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jbutler1982

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  1. I'm from New Orleans, La. and I do legal work for several corporate clients (I won't say my job title so nobody misconstrues my posts as legal advice). Mainly I'm in corporate reorgs, patents/transfers, and federal tax, but I mix in a little white-collar criminal defense. However, I don't want to do this forever, and hopefully I'll have enough saved in 7-8 years to semi-retire and run a small sound company because I enjoy it. So, after about half a year lurking, scouting gear, checking Craiglist, Ebay, and the LAB marketplace daily, I have finally, very slowly, assembled two solid rigs and feel confident posting here so others might be able to learn from my experiences. I rented for about seven months, and I really think everyone should do this for AT LEAST two months before they buy a rig. Not only did I get to try out nearly every system in my price range to find what I liked, but I was able to test the waters to see if I could make a commercial success of the business. I run sound on a contract basis for a few other bands (always trying to add clients) and my own band, a Motown cover band. I play bass in that band and sing backup vocals. I also have a rig for rental and for corporate speaking gigs. I'll include price I paid and what I think of each piece of gear. FOH Speakers: LS700P - Purchased from Audiopyle sound for $750 shipped to my door. This is an incredible piece of equipment. I used most other subs in this class (the $600-$1500 powered sub class) and I love this sub. The bass is insanely tight and perfect for Motown. It might not work great for types of music that need huge boomy bass, but to get that thump-thump precision Motown tight sound, the dual 10" woofers are awesome. My next purchase will be a second. It has a tiny footprint in the car and is fairly light for the price. A+. Pair of E12s - Purchased used on ebay for $600 shipped. Shopped for a while before I decided on these. Had the E15s for a while but they were very heavy and I liked the 12s much better now that I have a subwoofer. It came down to these versus the NX55s. I didn't like the NX55s processed sound, but I wanted to stay all Yorkville - these tops came along at the right price. They sound fantastic, but they are pricey if you can't find a deal. I am very happy. QSC RMX 1850HD - On order from Audiopyle. Haven't gotten it yet, but I've used a RMX 1450 for the E12s and I'm sure this will be just as solid. Six year warranty! Monitor Rig: 4x HX121Ms - I really, really like these speakers. Purchased four new from Guitar Center for $1,000. I think they sound really nice for low-budget wedges. Came down to these of the Yamaha club concert 12"s, and these look worse but have better sound. Went for sound. 2x QSC RMX 1450s - These guys are freaking incredible. Heavey, but they go all day in the New Orleans sun and they never miss a beat. Just great, great, great amplifiers. Can't say enough about the QSC RMX series. Processing: Peavey Addverb - $61 on ebay. This unit is great for the price. Sounds great, just works. I can't tell the difference between this and my friend's brand new $200 midiverb. Might not compete with the TC gear at $500, but I think it sounds really nice. Peavey 31-band EQ w/FLS x2 - $90 and $103 on ebay. I'm looking for two more of these. Rock solid, quiet, sound fine, and really easy to take feedback out of monitors. Really nice for corporate gigs where people who arn't used to microphones are handling them near monitors. Yorkvile E1215 - Just ordered from AudioPyle sound, but have rented. I have trouble telling the difference in an A/B over a Peavey 23XO crossover I used to use. Purchased to go bi-amp with the system. Peavey 16FX - Cool mixer. I don't have much to compare it to - I used a Behringer mixer before this and then a CFX-20 - but the mp3 output is decent and doesn't sound too bad. Small number of XLR inputs but hasn't limited me yet. If I start doing better, bigger bands, I'll pickup a "real" console and move this to monitor / recording duty. Still with the rebate its a great price. Peavey PV231 - FOH EQ. I can't tell the difference in an A/B with this and the much more expensive EQs. Solid, no noise, and works. Just like you expect from a Peavey. Microphones: 3x SM58s - for our two other vocals and a drum mic overhead. Again, I'll have to upgrade this when I move out of our band. Everyone knows how these work. 1x GLS Audio 57 clone - for my vocal. I've used this Mic forever since I learned to sing backup on it. Im just used to the sound, distance, pickup pattern, etc... I should probably upgrade since its really cheap, but Im used to making it sound good. 1x. SM57 - for the snare drum. This sounds great - really great. I like to cock it a bit to get some high hat, slight reverb, and pull the highs down. Makes a really nice, dead sounding snare. I need to get a drum mic clip though. 1x Shure Beta 52 ($120 Lab marketplace) - Sounds good, but nothing to compare it to. I like to take the mids out. 1x e609 - Guitarists' microphone on his amp. He picked it out. It sounds pretty nice - but only on non-distorted, clean guitar. Use it on distortion and watch out - I really don't like the sound. I have a multitude of cables, stands, direct boxes, microphone stands, etc... that I am happy with, but they are such a hodgepodge of cheap craigslist purchases that I can't really list them. I have an Odyessy case that I really like. Corporate / Rental Rig: To do rentals (which has made me an insane amount of money in just four months - paid for the speakers/mic three times over) 2x Mackie SRM450 - Used on craigslist for $400. Used to be my tops until I got the E12s. People know "Mackie" and trust it. If JBL made a cheap powered top that was reliable (not as expensive as the PRX), they'd make a killing since everyone wants to rent JBL. These look nice and people know them. They get loud and accurately produce vocals. 1x Shure 58/SLX Wireless Mic system - Used on craigslist for $350 (maybe too much). Works really well and is solid. 1x XLR Y-Cable 2x On-stage speaker stands This package goes out as a rental for $100 flat for a day. I've rented it many times and paid for its cost several times over. I really should add a second package. When I do corporate speaking stuff (like, I'm actually there) I add (in addition to the above): 1x Peavey 112 TLM monitor that I re-grilled with Yamaha Club Concert style grill and foam - used for $70. The re-grilling made this a really slick looking professional monitor. The volume control is broken. 1x Mackie 1202-VLZ - I got this on CL for $25! Used as a preamp. Sounds really good. Not enough inputs for a band application, but for speaking it works well. 1x Peavey EQ w/FLS - I ring out the monitor using this before the gig. No feedback yet at any of the corporate gigs. Go out an aux into this into the amp to the 112 TLM. 1x QSC RMX 850 - Going to move to bi-amp my E12s, but right now it powers through one channel the Peavey 112. I'm still looking for another 112 so I can have stereo monitors for larger corporate gigs, but I don't want to overpay. Overall, I'm right around $4k in to this system. I feel it was a good investment. I really feel like the key is to rent for a long time first to make sure you can get clients and to identify EXACTLY what you want to buy. Then be patient and watch the used markets closely. I think if I had to liquidate this system I could probably get about or more than what I put in. If you're thinking about a sound business, bands are more fun, but a decent corporate / rental rig can be had for less than $1k used and will make you much more money. Do that first, they spend the weekends mixing bands. Best, John
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