leftybassman392

Yup, active is definitely the way to go if you want an easy life. It's just easier to get a good sound, easier to expand for bigger venues, and I know I've said it before, but having a sound tech FOH beats doing yourself any day of the week and twice on Sundays. (I know this because I've had to do both many times.) If the gigs are getting you the folding, think how much better you could sound with somebody doing it for you!

One other point - if you're planning to put bass and/or kick drum through the P.A. you might want to consider getting some subs (subwoofers). They handle the lowest frequencies and take the load off the main speakers (which means you can run the entire system louder before it starts to break up).

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1331587920' post='1575531'] That'd be because leather jumpsuits take precedence over notes. [/quote] Oh yes!

I can't help but notice that nobody's mentioned Suzi Quattro.

I'll bet the OP didn't anticipate the way this has developed!

So apparently there aren't already enough things in the world to argue about?

Bit late today as I spent most of it out in the sun, but.... Three weeks to go guys. Time to get your details to Patch so we can do the registration forms.

Can you get them made for a lefty?

[quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1331227765' post='1569914'] The one that gets me is Takamine, it is actually pronounced (by the employees themselves!) Tak a me nee. Very odd. [/quote] 's how I've always pronounced it. 'Eye ban ezz' for Ibanez too. As long as you and those around you know what you're on about, what's the diff? If the salesman says it differently, of course, then he's absolutely correct - right up to the moment I have the goods and sales receipt in my hand.

Wot er lode uv auld bollix!

[u]Speakers[/u]: Active & powered mean the same. They're more expensive but worth it if you can afford them, because the built-in power amps are invariably tailored to the driver characteristics (so you get good sound quality and a little more perceived output for the rating). Also, they're easier to use as you simply take the o/p from your desk (usually XLR) and straight into the back. Most will have sound contouring options and a few other goodies built in. Because of the way they work they can be daisychained if you need more power (which makes them flexible). Passive speakers require separate power amps. I'm not a fan personally so someone else will need to speak on their behalf. [u]Desks[/u]: You don't need to spend a fortune to get quality, but don't skimp either. For simplicity you might want to consider getting one with half-decent effects built-in. Plenty of good ones out there from the likes of Mackie, Yamaha and others. Aux outputs are useful for onstage monitoring, and you'll likely want at least 2 prefade (more if everybody wants their own mix). For the time being you can probably do without outboard, but in due course you may want to invest in some compressors and perhaps a couple of gates (some desks have them built-in as well), and maybe even some sound enhancement and feedback control. [u]Mics[/u]: With you budget you can afford some good ones. You might be surprised what you can get with change from £100. For ultimate quality go for condenser technology (though you may struggle a bit at that price level), but plenty of very good dynamic mics around at that sort of price. Make sure you get good quality stands (K&M are the benchmark) and cables (I'm pretty sure OBBM on this forum could help you out there). Mic stands that don't stay where you put them and cables you have to jiggle a lot do not make for a professional image! If you have that much to spend, you might want to consider getting someone willing & able to do the sound for you. Saves you the bother of having to do it yourself, and will be able to sort out minor issues on the fly (not to mention getting the best from the equipment). Good corporate gigs pay well, and you'll be able to afford it. Hope that helps. I used to do p.a. hire (albeit on a fairly small scale), so feel free to ask.

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1331118306' post='1567814'] I'm in the same position! Bough I'm looking at a pair of RCF art 310-a's with a fb technologies 12"sub. All from active and from a behringer x2442 USB desk. Thing is, this all has to fit into a nissan micra along with all my bass gear, which involves a 410! Dan [/quote] Sounds about right. I assume you have bass and/or kit through the P.A. - otherwise there's no need for the sub at this stage (and at small venues you may not need it anyway of course). In time you may want to invest in a cable snake so you can put it elsewhere in the venue (which also means investing in a sound tech of course...), but apart from that it sounds fine. As has been said before though, don't forget to allow a bit for mics, stands and cables. I'm not completely up on latest gear but Shure, Sennheiser, AKG and the like will sell you perfectly good stage mics for around £60 or so (although spending a bit more will do no harm) - upgrade later when the work load allows it. Have you thought about any form of onstage monitoring?

[quote name='mike257' timestamp='1331107798' post='1567590'] I can't help but see powered speakers as dead money when it comes to upgrading as you're effectively having to replace two components in one if you need something bigger. [/quote] Depends what you get. Good quality gear will have plenty of power, amps optimised to the drivers, excellent sound quality, portability, modular construction (making for an easy upgrade route), simplicity of operation, ....... the list goes on. You can get a pair of SRM450's (400w rms per side) for around £600 - £650 s/h. How is that dead money?

I'd have to agree with the above about getting a vocal P.A. to start with (in which case you won't need subs just yet anyway). You can always expand as the need arises. Simplest solution might be to get a powered mixer and some decent passive speakers, but that may limit you later on when (as is likely) you need to expand the system. Best solution is to get powered speakers that will simply plug into the main outs of your mixer (which also makes your life a bit easier when assembling/striking the P.A. at gigs). Downside is that if they're any good then they'll be expensive to buy new - but you might want to keep an eye out for some good SH Mackies (e.g. SRM450). Good basic mixers are relatively cheap these days, and you can often get basic FX such as reverb built in. Don't be afraid to get more channels than you think you'll need. As has been said, don't forget to budget for mics (£50 - £60 per unit should be enough at this stage), stands and leads.

[quote name='john the pond' timestamp='1331063872' post='1567160'] You dont need all the power modern amps put out and volume is not measured in watts [/quote] I agree - up to a point - with the first part. Headroom is the name of the game. Guitar amps are actually better to be pretty low in power and preferably valve-powered, because you can then crank them enough to get the power valves working properly without deafening everybody in the immediate vicinity. (My current guitar amp is a Cornford with 20 watts, and my favourite amp before that was a MB Studio .22, with a heady 22 watts - actually a bit too loud TBH.) Bass gear, on the other hand, works best with plenty of power in reserve, because although it's not uncommon to have overdrive available in the preamp section, it's not normally a good idea to work the output stage too hard. As to volume being measured in watts, it's actually not quite as simple as that. In one sense that's exactly how it works (more signal = more power drawn = bigger cone movement = more volume). In another (fairly trivial) sense volume is measured in deciBels whereas power is measured in watts so the units of measurement are different - but, all other things being equal, more watts still translates into more deciBels. What I think the poster is getting at here (with apologies if I'm wrong) is that being heard on a stage is not just a matter of power or volume. Balancing the sound tonally so that people don't get in each other's way is a standard procedure in recording, but tends to get forgotten in live performance. If you get the balance right, you won't need as much volume. Sadly, this is all too often easier said than done in practice.

[quote name='njr911' timestamp='1331053837' post='1566941'] 300w !! Wow I didn't know that [/quote] It's the sort of numbers (and up!) that the majority of people talk about for their own rigs. PJB's are lower powered generally, but are something of an exception to the rule. My last gigging rig was made by TC Electronic and had a 450w amp powering a 2x10" cabinet - oh, that reminds me - bass speaker chassis units are built to handle a lot more power than their guitar equivalents. Don't be fooled by the 2x10 cab mentioned above - it could handle the 450w just fine. 2x12 bass cabinets can usually handle 600w or more, and a 4x12 would be 1000w or more (try putting [i]that [/i]through a Marshall 4x12 and watch what happens! )

Also up there in the lightweight stakes are PhilJonesBass (PJB), although the design philosophy (essentially HiFi) does divide opinion somewhat and it is quite pricey (though not as much as Markbass). If money's not too much of an issue there's some seriously good heads out there with bags of power and next to no weight (TC, Genz Benz, GK, etc. etc.), that you can hook up to equally impressive and lightweight cabs (Barefaced is a great example of this - run by Alex Claber who just so happens to be a member of this forum). I speak as a guitarist of many years and numerous bands by the way. In case you don't already know, generally speaking bass players need more power than guitarists - 300w or so seems to be a benchmark for stage work (but again opinions will vary).