The Right PA and Backing Tracks?

Steroo

Hi All,
Been playing acoutic for years now (solo & 2 Pce) but now Looking at setting up a 2 Pce act (lead & rhythm) with full backing track. Idea being get bigger & better sound, bigger gigs & better money per man. Tried the full band route recently too & it was too much work for too little money. Aiming for Classic Rock & a bit of Pop etc.

I currently only have a Carlsbro Equinox 8150dsp mixer & two small Carlsboro speakers that works for the acoustic well, but I'm sure I'll need something bigger for backing tracks to get the bass & drums pumping. Any advice on what sort of PA would be best? How big do I have to go? Will this mixer work on bigger speakers?

Also what's the best way to play the backing tracks these days? mp3s on an Ipod into the desk? How do you manage breaks/stops etc.

Are lights worth investing in?

Thanks ;-)

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StephenRooney wrote: »

Hi All,
Been playing acoutic for years now (solo & 2 Pce) but now Looking at setting up a 2 Pce act (lead & rhythm) with full backing track. Idea being get bigger & better sound, bigger gigs & better money per man. Tried the full band route recently too & it was too much work for too little money. Aiming for Classic Rock & a bit of Pop etc.

Go for it if you think you will get the gigs. However, my 2 cents is that it may not pay off in the long term, I could be wrong! you will need to upgrade your whole rig, which cost a few thousand to do it right, and a lot of places will still regard ye as a "2 man band" and wont want to pay ye any more. Try and get a few gigs booked first before spending the money on a new pa, I learned that lesson the hard way, bought a very nice martin rig and ended up downgrading 9 months later!

StephenRooney wrote: »

I currently only have a Carlsbro Equinox 8150dsp mixer & two small Carlsboro speakers that works for the acoustic well, but I'm sure I'll need something bigger for backing tracks to get the bass & drums pumping. Any advice on what sort of PA would be best? How big do I have to go? Will this mixer work on bigger speakers?

for a big sound, you will need a new rig. 2 bins, 2 tops and 1 or 2 power amps to power the bins and tops, some systems have one amp that will do the lot. and probably a new desk, if there is going to be 2 vocal and 2 instruments i would advise more that 4 xlr channels incase one breaks during a gig! has happened me before! do you have monitors?

As to what brand to go for, there are loads. Dynacord p5 and KME prestige are great rigs, expensive second hand, but if looked after and not abused will last a very long time. a good p5 with 2 bins, 2 tops and a system amp sell for 3.5k - 5k second hand, depending on the condtition. I have used a HK "premium pro" rig in the past, pretty good for the money, probably get one for around the 2k mark second hand with a decent amp. Have a look on adverts and donedeal lots of stuff there

StephenRooney wrote: »

Also what's the best way to play the backing tracks these days? mp3s on an Ipod into the desk? How do you manage breaks/stops etc.

I would say laptop into a channel on the desk so you can eq it. You can buy mp3 backing tacks, but they are very expensive! even more expensive than the actual song would be in itunes! I know very little about backing tracks as ive never used them

StephenRooney wrote: »

Are lights worth investing in?

Thanks ;-)

yes. get a few (2-4) led cans. Leds are not as good as their halegan counterparts, BUT they are cheaper, they dont blow bulbs and are easier to stand behind for a 2 hour gig.


hope this helped

Steroo

Thanks for that!
I wasn't planning on spending near that much ;-O
I've been using a 8/150 mixer & speakers... so I thought an upgrade to about 2 x 250W would do it. I was hoping to spend about €800 n all.
Would I have to get Bass Bins? I was hoping to use a powered mixer too. Keep it easy.

I've found a lot of free backing tracks (some decent) and I've managed to get a few from youtube also. So I started to build the collection or one's I could use, I'm sure I'll have to buy a few when I need one in a funny key or something.

I'll invest in some lights also then - Thanks a lot

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

you could live without bass bins, but you would have a better sound with them. We use these tops , they were the monitors out of our old martin system! they are fullrange. thing i find is, when running a kick drum through them, you lose some clarity on vocals and guitar. when you have bins, all the bottom end of the kick drum goes through them and not the tops, so the tops have a tighter sound. you could prob eq some of the low frquencies out if you only have 2 tops

word of advice from taking things from youtube, they all sound different! one may have a light kick and bass guitar, next one might have a very heavy kick and heavy bass guitar! volumes can vary too. its nearly impossible to get a uniform sound! still. If you use audacity (free sound editor) you can amplify the lighter ones a bit, which will make them a bit more uniform.

Steroo

Those Top look like they'd do the job.. but I know what you're saying. I saw a 2nd hand one today with Bins & it was a good price. Might be the way to go.

You're right about youtube.. a lot of variation in sounds. I hadn't thought of how this might affect things. I'm not familiar with Audacity but I'll check it out, thanks.

Looks like I'll need a bigger Car Boot too!

Savman

Good advice from Mr Carty thus far (not sure about a Dynacord P5 for a 2pc though, unless it's Page & Plant!!)

As you can see in the PA world, every solution brings further problems, every time you step up or add something in you create a situation you probably didn't think would be there.

I'll jump straight to the most obvious, transport and setup. If you can't get it up inside 30-45mins then rule it out regardless how good it sounds or how cool it looks. For a 2 man show, you need lightweight speakers (20kg max) otherwise you will do your nut in at 2am trying to get it all out. There are many lightweight Subs on the market too, if you really need the "punch" then get an Active Sub and 2 Active Tops and you will be well able for the vast majority of gigs you will encounter. Only super large rooms and halls require big rigs, for everything else you will be told to turn it down so it becomes a waste of audio power and your hard earned dollars.

Steroo

Thanks Lads. I had a look at a Stagepas 500 today & I think I'd get away with that.. nice & light.. compact.. good power & plent of positive reviews online. Seems it will handle the backign track okay. Anyone got one??

Just about within budget too. The powered mixer sits into the back of the speaker with is handy!