Members samal50 Posted March 9, 2018 Members Share Posted March 9, 2018 I'm looking to get an amp or speaker that could amplify vocals, synth/keyboards, and my DJ turntables. Instead of getting a dedicated amp for each purpose, is it possible to get one that could work for all purposes? I know it's not recommended for certain instruments like guitars or basses (one should not use a guitar amp for bass guitar and vice versa). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 9, 2018 Moderators Share Posted March 9, 2018 A powered speaker with a 15" and 1000w would cover those bases. And you can use a bass amp for guitar, btw...look at the Fender Bassman... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted March 10, 2018 Members Share Posted March 10, 2018 You are looking for a PA. You're still gonna have to shell out for a board; say 500 bucks, and one or two or more powered cabs maybe 500 each and cables and whatever DIs ( these might be required for bass and guitar) you may need. And mics and hot chicks to hold 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doublecross Posted March 11, 2018 Members Share Posted March 11, 2018 I went the powered mixer route, Main reason being passive monitors tend to be a lot cheaper than powered and less to go wrong, I've seen my share of powered monitors bite the dust over the years. Generally it will cover all your bases. Mines just a little 500w 5 channel but more than enough for small venues, and I really only use 2 channels, Vocals and guitar synth. If at all familiar with guitar synths like the Roland GR-55 then you'd know that's a lot of bases to cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted March 11, 2018 Members Share Posted March 11, 2018 A powered speaker with a 15" and 1000w would cover those bases. And you can use a bass amp for guitar, btw...look at the Fender Bassman... I started out on electric guitar playing through a bass amp because I already had one. AFAIK, the Bassman was used more often by guitarists than bassists. The normal caveat is not to use a guitar amp for bass but even then you can do it in a pinch if you don't push the speaker too hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted March 12, 2018 Members Share Posted March 12, 2018 I'm looking to get an amp or speaker that could amplify vocals' date=' synth/keyboards, and my DJ turntables. Instead of getting a dedicated amp for each purpose, is it possible to get one that could work for all purposes? I know it's not recommended for certain instruments like guitars or basses (one should not use a guitar amp for bass guitar and vice versa).[/quote'] I'm not sure what you have for DJ equipment or how you power it out to you listeners. You have a few issues to deal with, one being a DJ. There you will need some kind of mixer for your turntables. That is if you don't have something that you are using right now. Some turntables have built in mixers and you may have just that. So the second issues is a PA that you could use for a band situation, maybe at open mics or for karaoke night. Guitars have there own color to them, and are plugged into amps that have there own color pallet. In the old days we used amps that got bigger and more powerful over time. The same with bass amps. There was really no good PA gear, and drums were not mic-ed. FF forward, PA gear got better, the cost got better, and the whole thing just got lighter to haul. A guitar and amp kind of set the color pallet and is used more or less as monitor to the musician. the amp could be mic-ed, or some amps have a direct out. I don't know how much gear you want to acquire, but there are amp simulator boxes that you could sent to the PA. Musicians that use this kind of set up will want a monitor to hear what they are doing and what the rest of the band is doing. There are also bass amp simulators out there, Ampeg, Vox Tech 21 and other make them. and they work well. So if you need a PA to do it all, get a really decent PA with Speakers and monitors, plus a sub-woofer to handle the bottom end of a bass guitar, some keyboards and kick drum. As much as I love amps and guitars, bass guitars and bass amps/ cabs, there's more than one way to skin a cat these days. If you ever drop back in and see this reply, that's my 2 cents. Mics, mic stands, cables a snake is handy. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 12, 2018 Moderators Share Posted March 12, 2018 here is an article that may help, samal....pros and cons of powered vs unpowered, etc.https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/how-to-choose-pa-speakers/?utm_content=article2-image&utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20180312-category-live-sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted March 12, 2018 Members Share Posted March 12, 2018 The OP said he wants to use the amp/speaker for "vocals, synth/keyboards, and my DJ turntables." He also said he understands that guitars need a guitar-specific amp. Either a traditional PA or powered speakers+mixer will work for what he needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members samal50 Posted March 22, 2018 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2018 Regarding "no good PAs back in the old days", how were people getting it right in the studio? They couldn't bring what they had in studio to the stage? Regarding amp simulator boxes; something like Kemper or Fractal? Are these not simply multi effects "pedals" passing off as the "head" to the "cab"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members samal50 Posted March 22, 2018 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2018 is the passive monitors route similar to getting a head and cab (like for amplifying guitars or bass), instead of getting a combo (ala powered monitors)? I did notice passive is a lot cheaper by the hundreds and usually are high wattage power as well. What powers these unpowered/passive monitors? Is it the powered mixer? Are 5 channels usually more than enough for 1 person (let's assume I have 5 synths I want to connect in mono)? Also, how do you determine what powered mixer could work for what passive monitors? Are they all universal that they could work with any setup interchangeably? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.