty repair, and was satisfied with how it was handled.

I'm not sure what you need to do with the speakers that would render standalone speakers more flexible than the L1. Some details might help in this regard.

A bass module would definitely be needed. I'd give it a road test, and if it's not what you need, then any powered sub would work, and the system is designed to accomodate them.

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