Members Z0S0 Posted October 31, 2005 Members Share Posted October 31, 2005 Hey folks, I play in a Classic Rock /Blues cover band and we're doing a private office party in 2 weeks in. The hall will hold around 60 people so it's not huge. We have a drummer, 2 guitars, a bass and a singer. We have to rent and setup a P.A. for the show. What do you guys recommend as a simple yet effective P.A. setup? We're not looking for overkill, just something that will produce a decent sound. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srsfallriver Posted October 31, 2005 Members Share Posted October 31, 2005 You may want to run something small - just for vocals - and have everything else come through individual amps. You probably won't need monitors either. My band has done a couple real small rooms lately (20' x 20' or so each). We only ran vocals through our tops (no bottoms used). We ran drums through our keyboardists amp only because he has an electronic kit. Bass, keys, and guitar were through the stage amps (and turned way down). No monitors needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dazed1 Posted October 31, 2005 Members Share Posted October 31, 2005 It really depends on your backline. Assuming you all have good equipment, just running the vox through two 12" tops should be good enough. 250-500 watts should be more than sufficient (overkill) but having that room to breath could be pretty helpful. The extra wattage could could in handy if you want to add the kick and bass (just a tad) for more "punch" - but it really depends on how loud your backline is and how loud yall wanna be. The size of the hall(ceiling hieght) could cut the balls right out of your sound, but if your just playing background music for a few folks to dance to, no worries. Just run the vocals through - I do prefer to run with monitors for me (I sing) but your vocalist may not care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian Krashpad Posted November 1, 2005 Members Share Posted November 1, 2005 I agree with the idea of keeping it simple and only running vox or a smidge of kick drum, with instrumetns using their stage volume. In my case, the bands I'm in play punk rock and roll and roots rock and so play at a fairly loud level, I might want mains with a 1x15/horn and/or a monitor or so if your mains are only 12s. BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caveman Posted November 1, 2005 Members Share Posted November 1, 2005 I like to have the cabs up on stands so they are not facing into a wall of legs and bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 Originally posted by caveman I like to have the cabs up on stands so they are not facing into a wall of legs and bodies. I had a friend make me a pair that can extent 9' in the air and when I'm playing in a place with high ceilings, they make a TREMENDOUS difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caveman Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 Originally posted by Terry Allan Hall I had a friend make me a pair that can extent 9' in the air and when I'm playing in a place with high ceilings, they make a TREMENDOUS difference! Absolutely Terry, it's probably the best thing you can do to improve the performance of a small PA. You can find them for around $100 for a pair which gives you major bang for the buck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Singin' Dave Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 I'll concur with the rest that you should run just vocals (unless you have an acoustic as one of your guitars) through the PA, and rent accordingly. For that size function, I would rent: 2 12"x1" speakers (FOH/Main speakers)1-2 monitor wedges2 speaker stands1 powered mixer (which hopefully matches wattage of the speakers) - get the most powerful one they have and it should have 2 internal amps (4 speaker outputs) so you can manage both main speakers and monitorsspeaker cables, mic cables, mics as needed shouldn't run ya too much for a night and easy to set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Z0S0 Posted November 3, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 Thanks guys...I will follow your suggestions: - 2 Speakers- A powered mixer- A couple of monitors- Vocal Mics- D.I. box for the bass- A mic for the bass drum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian Krashpad Posted November 3, 2005 Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 Have fun! Break a leg! BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Singin' Dave Posted November 3, 2005 Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 - D.I. box for the bass Hold on a sec - are you planning to run bass through the PA? I would recommend strongly against this as it will put a lot more stress on the little PA and can muddy up your vocals, cause distortion/clipping and will not sound very good through 12" speakers. I would suggest not running anything but vocals through the rig you list above and turn up a bass amp a little bit higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian Krashpad Posted November 3, 2005 Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 Originally posted by Singin' Dave Hold on a sec - are you planning to run bass through the PA? I would recommend strongly against this as it will put a lot more stress on the little PA and can muddy up your vocals, cause distortion/clipping and will not sound very good through 12" speakers. I would suggest not running anything but vocals through the rig you list above and turn up a bass amp a little bit higher. +100. In addition to a little more volume on the bass rig, he may wanna adjust his settings for a little more bottom end if s/he's used to going through a PA. BK PS-- if you are gonna mic the kick, make sure your PA head at a minimum can have separate mixes for mains and monitors, because the vocalist(s) will not want kick drum in their monitors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Z0S0 Posted November 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 4, 2005 Good point about the bass not going through the vocal speakers. I think we'll get an extra sub just to mic the bass up a bit 'cause I think the amp cannot push hard enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorrell Posted November 4, 2005 Members Share Posted November 4, 2005 Adding a sub into the PA could really complicate things... and you'll be better off keeping things as simple as possible, especially if you're running the sound from the stage. Can you rent/borrow a larger bass amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members uitar9 Posted November 10, 2005 Members Share Posted November 10, 2005 We just did a gig at a small lounge, maybe 75 seats. We are two guitarists, bass and drummer and singer. They provided a two speaker box, powered mixer setup. We are as loud as our guitarists two by 12, 50 watt tube combos, unmiced, will make us, which was kinda loud and we found the system adequate. No monitors on stage which would have been nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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