Originally Posted by martingitdave
Yes, trips to those stores are dangerous to marriages. I really like the Maui 5 design for small reinforcement. The 4 channels with a set of stereo XLRs into the back is super smart for a mixer. I've never heard one, so I'll assume it is, at least, equally as good.
Allow me to plant the seeds of interest for the Behringer XR12 digital mixer. I just found a discounted one on eBay. I've been reading this manual and reviewing the app. Looks like a great solution and gives you all the simultaneous effects you can shake a stick at.
BTW, I were going to gig nightly with a compact unit, I would have bought the EVOX 8 with the XR12 digital mixer. After reading about all of these units, that appears to be the best built, most power, and cleanest sounding. The EVOX 5 looks good too. In the US it's $1000, which isn't totally unreasonable.
But, if you're going to buy something road worthy, it seems to me that you would opt for the EVOX 8 unit with more power at $2,000 with the XR12 mixer, bags, etc. At this ~$2k price point, I like it better than the Bose L1S/B1 with tone-match, or the Fishman SA330x with expansion and sub.
Gotta admit, the engineer in me loves reading about, and discussing, Acoustic amplification.
Over the years, I've been all over the map in terms of PA equipment.
I started with my old Peavy 15" cabs and 8 channel powered mixer that weighed about 175 lbs combined. That served me well for 6 years I had a band with my twin brother.
Then, I quit and sold my stuff and didn't play out for 15 years except for church, occasional coffee houses, and weekly sessions at an authentic Irish pub with ex pats. No amplification needed. I can sing and play loud! Recall the Irish reference.
In the ensuing period, my wife encouraged me to play out again and bought me a Fishman Loudbox Mini for practice at home.
I connected with another guy who wanted to start a duo, sold the mini, and bought the Fishman SA220 on sale. (I should have kept the mini for practice. Plus, it was bad taste to sell a gift my wife gave me. Thus began the bad amplification Karma.)
That duo fizzled and I sold the SA220 because I didn't think I needed a $1000 system for practice at home. (In hindsight, I should have kept it for future use.)
I went back to buy another LB Mini for home use, and bought an open box Line 6 L2t based on Ken's advice. That was a good unit, but with a 10" woofer, it's not great at real low volume. I could make it work at low volume in monitor mode, but I couldn't reach the dang controls and power switch without flipping it over! I got inspired to play out with it a few times. Sounded real good.
Through a buddy, I got connected with a wine bar. I showed up for a gig and discovered the room is about 75 feet long and split in two! My L2t had to be really cranked to get to the back of the room. This would have been a good application for the Bose L1 M2.
I already have hearing/nerve damage and wear hearing devices now. I won't subject my ears to that decibel level any more. I don't want to be deaf in a few years.
In preparation for the next time, I got a Carvin S600 to reach the back of the room. That was even worse for use at home and made too much to carry to the bar. I also learned that the farmers market I'm supposed to play at this summer has power, so the S600 battery feature was moot. The club sound guy offered to do sound for that anyway. I returned the S600.
I recalled the reasons I stopped doing this. I don't need the money, my wife doesn't like me gone so much, and it's a pain in the rear. Plus, there are guys who actually need the gig to make ends meet.
Now, I'm playing in situations where PA equipment is provided: church, charity band (we even rent pro rehearsal space with built in PA), and our Folk music club.
All I need is something cheap, that sounds good at modest volume, so I can rehearse and not annoy my wife. And, the fact that I can potentially take it somewhere to play for 50 or less quiet, folk music loving people, is a bonus. I could have bought an amp, but frankly, I prefer full range PA equipment. Even the cheap stuff sounds better to me than an amp.
The new XR12 mixer is a (clandestine) experiment for our club that is presently using a somewhat antiquated powered Peavy mixer and passive speakers. The system sounds good, but it's a lot to haul around for our needs.
I'm also hedging for the future, because history suggests that I'll want to go play out again. :-). I'll have the mixer setup and available. I've learned that speakers are a dime a dozen. If you have the right mixer and processing, pretty much any full range powered PA speaker(s) (6.5" array or 2-way 8s, 10s, 12s, etc.) sound good for acoustic music. The perfect all-in-one solutions are either imaginary, or too expensive for my needs.
So, I can just grab some cheap powered speakers (like Alto Troupers), hook up the mixer and go. I keep the speaker stands, mic stands, mics, and cables hidden in my basement closet.
My little fantasy is to start a family folk group with my little girls. Amplification is the least of my worries. They don't like to sing in public, despite lovely little voices, (recall the Irish reference) and won't practice their instruments.
*evil grin*
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