Members richardmac Posted April 6, 2012 Members Share Posted April 6, 2012 The Mackie Thumps are quickly getting a rep as an unreliable speaker around my parts. The local Sam Ash always has them used because people trade them back in. You get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members modulusman Posted April 6, 2012 Members Share Posted April 6, 2012 Yamaha just came out with some newer powered speakers. According to my local store they were voted best in show at the 2012 winter NAMM. http://www.musicvilla.com/blogs/news/5885195-new-yamaha-dxr-powered-speaker-series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Miko Man Posted April 7, 2012 Members Share Posted April 7, 2012 Terry, glad to hear that you folks in the Dallas area are doing OK enough after the storm to have the gigs continue. Mark C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted April 7, 2012 Moderators Share Posted April 7, 2012 Gentlemen, please, I got enough to deal with this week without hosing down a pissin' contest...thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted April 7, 2012 Members Share Posted April 7, 2012 Gentlemen, please, I got enough to deal with this week without hosing down a pissin' contest...thanks... No prob, daddymack...I'll let him get the last word, as promised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Bartus Posted April 7, 2012 Members Share Posted April 7, 2012 the biggest problem with the the thumps is according to their specs they don't get loud. A single mackie 450 would be as lous as a pair of thumps at least on paper. The problem with the mixer is it's a behringer. The 450 also costs twice as much per speaker at $599 each. The OP was more concerned with budget IIRC, and while the Thumps aren't the speakers the 450s are, the OP can get two powered 15" cabs for $600 new with warranty. I also used to be an anti-Behringer snob. I've used pieces of their gear in the past that were just horrid. I've also used some of their more recent mixers that -- for the money -- are really decent and have been very reliable over years of use. And as I believe the OP wanted onboard effects as well as the other input requirements, the pairing of this particular budget mixer seemed perfect with the Thumps. As always, YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted April 7, 2012 Members Share Posted April 7, 2012 The 450 also costs twice as much per speaker at $599 each. The OP was more concerned with budget IIRC, and while the Thumps aren't the speakers the 450s are, the OP can get two powered 15" cabs for $600 new with warranty.I also used to be an anti-Behringer snob. I've used pieces of their gear in the past that were just horrid. I've also used some of their more recent mixers that -- for the money -- are really decent and have been very reliable over years of use. And as I believe the OP wanted onboard effects as well as the other input requirements, the pairing of this particular budget mixer seemed perfect with the Thumps.As always, YMMV. I think in the case of the thumps, i would opt for one powered 15 cap thats better and do the duo show with one speaker. I have some friends down here that have cut back to one JBL eon 15 for their duo shows. I have sat in with them. It worked fine. small bar doing duo type stuff. They set up the eon behind the band in the backline .. Its the monitor and the main. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richardmac Posted April 7, 2012 Members Share Posted April 7, 2012 You can definitely get away with one powered speaker. And two speakers definitely sound better than one. The Behringer debate and the powered vs. non-powered debate always generate a lot of discussion. For a really important gig, and in a way they're all really important, a backup plan is always a good idea. That is where having two powered speakers is great - if one blows, you can finish the show with the other one. Right now when I do a really important gig I bring a main PA and a monitor PA. They're both small systems, but if I have an issue I can reconfigure right there on the stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ptkbass Posted April 7, 2012 Members Share Posted April 7, 2012 They set up the eon behind the band in the backline .. Its the monitor and the main. I do that all the time. One speaker if I'm in a corner or in a small room. Two speakers on one pole with this gizmo: http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/SS5 if I'm not in the corner or it's a big room. Speakers angled, oh I dunno, 3o or 40 degrees apart. Never a feedback problem, and no separate monitors. Easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted April 7, 2012 Members Share Posted April 7, 2012 I do that all the time. One speaker if I'm in a corner or in a small room. Two speakers on one pole with this gizmo: http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/SS5 if I'm not in the corner or it's a big room. Speakers angled, oh I dunno, 3o or 40 degrees apart. Never a feedback problem, and no separate monitors. Easy. We run a couple mackie 450s on the backline on sticks for a 5 piece americana band all the time. Its quick , simple and effective. Backline a bass and lead guitar amps, everyone else goes direct. drums all acoustic. Works like a champ on outdoor patio gigs for this style of music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted April 7, 2012 Members Share Posted April 7, 2012 You can definitely get away with one powered speaker. And two speakers definitely sound better than one. The Behringer debate and the powered vs. non-powered debate always generate a lot of discussion. For a really important gig, and in a way they're all really important, a backup plan is always a good idea. That is where having two powered speakers is great - if one blows, you can finish the show with the other one. Right now when I do a really important gig I bring a main PA and a monitor PA. They're both small systems, but if I have an issue I can reconfigure right there on the stage. Even though it can be nerve wracking, I still do shows with either one passive mixer and one powered speaker, or with one powered mixer and one passive speaker. But I agree with the redundancy comments. The OP should be aware that bad things happen to good people, and that sometimes gear fails. Last year I did a solo gig with a mixer and one powered speaker. The powered speaker had a meltdown before I even got started. It took me well over an hour to get another rig. I was fortunate that it was a steady gig where I normally did well, and the staff didn't lay the blame on me personally. So in a mission critical situation (and many gigs are) I second the notion that you might be well served by having a back-up plan. An extra small mixer, two powered speakers, and so on. Powered speakers with an input section are also handy because on some, you can throw a mic and another input into them and hopefully limp through the gig without a mixer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted April 7, 2012 Members Share Posted April 7, 2012 Even though it can be nerve wracking, I still do shows with either one passive mixer and one powered speaker, or with one powered mixer and one passive speaker.But I agree with the redundancy comments. The OP should be aware that bad things happen to good people, and that sometimes gear fails. Last year I did a solo gig with a mixer and one powered speaker. The powered speaker had a meltdown before I even got started. It took me well over an hour to get another rig. I was fortunate that it was a steady gig where I normally did well, and the staff didn't lay the blame on me personally.So in a mission critical situation (and many gigs are) I second the notion that you might be well served by having a back-up plan. An extra small mixer, two powered speakers, and so on. Powered speakers with an input section are also handy because on some, you can throw a mic and another input into them and hopefully limp through the gig without a mixer. I do that too- worry about gear. I use my powered mixer and passive speakers, but I carry a QSC power amp and a small board in the truck just in case. Failures are rare, but when they do happen, it's usually at the worst time and place. redundancy saved my bacon once- we were playing a concert set at a big convention center out of town and recording my live CD on a mobile 32 track studio. I brought an extra guitar amp and set it up right next to my regular amp and dialed it all in-just in case. Stage hands and some of my band members were laughing at my paranoia. But one of those same stage hands placed an open bottle of water on top of my amp for me, not noticing it is an amp where the controls are on the top. And sure enough, first song in, vibration tips the water over and it starts glugging down the input and preamp out jacks and got into the control pots. The whole thing just shut down. Fortunately, all I had to do is walk back, shut my amp off, move my input cable to the other amp, turn it on and move the amp mic over a little. All in all, I lost less than 30 seconds and almost nobody noticed anything. The next day, my amp had dried out and it was fine. I dodged a bullet there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted April 8, 2012 Members Share Posted April 8, 2012 Carvin = budget? No, Carvin = excellent value and dependabilty (0f course, this is based only on 37 years of earning a reasonably good living as an acoustic-based entertainer via Carvin sound systems... ) 37 years of earning a pretty good living as an acoustic-based entertainer. I been around Carvin gear for a while too. My very first Carvin amp actually came by rail. I had to pick it up at the local railroad office. That was in '74 I believe. Having been around tons of Carvin gear since then, I've found it to usually be usable but definitely on the lower end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted April 8, 2012 Members Share Posted April 8, 2012 a pair of these http://www.pssl.com/M-Audio-GSR-12-300-Watt-12-2-Way-Powered-Speake- or these http://www.pssl.com/M-Audio-GSR-10-250-Watt-10-2-Way-Powered-Speake- and a small mixer would be a good start. Then add a small sub or two down the road if you are running drum tracks or bass guitar. I always use subs for my solo gigs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ptkbass Posted April 9, 2012 Members Share Posted April 9, 2012 I bought my Carvin rig 14 months ago; passive LM-12's with the small class D powered mixer. I like it a lot, but boy; things have changed since then. So many more of the powered speakers now are class D, so just have a 3 or 4 pound weight difference over the passive versions. And the price on them has come down considerably. Impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members modulusman Posted April 9, 2012 Members Share Posted April 9, 2012 I been around Carvin gear for a while too. My very first Carvin amp actually came by rail. I had to pick it up at the local railroad office. That was in '74 I believe. Having been around tons of Carvin gear since then, I've found it to usually be usable but definitely on the lower end. My experience with carvin was a couple of bass cabs and a mixer. One was a single 15 loaded with a JBL K-140 and it sounded pretty good. I bought a 18 inch cab a few years later and it was just OK. About 6 years ago I bought a concert 1644 mixer. Although it worked OK compared to my other mixers it was definately lacking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Bartus Posted April 9, 2012 Members Share Posted April 9, 2012 Having backup guitars/amps/PA gear has saved my ass on numerous occasions! It's hard to explain to a large festival audience (or even a small club audience) that you need to replace the broken string ON THE ONLY GUITAR YOU BROUGHT to the gig... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members daklander Posted April 9, 2012 Members Share Posted April 9, 2012 Actually, for small solo gigs, this will work well and for a bit larger gigs, add a tower. You could do without the sub to get started, or if you already have a self powered sub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rider12ga Posted April 9, 2012 Members Share Posted April 9, 2012 Obviously the right answer depends on the budget. I have a little 3 person gig going and we use a little 8 channel mixer and two of the powered EV Live X tops. The EV speakers do have a price tag but you get way more than what you are paying for. They are a 1000 watts each so it is obviously plenty, but it is always easier to turn it down if need be (cant believe i just said that) than it is to continually add speakers as you grow. The Live X speakers have amazing highs for the vocals and guitars but the lows are still all there, and the recovery time is amazing so they reproduce the drums amazingly well with no sloppy hits from beat to beat. If you can get your ears on em, at least try to hear from before you pull the trigger on something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted April 9, 2012 Members Share Posted April 9, 2012 Actually, for small solo gigs, this will work well and for a bit larger gigs, add a tower. You could do without the sub to get started, or if you already have a self powered sub. My local music store has one of those and they kick pretty good for a small system. I'm wanting to take it out and try it on a live gig sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 My local music store has one of those and they kick pretty good for a small system. I'm wanting to take it out and try it on a live gig sometime.made by Kustom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Louis Schwartz Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 Has anyone actually tried one of the Powerwerks units? I don't want to make assumptions, not having tried one myself, but I took a look at one at a local store recently, and the thing looked very cheaply made. I'd love to hear about some real-life gigging experiences. I've had mostly, but not completely, negative experiences with Kustom equipment I've encountered at gigs (some very cruddy coffee shop house PA's, but some decent powered monitor speakers). For the most part, cheap is cheap, but sometimes stuff like this can be usable when the needs and expectations are modest and cash is tight. Louis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members modulusman Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 Has anyone actually tried one of the Powerwerks units? I don't want to make assumptions, not having tried one myself, but I took a look at one at a local store recently, and the thing looked very cheaply made. I'd love to hear about some real-life gigging experiences. I've had mostly, but not completely, negative experiences with Kustom equipment I've encountered at gigs (some very cruddy coffee shop house PA's, but some decent powered monitor speakers). For the most part, cheap is cheap, but sometimes stuff like this can be usable when the needs and expectations are modest and cash is tight.Louis Looks like a big steaming pile of {censored} to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rodclement Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 My set-up: 2 x RCF's 312 a'sSoudcraft EfX8JBL Powered Sub for gigs I need to DJ as well Around $1300 for everything newSub is and additional $1K but not necessary for what you described. Stay away from one-in-all set-ups ike Fender Passport, or some other brands.Buy the best speakers you can, you can always upgrade your mixer later.I favor powered speakersBuy quality, never go for cheap! Buy once. Have fun! Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chemikool Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 I'll throw this out. I do about half of my solo/duo gigs with one speaker. One REALLY good speaker will have all the inputs/eq you should need for a solo/duo act. I just re-read the OP and I'll add this: any half-way decent local music store will have some cheap board for under a hundred bucks that would do the job. Spend your money on the best powered speaker you can, then get a cheapo board last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.