Smaller PA Gear with big sound?

[Funky54]

Could I build a set of mains using 10" or maybe 12" drivers of lighter materials that can handle Wedding receptions, 200 people and out door gigs?

I have built a few tuned subwoofer and main for audiophile purposes...
Truth be told I have heard several 6" and 5" drivers at 200-300 watts that could recreate what my Alon 12" cabs can produce.

My Bag End 12" monitors run circles around my old dual 15" Peavey mains for clarity and frankly volume.

Thinking about maybe building some 10" or 12" mains...

Thoughts on this? Staying passive.

 

[Nelson89]

Well my Bose tower can handle upto about 500 people, so i'm sure you'll find a way to make it work. What do you need them to handle exactly? Vocal PA, or are we talking everything mic'd up?

 

[teleman55]

I've done plenty of gigs that size, some outdoors and larger, with a 6 piece, miking just the vocals. Plus running the keys through the PA. Only other instrument getting miked is a sax when we have one. This with some cheap Yamaha 12 inch passive mains. Granted, they are probably approaching the limit of their capability, but they've worked fine. Work just as well as my older, bigger 15 inch Yorkville ones. And weigh less.

 

[Funky54]

We always mic'd the bass drum, one between the hi-hat and snare, one over hang over the drums, One on each of the three vocals and one draped over the bass amp. (Bass dude ran a Fender bassman for a long time, then switched to hartke 4 10's and we still mic'd for clarity) The guitars didnt need any. The drum and bass were just cracked on to just add a touch of definition for the audiance. I too have done gigs with just all 12's.. Even Weddings with 400 people with just 8 12" cabs, but I'm wanting to be super light, small in size and be able to mic everything. I'm realy thinkng two super efficiant 10" mains with large horns built into them. then maybe a single super efficiant 12" sub.

I have two peavy 8.5 550 watts a side each amps and one 300 watt a side amp.

I'm thinking 550 at 4 ohm for one sub, the other 550 side split for two monitors totalling 4 ohms on each side. Then 550 to each main, in stereo, for the audiance. For larger needs I could add maybe two more 10" speakers with the 300 watt a side amp for added monitors or side wash.

Might even think about using 8" drivers?? Dual 8" drivers equalling 4 ohms total with horns for mains could realy sound good I think???

 

[buddaman71]

It seems you're making it harder than it has to be, but that's just my personal feeling. A mixer + 2 - OSC K10 active speakers is pretty hard to beat for that application and the clarity and articulation is far superior to anything comparably-priced in a passive cabinet/amp/rack rig.

They sound amazing and get plenty loud for your application. If you ever need to cover more area, simply add more speakers. Active is the way to go.

http://www.qscaudio.com/products/speakers/k_series/k_series_k10.php

 

[3dognate]

It seems you're making it harder than it has to be, but that's just my personal feeling. A mixer + 2 - OSC K10 active speakers is pretty hard to beat for that application and the clarity and articulation is far superior to anything comparably-priced in a passive cabinet/amp/rack rig.

They sound amazing and get plenty loud for your application. If you ever need to cover more area, simply add more speakers. Active is the way to go.

http://www.qscaudio.com/products/speakers/k_series/k_series_k10.php

 

[loudboy]

Jbl srx-712m

 

[billyguitar]

If you really want to build your own stuff, here's an interesting site. Also, I've used Carvin's n-dym 10"s for monitors. They sound really good!

http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/SLA.html

 

[Ulysses]

Jbl srx-712m

This is a stupid loud tiny cab. Takes a lot of power to push to its potential, though. To prove a point about these cabs, I saw a well known southern sound contracter put one of these per side coupled with a pair of SRX728S per side...that's eight x 1000W 18" woofers paired with a couple of tiny tops. These insane cabs inexplicably matched everything that the wall of subs could dish out. I don't know if I would try this in a large hall but for the average club these can maintain full blown rock concert levels.

 

[loudboy]

This is a stupid loud tiny cab. Takes a lot of power to push to its potential, though. To prove a point about these cabs, I saw a well known southern sound contracter put one of these per side coupled with a pair of SRX728S per side...that's eight x 1000W 18" woofers paired with a couple of tiny tops. These insane cabs inexplicably matched everything that the wall of subs could dish out. I don't know if I would try this in a large hall but for the average club these can maintain full blown rock concert levels.

They're also about 30lbs. each.

Insane performance for such a tiny, light cab.

I use 2 pairs for tiny club gigs and low-budget outdoor things - one pair for mains and one pair for monitors driven by a Yamaha EMX-512C, and they're really nice-sounding also, so you don't need 1200W/cab to make them sound acceptable.

 

[fisticuffs]

We have a demo set of these:
http://hkaudio.com/us/elements.php5
I used them for a wedding gig. The 2 subs, 4 tops and poles all fit in the front seat of my car. Setup was easy, coverage was even. I'd buy 'em. Not the cheapest solution once you start adding in extra boxes but pretty cool stuff.

 

[Funky54]

Jbl srx-712m

Little research, I could build them using their own woofer and cross over for less than half the cost sweetwater shows.

 

[loudboy]

Little research, I could build them using their own woofer and cross over for less than half the cost sweetwater shows.

What about the HF Driver? That's what's doing most of the lifting in that box.

If you're diligent, you can find them used for just a little more than that, and you don't have to build them.

I got a pair from a member here for $1200 and they'd been used maybe a half-dozen times. Better shape than if they were kicking around GC or somewhere.

 

[dmagalhaes]

It seems you're making it harder than it has to be, but that's just my personal feeling. A mixer + 2 - OSC K10 active speakers is pretty hard to beat for that application and the clarity and articulation is far superior to anything comparably-priced in a passive cabinet/amp/rack rig.

They sound amazing and get plenty loud for your application. If you ever need to cover more area, simply add more speakers. Active is the way to go.

http://www.qscaudio.com/products/speakers/k_series/k_series_k10.php

These are what I use. I use the amp in the mixer to power the monitors.

 

[Funky54]

What about the HF Driver? That's what's doing most of the lifting in that box.

If you're diligent, you can find them used for just a little more than that, and you don't have to build them.

I got a pair from a member here for $1200 and they'd been used maybe a half-dozen times. Better shape than if they were kicking around GC or somewhere.

Parts Express, Peavy driver same specs...$22.95 I like what I build better than the factory stuff.

 

[robare99]

Well my Bose tower can handle upto about 500 people, so i'm sure you'll find a way to make it work. What do you need them to handle exactly? Vocal PA, or are we talking everything mic'd up?

What kind of Bose setup?

 

[modulusman]

Well my Bose tower can handle upto about 500 people, so i'm sure you'll find a way to make it work. What do you need them to handle exactly? Vocal PA, or are we talking everything mic'd up?

Gee when my band plays for 500 people we use 4-QSC hpr181 subs and 4- JBLprx535s. I wonder which one of us sounds like a real band.

 

[Funky54]

Gee when my band plays for 500 people we use 4-QSC hpr181 subs and 4- JBLprx535s. I wonder which one of us sounds like a real band.

No offense to the Bose fans...but they are the laughing stock of the audiophile world where I spend a lot more of my time. I have heard the bose for live performances, with anything other than an accoustic enimic Brown Eyed girl Band I dont think they cary the load. DOnt get me wrong they are light and they do accomplish more for their weight and size then one would think, but to cover a rock band or even play club music between sets at a wedding (my world)... they dont have the goods.

 

[3dognate]

Gee when my band plays for 500 people we use 4-QSC hpr181 subs and 4- JBLprx535s. I wonder which one of us sounds like a real band.

I'll put my bet on the QSC + JBL combo.

His defense, The Bose would carry an acoustic + vocal show at a pleasant volume. But no way would it carry a rock band at "rocking out" levels. I've never heard any of the Bose systems do well the minute you throw a drummer in the equation. They are a good solo / Duo system for coffee house / Piano man kinda shows. (Just heard a good duo Thursday night using a Bose tower and pair of subs for acoustic guitar + electric guitar + Backing tracks and vocals. It sounded OK but it was for a dinner crowd at again pleasant volume levels. I see another solo act regularly at the same place that uses a pair of Yamaha DSR 12" powered speakers on poles and he honestly sounds better.)

 

[ProToneThinline]

His defense, The Bose would carry an acoustic + vocal show at a pleasant volume. But no way would it carry a rock band at "rocking out" levels. I've never heard any of the Bose systems do well the minute you throw a drummer in the equation. They are a good solo / Duo system for coffee house / Piano man kinda shows.

I've been using a Bose L1 Compact for several months now, and I really like it. I used it for both solo and band shows, but with a twist.....

For solo acoustic shows it's fine by itself. In fact, it really fills a small to medium sized room nicely.

For band shows, I use a somewhat unique setup. I used the L1C along with a small conventional system. The Bose is set up behing us, near center stage. I use conventional 1 x 15 cabs on either end of the stage, but I run the cabs on the floor, not on stands, and they are also behind the band.

The L1C supplies nice, top end and really good dispersion. The conventional cabs fill out the bottom end, and supply some extra coverage. Since the Bose is up high, and the conventional cabs are down low, we rarely have a feedback problem.

We use a powered mixer to power the cabs. We generally only mic the kick drum, which goes 100% into the cabs, not the Bose. I use the main mix on the head to send to the cabs, and the monitor mix (un-powered) to control what the Bose sees. Since everything is behind us, we don't need a monitor system.

I always get complements on the quality of sound when I use that setup. We're not ear-splitting loud, but we can fill a room pretty well.