Any recommendations PA system for 2 or 3 piece acoustic act please?

DrFroggies

Hi All,

I’m hoping someone can give me some advice on which PA system to buy – I’ve read a previous thread on PA systems on Boards.ie but it seemed to be more directed toward full band set up so apologies if this feels like going over old ground for anyone (I’ve posted this up in Music Production as well)– My situation is that I just want something to get me through the next 6mts to a year of playing 2-3 gigs per week. And my set up would be pretty basic 2 (max 3) acoustic guitars and 2(max 3) vocals – Playing in the corner of bars etc so I’m looking for the cheapest reliable option.
My budget would be around €350 at a stretch.

I’ve been looking at the below options:

http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/100W-PA-System-with-Stands-and-Mics/8N4

http://www.gear4music.com/PA_Equipment/PA_Packages.html?gclid=CNKhhpS4hZoCFQiF3godGHoWFA

http://cgi.ebay.ie/PEAVEY-PA-System-Speakers-Amp-Mics-Stand-Mixer-Package_W0QQitemZ120370745127QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL?hash=item120370745127&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

If anyone could have a look at these and maybe give me an opinion I’d really appreciate it. Or if you know of similar/better options out there even better.

Note: the first two options seem better as they come with stands but the third is available in X-Music Ireland so I wouldn’t have to deal with shipping etc. But I don’t know if there’s much of a difference between them.

Thanks.

Flesh Gorden

you'll make a horrible mistake buying any of those things -

and even second hand that budget will only get you someone else's problems

if you can't afford to spend anymore you might be better off renting



I know someone who had the first one - she does kids parties as a clown and even she had to upgrade -
same with the peavy system - 100Watts is nothing - even budget stereo systems have more power


if your serious, save up for a SR technologies Jam 400

Even with €1000 you'd struggle to get mics/stands/a reliable system



.

DrFroggies

Flesh Gorden wrote: »

you'll make a horrible mistake buying any of those things -

and even second hand that budget will only get you someone else's problems

if you can't afford to spend anymore you might be better off renting



I know someone who had the first one - she does kids parties as a clown and even she had to upgrade -
same with the peavy system - 100Watts is nothing - even budget stereo systems have more power


if your serious, save up for a SR technologies Jam 400

Even with €1000 you'd struggle to get mics/stands/a reliable system



.

Thanks for that...i'd love to go for that Jam 400 but €1000 is just way beyond my budget The Jam 150 would be probably a more realistic option though to be honest only the Jam 90 is within my current budget. I'd love to save up for the 400 but i need to get gigging asap.

Any tips on what the mimimum wattage i could get away with?

You mentioned renting i can't find anywhere that rents the smaller type of PA for solo/duo acoustic gigs by any chance do you know of any?

Thanks again.

Flesh Gorden

You mentioned renting i can't find anywhere that rents the smaller type of PA for solo/duo acoustic gigs .

not outside cork - but it wouldn't kill to put up ads around where you live or on the net - once you pay you should get some interest

DrFroggies wrote: »

Any tips on what the minimum wattage i could get away with?

depends on the pub, the crowd and the style of songs you play
if your the quiet singer song writer type you might get away with a jam 150 but even then you'd probably need it as high up as possible

there's nothing worse then seeing someone struggling to be heard above the crowd or with everything up so loud that they're getting feedback

not the best way to get gigs in the same pub


I've never played with less then a 1000W system and that was a small venue with 1 singer and an acoustic
- whether you'd get away with less I wouldn't want to find out


I know an acoustic 2 piece who play pubs and parties with a 2000W system (2 active 1000W 15" yorkville elites) and they have a huge presence




.

Savman

A little FYI: "watts" doesn't give any idea of how loud a speaker or system is. A common misconception tbh.

There's 250w speakers out there that will tear your head off, similarly there's wimpy 1000w boxes on the market. It would be more beneficial to look at a speakers' efficiency rating (rated somewhere between 90dB-105dB usually) - this will give a good indicator as to how efficient that speaker is at converting amplifier power to audible power.

For a small acoustic duo or soloist, why not look at active speakers and save yourself the bother? There's always nice used mixers popping up on adverts every now and then, I swear I seen a small Yammi mixer on there a few days ago. Then add a coupla portable powered boxes and you're set.

DrFroggies

Savman wrote: »

A little FYI: "watts" doesn't give any idea of how loud a speaker or system is. A common misconception tbh.

There's 250w speakers out there that will tear your head off, similarly there's wimpy 1000w boxes on the market. It would be more beneficial to look at a speakers' efficiency rating (rated somewhere between 90dB-105dB usually) - this will give a good indicator as to how efficient that speaker is at converting amplifier power to audible power.

For a small acoustic duo or soloist, why not look at active speakers and save yourself the bother? There's always nice used mixers popping up on adverts every now and then, I swear I seen a small Yammi mixer on there a few days ago. Then add a coupla portable powered boxes and you're set.

Would i be right in thinking that the higher the db the better the speaker?

Active speakers sounds good to me Savman any pointers on makes i should be looking out for? Been searcing away online and tbh getting a bit overwhelmed by the amount of stuff out there. I'm assuming the mixer isn't as important as the speakers for very small venue acoustic duo set up like i'm going for...

Not sure what portable powered boxes are though?

Thanks for the input guys

Savman

Active = Powered in lay man's terms

I've honestly no idea what would sound in any way decent at the price you are talking about. I suppose you could get one of these and one or two of these.

Generally, the bigger the speaker size, the better it'll do bass frequencies. 12" or 15" speakers are standard for rock bands whereas you might get away with 10" or even 8" drivers for purely acoustic work.

micko4

Bump on this thread,just I'm in the same position now myself..looking to spend a thousand max though..two piece two microphones two guitars..was looking at this system any thoughts http://www.hollywooddj.com/fbtamico500.html Or any suggestions? How much watts do I need? Also if I have two 500watt speakers do I have a thousand watts or is it 500 watts still? Thanks any help appreciated.

cordragza

http://www.adverts.ie/pa-systems/yamaha-stagepas-400i-600i/3167446

Cant go wrong with a yamaha stagepas setup.

micko4

cordragza wrote: »

http://www.adverts.ie/pa-systems/yamaha-stagepas-400i-600i/3167446

Cant go wrong with a yamaha stagepas setup.

Looks a little small no? Was thinkin on spending a thousand max on something used so it would be worth more than what I paid for it new.

cordragza

What you buy depends on a few factors.
Personally i dont think you need to spend a grand on gear if you're clever about it.

What are you plugging in. (How many channels do you need?)
What size venues are you likely to play in.
What will fit in your car.

If its just a small acoustic set up with a coupla vocals and guitars, the stagepas will be adequate. 2 speakers (the mixer can attached into one of the speakers) and set of stands. A lot less to carry, 500watts(250w each side) is more than enough headroom for most acoustic gigs. Pick 1 up handy enough second hand.

Otherwise if ya want a bit more, go with a decent set of speakers and a yamaha emx powered mixer. We used that setup for years and it was great.

Something similar to this second hand would do the biz for about 500-600quid.then get some mics.
http://www.thomann.de/ie/yamaha_emx_512_sc_bundle.htm

micko4

cordragza wrote: »

What you buy depends on a few factors.
Personally i dont think you need to spend a grand on gear if you're clever about it.

What are you plugging in. (How many channels do you need?)
What size venues are you likely to play in.
What will fit in your car.

If its just a small acoustic set up with a coupla vocals and guitars, the stagepas will be adequate. 2 speakers (the mixer can attached into one of the speakers) and set of stands. A lot less to carry, 500watts(250w each side) is more than enough headroom for most acoustic gigs. Pick 1 up handy enough second hand.

Otherwise if ya want a bit more, go with a decent set of speakers and a yamaha emx powered mixer. We used that setup for years and it was great.

Something similar to this second hand would do the biz for about 500-600quid.then get some mics.
http://www.thomann.de/ie/yamaha_emx_512_sc_bundle.htm

cheers man! I have an sm58 already so I'll let the other lad get his mic sorted..
I'd like the option that if we wanted to run a full band in the future we could add some extra speakers and stuff.do you think you need bass bins or are they just for a full band kind of thing?

Would like to get a good sound also.

micko4

Or maybe we should just concentrate on what's going to give us the best sound for two people for our money and worry about upgrading if the time comes where we want a full band.so you reckon 500 watts is enough for a two piece on the pub scene?
This is the one I was looking at on adverts what do you think of it? I haven't a clue what to be lookin for to be honest http://touch.adverts.ie/pa-systems/fbt-amico-500-pa-system/2379659 or this one which is similar to the one you mentioned http://touch.adverts.ie/pa-systems/full-pa-system-yamaha-emc-mixer-with-2-ev-sx300-s/3869122

cordragza

I like the EV speakers, and the yamaha desk is 500 + 500w @4 ohms.

So assuming the ev speakers are 8 ohms, you will get about 300watts on each side.

You could run another set of 8 ohm speakers running (2 speakers per channel) if needed for a bigger gigs.

That'd improve the power efficiency and give you 500w on each side.
If you had bins with built in crossovers you could use them. But you could also power them separately, which i would recommend.
The yamaha desk has sends for subs to make this handy enough.

The desk can also be set to use one channel for Front of house(Mono) and 1 for monitors(aux). Which is handy.
I had an emx 5000 and used it in this mode with a set of AX12 Speakers, and a monitor, and there was tons of power for a standard pub.

FBT stuff is great. But this particular model it won't cut it for a full band due to the speaker sizes.
It'll sound fantastic for acoustic stuff though. Their active speakers (Jolly is the model i think), are great though and would do a job for you with a passive mixer.

Either way will work well. Try to budget for a monitor of some sort though.
Nothing flashy, just enough to hear yourselves.

There are other options, this is just stuff at a reasonable price that i have had experience using, that hasn't let me down.

I hope some more people pipe in with ideas, because i'd be interested to hear what people are using.

topcatcbr

http://www.donedeal.ie/soundequipment-for-sale/peavey-impulse-200-speakers-xrd630-amp/6060400

How does this look. Any opinions.

topcatcbr

topcatcbr wrote: »

http://www.donedeal.ie/soundequipment-for-sale/peavey-impulse-200-speakers-xrd630-amp/6060400

How does this look. Any opinions.

The silence was deafening. I bought it anyway.

micko4

cordragza wrote: »

I like the EV speakers, and the yamaha desk is 500 + 500w @4 ohms.

So assuming the ev speakers are 8 ohms, you will get about 300watts on each side.

You could run another set of 8 ohm speakers running (2 speakers per channel) if needed for a bigger gigs.

That'd improve the power efficiency and give you 500w on each side.
If you had bins with built in crossovers you could use them. But you could also power them separately, which i would recommend.
The yamaha desk has sends for subs to make this handy enough.

The desk can also be set to use one channel for Front of house(Mono) and 1 for monitors(aux). Which is handy.
I had an emx 5000 and used it in this mode with a set of AX12 Speakers, and a monitor, and there was tons of power for a standard pub.

FBT stuff is great. But this particular model it won't cut it for a full band due to the speaker sizes.
It'll sound fantastic for acoustic stuff though. Their active speakers (Jolly is the model i think), are great though and would do a job for you with a passive mixer.

Either way will work well. Try to budget for a monitor of some sort though.
Nothing flashy, just enough to hear yourselves.

There are other options, this is just stuff at a reasonable price that i have had experience using, that hasn't let me down.

I hope some more people pipe in with ideas, because i'd be interested to hear what people are using.

nice one man that's some sound advice! I only seen this now I went with the Yamaha and ev speakers.sounds good but haven't gigged with it yet..only time will tell

micko4

topcatcbr wrote: »

The silence was deafening. I bought it anyway.[/quote
Haha