PA/Powered Speaker Upgrade Advice

[Oregon Donor]

Hi there, long time lurker, new poster!

I play primarily as a solo acoustic singer-songwriter at various breweries, wineries, and restaurants in my area. I play a ‘98 Taylor 310 series with a K&K Pure Mini inside and run it into a BBE Acoustimax preamp. I have the following PA set-ups that I use:

1.) Fishman Loudbox Artist either by itself (smallest rooms) or into a 300W Alto TX210 powered speaker (I have another of the same speaker but rarely use both). I play a weekly gig at a winery and while the Alto speaker is far from the top of the line, this setup meshes with the acoustics of that room beautifully. For small rooms this set up serves me pretty well, but for bigger rooms I use—

2.) Fishman SA330X. I got this used and I’ve come to love the practical advantages that the line-array set-up offers and greatly enjoy its coverage and its voicing. For somewhat bigger rooms or small outdoor patios this rig is wonderful, especially when the number of variables to account for is small.

However!

I’m now encountering larger rooms and a more substantial amount of room chatter to overcome (particularly at breweries, whose acoustics are almost uniformly terrible here). I’m also playing more varied outdoor gigs and I simply don’t like the way the Fishstick sounds in larger outdoor settings. My singing and my playing are not loud in and of themselves; I have a ‘soft’ musical footprint.

I’ve tried the Fishstick in these situations and I have to crank it well beyond my comfort level to compete with the noise. I’ve even come to look at the first set/ dinner rush slot as a war of attrition. Once the room dies down and the natural acoustics of the room are restored my comfort level immediately improves and I’m able to deliver as I wanted to from the get go.

I’d like to solve this problem simply and have more firepower/headroom to handle these larger rooms, both with and without the extraneous crowd noise I mentioned. Since this is strictly for solo gigs I’d really prefer to not add a mixer—I really love the blend and tone I get from the Fishman products I use. From the research I’ve done it seems that I just need a stronger powered speaker. To that end the QSC K10 (or K10.2) seems to be the most well recommended. (I was initially tempted by the K8 but the K10 seems like a stronger choice). The cost isn’t an issue for me as I believe a smart investment will pay itself off. I’m curious, then—

1.) Would a QSC K10 be a strong solution for this problem? Is there another speaker you’d recommend over it? Specifically I’m curious if you think the added power and dispersion of this speaker would give me the “leg up” in these situations.

2.) I think I would favor running the Artist into said speaker like my first configuration, but has anyone done so with the Fishstick? It seems like an incongruous setup to have both the line array and the powered speaker unless the layout of the room(s) necessitated it.

3.) From what I’ve read about the QSC series’ DSP, while it’s interesting technology, I don’t want to do any EQing through the speaker. Can I turn the DSP off / is there some kind of “flat/default/no EQ setting”?

I’d really appreciate any thoughts and feedback you might have—thank you!

[fitness1]

"but I rarely use both"

If it were me, I'd daisy chain the TX210's off one of the other units with XLR connections and see what happens. Make sure you get them up in the air.

I played a very large room a short time ago with almost 200 people (not being that quiet either!) with a pair of TX10's on stands and got lots of compliments on my sound.

Just a thought

[YamahaGuy]

I have a Yamaha DXR10 that I had used in halls with 150+ people. I use a small mixer, but with your Fishman Artist into it, I think you'd be fine. Anyway, the DSP has an option for FOH, which has pretty good bass for a 10, monitor, which cuts the bass, and off which is flat. Killer speaker. I'm now using the single speaker for outdoor events and it throws a long way. Very clear, and a terrific warranty. Side handles (lack of) are my only gripe.

[krisls]

I think you would be happy with the 10's or 8's in the scenarios you describe. I have both original K 10's n 8's and use them depending on the setup. One place is a big old warehouse setup. Tall ceilings and funny 'rooms', alcoves almost in places. The 8's actually work better, a pair on one stick, up high and angled off a fork in my little corner. The 10's do give a little more bottom end if that is a consideration. They are also a little bigger and heavier, but still pretty small if you've been around a while.

Either of these would be fine or the similar offerings from RCF, EV, Yammie etc. As to DSP, pick one n leave it after that basically. I know the .2 variants in QSC have more options than my originals, but they are pretty much try one or two then set n forget. Run from the mixer, not the speaker.

Kris