Jul 07, 2004 08:08 pm Sure, as long as it's not a 'powered' mixer that your running into channles 1+2 .
Fender PA / Mixer Question
Posted on Jul 07, 2004 04:49 pm
cocofromscotland
Hello!
Member Since: Jan 12, 2004
Hi Folks
OK. I am considering buying the following PA Gear for some gigs I plan on doing. BEFORE I do I was hoping some of you guys can offer advice on the gear and how well it will go together in terms of technical probs you may see that I cant (I play guitars - I have many geetars and amps, but alas, never bought a PA!).
Here's a bit of the spec below:
Skytek Sky300: 300W Max Power, Woofer: 38cm 15" HF UNIT: High Compression Horn, Connectors: Binding Post & 6.3mm, Jack Impedance: 8ohm, Frequency Range: 30hz - 20khz (Each speaker is 300w)
Fender SR-4150P: 150W Power, Rated Load Impedance: 4ohms, distortion at 150 watts: Less than .5% @ 1KHZ into 4 ohms (What The HELL does that mean>>??), Input Sensitivity: 1.00volts RMS, Input Impedance: 22k ohms, DELTACOMP Range: 20db,
PREAMP SECTION: LOW-Z Input Impedence: 1.82k ohms, HI-Z Impedence: 18.2k ohms
OK guys..most of this means nowt to me as I say! Any input you have is VERY VERY much appreciated.
The Fender is second hand and the speakers are brand new. I can get the whole lot for £300 (Approx $575)...
I will be using for smallish gigs and I know the speakers are WAY louder than I need - I think ahead!! I will be using my VAMP, Drum Machine and vocal so 4 inputs will cover me but..
Here is a wee question. Could I (If I ever wanted too) use an 8 channel mixer say (jus a cheapo), fire a whole band thru the mixer, output from the mixer i.e. left and right and put these into inputs 1 & 2 of my PA, then control the mix via the mixer, setting the whole PA to nuetral or flat? I am saying can I effectively gain more channels than the PA has by using a mixer??
Cheers guys.
If ANYBODY can answer this..its you guys!
Coco.
[ Back to Top ]
Jul 07, 2004 08:08 pm Sure, as long as it's not a 'powered' mixer that your running into channles 1+2 .
Jul 07, 2004 08:18 pm There's a few way's to do it though...
Jul 08, 2004 06:38 am Aye..I had considered this possibility as I had been thinking about doing some live gig work for other bands.
As a wee money maker and a good way of gaining some real good experience mixing live! I was thinking that if I had a non-powered mixer I could effectively run a whole band via the mixer then right thru the PA, using it as a power amp.
Its 150W so its not huge but I am talking about pub gigs and maybe small clubs (tho most clubs have their own PA).
I also plan on using it for my own gigs which I am hoping to get on the go towards the end of the year. What do you think of the equipment itself then Hue?? I have no experience of Skytec myself but I sure as hell aint paying £300 for 2 Wharfdale speakers for pub gigs!!
Cheers...
Coco.
Jul 08, 2004 12:51 pm If you plan on doing live gigs, even in a small venue, you will need more than 150 watts. Also, you will need a graphic EQ, the more bands the better, to ring out the room so you can actually get the most from the watts you have. I would suggest to get at least 300 watts per side, with each side having at least one hipack and one bass bin. If you get hipacks that have a horn and a 12" or 15" woofer, you will have room in the frequency spectrum to get a 15" or 18" bin to handly the < 200hz (or thereabouts) signals.
Every room you go into will have different frequencies that will feedback quickly, you need the graphic EQ to locate and get rid of them to allow your FOH speakers more headroom. Also, since PA's have a tendency to get pushed harder than studio gear, a limiter/compressor unit is also desirable.
Lastly, the single best thing you can do for you system is to buy a couple power conditioners. For a smaller club, and considering the gear you are considering, one for the stage and one for the FOH island is probably sufficient. You never know what kind of electrical systems some of these clubs have, protect yourself...practice safe sound engineering...trust me.
Jul 08, 2004 01:48 pm Cheers DB - THAT is just what I needed to know!
Aye - take the point re the wottage - tis not ideal but price was right :-) ! The system does have some main EQ onboard and some form of fender compressor but not stand alone gear which I could do with.
I will probably build up to this bit by bit til I have all the gear I need then "hit the road" as tehy say!
I will also DEFO get some of those power conditioners..I dont want fried alive mid gig!
Ta for the advice. I knew someone here would have the info I need.
Cheers...
Coco.
Aug 13, 2005 08:37 am Hi coco,Just a note ,I use Skytec bassbins on pa and am well pleased at price,sound,weight and looks.As for mixer sometimes it can difficult getting the signals right from mixer output to amp input.Trial and error will sort it for solo work but a full band mike up will stress amp.Mixer/amp or Mixer+Power amp will give you the facilities + happy bands=income.
Aug 13, 2005 05:04 pm Say coco f.s., do you have anything for stage monitor? You could get that deal offered, and then get yourself another power amp for use on the mains? Or use it as "backup" (who ever heard of amp trouble at a paying gig?) Of course, you've got all that money that you won't share with the rest of us...
As a side note: Our old band very seldom got rid of old gear. It usually got patched into service somewhere else, such as our old 6 channel PA head became our 1st stage monitor amp when we upgraded. We "expanded" our inputs from 6 to 12 with the addition of a Tapco mixer to the 6 channel PA head (we were ahead of our time). The 6 channel PA head became our keyboard stage amp when we updated our stage monitor... Next thing we knew, it took a truck and 4 roadies to get us to a gig. We went bankrupt from the labor costs!!! Just kiddin', but the band musicians' cuts went up a negligible (sic?) amount over the years, since we actually had more helpers than musicians!
Aug 15, 2005 02:18 pm JUST SHARING MY INPUT
i am a previous owner of a fender p-150
the speakers are tiny
it doesnt get the job done for even small gigs
at least for like bands
if you have an acoustic thing
thatd be good for it
but IMO it doesnt cut it
Aug 15, 2005 05:46 pm Hey coco, im going to have to agree with apple. I dont think that P.A. would cut it either....
Just a thought, i would probably stick that composer of yours over the whole mix and set it to a really high compression ratio to limit things.
Its embarrising when your coming into the chorus and you yell into the mic and the whole things clips for 5 seconds. Believe me lol.
Also do you ever use your V-amp thru your marshall? Im not sure how it would sound or anything but you would be able to get extra headroom for your vocals out of your P.A. if you only had the mics running through it.
Also if the sysytem clips, the guitars are still going :)
I've done a couple of gigs where we just balanced the sounds between our amps, the P.A. and the drums.
Also make sure you take into account the position of the vocal mics to the P.A. For eg. You probably dont want the P.A. behind you, feedback and all.
If you are going to try and tune the room like dB said, make sure to dial in more HF than needed in the sound check. People absorb HF easily, so the perfect sound could go pretty dull when people start walking in the door
cheers
C_S
Aug 15, 2005 05:53 pm Oh yea, and roll off everything at like 100 Hz for some more headroom
Aug 15, 2005 06:11 pm Has anyone made note of how old this thread is? I am pretty sure Coco found his answer since then ;-)
Aug 16, 2005 04:51 am heh, whos the bastard who brought that up? lol
Aug 18, 2005 07:56 pm lmao!!
i didn't notice the dates when i was reading this thread....dude, would that be a record for resurrecting a dead thread? over a year! haha
Aug 23, 2005 03:06 pm July 04 ? Oh no! Thats it, I quit,me heads gone.
Aug 23, 2005 05:27 pm Wha wha wha hoppen? Ya mean it's *NOT* 2004???? Rip Van CDwinkle here...
|
Related Forum Topics: |
If you would like to participate in the forum discussions, feel free to register for your free membership.