Help Me With a System!!!

**Hatleyville** · 05-07-2009, 04:11 PM

I am very new to the pro audio scene and know pretty much next to nothing. I am hoping you guys could point me in the right direction in terms of a PA System for my band. Here are our specs:

- 2 vocalists, 1 lead and 1 backup - Help with what mics we may need?
- 1 Accoustic/electric guitarist (Mainly Accoustic)
- 1 Drummer
- 1 Bassist

We mainly play southern rock I guess you could say and we are looking for a system that will work with small gigs (200 people max) with some venues being outdoors.

I know we need at least a mixer, mics, and speakers. But I have heard about active speakers, power amps, etc. and have no idea where to turn.

Our budget is at about $1,000 but the cheaper the better.

Any info you can help me out with guys would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jared

**jeffsw6** · 05-07-2009, 05:57 PM

Basically, you are in way over your head. Outdoor stuff requires a ton of power especially bass. Indoor venues with a crowd capacity of 200, you will still not be able to do effectively on a $1000 budget. You need to hire in a sound reinforcement contractor, not try to do it yourself.

EDIT: I hope that doesn't sound snooty. I see bands come into the bar I DJ/KJ at every month, sometimes more than one band a month, who has a crappy sound system they pieced together themselves, or they hire the cheapest sound contractor they can find and they get what they paid for. It always hurts their performance and crowd. You would be better off spending a couple of weekends going to every bar in town with a band, paying $5 to get in, checking out who their sound guys are, collecting business cards, and then calling some of them to see if any of the good ones are within your budget. When my karaoke system is substantially better than the band's sound system, chances are it is going to be a bad night. Of course, we have bands with good sound systems or excellent sound contractors, too; and even the average customer knows the difference.

I really did do some math and even if you buy all Behringer stuff and find some cheap instrument mics and an amp rack, you are looking at over $2000 for those ~200 capacity bar gigs. Outdoors, forget about it; just hire PA for those events. Focus on being good musicians, don't try too hard to cut corners on sound or it will bite you in the long run.

**GZsound** · 05-07-2009, 07:18 PM

Yeah.. for a rock type band with drums, bass, guitar and two vocalists, your $1,000 budget is simply too low.

You could put together a system that would work fine for most smaller indoor gigs by getting a powered mixer and a couple of decent 15" mains.

BUT.. that still leaves out microphones for drums (at least two), and for the acoustic guitar (unless it has active electronics in it) and for the two vocalists.

PLUS you need mic stands, speaker stands, mic cords, speaker cords and a monitor system if necessary.

You can save money by buying used if the equipment is in good condition. I use my local Craigslist for most of my equipment, but you have to have cash and be ready to jump on a deal. And you need to be able to check out whatever gear you buy before you get it.

You need at least eight channels in a mixer..

And personally, the dumbest thing you can do is to buy the cheapest gear you can find. Try to stay with the tried and proven major brands, Yamaha, Mackie, Peavey, Soundcraft and JBL or Carvin.

**jeffsw6** · 05-07-2009, 07:27 PM

On a $1000 budget, Behringer is going to be his brand of choice. Love it or hate it, Behringer does allow a lot of guys with no budget to get into the business and upgrade if they are successful. I do not see anything wrong with that. However, I did do enough arithmetic to know he will be spending $2000 plus mics, cables, and stage accessories to do even something really entry-level for crowd size of 200. I just bought another rig for weddings and stuff and I spent about $3000 plus I already own all the mics and cables I need.

**Hatleyville** · 05-08-2009, 09:17 AM

Thanks guys. I guess the best bet would be to save up a little money and just go all out. I definately dont want to cut corners and sound horrible.

**GZsound** · 05-08-2009, 11:36 AM

You would not necessarily sound horrible with an inexpensive system.. You just might discover quickly that cutting corners is actually more expensive in the long run.

For example, I have Soundcraft and Yamaha mixers that have been very reliable while in the same period I have had five Behringer mixers fail for one reason or another.

That was one of the reasons I suggested buying used if you can check out the equipment before you buy.

For example, I recently bought a used Yamaha powered mixer with eight channels, 400 watts per side, etc. for $300 and I picked up a set of JBL JRX 115 speakers for $300..

That leaves me $400 for mics, stands, cables..etc. which is possible.

**jeffsw6** · 05-08-2009, 04:48 PM

Yeah, like GZsound said, I have two Behringer mixers with busted main L/R outputs (one goes out intermittently, the other is losing 20dB of signal somehow, busted op-amps I guess) and it is not even worth having them repaired. I'm getting a Soundcraft GB4 to replace the big one and I will probably keep using the other one until it dies completely, then maybe get a GB2 or an Allen & Heath MixWiz.

**TimmyP1955** · 05-13-2009, 10:59 AM

For $1000, you might get enough PA to push your vocals up over the din of what's happening on stage, but that will work only in small bars - and it won't be impressive, just workable. I recommend that you hire a small sound company. It seems pricey, but in the long run it won't cost you any more, and you'll avoid a lot of hassles.

**GZsound** · 05-14-2009, 02:18 AM

Even though I am a sound contractor, I think the best thing you could do is play a couple of gigs and use the money from those gigs to buy a PA.

You could probably rent something workable for a few gigs and just put all the pay into a PA. system that will fit your needs.

**af-sabianq** · 05-14-2009, 07:27 AM

to start...
welcome to audiofourms.com...

i would suggest a 16 channel mixer,
(i just purchased a soundcraft GB2 16 channel mixer for a project at my work and am quite inpressed with the quality vs cost)

dynamic microphones are a must.
the o'l stand by is the shure sm58
(the microphones last forever)

build your own cables...
(canare 4 conductor shielded cable is superior. use neutrik connectors for balanced cables)

you should get at least 2 amplifiers..
(one for your mains and one for monitors gives you 4 channels of signal amplification)
assuming you are going to use a passive system.
(QSC makes the best low end amplifiers for the money. The RMX series)

and i have hears good things about Kustom Audio in regards to speakers

as for costs,
you are looking at spending at least 5k to get yourself into a good professional system.

**jeffsw6** · 05-14-2009, 11:48 AM

Yeah a GB2 16 is like $1000 by itself, so sadly that is not within his budget.

Glad to hear you like it, I was thinking about getting a GB2R12 to replace one of my Behringers that just does karaoke/DJ duty.

As far as the Kustom speakers go, I really do like my 215H 2-1/2-way cabinets and the 15M wedges, enough that I have bought more of them. They are by no means the best boxes you can buy, but I think they may be the best 2-1/2-way under $500. I wish they had SpeakOn connectors and were bi-amp capable, but for $350 a pair the things are a good value.

**TimmyP1955** · 05-14-2009, 06:25 PM

A used Allen & Heath MixWiz will run $400 to $600, depending on which version it is. Couple it with the best amp deal you can find (preferably a QSC PLX series) and you have a good start.

A used Yamaha EMX5014C powered mixer will run around $500, and is pretty nice as powered mixers go. (A friend has one for sale, as he just stepped up to a 01V96+PL236.)