1st Gig in 1 week, help me complete our setup

[kbrinson85]

the band is a 3 piece (guitar, bass, and drums) with one singer playing classic/modern rock covers.

 

the venue(s) is a pretty small pub so i'm not so much concerned with volume as i am having a good full sound.

 

Here is the current setup:

 

Guitar: straight into a marshall JVM 100w half stack (overkill i know but its all i have, it sounds fine at lower volumes)

 

Bass: passive 4-string into Sansamp Bass Driver DI straight to PA

 

Drums: Roland TD-12 V-drums straight to PA using roland PM-30 as a monitor

 

Vocals: Sm-58 into Digitech Vocalist Live 4 (not using harmonies, just effects) into PA

 

 

As of right now my PA equipment is:

 

Yamaha EMX512sc Powered Mixer

2 Yamaha 15's with horns as Mains

1 Yamaha 15' floor monitor w/ horn

 

Right now, the bass player and i are sharing the 1 monitor which i can tell isn't gonna work because he says he cant hear it unless he's directly in front of it. So i plan on buying another passive monitor (open to recommendations) for him to use.

 

Question: How do i hook up the second monitor? my mixer has two outputs on the back: A) MAIN and B) MONITOR. Right now i have the A running to 1 main which is connected to the other main and the B output is going to the 1 floor monitor. Will I just go out of monitor 1 to monitor 2 with a speaker cable? If this is the case, then bass, drums and vocals will all be coming though both monitors? Is that normal? (Not sure if you can have just vocals through my monitor and bass through his monitor)

 

After visiting my local music store tonight and discussing our setup with their audio guys, once they learned we were playing bass straight into the PA they said its not gonna sound full enough through just the mains and that i need a powered subwoofer. I would like some recommendations for this as well (size? hopefully under $800, i've spent a ton of money already!) Is hooking the sub up as simple as using the main or monitor (cant remember which they said) out on the front of the PA Mixer?

 

Also I'm open to any other recommendations for gear if its necessary, just want to sound good for our long awaited first gig. I think we have most of our bases covered. The pro guys made it clear that the 2nd monitor and the sub were totally necessary, just wanted to make sure. Thanks in advance, Kevin.

[Rezrover]

Rent a sub for the gig.

[RoadRanger]

So i plan on buying another passive monitor (open to recommendations) for him to use.

I'd get another just like the one you have.

Will I just go out of monitor 1 to monitor 2 with a speaker cable?

Yep.

If this is the case, then bass, drums and vocals will all be coming though both monitors? Is that normal? (Not sure if you can have just vocals through my monitor and bass through his monitor).

You'd need a different board that has more than one pre-fader aux send.

After visiting my local music store tonight and discussing our setup with their audio guys, once they learned we were playing bass straight into the PA they said its not gonna sound full enough through just the mains and that i need a powered subwoofer. I would like some recommendations for this as well (size? hopefully under $800, i've spent a ton of money already!) Is hooking the sub up as simple as using the main or monitor (cant remember which they said) out on the front of the PA Mixer?

Main out. Not optimal but it's a good start. What powered subs are available to you there?

[TheDoctorMo]

 

Also I'm open to any other recommendations for gear if its necessary, just want to sound good for our long awaited first gig. I think we have most of our bases covered. The pro guys made it clear that the 2nd monitor and the sub were totally necessary, just wanted to make sure. Thanks in advance, Kevin.

 

 

Definitely grab some extra cables, especially any non-standard cables or connectors. Have plenty of power cables.

 

As a long-term goal, you may consider ditching the floor monitors and going with IEMs. The bassist won't have a problem hearing himself if he is wearing an IEM. If he refuses, then your IEM will remove you from his issues.

 

Also, make sure the Vocalist 4 compressor is off, to start with. Our bassist has a VLP (rack-mount) and we had nothing but problems with its built-in compression.

 

I was never really thrilled with the VLP's preamp. It sounded too thin and tinny. If I had my way, I'd have the bassist run his vocals direct into the mixer, then have a separate channel, or AUX, for the Vocalist's effects.

 

Since you only have one guitar, keep your volume below the vocal level. I prefer bands that have vocals above the rest of the mix. If you don't think your guitar is loud enough, stop playing for a measure. Everything should drop out. Then, when you start playing, it should fill in but not take over the mix. It doesn't take much for a single guitarist to fill in the mix.

[agedhorse]

Why not just rent a bass amp for the gig? Might be a simpler, better option.

[flanc]

Electronic drums = need a sub if you want any kick.

[imnotded]

 

Electronic drums = need a sub if you want any kick.

 

 

+1

 

I love using e-drums, but I wouldnt do it without a sub.

[Speedhead]

I use a TD20 e-kit.....also wouldnt attempt any show with them without at least one sub.

[MikeyParent]

Yes definitely subs with VDrums

[badhabit]

I've used that gear before and while it's fine for small gigs to run vocals, a little guitar or keys through, bass and drums are totally lacking. It just doesn't go low enough. The 7 band EQ on the front is worthless and even the YSP doesn't help much. IMO, the bass guitar should have his own amp and the V-drums will need a sub. And one monitor isn't going to cover the whole band. You'll need two, at least. As for using that mixer for mains and monitors, it's pretty simple. There's a switch on the front that allows one side ( A) of the stereo power amp to power the mains and side B to power the monitors. The speaker outs are parallel, so you can either daisy chain the mains and monitors (side A for mains and side B for monitors ) or run all the speaker leads from the outs on the back. Doesn't matter. Make sure the switch below the "power amp limiter" leds is switched to mains + monitors and the pan control for each channel is centered. It's a pretty simple arrangement, with each channel having a monitor and main volume control and global control for mains and monitors with channels A ( mains ) and channel B ( monitors ). A powered sub can be added from the main out on the front. That signal is controlled by the global main EQ section as it's post EQ. Raising and lowering the individual channel and global main volume will raise and lower that out as well.

[Unalaska]

If you'd said acoustic drums and bass amp I'd say just buy a second monitor for the bass player and rock out. BUT electronic kit and no bass amp means you need a PA with some sub 100hz in it. Subs subs subs. Subs make excellent speaker stands. Even some cheaper single 18's will get something happening.

 

My recommendations is this: Buy a QSC GX5 and 2 Yamaha SW118's or similar. Use the LINE OUT to run mono into the GX5, CH1 subs, CH2 tops. Leave the amp in a small rack case since on small gigs you can leave it at home, for this and bigger take the 2 subs and amp.

 

This frees up a power amp in the powered mixer right? So the 2nd amp gets to be the bass player's mix.

[Shaster]

Beg, borrow or rent a bass amp. If the guitar was going direct it might be a different story, but it's still easier to have your own bass monitor = bass amplifier.

 

If you're not going to use a sub, realize in advance your limitations. If there are only going to be 20 or 30 people in attendance that's fine, but if youre talking about a crowd, then a sub would be most desirable.

 

I suppose it depends on your volume. If you're playing at solo, or duo volume, that's fine - but against a Marshall half stack? Hmmmm....

[335BoB]

I've been on Forums for years watching some "Pros" tell someof us regular folks that what we have is not adequate and recommending all sorts of stuff enough to make one's head spin. Just when you though you spent a LOT of money just to get what you have some knucklehead starts telling you how much more you need to spend.

 

I've got some good news for you and some bad news. The good news is you have gotten a lot of really good advice on this Forum. The bad news is that you have gotten a lot of really good advice on this Forum.

 

I have seen electronic drums where the drummer has his own mini PA for the drums (or at least something for the kick) and the bass having his own amp. In other words it is NOT your responsibility to get them amplified. Tell them to own up and help out this situation before you crash and burn.