smaynor

I'm 37, been playing bass since I was 10. Also play drums and some guitar. We're a 4-piece covers only rock and funk band that plays clubs primarily. We work about 2 weekends a month, and that's enough for all of us. Pretty decent band with no desire to "make it big". It's just for fun and enjoyment for us. If we can make a few bucks doing it, great. My rig has downsized considerably in the last couple years. That was intentional. The new system sounds great, goes up in less than 45 mins, and I couldn't be happier with it. A lot of the pieces were picked based on countless reccommendations from this board, so thanks to everyone for their knowledge and sharing. Mics: Shure SLX-4 Wireless with Beta 58 for lead vocals. Great sounding mic. Never any problems with dropouts, etc. Remainder of vocals are wired Beta 57a. I really like the sound of the Beta 57 for vocals. Kick mic is the dreaded AKG D112. I may upgrade to the Audix D6 soon. Instrument mics are Sennheiser 835's. Good mic for the 3-pack price. Various other mics are in the mic cases when needed. Mixer: Primary mixer is Allen and Heath Mixwiz 16. Great mixer for the money. Lack of subgroups doesn't bother me at all for our situation, which is me mixing from stage. The lack of a littlelight socket is my biggest complaint. Backup mixer is a Soundcraft LX7 24 channel. Great sounding mixer to me, and I like the layout, but the MixWiz is rack mounted, and we don't need 24 channels for our group. We actually only use 9 typically. Mains: (2) Yorkville NX550P. Love 'em. What a great sounding, self-powered, 47 pound cabinet. Subs: (2) Yorkville LS800P. Love 'em. Nuff said. Monitors: (4) Yamaha SM12V monitors. I like them, especially for the sub-$300 price. I actually bought the last two for $269 each including shipping. Powered by two Peavey CS1800G's with one monitor on each channel for an 8 ohm load. I'd like to switch to PLX amps for the weight savings, but I'm not having any issues with the Peavey's, so why switch? Processing: Minimal gear. DBX 1231 dual 31 Eq. One channel is for the house mix. Usually set flat, except when needed to take out a boomy notch or something. Other side is used for mon-1, which is the lead singer's monitor. Not much going on there either. Since we don't run insane monitor levels, not much eq is needed for feedback control. Actually, the only time I even recall a moment of feedback was the 1st night my wife (lead singer) got her wireless. She was holding it, and forgot and pointed it directly into her monitor. One loud, quick, burst of feedback later, it was over. She's never done that again. DBX 4 channel gate with one channel used on the kick drum. Peavey mono 4-way crossover, using the 4 bands as such: Sub Out -using as a low pass filter at 40Hz, Low Mid Out - output to subs running from 40Hz-100Hz. Hi Mid Out - Running to NX550's from 100Hz-20KHz. High Out - Not used. Cabling: A lot of cabling is from Audiopile. Speakon cables for monitors are from Mark, along with many of the XLR's. Great cables for the money, and great customer support also. Great people to deal with. Liz once went out of her way to get me a replacement package shipped out when she accidentally shipped my original package to the wrong state. I had the replacement two days BEFORE I would have received the original one. I've never had the pleasure of talking to Grumpy on the phone, but have Liz several times. Cases, etc: I have pullover rolling cases with 4" casters for the mains, and each pair of monitors. No case for the subs, but they have wheels anyway. I'm thinking about making some caster boards for the bottom of these, so that they won't have to be kicked back onto the wheels. All power leads, quad boxes, etc. go into a large truck bed box that comes from Lowes with casters mounted to the bottom. GREAT durable cases for the ~$40 price. All speakon, mic, and misc cables go in an identical truck box that I have made dividers for the inside. Each bin is labeled "Speakon", "Mic", and "Misc". Makes it easy when you are looking for a particular type of cord. Mic stands, speaker stands, and lighting stands are stored vertically in a tall rolling cart that I made. We can haul every stand in one trip. Mixer, processing, monitor amps, and lighting controller are all housed in a rolling slant-top rack that my wife and I built. Huge time saver. Everything is pre-wired inside, and the only hookups are the incoming power, mic cables, and 4 speakon outs. My Bass Rig: MusicMan Stingray 5. Shure wireless. Korg rackmount tuner. Ampeg SVT-350H into an Ampeg 6x10. Love the sound, hate the size. I slightly modified the head to use the space underneath the power amp section for a rack mount for my tuner and wireless. They are recessed behind the front grill. I took the old grill material off the original front panel, made a new, more open panel, recovered it in the original material and piping, replaced the logo, put it back on just like the original, and now everything is contained in one unit. I can still see my tuner perfectly. Wireless has never dropped out. You cannot tell it is not original unless you happen to notice the tuner and wireless lights shining out from behind the grill. Trailer: 6x12 Haulmark single axle trailer with ramp door, side door, and interior lights. Hooks along one side to hang pre-lit and pre-wired rear lighting truss. Black exterior. Tour Bus: 2001 Ford F-350 Crew Cab 4x4 Dually. 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel. That about covers the basics. I couldn't be happier with the system I have now. Thanks go out to a lot of people on this board for their knowledge and expertise. I've learned a lot in the couple of years I've been lurking here.