dirtysanta
Original Casual
Crispy said:
its do with your standard hearing range which is 20hz to 20k , broken up into 1/3 octaves giving you 31 segments, as such. Its not really a standard. more of popular choiuce
I need a small, compact PA
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its do with your standard hearing range which is 20hz to 20k , broken up into 1/3 octaves giving you 31 segments, as such. Its not really a standard. more of popular choiuce
GarfieldLeChat
fucking awesome but wrong
is that my new nick name or a refference to the off topic witterings...editor said:
I quite like that:
hullo chatterers here do you urban at all or are you a normal?
hat coat got ....
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
Right it works! Couple of scratchy faders which showed up when we tested it and one fader knob broken. Also it`s a 30ch....?? for some reason.
So here it is..
and we even hooked up to the analyser to see if it works! bored eh!!
so yours if you want it?
.p.
So here it is..
and we even hooked up to the analyser to see if it works! bored eh!!
so yours if you want it?
.p.
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
The graph shows four different sweeps from 20hz to 20khz and I managed to post the picture upside down! The "mountains" show how the graphic has altered the freq response of the signal going into it. If it hadn`t made any changes in the graph shape then it would have been a straight line (bust!)
It`s a bit rusty because it was stored in a damp lockup for a while ( why I was concerned !) but functionally it not bad at all. Noisefloor was down at -62db ....means its not too hissy! It`s even got a low cut , switchable 6/12db level and level indicators on the front.
Anyway after all that nerdy tech speak ...pm me and we`ll sort it out?
.p.
It`s a bit rusty because it was stored in a damp lockup for a while ( why I was concerned !) but functionally it not bad at all. Noisefloor was down at -62db ....means its not too hissy! It`s even got a low cut , switchable 6/12db level and level indicators on the front.
Anyway after all that nerdy tech speak ...pm me and we`ll sort it out?
.p.
editor
hiraethified
I took delivery of my Mackie 6ch mixer today and it's remarkably well built - what a bargain for £99! (Cheers bees!)
I need to talk to the venue first to see if they're up for putting on many gigs (to make the expenditure worth my while), but I'm tempted to look at getting a pair of active speakers on stands.
I guess up to a budget of £250 which I know isn't much (Mind you these Mackie passive speakers look pretty damn good).
Oh, and anyone know any cheap sources of decent s/hand microphones/SM58s?
I need to talk to the venue first to see if they're up for putting on many gigs (to make the expenditure worth my while), but I'm tempted to look at getting a pair of active speakers on stands.
I guess up to a budget of £250 which I know isn't much (Mind you these Mackie passive speakers look pretty damn good).
Oh, and anyone know any cheap sources of decent s/hand microphones/SM58s?
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Glad you like your new mixereditor said:
I highly recommend you download and read the soundcraft guide to mixing, its a great little book that explains all the basic concepts in a clear manner.The mackie speakers are pretty nice, but remember you'll need to budget for an amp as well.
You'll struggle to get a pair of active cabs for £250 that aren't utter shite tbh. £350-400 would be more realistic.
As for SM58s, beware any "too good to be true" deals you may see on ebay or suchlike - there is a huge market in fakes that look the same but use cheap shitty components. They sound awful. Expect to pay around £70 for a new one. Not cheap, but it'll last a lifetime.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Yep, that sounds about right pricewiseeditor said:
Now you need to start practicing your best "one two" voice
editor
hiraethified
It looks like it might make sense for me to get a PA, to be used for DJing and some band stuff (just vox and maybe acoustic guitar). There's a sub speaker in the pub I could probably use too.
I'm looking for small, portable and light set up, so a pair of active speakers would be good, but these speakers looks a bit of a bargain: http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/mod_1...d_1.12.1.1/pages/index.php?sku=1.1.6.3.3-16-4
Opinions? Any active speakers worth considering (up to £400 ish) or is that still too small a budget?
I'm looking for small, portable and light set up, so a pair of active speakers would be good, but these speakers looks a bit of a bargain: http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/mod_1...d_1.12.1.1/pages/index.php?sku=1.1.6.3.3-16-4
Opinions? Any active speakers worth considering (up to £400 ish) or is that still too small a budget?
free spirit
more tea vicar?
them mackies are a bit of a bargain at that price, and should just about do what you want them too.
they're good as well as they will always be useful if you want to upgrade as they can be paired with a pair of bass bins with crossover and used as mid-tops to give you a decent little pa that you can actually mike up full bands (drums, guitar etc not just vocal). Or if you decide to go a different route at some stage and get a bigger rig, they can be used as stage monitors as they're wedge shaped (ish).
They also work ok as dj monitors for smallish set ups, though you need to be a bit careful as they only have a 10 inch cone so not too hot on bass if you push it too loud / have dj's red lining it they are prone to farting & potentially blowing (though they do have some cut out protection i think).
One thing to be aware of with them is that they don't have any sort of fan to cool the amp part of the active speaker, it's all cooled with a radiator thingy. If you're going to be using them in a hot space and be pushing them a bit then they do have a tendency to overheat and cut out. We've had major problems with this on several occasions where we've been using them as dj monitors in hot club spaces, with the monitors cutting out all over the place. I've even resorted to ratchet strapping fans to the back of them to help cool them off / keep them running, and on more than one occasion we've ended up actually having to keep legging it outside with one at a time to cool them off for 5 minutes.
Basically think about how hot the venue is likely to get, if it's likely to be really hot (people dancing etc) then you may need to look at other options. If you do go for these, then just keep checking the temp of the heat sink (is that the right term?) and if it's getting too hot you'll need to drop the levels / get a fan on it (or i guess keep some bags of frozen peas handy
)
eta - stands stands stands - you definately need to either buy stands for these unless there's the option to hang them in the venue... they'll be fucking useless if not up at the right height.
they're good as well as they will always be useful if you want to upgrade as they can be paired with a pair of bass bins with crossover and used as mid-tops to give you a decent little pa that you can actually mike up full bands (drums, guitar etc not just vocal). Or if you decide to go a different route at some stage and get a bigger rig, they can be used as stage monitors as they're wedge shaped (ish).
They also work ok as dj monitors for smallish set ups, though you need to be a bit careful as they only have a 10 inch cone so not too hot on bass if you push it too loud / have dj's red lining it they are prone to farting & potentially blowing (though they do have some cut out protection i think).
One thing to be aware of with them is that they don't have any sort of fan to cool the amp part of the active speaker, it's all cooled with a radiator thingy. If you're going to be using them in a hot space and be pushing them a bit then they do have a tendency to overheat and cut out. We've had major problems with this on several occasions where we've been using them as dj monitors in hot club spaces, with the monitors cutting out all over the place. I've even resorted to ratchet strapping fans to the back of them to help cool them off / keep them running, and on more than one occasion we've ended up actually having to keep legging it outside with one at a time to cool them off for 5 minutes.
Basically think about how hot the venue is likely to get, if it's likely to be really hot (people dancing etc) then you may need to look at other options. If you do go for these, then just keep checking the temp of the heat sink (is that the right term?) and if it's getting too hot you'll need to drop the levels / get a fan on it (or i guess keep some bags of frozen peas handy
)eta - stands stands stands - you definately need to either buy stands for these unless there's the option to hang them in the venue... they'll be fucking useless if not up at the right height.
editor
hiraethified
The active Mackies look perfect. But expensive 
http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/mod_1..._1.12.1.1/pages/index.php?sku=1.1.6.3.1-16-15
http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/mod_1..._1.12.1.1/pages/index.php?sku=1.1.6.3.1-16-15
free spirit
more tea vicar?
editor said:The active Mackies look perfect. But expensive
http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/mod_1..._1.12.1.1/pages/index.php?sku=1.1.6.3.1-16-15
ah erm - yeah, silly me, the above post refers to your post below it as if by magic...
I'd got mixed up and thought them c200's were active. been a long weekend
free spirit
more tea vicar?
having persuaded a couple of my braincells to stutter momentarily into action, I reckon I'd go for the passive c200's with a reasonable 4-600 watt amp, which you should be able to pick up second hand pretty cheap.
That way you don't have the heat cut out issue to worry about, and can keep the amp by the mixing desk so you can always adjust it / keep an eye and make sure it's not being pushed to hard etc.
I actually have an amp kicking about that would do the job, but I'm 300+ miles up north & you should be able to pick one up cheap enough second hand in london somewhere.
eta - that's 4-600 watt as in 200-300 watt per channel, as although the speakers are listed as 500 watts, this is their peak rating, their RMS rating is 200 watts, this is rating you should use to judge your amp size.
That way you don't have the heat cut out issue to worry about, and can keep the amp by the mixing desk so you can always adjust it / keep an eye and make sure it's not being pushed to hard etc.
I actually have an amp kicking about that would do the job, but I'm 300+ miles up north & you should be able to pick one up cheap enough second hand in london somewhere.
eta - that's 4-600 watt as in 200-300 watt per channel, as although the speakers are listed as 500 watts, this is their peak rating, their RMS rating is 200 watts, this is rating you should use to judge your amp size.
Editor you dismissed the idea of monitors because of lack of space. I listen to live bands at several small locations and in most of these they have monitors. At the places where they don't the musicians quite often say that they can't hear their instruments. At one of the places where they have monitors they are stacked on a couple of beer crates in front of the stage so no stage is used up.
I know this would go against the need for portability but perhaps you could arrange to store some of the kit at the venue. You won't be attempting to transport it in the panniers of your bike I am sure. Good Luck - live music is the best.
I know this would go against the need for portability but perhaps you could arrange to store some of the kit at the venue. You won't be attempting to transport it in the panniers of your bike I am sure. Good Luck - live music is the best.
free spirit
more tea vicar?
erm in someways there's probably a bit of truth in that, and from mackies blurb you'd definately get that impressioneditor said:
makes it almost sound like they're unblowable... but I've known them to blow.
the problem with them is that once you've set them up and the gig's running you've got very little potential to actually monitor them and alter the levels etc as they're up on poles down the front. basically if you've set the levels too high, or the signal from the dj / mixing desk is higher during the actual performance than during the sound check you've not got the option of dropping the amps down a notch or 2 to compensate.
plus you have the heat cut out issue
free spirit
more tea vicar?
actually I'd get these - £220 per pair, 250 watt rms, 12 inch cones, full range celestians.
they're an absolute bargain at that price, normally double that at least.
they've got a 97 db / watt rating, which means you'll get way more volume for the same input. We got a pair of similar (discontinued line i think) celestians when we were putting together a solar pa a few years back because they had the best db / watt rating we could find. They were fucking brilliant, well able to do decent size pub gigs / outdoor parties for full live bands and even handle dj's boshing it out.
presuming these are similar to the ones we had I'd really rate them over the mackies - it's no contest really.
they're an absolute bargain at that price, normally double that at least.
they've got a 97 db / watt rating, which means you'll get way more volume for the same input. We got a pair of similar (discontinued line i think) celestians when we were putting together a solar pa a few years back because they had the best db / watt rating we could find. They were fucking brilliant, well able to do decent size pub gigs / outdoor parties for full live bands and even handle dj's boshing it out.
presuming these are similar to the ones we had I'd really rate them over the mackies - it's no contest really.
free spirit
more tea vicar?
or for £239 per pair there's these 300 watt (RMS) full range 12" celestians
could well be worth it, an extra £20 for a 300 watt rather than 250 watt set up.
could well be worth it, an extra £20 for a 300 watt rather than 250 watt set up.
free spirit
more tea vicar?
they'll be pretty much exactly the same size and weight as the ones we had, which were fairly easily carryable by one person without too much trouble - one person could fairly easyily lift them onto the poles by themselves.editor said:
erm they're 12 inch cones so probably about 14-15inches wide, and about 12-15 inches deep by about 22 inches high I'd say.
You should be able to get both of them in the boot of a car, though it'll be a bit more of a squeeze than with the mackies.
I'm not entirely sure, but I think the 300 watt ones may be more suited to vocals / give a better sound, though I'm not quite sure about that.
free spirit
more tea vicar?
amp - something like this carlsbro 800 watt amp (actually 280 watt per channel at 8ohms, which both the celestians are) for £188.50
I've not actually used carlsbro, but think they're meant to be pretty ok...
worth having a a scout around, see if you can find a bargain for something similar
I've not actually used carlsbro, but think they're meant to be pretty ok...
worth having a a scout around, see if you can find a bargain for something similar
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Nooooooooooooo!free spirit said:
Underpowered amps are the single biggest killer of cabs, not overpowered. You need to have headroom in your amps to stop any clipping - it's this that trashes speaker drivers, not too much power (unless you get REALLY silly).
A good rule of thumb is to have an amp with double the RMS rating of the speaker.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Errr, you just pull down the master fader on your mixer?free spirit said:
The only time I've seen the Mackies cut out is when they are used as wedge monitors, coz the fins of the heatsinks run vertically up the cabs, so when they are on their side they don't work quite as well. For FOH use they should be fine...
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
You'd need an amp with at least 500W/channel into 8ohms to keep the cabs happy.editor said:
sherriff rosco
Mostly harmless unless catering is shut.
Right ...^^^ everything bees` said plus my 2p`s worth....
Active speakers will prob` be a better and more reliable way to go for a compact PA. Getting a decent 500w/8ohm amp will be a start but you`ll need a limiter to sit between the mixer and the amp? Working without one is a sure fire way to get blown speakers from those times you`re not " babysitting" the system?
We`ve used Mackie`s a few times as well as the JBL EON`s , not my favourite sounding speakers but they do the job well enough and we`ve never had a failure. The lack of amp / limiter and speaker cables means it really is compact and the standard of modern limiters in newer active boxes means that they are pretty much indestructable? Getting that graphic to sit between the desk and active boxes allows a bit of fine tuning and if you can hook into the house system to use the subs it`ll be a doddle?
As for brands it really is down to price? We have one of these that has been reliable and sounds ok?
http://www.djempire.co.uk/prodinfo.php?ProdID=3022
Not as pricey as the competition?
Anyway your into the " horses for courses " muddle of small PA now!
So can I interest you in some loverly dirty great PA boxes ...? eh...?
You know you want to.....
.p.
Active speakers will prob` be a better and more reliable way to go for a compact PA. Getting a decent 500w/8ohm amp will be a start but you`ll need a limiter to sit between the mixer and the amp? Working without one is a sure fire way to get blown speakers from those times you`re not " babysitting" the system?
We`ve used Mackie`s a few times as well as the JBL EON`s , not my favourite sounding speakers but they do the job well enough and we`ve never had a failure. The lack of amp / limiter and speaker cables means it really is compact and the standard of modern limiters in newer active boxes means that they are pretty much indestructable? Getting that graphic to sit between the desk and active boxes allows a bit of fine tuning and if you can hook into the house system to use the subs it`ll be a doddle?
As for brands it really is down to price? We have one of these that has been reliable and sounds ok?
http://www.djempire.co.uk/prodinfo.php?ProdID=3022
Not as pricey as the competition?
Anyway your into the " horses for courses " muddle of small PA now!
So can I interest you in some loverly dirty great PA boxes ...? eh...?
You know you want to......p.
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