I'm always on for a gig but I didn't think the others were too bothered (owing to other commitments, we're all dad's and work etc, etc). Anyway, because of our "one-off" gig (better to call it occasional) we have had to start thinking about PA's.
Much to my surprise when we began talking about hiring a PA for the current gig the tenor quite quickly turned to "if we're going to be playing more gigs perhaps we should buy something". I'm genuinely surprised and also genuinely pleased. There is definitely an enthusiasm to take this "out there" and play gigs which I hadn't properly appreciated. I think we are still going to hire for this gig owing to the time-frame but I think we will want to buy something so that we can play in different scenarios without paying out all the time and for ease etc.
So I would love and appreciate any of your advice and expertise please. I have very little understanding of PA's I'm afraid but I think I get the gist.
We're currently a five piece; 2 guitars, bass, drums and congas. There are two vocalists currently (they both sing at the same time and harmonise) but maybe going forward there may be more.
I have a 5w amp and a 40w amp
other guitarist: 5w amp and 50w acoustic amp
bass: a terrible amp he's borrowing but will probably buy a decent'ish amp (don't know power)
vocals: going through the acoustic amp
drums: nowt
Have you any recommendations? I think we're in the £500 ball park but if it was sensible and made a lot of difference I imagine people would be willing to invest £200 - so £1,000 max.
Thank you.
Comments
https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/TX12-PABUNDLE/complete-pa-systems/alto-tx12-pa-system-bundle-with-zmx122fx-mixer
There are better systems out there but for the money you want to spend and the amount of gigs you do this should see you right. In a couple of gigs it should have paid for itself and if you do get a bit more active or do bigger gigs you can start adding active monitors and subs. This will be nice and simple to use too.
For our smaller/vocals only through the PA gigs we use a pair of Yamaha DBR10's which are excellent. A pair of those would set you back just shy of £700. Add in a pair of stands, a bunch of cables and a mixer with a few XLR ins and you're knocking on the door of £1000.
Second hand PA gear can obviously be had for a lot cheaper, in my experience though it's usually battered, big, heavy, old and ugly.
I'm not sure what we want to put through it which is one of the problems. Definitely vocals. Then I think it would be nice to put the guitars through so we could have flexibility of which amps we use. I think the hope is the bassist will buy a decent amp but maybe that would have to go through as well.
It also depends on venue too I guess. I imagine normally it will be small pub gigs but there'll be the odd party - outside, marquee etc and very occasionally a proper stage.
Are monitors only necessary for big venues? It sounds like @Hoof 's suggestion would be sufficient?
We carry 2x floor monitors to all of our gigs but like the lighting gear, half of it gets left in the cars once we realise the tiny patch of floor we have to play in.
And, the bassist HAS to buy a decent amp!
What's a decent bass amp?
We often don't use our monitors,sometimes they're there just to provide a barrier to the audience. Our singer, bassist and me are generally a front line and we can hear enough coming through the PA. However, we have a powered monitor for the keyboardist and drummer.
Trace Elliot, TC and Crate aren't great either.
I can't think of anything else with noticeably above average failure rates off the top of my head...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
PA questions are a bit subjective because it depends to some extent on the type of band, how loud, types of venues. Ideally everything goes through the PA and you can achieve a wonderful balanced sound but in practice pub level bands rarely do that or have the gear that would do it well. A lot of rock venues ( as opposed to pubs) have PA systems and for festivals again PA should be supplied. I know people on here have bands that play large corporate gigs and headline and supply PA for local festivals but that sounds like a big leap from where you are now.
I would suggest doing a dry run with whatever you get, hire a decent sized room and set up as for a gig so you know the best way to get a decent sound rather than hope it works on the night at a gig. You need someone who can listen from out front - you might randomly know someone you can trust to do that but probably a member of the band with a wireless or even just a long cable who can stand out front during sound check.
And go see bands playing your local live music places and see what they do and what is good/ bad about them.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
When it comes to small pub PA you can do a lot worse than a set of 2nd hand set of Mackie SRM450's and a little Alto \ Peavey \ Mackie 6 mono channel and some stereo channels mixer. That's all I use for a lot of pub gigs .... should cost no more than £500 all in 2nd hand
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t179/butcombe/Strat wiring mod/mackie_zpsjeeno7if.jpg
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
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