What's the best small PA for a solo acoustic performers?
 

Going to do some smaller solo one man acoustic pub gigs, with a few guest appearances every now an them,. So looking for a new lightweight system that's really small but punchy for venues of about 50/100. Something with at least 4/6 channels max and reverb. But something I can adjust quickly at hand. Any advice?

I've been using the Fishman SA220 for years and I highly reccomend it. It sounds wonderful and has channels for guitar and vocals, has reverb, looks good, is very light and comes with a carry case. My total set up time with this is about five minutes. I'm guessing the total weight at about 20 lbs.

There's been a lot of discussion about this lately! I'll let those with extensive experience with the SoloAmp comment on how well it will cover a noisy room of 100 people, but you certainly would have to add a mixer to it to accommodate guests and etc.

If you're going to get a mixer anyway, I'd like to put in a word for a system made up of said mixer and a pair of powered PA speakers (10 or 12 inch).

Lots of ways to go in terms of particular brands, but I can at least recommend the Allen and Heath ZED10FX and RCF Art series speakers (either the 310a or the 312a) as a very good and affordable set up that will fit your stated needs. Right now in the US you can get those speakers for around $400 each and the mixer for under $300. For about $1100 that would make the core of a very nice little PA for a small acoustic act.

Of course, there are even better and more expensive possibilities out there, but I'll leave it to others to recommend them. You didn't say how much you can or want to spend.

Louis

There is no "best" so you are going to get many opinions of what is best for their style and needs. What is your price range? Do you sing? Do you want expandability to allow more musicians? Are you planning to mic your instruments or use a pickup system built into the guitar? What type of music do you play? Are you desiring a natural acoustic sound or do you use effects? These are a few important considerations when deciding which system or amp would be best for YOU.

This is the scenario - Solo acoustic based original stuff with some covers thrown in. Acoustic style only, no effects, "Springsteen unplugged' best describes me. Mcilroy Accoustic, Gibson j200, all with the same Fishman Matrix Blend undersaddle and gooseneck mic pickup. I sing. I'm more of a singer who plays guitar. The ''song' and the interpretation is the key. The Price range, no issues @ $700 - $3000. Only issue is I'm a plug and play guy. I've alway had "people do it for me". Now I just want to get in my car and play and perform without the techno hassle. I have zero sound tech knowledge. To me it's about the performance. If I could do it without electronics I would! I love getting friends up and just jamming and seeing what happens, so need the flexibility to acommodate them without switching the audience off with sound checks etc.
Hope that helps.

Wow!! Nice guitar collection!
If you want simple , light and about 5-10 minute setup then the Fishman Soloamp ( $1,000 USD )or one of the Bose L1 system ( $2,000 USD) may be ideal. The Bose is 4 channel and the Fishman is two channel.

I'll be buying a Soloamp soon, and in terms of plug and play, it's unbeatable. If you plan on playing with friends a lot however, it may not be the best choice. I'd say something like a Fender Passport might be good, as it's simple, portable, easy to setup, decent sounding, and can encorporate other musicians. Louis's recommendation is also a good one. With a max budget of $3000 however, you could probably go for QSC K8's or K10's, which are pretty phenomenal powered speakers. The option of an acoustic amp is also very simple, and I know many people use Roland AC60's and 90's or Marshall AS50d and AS100d for small pub shows. In the end it's what appeals to your ear, eye, arm, and budget. I would say ask friends who play what they use, go to shows and see what the setup is any if you like the sound, and then make an educated decision.

Best of luck, live sound is fun.

Alex Evans

Most of my friends have large Peavey, Yamaha systems with larger mixing consoles, and load of wires etc and have more experience in sound mixing. Sometimes it takes up too much room and time. The Bose system seems an option, but I've never heard on in action

In the under $3,000 category, my choice would be the Bose L1 Model II with the optional ToneMatch Audio Engine. Actually, I'd prefer it over some more expensive systems. The less expensive L1 Model I offers most of the performance of the Model II.

I would highly recommend buying three QSC K-10 speakers (one as a monitor), a pair of stands, and a small 8-channel mixer. The QSCs sound great and can get as loud as you'll want in those size rooms.

Fender passport works for me.

Believe it or not, I've been using a Behringer 8 channel, unpowered mixer, and 8" Behringer powered speakers. I go into nursing homes and entertain, never more than 100, and I've never had the speaker volume higher than 9 o'clock.

Speakers.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHB208D

Mixer.

http://www.samash.com/p/Behringer_XE...ixer_-49954001

Like I said I've been using this with heavily for over a year!

If you can afford the QSC's... they sound phenomenal.

Bose lead the way in sound quality, portability and erection/breakdown time. Depending on the size of your gigs, check out the Bose L1 compact, or the L1 model 2. I have been using mine for over two years and it is the single most impressive piece of kit that I have ever owned during a lifetime of buying and using all manner of high end guitars, guitar amps and PA systems. In short, it does not sound like a PA, it is extremely pure, like a loud, hi quality hi-fi system. And the throw is 190 degrees (Yup, 190 degrees) as opposed to the narrow beam of 'punchy', coloured sound often put out by conventional 'boxed' speaker systems.

Just go to a store and try one. But take your money, cos you will buy it. ;)

I would say yes to the L1, but no to the Compact... at that price, the Fishman Soloamp is a lot nicer sounding. If you think its lacking bass, you could add a small powered speaker (K8 or K10 would work beautifully), and still have a very portable, loud, great sounding rig.

I'd agree that your three choices are
fishman soloamp - perhaps with an additional mixer
QSC K-10 (or 12) speakers and a mixer
or the Bose L1, with an additional mixer

they sound different, come in at different price points with increasing complexity/weight/price/setup time but all sound good to great and work very nicely for your described setting

I agreed with Royd. These are definitely the ones to choose from. They all have pluses and minuses, but they're pretty much the best of the best of the moment... Unless you go for like a nice Daedalus setup or something, but that would be super expensive. For me? Soloamp, and probably a K10 as an extension speaker or monitor, if necessary.

I use 2 EON G2 10 inch powered speakers and a small Behringer mixer.

Easy setup, great sound.

I agree with the Fishman SoloAmp recommendations as being the best choice for the scenario you describe. It also has a 1/4" aux input (with volume, but no tone adjustments, iirc) if you just needed to accommodate the occasional extra guitar guest. Or, as others have said, you could add a small mixer.

The sound quality, portability, and value of this PA for the voice/guitar act with coverage space typical for up to 100 people make this a good choice.

Another plus for the Fishman's value, compared to the also good sounding Bose, is that the Fishman speaker column is stand mounted, up in the air, so you're not paying extra money for a speaker column with half the speakers in the column being near the floor.

On the Bose L1 compact, the lower two sections of the speaker column are 'dummies' there to adjust the height of the speaker stack; they are not speakers. In the Case of the L1 model 2, the stack is about 7ft high anyway, so no-one misses out, and even more so if the unit is on a stage, then the lower mounted speakers are feeding directly (in the horizontal plain) to listeners, whereas the Fishman is effectively above their heads in this application. In other words, the L1M2 literally has it covered, no matter what the elevation. And, you don't have to transport and erect a speaker stand.

If the performer was in a venue large enough to have a fairly high stage, then neither the Fishman SoloAmp nor the Bose column type speakers would be a good choice, since, in that case, ideally one would want larger, more powerful speakers - either Meyer style trap cabs, or line array hang cabs - set up high and tilted down at the audience. And in this larger stage environment, the venue almost always supplies the PA, anyway, not the performer.

But for the OPs scenario of a coffeehouse/small club type environment, the column speaker works well, and the SoloAmp column is well regarded as a good $1k PA.

You can't say that. It depends. There are lots of small rooms that have stages - even high ones. Stages are not exclusive to large halls! The Bose L1M2 is easily suitable for small/medium halls. In any case, the Fishman SoloAmp is not really comparable with the Bose L1M2 in terms of what it can handle. The Fishman is 220w and the Bose is 600W. The Bose has separate (though extremely portable, I know, I use two) bass enclosures that really project lows when called upon to do so. Otherwise, the Bose Compact with its adjustable height speaker column will account for rooms and small halls. I'm sure the Fishman SoloAmp is a great unit, coming from one of the world's foremost producers of high quality transducers and reproducers. We've never had it so good for high quality, portable sound systems.

Oh I see, yet another Bose kool-aid drinker. A decent product, oversold.
The last thing I'd want in a larger (500-1000) venue is overly dispersed sound bouncing off the walls and floor.

But we're not talking about larger venues (500-1000)?! Who suggested using the Bose in such a larger venue? not me!

So why do you link my name in a derogatory manner to a concept/application with which I do not align myself ?

I am also partial to QSC (so is Larry Carlton). The A&H ZED-10 has the best specs in town, and together with one or more K-10s you'll have a very high quality, powerful, mobile and streamlined setup. Personally, the SoloAmp doesn't thrill me. I'd much rather have even just a single K-10 over anything, including AER.

My apologies, steveyam, for being snippy.

Accepted my friend. :)

Fishman Soloamp SA220 is very nice. We are a duo and use a Fishman Loudbox for guitars (as a preamp sent to the monitor in on the SA220) and the SA220 for vocals. It works great!

Taz2822, I can relate quite well to your situation; you've described yourself, and your situation in much the same manner that I'd describe my own. I also describe myself as "a singer who plays guitar", and like you, I often have others join in. I always bring spare mic's along, precisely for that scenario. I'm of the opinion that getting others involved, can give you that magic audience-rapport that really lights up a performance. It works great, but, you have to "know" your audience, and the individuals involved, in order to pull it off successfully.

That said; your P/A requirements can vary widely, even for these small gigs. A lot will depend on the room acoustics, crowd-density, and crowd behavior. The simple act of hearing yourself, can also pose quite a challenge, especially when you're doing harmonies, etc. A decent monitoring capability is highly desirable.

I'm a firm believer in "bringing enough rig for the gig". It's impossible to "turn up" what's not there, and, it's equally undesirable to listen to a "loud" system that sounds harsh, or lacks intelligibility when pushed hard. You have a realistic budget, so I believe your goal is quite achievable. If I were you, I'd seek out your local offerings, by contacting your local (or regional) "pro-sound & light dealers",,,, and not your local "music store". Chances are, you'll find something quite decent, at a reasonably affordable price. I generally find that the "deals" offered by these pro-sound dealers, are much more attractive than you'll find at the typical "music store". In the U.K., you'd most likely want to check out the TurboSound and DynaCord active loudspeaker systems. Why "active"??? To reduce the amount of gear you have to drag around. There's no need for amps/ amp-racks/processors, and you can daisy-chain as many active boxes as you like.

I have a wide variety of mixers, for a wide variety of applications. These range from 24-channel digital and analogue boards, to 16 channel analogue, 8-channel analogue, and even 4-channel boards. For the application you've described, I'd probably go with something like the Soundcraft EFX-8, or better yet, the MFXi8. That gives you plenty of inputs, up until you start close-mic'ing drums/percussion. Even then, you can still close-mic a few drums, depending on how many musicians are plugged in.

The EFX-8 sounds great,,, the built-in Lexicon FX sound great, and as long as you can get by one aux-send, it's a very nice board to use. It's very easy to dial in a very "musical" sound, despite the somewhat limited on-board EQ. (a single swept-mid EQ). You won't get hi-pass filters (HPF) with the EFX-8, but that shouldn't be a big deal for an acoustic solo act. The MFXi8 will give you those HPF's, and an extra aux-send (2 monitor mixes). Personally, I find the small 4-channel boards a bit too "fiddley" for my liking. The metering on those boards is generally less-than stellar,,, the EQ too limited and lacking musicality, and the outboard power-supplies are a pain-in-the-butt.

Get yourself a few decent, well constructed cables, some decent mics and stands, and you should be good to go. As a solo/duo acoustic act, you probably won't have much stage-noise to deal with, so you should be fine with Shure SM-58's. The cardioid pick-up pattern will be a little more forgiving of mic-technique, than that of a super-cardioid mic.

One final note; when you start playing at "pro" sound levels, you really want to be prepared to deal with feedback. This is not something that's optional,,,, it's a must,,, and it needs to be addressed. At the very least, you'll want a good 31-band graphic EQ for your monitor(s). Something like a dBX 131, or 231.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.