Re: Help me understand PA systems and how to go about getting a basic one for small c
Some things to consider.
Who is going to buy it? One guy, or are you splitting the cost? Bands break up. If somebody leaves, will you be able to buy out his share?
Who will run it? Too many cooks can spoil the broth. You need one guy--one SMART guy who knows what he's doing--to set it up, mix it, and run it. Knowledge is power. One idiot kibitzing on the side can ruin a band and cost you gigs. There are some really good books on the market for learning how to set up and run a PA. Buy them all.
How are you going to transport it? If you get a full PA with subs, you'll need a mini-van at least. Or two. Or a trailer. I rented a U-Haul E-250 Van for my last gig for $20. And I have a Chrysler T&C van. It was a smart move.
Who's going to help you set up and tear down? My band takes about two hours to do a complete set up with PA and lights. And that's with my GF and another bud helping out the four of us. My rule, everybody helps at load in--everybody helps at load out. And NOBODY leaves until ALL of us are ready to go. Everyone benefits from the PA...so everybody helps. My old band, we trained a friend to do lights and run FOH sound. I taught him how to do it, and then the whys. Eventually, we voted him a full share. He was invaluable to us. Timed our breaks, got us water, told us when we were too loud or didn't have any energy, provided security--INVALUABLE. And he was not a drinker--you can't have this guy chugging a few and expect professionalism. We were there to WORK. He was there to work. I was the Captain; he was my platoon sergeant. I made the plans, we discussed the mission, and then we got it done. Having a reliable roadie can take a lot of stress off your mind and body so you can just go play and concentrate on putting on a good show.
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There are lots of ways to go with gear.
After you've answered the questions above, the first thing you have to figure out is your budget. If you've got $5K, it makes things a little easier. You can do small club gigs for less, but it gets harder.
How many people will you be playing for? And how loud will you need to be playing? If you need to be doing outdoor festivals and hitting 115dB for 3,000 people...you need a soundman, a crew to run it, a semi to haul it and big pile of cash.
If you do small clubs and private parties, say 50-150 people at a volume level that will allow people to talk and the bartender to hear the drink orders--that's easily doable.
You CAN do it with a top box mixer-amp like from Carvin, Yamaha, Peavey, Mackie--and a couple of speakers that have a horn and at least a 12" or 15" woofer. If you start micing instruments; like the bass, bass drum and the keyboard; you will certainly need more input channels, and a lot more power, and subwoofers.
You will also need a monitor system--with floor monitors using 12" or 15" speakers. I would recommend that you use a mixing board with the ability to provide at least TWO pre-fader monitor mixes. My G/B/K/D band usually uses at least three separate mixes--two for the vocalists and one for the drummer. In a small club, a separate mix for the drummer can go a long way in preventing feedback. You almost need it more in a small club that usually have weird acoustics than in a bigger club designed for music.
Buy more a bigger mixer with more channels than you think you'll need. Real world experience--there will always come a time when you will be one channel short. It even happens to the guys with the big 32-channel boards.
I actually have three different PAs. I have a small Peavey top-box and Peavey speakers (12" + horn) for doing very small bars or say, acoustic open mics. My medium system is a Peavey FX16 board and two Carvin LM-15 400-watt plastic power speakers with two Carvin 700-watt LS-1801A powered subs (plus monitors). So that's 2200 watts for FOH, and it easily handed a gig with about 150 people. My big system is 4000 watts of bi-amped QSC PLX power into some JBL M-Pro 255 Subs and Peavey SP-2Xs for the tops. I can tri-amp this as well for a little more headroom, if needed. I last used this at an outdoor event with 500+ people. And of course, the cops came... And his comment was, "Damn, this sounds good! I'd like to have it for my home stereo!" And he never even told me to turn it down! LOL!
Mackie had/has a chart that basically showed you what gear to use with X number of people at a event with a sound level of xxx-dB. Very handy, if you can find it.
By all means, if you have questions CALL THE MANUFACTURERS! I've gotten spectacular help from Peavey, QSC, Mackie and Yamaha over the years. There are pro-sound forums, too. Getting the knowledge is CRUCIAL. I've seen guys over the years take a $60,000 PA and make it sound like crap because they didn't know what they were doing, and guys with junk that could make it sound like million bucks. The guys on the Peavey and Carvin Forums have bee very helpful to me.
I like Peavey gear. If you buy their higher end stuff, it's pretty good. The SP- Speaker Series; their CS Series power amps. Very reliable. Repairable. Used, it is a terrific value. I think the Peavey FX16 mixer was a good choice for me, since it has a lot of patching flexibility, four pre-fader and two post-fader aux mixes, four buss sub-mixes and stereo outs-- AND some basic delay, reverb, EQ and compression effects built into the mixer. I've added some rack gear and processing too, but this mixer offers a lot.
And the Carvin power speakers work well too. This system is very modular. I can do a gig with just two of the LM-15As or use all four. I can add one or both Subs as needed. Or I could use two of the LM-15A tops and the two Subs for FOH, and then use the other two LM-15As as floor monitors. If I need more oomph, I can use this system with my Peavey/JBL system; or I could add more of the Carvin subs, depending on need and wallet. So definitely keep an eye on how you might build for the future.
So the word for the day is MODULARITY. I would tell you to pick a style of system, i.e. top-box & speakers or mixer/amp/speakers or mixer & powered speakers and then pick a company, with the idea that your system will grow over time--that you'll be adding monitors, and subs, and more rack gear as you need it. Sometimes it's easier and safer to buy gear from one company--they've done some of the matching for you.
A friend of mine uses Yamaha Club IV and Club V speakers. Also very good, though we've had some failures caused by the crimp connectors on the speakers coming loose. We've tightened them down and had no problems since.
I like the QSC PLX power amps as they are very lightweight and powerful. Peavey also makes a LW amp series that is also very good, as does Carvin.
There's a couple of philosophical chasms to decide on. Do you want a top-box mixer amp, or do you want a separate mixer and amp? OR...do you want separate amps and speakers, or self-contained power speakers? All have their advantages and disadvantages. Any can be great. But, be sure you understand ALL the ramifications before you buy. And you may decide on mixer-amp-speakers for the FOH, and power speakers for the monitors. Or vice-versa.
If you go with separate amps and speakers, you'll need long heavy speaker cables. I don't use anything other than heavy 12-gauge wire cables; though for my small system I have some 14-gauge cables for runs less than 20-feet. Cable gauge makes a difference. If you use power speakers, you're going to need heavy gauge AC extension cables and several outlet boxes. You'll also need some top-quality XLR mic cables to run between the mixer and the power speakers. ALWAYS CARRY SPARES, no matter which system you use.
Buying a separate power amp and non-powered speakers? You want to match the output of the amplifiers to the power handling rating of the speakers. Most companies, Carvin, Peavey, JBL, Yamaha to name a few--rate their speakers three ways--RMS, Program and Peak power ratings. For example, my JBL subs have a 500 WRMS rating, 1000 watts Program, and a 2000 Peak Rating. So what size amp should I get? Ideally, I would want to get an amp with 1.5-2 times the WRMS rating or the PROGRAM rating of the speakers, so I use the JBL subs with a power amp that will deliver 1000 watts to each of them. Using an amp with too little power is worse than one with too much power--as the small amp can be driven into clipping--and that's a sure way to burn up a speaker.
Weight is an issue. Big gear means low back pain. (Wear a brace when moving gear and lift with your knees!) It also means worse fuel economy. My JBL subs weigh 115 lbs.--the Carvin subs are about 70 lbs--with the built-in amp! I LIKE lighter! 12-gauge cables are heavy, too. Got to factor that in. The older Peavey CS amp I have is about three times the weight of the PLX amps and about half the output. In a sturdy Anvil rack, the CS can barely be lifted by two people--and those lifts are always accompanied by four-letter words.
So be sure to budget for all the ancillary stuff: speaker cables, adaptors, ground lift plugs, racks, stands, covers, tool kit (socket set, pliers, screwdrivers, vise-grips, hammer, wire-stripper, soldering tool, solder, etc.), fuses, stage tape (gaffer's tape, not duct tape), bags or boxes to carry and store it in. Aspirin, Imodium, and Tums. Nail clippers. And spares for EVERYTHING!!!! Murphy's Law applies--especially with a PA. Be prepared.
Pack it right. Pack it the same way every time. Re-pack it at the gig the same way and do it right then. Every piece in it's place. I know where every piece is. And it is packed up the same way. Every time. And I am hell-on-wheels if something ain't where it's supposed to be! You HAVE to be anal about this, or you will fail.
I have a four-page checklist for my band gear that I use to plan for the gigs and every item gets checked off when I load the car. Yes, I pack like a girl, lol! Do I ever do a gig and forget something at home? VERY, VERY rarely. Ask me about some of my former band mates...no wait...please, DON'T ASK! (Where's the "roll eyes" smilie? And the "pissed off" one?) I do not do concert sound like some of the big touring companies. But just because I'm not "big-time" doesn't mean I can't prepare, and act like, a professional.
Obviously, our keyboardist needs to get some kind of a backline amp. This is a must. A used Peavey KB300 would be great, and they are cheap. One of the old Peavey top-box amps like the XR600C and a cab with a 15" woofer/horn (like an SP-5) would work; great if he needs to mix multiple keyboards. Or even a bass amp like the TNT 130 or a Combo 300; and with these you can use the internal crossover and take the HI-OUT into a guitar amp like a Backstage, Studio, Basic, etc. and have a bi-amped rig that will reproduce the entire range of the keyboard. Even a simple JBL Eon, Carvin, Peavey, Mackie or Behringer 15" power speaker will work wonders. I find that at high volumes, our keyboards can sound a bit strident through the PA, so I like having the main sound come from her amp, and then using the PA to just "augment" the keys.
I've been doing this for over 45 years. I could write a book about PA gear and some of my experiences. (Oh wait--I just did in this post! LOL!) There is a lot of myth and misinformation out there, and the salesmen that will be trying to sell you a $50,000 system that is way beyond your needs. It helps if you have someone you trust. Check their bona fides. I simply can't stress enough about the knowledge you'll need to make it work right. And your gigs and gear can go from small and cheap to big and complex in a heartbeat. There are different ways to get the job done. Sometimes, it takes a little creative engineering, especially with a restricted budget.
Oh, and keep in mind that PA gear will depreciate in value about as fast as Yugos did. So if you are on a budget, think about finding good, used gear.
I hope this gives you a good overview of the trouble you're getting yourself into---er, I mean....the issues you'll face in owning a PA. It can be a big step, and can really help you get gigs and solidify your sound. It can also make your band fall apart faster than a Kardashian marriage...you've been warned. Just expect a fairly big learning curve.
I hope this helps.
Good luck!
Bill
killer sound. I was the singer and just plugged into it with a stand and it was fine. I added two no name brand speakers and a powered mixer and used teh eon g2 15 as a monitor and it was killer!
