[martingitdave]

I gave up on the idea. And, I'm not at all surprised that audio companies have too. We are all too fickle a bunch of people to base any R&D on us. The “real" money making market is the prosumer market, where folks buy stuff for less than $1,000, use it, and don't return the product 15 minutes after writing 500 word bad reviews.

I would avoid us like the plague. :-)

In all seriousness, I am looking at pro audio for the kinds of singer songwriter gigs that we do in a few of buckets. Each bucket requires the performer to have a few different tools. If you are a solo act playing for more than 100-200 people, God bless you. Get a sound man. And, remember, buy for your actual crowd size. Don’t go crazy with power for a wine bar or a pub. First, you should not be playing loud enough to hurt your audiences’ hearing. Secondly, you have to carry this stuff.

As for me, you can see in my signature, I gave up on the idea of the modular system. I now have a small and small/medium sized system. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. One is not a substitute for the other.

Bucket One: Solo Act

Tool 1: (1) Small portable/battery powered unit (Bose S1, Loudbox, AER, FreePlay, Laney, QSC K8.2 etc.)

I think most performers should have access to a simple two channel amp/speaker unit with 6.5” or larger speaker that can handle up to 50 listeners. This is your “coffee house” setup.

The lighter the better - and certainly less than 20 pounds. Battery power, and speaker pole mount is a bonus. Reverb is important. For those of you who use combo pedals like the TC Play Acoustic or VE-8, it makes sense just to get a good powered speaker like the QSC K8.2.

Tool 2: (1) Medium sized system.

This can be anything: speakers and mixer, column unit, personal PA system. This is your “pub gig” setup. It should be a 2-way system with a minimum of an 8" woofer and some tweeters with at least 200 watts RMS. The mixer can be on-board or outboard. A four a channel mixer would work in case you have someone sit in.

Bucket Two: Duo Act


Tool 1: (2) Small portable/battery powered units (Bose S1, Loudbox, AER, FreePlay, Laney, QSC K8.2 etc.)

Each dude or dudette needs their own. Don't bother trying to hook up mixers to a single 6.5" speaker.

Tool 2: (1) Medium sized system that can handle a pub gig.

Let's be honest, unless you are playing a really loud joint, you should be able to get 2 guitars and vocals through a medium sized PA in a pub. However, this is the point where a modular system can start to make sense.

Bucket Three: Small Ensemble or Band

Go get a proper PA system and stop fussing with amps. You probably need a pair of 2-way tops and (possibly) a sub woofer. When you choose your mixer, buy one with twice the number of mic preamps than you have today, with a minimum of 8.