Vocal Amplifier Question - New Band

[Unadan]

I'm a total noob concerning this so bear with me. I play guitar in a new band I'm starting up. We plan to start playing small free outdoor festivals and small bar situations in the near future. Right now my vocalist is using his 80 watt Marshall solid state combo guitar amp to power his vocals which is weak to say the least. What is a low cost solution to power his vocals for the applications I'm talking about? Portable active PA? I'm really not even sure where to begin.

I'm guessing that most festivals/small clubs have PA systems you can plug into but, even just for band practice, we need something louder to power his vocals. Thanks for any advice!

[drbob1]

Most bands go with some kind of mixer/power amp/speakers setup depending on how big the venues are, how many things they need to amplify (eg bass, keys, vocalists), what kind of music, how much money. Starting out, a lot of bands will spend $150 on a 6 or 8 channel monster Peavey powered mixer from the 90s, and use speakers they rescue from the stereo or a pawn shop. Not sure if that's a good way to go, but it works.

One step up from that would be to use an inexpensive mixer (Behringer sells 4-8 channels for less than $100, Mackie for less than $200). Then you have to decide between a power amp ($300 for Peavey's IPR1600) and a pair of speakers (used mains usually sell in the $200-300 range although you can find them cheaper if you get good at scrounging-my best recent deal was 4 EV Sx80s for $10 each) or going with a pair of powered speakers (again, eternal vigilance netted a pair of first generation EONs for $150 for the pair). Plan on a minimum of $400 to $600 for your first PA. Then you've got to get mics, cables, direct boxes, mic stands, speaker stands, monitors? etc. Does that help?

[Unadan]

Yes that does help thank you very much. I like the idea of starting out with a used powered mixer and scrounging some 12" housed speakers/auto/whatever to get started.

[GCDEF]

What's your definition of low cost? Good sound isn't cheap unfortunately. We have what I would consider a minimal good sounding bar band rig and it cost around $10,000.

[Unadan]

Couldn't something like this work ok just for vocals in a small club setting?

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MSR100

[GCDEF]

Originally Posted by Unadan

Couldn't something like this work ok just for vocals in a small club setting?

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MSR100

If you're background music with an acoustic guitar in a coffee shop. If you have a drummer, it's not even close.

[Unadan]

I'm thinking maybe this would work better:

http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/genera...?PId=268&MId=3

[drbob1]

If you've got the cash for the Eon system, I'd move over to the QSC K series. They get much better reviews in people who've tried them back to back, my friend who sells pro sound and can get anything is really happy with his Christian rock/cover band using a pair of the k12s and a k-sub. Of course, if you can afford that, you can also afford my current system: Yamaha CF1016 powered mixer and passive EV Sx100 speakers...

[GCDEF]

Originally Posted by Unadan

I'm thinking maybe this would work better:

http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/genera...?PId=268&MId=3

It's a step up, but you should really educate yourself on how PAs work. One speaker just isn't going to cut it outdoors, and would be tough even in small bars. You'll need a mixer and a monitor or two as well.

The unfortunate reality that bites a lot of noobs in the tuckus is that live sound is pretty expensive. You're not going to get away with just spending a few hundred dollars and expecting to sound good.

[Gargloic]

If (like I understand in your first post you are asking for a vocal only kit for free outdoor gigs and the like and actually, you use a guitar amp) you are on a budget, I suggest a small mixer with reverb like this http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/1202FX.aspx

and 2 powered speakers like those http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/B210D.aspx


With the appropriate cables AND speaker stands (important), you'll spend around 700$ and will be all set for starting.

I don't work for Behringer company, this is just an example.

If this is still to much money, get only one powered speaker without mixer for practice and rent a system when you gig and use your speaker as a monitor.

Gargloic

[GCDEF]

Originally Posted by Gargloic

If (like I understand in your first post you are asking for a vocal only kit for free outdoor gigs and the like and actually, you use a guitar amp) you are on a budget, I suggest a small mixer with reverb like this http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/1202FX.aspx

and 2 powered speakers like those http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/B210D.aspx


With the appropriate cables AND speaker stands (important), you'll spend around 700$ and will be all set for starting.

I don't work for Behringer company, this is just an example.

If this is still to much money, get only one powered speaker without mixer for practice and rent a system when you gig and use your speaker as a monitor.

Gargloic

Let's be realistic here. You can't do an outdoor show with that, and even indoors, you're still talking about acoustic guitar and vocals, or maybe a quiet jazz band. And you'd still need monitors. That would probably get him through practice, but that's about it.

[Relayer]

What everybody just said! Keep checking Craigslist daily for deals: And don't just settle! Based on your post, an 8 channel powered mixer (I prefer Mackie) is a minimum. The good thing about the Mackie S808 (no I don't work for Mackie!) is that you can go mono out front and monitors in at 600 watts each; more than enough for in pub or private outdoor gigs. If it's a festival, there better be a PA provided! Best of, you can use the Mackie for the on stage mix, and feed stereo out to the concert PA. This way, you have the sound you're familiar with, and the 'big people' can do what they want!
Speaker- wise, that's more problematic. My experience; the older the speakers, the more anemic the sound. In other words, your PA head can be state of the art, but with old speakers the sound might be just.. ehh. I M not so humble, get the best front speakers you can afford. For the monitors, get the best used you can afford. Beware the floor monitors: They look cool, but often 'throw' the sound past where you want to hear. Thus, the drummer hears all, and you hear none! I don't like little spot monitors, but many do. I prefer my monitors be cheaper 1x12 PA speakers on top of my 2x15s + horns, pointed back at front vocals, with a spot monitor for the drums, esp if they sing.
There: Time to get off my soapbox. Much happy happy joy joy to you!