Members StuartV Posted February 11, 2009 Members Share Posted February 11, 2009 Related to my other post, I have just finished getting together all the basics for PA for my band. We have our first gig with my new setup this weekend. What I'd like to know now, from the experienced experts is, given my current setup, what should I be thinking about buying or upgrading next? I have what I have for 3 reasons: One, the guitar player recommended a couple of the pieces, two, I have a hookup at Yamaha that got me all the Yamaha pieces for way cheap, and three, friends basically gave me a couple of the pieces. The band is a 3-piece playing classic rock and blues. The setup is: Yamaha MG166CX mixer FOH:Lexicon MX400 effects processordbx DriveRack PA crossover/EQ/compressor/limiter/feedback suppressorYamaha P5000S 500Wx2 (8 ohms) ampYamaha P7000S 2200Wx1 (bridged 8 ohms) ampYamaha S115V x 2 15" FOH speakersYamaha SW118V x 1 18" sub Monitors:Sabine FBX1020+ feedback suppressorMackie M1200 225Wx2 (8 ohms) ampYamaha SM112V x 2 monitor speakers Is any of this stuff known to be junk? Do I need to be thinking about replacing (i.e. starting to watch eBay) any of it with something better? Is there anything else I need to add to what I already have? I've seen it suggested that I might want an EQ for the stage monitors, but that sounds more like a luxury than something I would remotely *need*. I've also seen some posts here that suggest I might need a second sub. Again, thanks for any insight you can give me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted February 11, 2009 Members Share Posted February 11, 2009 What kinda music? Personally, I'd want at least 4 of those subs to balance the top cabs. And yes, a decent EQ for the monitors is even more crucial than for the mains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members samkokajko Posted February 11, 2009 Members Share Posted February 11, 2009 I would get an EQ next and I would put it fairly high on the list, before more subs. Then again you do have the feedback suppressor in there. If that is working well and doing it's job then you may not need the EQ. I would probably get a second sub, then some comps, then more monitors. Or just load myself up with accessories for awhile (stands, cables, snakes, mics, etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Is the P7000 being bridged on that sub? Could be a short lived sub then. I'd consider putting sub on Ch1 of the P7000 and tops on the ch2. Buy atleast 1 more sub and a dbx 231 EQ for mains and 1 monitor mix (your system will be in mono which is great). A second dbx 131 for the 2nd monitor mix (er however you do it) and use the M1200 for monitors 1/2. You could use the P5000 but it's a lot of power, I wouldn't rule it out Lose the feedback thingy, use eq's instead. enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 . :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 12, 2009 CMS Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 I used the latest iteration of Sabine's "feedback thingy" a few times, and it works well and replaced a 31-band without any problems at all. Overall this looks like a functional and well balanced rig. I too would probably add another sub or three, but that depends on the music and the venues. My first upgrade path would be the same as always...better speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frankiefeedback Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 The S115Vs are a good match with the Yamaha P5000S in stereo or parallel mode. Buy another SW118 and run the pair in stereo or parallel mode from the P7000S (750watt @ 8 ohms) Adding the extra sub should make a nice improvement to your sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StuartV Posted February 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thanks for all the feedback (no pun intended!). :-) As I mentioned earlier, we play classic rock, Southern rock, Blues, and some random pop and country. Several of you mentioned EQ. The dbx DriveRack PA is a mutli-function device. It does all of: Crossover (2x3 up to 2x6)28-band Graphic EQMulti-band Parametric EQCompressorLimiterTime Alignment (delay) Is the EQ, Compressor and Limiter in that unit not sufficient? Do I need other better ones of those? For EQ of the stage monitors, I was thinking of possibly getting a dbx DriveRack PX to provide that and eliminate the Sabine Feedback suppressor. The PX does almost everything the Driverack PA does, it just has less channels for the Crossover. But, if y'all are telling me I need to ditch the Driverack PA for separate EQ, Comp, etc., then I suppose the recommendation would be against the PX also. I have more info and questions based on some of your responses, but gotta run to lunch. Back in a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StuartV Posted February 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 On the recommendation for EQ for the monitors: Is the main purpose of that recommendation so as to be able to kill feedback? Or is it really that important to be able to EQ the sound for the band to hear? As far as how the Sabine works, after I hooked it up, I turned everything on and pointed a mic right at one of the monitor speakers from about 4 feet away. I heard a quick, brief whine that never got loud, and that was it. I could hear my voice through the channel just fine before and immediately after doing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StuartV Posted February 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Mono vs stereo: I'm running the monitor mix mono. I would run the FOH mono also, but the guitar player uses a pedal effects board that has a stereo line out and he says some of the effects that it does really are in stereo. So I'm running stereo to the FOH. (the guitar player isn't even using an amp - he can only hear himself via the stage monitor speakers) I have no clue if that will make a noticeable difference in the sound versus getting a mono line out from the guitar and running the FOH in mono. Oh, and since I'm running the FOH in stereo, I have two overhead mics on my drum kit and I have them each panned slightly to opposite sides to match their actual physical placement. Again, I don't actually know if that really makes any difference or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StuartV Posted February 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Speakers: Roger that on getting an additional sub. It's hard to imagine that I would need more than 2, though. At least any time soon. I think we'll mostly be playing bars that aren't *that* big. On the mains, are the Yamaha Club V 15s not that good? We played an outdoor festival back in November and there was a DJ playing before we did. He was setup at one end of an outdoor basketball court. No walls or roof anywhere around him. His system had 1 JBL sub with 2 18s in it and 2 Yamaha Club V 12s for the mains. That setup seemed to sound good and was plenty loud, even for such a big open space. I thought for sure the 15s would work even better. Thanks again for all the suggestions and info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StuartV Posted February 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Is the P7000 being bridged on that sub? Could be a short lived sub then. I do have it setup with the P7000 bridged mono to the one sub. But, I've always heard that you blow speakers from not having enough power - not from having too much (as long as it's clean). I figured with the limiter in the Driverack PA, I would be pretty safe from blowing the sub. Do I really need to worry about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Chinese Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 I do have it setup with the P7000 bridged mono to the one sub. But, I've always heard that you blow speakers from not having enough power - not from having too much (as long as it's clean).I figured with the limiter in the Driverack PA, I would be pretty safe from blowing the sub. Do I really need to worry about that? Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StuartV Posted February 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 So, I will actually be safer to just use one channel of the P7000 to drive the sub (not bridged mono), and leave the other channel on that amp unused? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frankiefeedback Posted February 13, 2009 Members Share Posted February 13, 2009 So, I will actually be safer to just use one channel of the P7000 to drive the sub (not bridged mono), and leave the other channel on that amp unused? Yes. Looking at Yamahas documents on that power amp shows a limiter on the block diagram. 700 watts into that 600 watt rated sub is a perfect match. Your amp and sub will live a long, happy life together. Now go get the second sub and hook it up to that second amp channel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StuartV Posted February 15, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 15, 2009 Thanks for the advice on this. I reconfigured it for my band's gig last night and just used one channel on the P7000S to drive the sub in mono, instead of bridged mono. We were setup at one end of a pole barn. I.e. about 20 x 40, with a roughly 15' ceiling, concrete floor, but no walls at all. During sound check, just kicking my bass drum, it sounded incredible. Every time I kicked it, I could hear it rattling something in the rafters over my head. LOL! I'll order the second sub soon enough. I want to give my contact at Yamaha corporate some time to recover from the last order he did for me before I put in another. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lifeloverwg Posted February 15, 2009 Members Share Posted February 15, 2009 On the recommendation for EQ for the monitors: Is the main purpose of that recommendation so as to be able to kill feedback? Or is it really that important to be able to EQ the sound for the band to hear?As far as how the Sabine works, after I hooked it up, I turned everything on and pointed a mic right at one of the monitor speakers from about 4 feet away. I heard a quick, brief whine that never got loud, and that was it. I could hear my voice through the channel just fine before and immediately after doing that. For both reasons.Having a seperate 31 band EQ for each monitor mix is pretty much the industry standard. Most feedback eliminators only do a so so job as they often cut sustained notes that aren't really feedback as well which can result in a pretty thin weak sound. The sabine units have a good reputation though so you may well get by just fine without an EQ. While the DRPA does have plenty of EQ capability built in, I use it just for overall system tuning but still have an EQ inserted on our main mix for on the fly tone/feedback adjustments for the specific venue or speaker placements. It's pretty inconveniant to have to page though different screens, twirl a dial and push a button just to adjust something on the fly and I'm mixing out front, not on stage while trying to play. Not to mention that I still can't be assured of choosing the right frequency first try. But with faders it's much quicker to find the one I really want then it is with different levels on the DRPA screen. Maybe not a purely neccesary need, but definately more conveniant. Good luck with the new setup and have fun. If it sounds good, it is good. I too would add another sub first. Winston PS. Read this thread for good some info on using your DRPA. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2240826 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StuartV Posted February 16, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 16, 2009 Thanks. You make a good point. I'll will keep an eye out for a good deal on some EQs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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