Live Sound & Production

[theAntihero]

Yes. its one of those questions again, bear with me.

So my band is starting to get away from playing at places with their own PA, or smaller places where our practice PA can cut it and doing more outdoor stuff. Im not looking for a super massive system or subs that are measured on the richter scale, just something that can do midsized clubs and work outdoors.

We are a 3 piece band that plays rock and sabbathy metal and we would only probably need somewhere around 12 channels maximum. Our practice PA has a pair Peavey PR12's, 2 cheap subs that we've never been happy with (nady 1x18s) and 2 kustom 1x15 monitors. Yes i know its a low budget system but its worked ok for us. Our drummer plays a lot of double bass but my EB-0+ octave down using bassist carries about 95% of the lowend so i dont need kicks from hell at 140db coming out of the subs.

So what would you guys recommend for a mid sized set up for us?

[philw44]

You need to state a budget

[TimmyP]

Unless you have a lot of money lying around, find a good local small PA provider and hire them. http://www.padrick.net/LiveSound/BuyPA.htm

[tlbonehead]

You need to state a budget

and a more specific description than mid-sized setup.

[theAntihero]

You need to state a budget

and a more specific description than mid-sized setup.

Fair enough, as for budget im not made of money but im willing to pay for quality as long as the jump in price is worth it.

As for a more specific description, i dont really know what im looking for.Basically i want to be able to take a somewhat loud rock band and have them heard outside when we play to a couple hundred people, while still being small enough that when we do play the small to mid clubs we dont blow the bar down or take up an absurd amount of space. Does that help?

[Shaster]

Fair enough, as for budget im not made of money but im willing to pay for quality as long as the jump in price is worth it.

As for a more specific description, i dont really know what im looking for.Basically i want to be able to take a somewhat loud rock band and have them heard outside when we play to a couple hundred people, while still being small enough that when we do play the small to mid clubs we dont blow the bar down or take up an absurd amount of space. Does that help?

So what's your budget?

[theAntihero]

So what's your budget?

Stated above when you quoted me.

[Shaster]

Fair enough, as for budget im not made of money but im willing to pay for quality as long as the jump in price is worth it.

Stated above when you quoted me.

I don't see a price, and I've never seen a "willing to pay for quality" bill in circulation

So now we need to guess. Last week I just heard a great Nexo system that easily covered 300 people, but I'm guessing that's too much money.

How about QSC 153's over some QSC subs or Yorkville EF500P's over Yorlkville Ls801P subs, with an Allen & Heath MixWiz 16:3?

[theAntihero]

I don't see a price, and I've never seen a "willing to pay for quality" bill in circulation

Im not trying to be cagey, i just dont know enough about this to put a dollar figure on it.

[stangconv]

They can suggest systems from a couple grand to infinity.

Its like asking for advice on a guitar but not knowing if your budget is squire or Gibson

[Shaster]

Im not trying to be cagey, i just dont know enough about this to put a dollar figure on it.

No problem.

Check out the online prices of the two possible systems I mentioned.

For instance, without monitors, stands, snake. cables, mics EQ's... the Yorkville Ef500P's go for 1499 CAN http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/2193/Pro_Audio_Recording/PA_Cabinets/Yorkville_Sound/EF500P_800...

and the LS801P's go for 1450 CAN http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/9509/Pro_Audio_Recording/Subwoofers/Yorkville_Sound/LS_801P_150...

Add a MixWiz3 16:2 board for around a grand and your looking at $7000.00 (CAN) before tax.

Comparable QSC, EV, and JBL systems might come in slightly cheaper or more expensive - just depends on your needs.

I have heard the EF500P over LS800P system in action many times - it's fairly common around my parts. It would serve your needs IMO, as would many other systems of a similar quality.

Prices will of course differ depending on where you are in the world.

[Jerry007]

Somewhere around $6000 to $8000 should get you a basic, small, great-sounding (self-powered) satellite-over-subs system, depending on what you already have for mics, cables, monitors, etc, etc.

I'm thrilled with my JBL PRX 512s and 518s.

I had a chance to crank it up outdoors recently and was blown away by the volume and clarity.

[banddad]

Here's one suggestion, based on what we've got, that seems to do well.
MixWix3, as mentioned above.
JBL SRX 712m's over SRX 718s subs. Easy to carry, light enough for one person to handle.
Add in a pair of suitable amps. (such as QSC PLX 3402's)
Add a crossover.

Or: pick powered equivalents (maybe the new JBL 600 series stuff?) to keep the setup simpler and minimize fiddling.

[monthlymixcd]

We can recommend stuff all day long, but you really need to be honest with yourself about what you (and/or your bandmates) are willing to commit to your "enterprise" financially. It sounds like you're getting gigs... hopefully paying ones... and you need to have "the talk" with your band about what it's going to cost to run your "business" effectively. Is "the band" going to own the PA? Are you? Are you going to get an extra cut of the take for PA upkeep and growth? When you get that figured out come back with your budget and these recommendations will mean a lot more.