Members groove.77 Posted July 30, 2003 Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 Hey guys - I'm writing to ask about the plausibility of hiring myself out to run sound for small acoustic gigs and small band gigs with my sound system. I'm thinking it could work; my system is nowhere near the quality of bigger rigs, but for coffeehousechurch gigs it'd do the job right. What do you think, am I full of it? What kind of rates should I charge? -Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theelmsrock Posted July 30, 2003 Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 No, you're not full of it; it could be done. Large bands with money want to hire a person with a big system to play big places. Small bands with not much money would be willing to hire a person with a small system to play small places... As far as rates, what is your current setup? Give a rundown of the gear in your rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dirtyragamuffin Posted July 30, 2003 Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 Why not, I do it! Great to make a little on the side for those who need a simple PA and don't have the cahs or need for a professional contractor. I've made anywhere from $20 to $150...just depends on the circumstances and how good a friend of mine they are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groove.77 Posted July 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 Ok, here's a rundown of my gear. Mains: 2x JBL SF15Power ampmixer: Behringer PMX2000 (I have a Microtech 1200 that isn't working)Monitors: 2x Community MVP28 Mics: 1x Beta 58 2x SM57 3x Samson S11 dynamics Small, but effective - although it could REALLY use a couple subs. Maybe if I get any nibbles on this I'll go ahead and order a couple with the hopes I'll get some return from this project. I also had the idea to do live multitrack recording - I have a Yamaha AW16G - I can just get an XLR splitter to send to both FOH and to the recording. Maybe put something like this in the paper: Sound reinforcement system and sound engineer available for smaller venue band performances, solo acoustic sessions, and church functions. Also available: live multitrack recording. Call (605)-xxx-xxxx for information regarding rates, equipment or general questions. Or, send an e-mail to x@x.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashivraj Posted July 30, 2003 Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 here's some equipment ideas that would do you good. not all necessary, but all useful eventually. in decreasing order of urgency, as i see it. DI box(es) - for acoustic guitar, bass, keys?an overhead (or pair thereof) - for ambience, or to capture stuff that isnt micedmonitor amp - i dunno about the setup of the PMX2000, but i should think you'd have more headroom (in both mons AND FOH) with a separate monitor amp.a kick mic - self explanatory. especially for recording purposes. i realize you're strapped for cash; and, as i said, none of this is terribly essential at the moment, but worth considering as you go along. just my tupenny worth AS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 30, 2003 Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 It's pretty tough to make enough money doing small gigs to justify any additional investment in gear that would probably be required, but you would need to make that investment to get the gigs. If you would do a gig for $50.00 including gear and transportation, how much are you really making? You could easily make $50/day flipping burgers without the risk or investment, and that would be at minimum wage. This is a good question to ask AND scenarios to work out BEFORE buying gear or getting yourself into a situation that may not be in your best interest. It may sound better than it really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted July 30, 2003 Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 You probably have enough stuff to do a small acoustic gig or a folk/roots band type thing. The problem is that from what I've seen,almost everyone has this kind of smaller equipment. And a lot of these types of gigs don't pay much to begin with. If an acoustic duo or trio is playing for tips somewhere,how much will they be willing to pay out of their own pocket? When I do an acoustic duo thing,we usually get $225-250 for the gig. I guess the thing is,if you can find some beginners bands that are satisfied with that small of setup,see what they will pay? Personally,I will do sound on an off night for $100-150 (no lights)and that will get you about 8000 watts of mains and four decent quality monitors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groove.77 Posted July 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 I forgot to mention my three DI boxes - and I think I have just enoguh money to buy a kick mic. I'm running FOH mono and Mons. mono - just taking FOH off of one side of the Behringer amp and the Monitors off the other side. I need to get my Crown fixed. My dad also has some QSC power amp that I'm lobbying for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groove.77 Posted July 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 tlbonehead - small bands playing garages are in abundance in Sioux City and Vermillion, and they either have enough money to hire a pro system, or they buy two Kustom 1-10s and a powered mixer. There's definately a niche for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groove.77 Posted July 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 agedhorse - school is starting soon and I can't get a job because they're not hiring. I'm not going to make any equipment purchases just yet; I want to see if there are going to be any nibbles on my ad in the paper. If there are, and necessity requires it, (as it being a full band in a small bar or something instead of an acoustic duo), then I'll go ahead and pick up a kick mic and a pair of overheads, like AS said. I figured out that I could just input everything into the Yamaha DAW, then take the L+R outs and go into the power amp inputs of the powered mixer. That way I could mix with real faders and only have to concentrate on one unit during the gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 30, 2003 Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 It's pretty tough to mix live on a DAW. It's like driving a shopping cart at 100 MPH and hoping to control it. I don't know your area, but if all the bands can afford is a couple of Kustom cabinets, I wouldn't expect that they could afford to pay you any more than gas money to do sound with not much better equipment. Think about it from their perspective. Try the ad and gauge the response... maybe there's a need that we've all missed. Time will tell you... and you certainly won't know without trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groove.77 Posted July 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 What I meant, Andy, was that those are the extremes of the spectrum. There are several bands that can afford to hire sound out of Omaha or Minneapolis, and there are a lot of bands with kustom systems. However, there are MANY bands that don't want to do either option. There's a couple guys in Sioux City that bring in a small system similar to mine (powered mixer, two mains, two subs, two monitors), but I can charge less than they can (they charge $300 a night). I really think it can be done - at least I hope so:D. As a somewhat related topic, what do you guys think of the JBL soundfactor powered subwoofers? I think it'd be easier to buy powered subs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 30, 2003 Members Share Posted July 30, 2003 Definately give it a try, and keep us posted. The SF powered subs are great for a gig that doesn't pay much... but so is Behringer etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted July 31, 2003 Members Share Posted July 31, 2003 Originally posted by SoundtechSD What I meant, Andy, was that those are the extremes of the spectrum. There are several bands that can afford to hire sound out of Omaha or Minneapolis, and there are a lot of bands with kustom systems. However, there are MANY bands that don't want to do either option. There's a couple guys in Sioux City that bring in a small system similar to mine (powered mixer, two mains, two subs, two monitors), but I can charge less than they can (they charge $300 a night). I really think it can be done - at least I hope so:D. As a somewhat related topic, what do you guys think of the JBL soundfactor powered subwoofers? I think it'd be easier to buy powered subs. Who in the world pays $300 for a little powered mixer outfit? You can get light and sound with EAW or PAS setups out of Sioux Falls for about that much. I'm sure those Soundfactor subs are ok(Are they the dual 12" band-pass boxes)but I personally don't think powered subs are any handier. As for you idea,it doesn't matter what we say,if someone pays you for it,that's all that matters. One way to find out. BTW,I've never seen any bands using little Kustom systems,but then the lowest bands I ever run across are gigging in small clubs at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groove.77 Posted July 31, 2003 Author Members Share Posted July 31, 2003 Now that I think about it - I think that $300 might include lights. I'm not sure, I'll check on that. Anyhow, I can do sound for a lot of the bands my age around here that have used a pro sound setup once, but aren't terribly loaded wtih cash. They're not about to go out and buy a Kustom system, nor are the about to drop the cash on a pro setup. So, they're naturally looking for something that is better than a Kustom setup but not as expensive as a big pro setup. That's my reasoning behind this whole venture. Soundfactor - yup, you've got the right description. I was looking through MF.com today, and found the MPro dual 15 unpowered subwoofer for $100 less than the SF model. My grandpa wants to help me out with this, he might go in for a pair of subs, so I'm looking pretty hard at the MPro dual 15 subs. I think they'd be better than the SF. My dad has a QSC amplifier (not sure what kind) that he might be able to get to me, so I can improvise and use that for subs until I get my Crown Micro-tech fixed. Also thinking of buying a 16 channel Mackie board used from a school. I'll just use the Behringer powered mixer as a monitor amp, then. So, tentatively, within a couple months I MIGHT have: 2 JBL SF15s2 Com. MVP28s2 JBL MPro 215 subs 1 Crown MT 1200 for subs1 mystery QSC for mid-highs1 Behringer PMX2000 for monitors Mackie 16 channel board Keep in mind that NONE of this is for sure yet. I'm waiting to see about many things before any more gear is purchased -- specifically if I can get booked at all. Any thoughts, advice, reprimands:D are welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groove.77 Posted July 31, 2003 Author Members Share Posted July 31, 2003 Well, nix on the QSC. It'd be breaking the court order for no-contact for my grandparents to ask my Dad to mail the QSC. I'll have to work on getting the Crown to work - and maybe later picking up an RMX1450 or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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