Members oldschooler Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 I think you guys are overthinking this. A SOS and powered mixer is all a small room needs. For 30-40 people, I wouldn't even mic the drums at all. If they have bass or guitar amps, depending on the music, you can skip the Pa also. Vocals are the most important thing in a small stage. If the volume is low enough, I would set the speakers behind the performers and skip monitors also. For me, a house concert is more about feeling the groove of the artist. It is a more closer look at the artist. Remember when music actaully related to peoples emotions? A few things to think about are, Are you going to charge a small door fee? Is a snack or drink included? Would you mind if people brought their own? Do you have big enough sitting area? Are people going to hang around and talk to the artists? My favorite house concerts are acoustic/jazz type ones, sitting around with friends, drinking wine and eating cheese. You get to talk to the artist and get to know the story behind the song. One last thing, be prepared for the clean up. Your carpet will get dirty pretty fast. People spill drinks all the time. A two hour set can become 4-6hours for you. 1 hour to set up, 90 mins set, 1-2 hours for the artist to mingle afterwards. It is alot of work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 I think you guys are overthinking this. i agree with this. the demands for this setup are about the same as any band would need for practice at home. just maybe higher quality equipment unless you want to rent. the key is just have some power outlets in a reasonable location. even if you want to run a snake(which i would not bother with) you could run it around the edge of the room. personally though i would just get a nice powered box mixer. 2 speakers with stands and possibly a monitor or two although even those may not be needed. a few mics for vocals and a direct box or two for acoustic instruments along with the proper cables and you've got a great little rig. of course you could continue to rent this sort of thing also. i have to say that sounds like just the sort of rental gig that i would love to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mr.steevo Posted September 25, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 Hi, Thanks madjack, agedhorse, JRBLE and Craigv. Floor box is out. Punk bands as well. All the comments got me thinking about this. Popgadget and Consume mentioned a closet idea which reminded me that the dining room has a bay window with a box bench I could hide the mixer in. Then I remembered that the living room has a defunct gas fireplace with only the mantel and a can-o-beans sized hole in the base to the basement. I could run the cables down through the hole, across the basement and up into the dining room bay window. Can XLR, 1/4", and Speakon cable run next to furnace heat ducts? What do they need for protection?Oldschooler and monkeyland are absolutely correct in regards to the equipment needs of this house concert. The reason I was using the M810 isn't because I needed 800 watts, rather I found the FX on the board added depth to the vocals and polished up the balance of instruments. Loud was never the goal. Ideally? I would love to have a set up that isn't noticeable, like satellites that could be up in the corners and a sub tucked away out of site. I will gladly take suggestions on this idea! As for insurance, codes, licences... First, it's not a business so I "shouldn't" need a permit or licence. This varies city to city, but as far as I know Calgary hasn't even noticed nor cared about other house concerts. Codes. My wiring is all being done to city code and permits have been pulled so I can get inspection and approval. Thanks for bringing up insurance, Shaster. I talked to my insurance company about this when we started 2 years ago. They consider this project to be a party and were fine with it. I had a choice of getting event insurance for every show ($160 each) or I could have a $5,000,000 umbrella over home and auto for $200 a year. I took the umbrella. And yes, these are a lot of work. We supplied the food and made it byob. Food was interesting as we wanted people to eat but not interrupt the show, so we supplied only soft foods. No crackers, carrots, chips, etc. The hardest part of this is getting people to come (you want me to pay $20 to come over?) and getting people to leave at the end of the night. Again, if anyone has thoughts on stealth PA's (satellites/sub, L1, etc) please let me know. s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fingerpicker Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 Steevo- I think its great that you do house concerts. Great way to meet and see talented musicians. Kudos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madjack Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 Hi,Again, if anyone has thoughts on stealth PA's (satellites/sub, L1, etc) please let me know. s. This might be a place where a pair of small arrays would work well; ie-Bose pas, fishman, etc. Could be unobtrusive but give good sound for this size venue. Other possibility might be one of the reasonably inexpensive home studio speaker sets. I have a pair of M-Audio BX5a powered monitors; I would think 4-6 of these set up as satellites would be unobtrusive and sound great for this sort of venue. I also have used a couple of pair of the older EV S-40 speakers. Again, 4-6 of these as satellites would work IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 I would suggest looking at a pair of something like the MRX-512's on sticks, using the existing powered mixer or if powered speakers were ok then the QSC K-8 or K10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 The hardest part of this is getting people to come (you want me to pay $20 to come over?) and getting people to leave at the end of the night. this is interesting and probably worthy of another thread or even a whole other forum but i was wondering if you ever considered doing it based on donations. people tend to be very generous when they are not told that they have to be. even if it was a "suggested" donation. i say this because i've been involved in the underground rock/punk/whatever scene locally and beyond for many years. i've done tours in the past where a lot of the shows were in some kids basement. we always got taken care of and that was when the crowd were all young kids. they would charge to get in sometimes but often people would show up with no money and be let in. often others would pay for them. often times they just passed a bucket around or left a box by the door. what you are doing seems geared toward an older, somewhat arty crowd, who incidentally are often the same people that would have attended those basement shows. i would imagine that once they see what you are doing that they appreciate it a lot. these are the people that become true "patrons" of the arts and they love to feel like they are involved in something cutting edge and somewhat unknown. completely off topic but my thoughts for now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mr.steevo Posted September 25, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 Hi, The loophole that allows people like us to host these concerts is that it is all by donation. Basically I'm having a party and if you want to pay the band that happens to be here then that is up to you. I suggest $20 mostly because I don't want to be breaking $20 with $5 and $10 bills in my pocket. I did it once and it was a hassle. So, $20 suggested donation it is. As for speakers. Would a line array mounted horizontal and a 8" sub work in a living room or is this over kill.? I am very much appreciative of everyone's input. Thank you. s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 Why not consider something like this?http://yorkville.com/products.asp?type=29&cat=41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 Why not consider something like this?http://yorkville.com/products.asp?type=29&cat=41 They look good on paper, but probably overkill (sub size wise) for the OP's needs. I've heard that system once and wasn't all that impressed, but it could have been operator "error". Two YX12's (or YX15's) or two NX35's on sticks plus a decent powered mixer would probably suffice. If those are too big maybe two E10's and an LS200P ("hidden" somewhere) might do the trick. I'm speaking Yorkville because of Mr. Steevo's location. Referring back to posts about snakes, I'm wondering if a decent snake might up the costs too much, and if it would also point towards an unpowered mixer/powered speaker combo - because you don't want to use return lines for speaker levels. I still believe that a permanent install with home stereo sized components locks one in. Gear that can be dismantled can be moved outdoors or elsewhere. It can also be upgraded without involving carpentry... Just my thoughts. BTW mr. steevo, glad you've got your insurance where you want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted September 25, 2009 Members Share Posted September 25, 2009 I agree about the sub. For an acoustic artist, you'd rarely if ever really need it. Thing is however, when you need one, it's good to have. For example, pre-recorded music playback between sets, or before/after artist plays. Also, just because a sub can be loud, doesn't mean it has to be. For those small crowds and rooms (30-40), I'd probably look for a sub with good low-end frequency response, and concentrate less on the volume potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted September 26, 2009 Members Share Posted September 26, 2009 Hi,As for speakers. Would a line array mounted horizontal and a 8" sub work in a living room or is this over kill.? Not a great option, and overkill too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted September 26, 2009 Members Share Posted September 26, 2009 For acoustic stuff, especially at lower (non-rock) volumes, a little LF corrective boost on a quality speaker is a good option. A 12" semi-pro speaker would do nicely here, I think the K-10 or maybe even the K12 is looking better to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cappttenron Posted October 1, 2009 Members Share Posted October 1, 2009 A fifty amp circuit for a house party.:poke: Better bring in at least 4 danley th115s with 1500 watts per to get some coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cappttenron Posted October 1, 2009 Members Share Posted October 1, 2009 I also saw a solo guitarist at a small bar with a pair of these http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/general/Product.aspx?PId=114&MId=3 I know they are a little pricey but they sound wonderful and for a house party they would crank the room if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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