mushers Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 bit of a dilema my young daughter has started playing in a band.. but the other 4 girls have almost no gear they have played at their school using the school amps and stuff and last week played their first public gig in a pub at my dads 60th using only a small Korg keyboard amp (21W) a couple of pink vox guitar amps (15w tops) one of these for vocals and my old laney practice amp for the electric drums and bass didnt sound too bad after a few guiness but not very loud. They have now been booked for a school fete which has no gear whatsever, do you think these small amps will cope outdoors? i can let her use my 300w ashdown but there doesnt seem much point if the rest of the band will not be heard should i buy them a pa ? cheapy of course about 100w and would that cope ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I would have thought the event would have a PA surely? [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]and...[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]..not to sound harsh or anything as it's obviously very generous of you but shouldn't the others kids parents put in for the kit for them? Like you said, your daughter already has access to a giggable rig [/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 A PA would be a good idea,although I would have thought the event should supply it.Lend her the Ashdown.You know you want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushers Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 the school has no pa its a primary school i dont think they normaly have bands ect just a bouncy castle and stale cupcakes >.< i think some of the other parents would chip in, but that could cause problems if/when they split dividing the gear ect oh and when my band finaly get our set together we may need a pa but that could be years away or until the rehersal rooms stop selling beer and we get 5 minutes in there soba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushers Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 [quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1340198458' post='1700858'] A PA would be a good idea,although I would have thought the event should supply it.Lend her the Ashdown.You know you want to. [/quote] i lent her the ashdown for the battle of the bands earlier this year will do it again even if we get a pa also lent her the stingray she was buckling under the weight by the third song ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
police squad Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 beg, steal, borrow, alternatively, could you hire a PA for the event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushers Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 could hire one i guess guitar shop does them for £40 a night but could probably buy one after hiring it 4 times would 100w be enough on a school field for vox keyboard and guitar ? could just buy one outright or sell or swap a bass i guess was thinking something like this http://www.giggear.co.uk/p/Peavey-Audio-Performer-PA-Package/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
police squad Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I'll be honest, I don't think that would be good enough, not for outdoors. Ok to practise through. Having said that, when I first started gigging properly (25 years ago) our singer had the obligatory HH 100 watt PA and a pair of speakers and it was good enough. But we all had proper amps, 100 watt valve marshalls and 150 watt Trace with 4x12 marshall cab and acoustic drums. so the PA only had to tackle vocals. We did some outdoors stuff like fetes and it was good enough to play to the small crowds that gathered. My current bands rehearse in my studio (it's a giant shed!!) with a 400 watt Peavey powered mixer , electric drums and everything goes through the PA, (guitars use line 6 Pods). It's great for rehersal but lacks all sorts of oomph. There's a lot of good gear available at reasonable money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I would hire. Then after a few gigs you'll have a better idea what sort of PA she'll be needing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) Just cobble together what you can from you and your mates' gear. They're not going to want it that loud anyway. My first regular gigging band featured vocals going through a borrowed lay preachers' PA, and both bass and drum machine going through my 100watt amp (via a loud 4x12 cab). Edited June 20, 2012 by Adrenochrome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceH Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I agree with what has been said, borrow or hire and you'll find out what works. Also bear in mind that outdoors sound just gets lost so even PA tops that'll do a decent sized hall won't seem very loud at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throwoff Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Whereabouts are you mate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushers Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 im in harlow just spoken to a friend of mine who said a while back he had some pa speakers and has just said he also has a power amp not sure what sort of gear but i think i may give it a go another question though will electric drums through a pa do it any harm ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rOB Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 [quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1340206010' post='1701048'] Also bear in mind that outdoors sound just gets lost so even PA tops that'll do a decent sized hall won't seem very loud at all! [/quote] Well said. IME outdoors you need a lot more air moving power than inside. Guess its because there are no roof and walls to reflect the sound, plus you usually end up covering a pretty big area at outdoor gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
police squad Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 shouldn't do. you'll hear if the bass drum is distorting anything. PA speakers are full range but use your ears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 [quote name='police squad' timestamp='1340211412' post='1701188'] shouldn't do. you'll hear if the bass drum is distorting anything. PA speakers are full range but use your ears [/quote] Agreed. We used an electric kit through a PA for a couple of years. No problems if you do it sensibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1340203170' post='1700968'] I would hire. Then after a few gigs you'll have a better idea what sort of PA she'll be needing. [/quote] This... plus the hire-fee should be split, or at least factored in as a cost and therefore make it apparent what is needed/required on future dates. If you do too much yourself at this stage..then this little matter will tend to get get lost or conveniently forgotten and you'll have a hard time undoing the seed that you have sewn. Edited June 20, 2012 by JTUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 You could also check other local schools to see if they can lend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer.b Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 see what you mean about the hire cost I'd just get a cheap second hand PA on ebay and whack everything through it , fair play to you for helping out the whole band Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Buy yourself a PA for about £2k and lend it to them when they need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commando Jack Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Hire for now and keep your eye on gumtree/ebay. The amount of second hand PA gear flying around is quite a lot and it's a buyers market.It minimizes the outlay if things don't work out and the value doesn't really go down terribly unless you trash it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomProddy Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Commando Jack' timestamp='1340364188' post='1703316'] keep your eye on gumtree/ebay. The amount of second hand PA gear flying around is quite a lot and it's a buyers market. [/quote] This. Test before you buy if possible though. Edited June 22, 2012 by RandomProddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 We hire a PA from a local studio sometimes, for £70ish we get 2 speakers on stands, 3x foldback wedges, long snakes and loads of leads mics etc. The school may well like to share costs to use for annoncements/raffles etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Electric Drums through a PA is no problem. I play in a band using them and the drummer uses a small amp for monitoring and then into PA. Works a treat, (except he is a crap drummer. ). Regarding a PA outside, 100W will not be enough IMHO. You could be OK as the drums ar electris, but I would try and beg/steal/borrow/hire something a bit bigger. We are playing an outdoor gig next week at an American Car Show and are taking a 6Kw PA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brummiejon Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Electric drums through pa is no prob but you'll need to monitor or they will hear very little from the drums on stage..... Really, the parents of each individual member should sort them out with decent back line, then there is no probs about splitting gear...... BJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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