PA systems for the solo acoustic performer.

Taylor007 · #1 07-11-2005, 06:55 PM

Well guys I think its time to upgrade.
I thinking a Mackie system or one by Carvin.
Your thoughts? I'd like to get one with a powered amp
with about 6-8 channels, built-in effects & a separate monitor channel.
Thoughts & opinions?

heres the Carvin
http://www.carvin.com/products/singl...ber=xp880-pm15

and the Mackie
http://www.mackie.com/products/406m/index.html

JJBW · #2 07-11-2005, 06:58 PM

those are both good, but I'd personally go with a yorkville system. higher quality, and better bang for the buck.

Guyute · #3 07-11-2005, 07:18 PM

Personally, I love my Mackie. But I'd recommend the 808M over the 406M. The 406M just doesn't have the headroom you may need (especially if you're going to use all 8 channels).

ljguitar · #4 07-11-2005, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taylor007

Well guys I think its time to upgrade.
I thinking a Mackie system or one by Carvin.
Your thoughts? I'd like to get one with a powered amp
with about 6-8 channels, built-in effects & a separate monitor channel.
Thoughts & opinions?

Hi T007...
My gigging partner and I went with a Behringer 800 Watt stereo powered board (2 X 400W) with 8 XLR and 4 quarter inch, plus RCA in/out and a pair of Community 2 way 12'' cabinets. It's the Behringer PMH-3000.

It's pretty much plug and play which is a whole lot easier than our 32 channel big rig with rolling racks of ''stuff'' to make us fill large spaces.

It's perfect for coffee houses and medium sized heavily padded rooms.

matt · #5 07-11-2005, 07:31 PM

the other guitarist in my band has come up with something that:

1) takes all the guesswork out of setting up a PA (any moron with half a brain can do it)
2) can be customized to fit almost ANY need
3) sounds AMAZING

i cant talk anymore about it now...wait a few months..

JohnZ · #6 07-12-2005, 08:27 AM

I believe the Bose PAS to be vastly superior to anything else on the market.

rainsong · #7 07-12-2005, 05:38 PM

I can 2nd the Yorkville's. I have a MP10DS, 10 channel powered and I'm quite happy with it. They are pricey, though, and i just lucked into this one.
If this hadn't come along I would have looked at the new Carvin XP line of powered mixers. I have a PA620 that is now my backup that i never had any problem with with. The XP series has all the features you are looking for and i really like my Carvin PM15 speakers for their price.

harlon · #8 07-12-2005, 07:35 PM

Quote:

i cant talk anymore about it now...wait a few months..

hey ... I think that's a violation of forum rules! You have to tell us now!!!

jim_n_virginia · #9 07-13-2005, 01:54 PM

I think if you play solo (or duo) mostly then the Bose System is hard to be because it sounds great in smaller to medium settings and you can plus a mixer into it to plug more mics or instruments.

I'll have to second the Behringer powered mixer (800 watts 2X 400) I have been using it for a while now and have no complaints. Plus it is so light and about half the price of a Mackie 808M (what i WAS going to get).

It's just plug and play and thats the way I like it!

Folkman · #10 07-16-2005, 02:33 PM

All good systems. If I was starting out again, I would buy the PAS. I tried it out at GC and it sounded fantastic with an off the guitar room wall 814ce(ES) and Sure SM58.

My current system is based on a Mackie 1402 VLZ Mixing board, Alesis Midiverb 4 to a 100 watt Samson reference amplifier (there's a 32 band graphic EQ in between) to 2 EV SX300 speakers. Yes it's a bit much to carry around but I have a singing partner and 3 guitars to plug in.

Folkman

ljguitar · #11 07-16-2005, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Folkman

All good systems. If I was starting out again, I would buy the PAS.

Hi Folkman...
My gigging partner decided that good solid quality combined with low weight and portability were the issues.

I like the sound of lots of small PA systems. Many sound decent these days. As I get older, more compact and lighter systems when I have to lug them are really important. So we upgraded small rig.

Hairline cracked a wrist in a fall...
This meant selling the 38 pound acoustic amp and going to a 20 pound amp. The PAS, Crate, Behringer, GenzBenz all lost because of weight. And the AER lost because of cost.

No individual piece of our new portable rig weighs more than 25 pounds. And the PA is
Two Small Cabinets
On Board/Mixer (in a box)
One bag of mics and cables

Amp - UltraSound (AG-30 and AG-50 depending on the gig).

My gigging partner is still ''lugging'' around his Strawberry Blonde...well that's not totally true. He has started just bringing his preamp and plugging directly into the board for the coffee house gig.

Folkman · #12 07-16-2005, 11:17 PM

I hear you! Believe me there are some nights when breaking down, loading the car and then unloading and putting the gear away can be really tiresome. Especially if the weather is bad. To make things a little bit easier, I use a 2 wheel hand truck that converts to a 4 wheel dolly. I can get the heavy stuff with 2 trips everything else after that. The cart was on sale at Sears and was relatively inexpensive, Best investment I've made (next to my 814CE and 555!).

Folkman

jonahdsage · #13 07-18-2005, 08:56 AM

I'll put my chips in the Bose PAS pile, too. I've been playing with one for over a year now, and this summer i've been playing about 5 nights a week -- which I don't think I would be enjoying nearly as much if the setup/tear down wasn't so easy with the bose. Everyone comments on how incredible the sound is, it's so easy to use and versatile, real easy to get "your sound" out of it. The only downside is the $$ and inputs, but itsounds like people are going around that with the mixing board -- it also doesn't have built in effects like you wanted. You should at least go to a guitar center and check it out, it's real nice

jonah