The Basics

N

NationalSandwic

New member
Hello

I need to know what the components are of a generic type PA system. Is it just amp, speakers and a mixing desk? I am setting up a small studio/rehearsal room and need to know what equipment people use.

Thanks
NS
 
more

I want to use it to rehearse and record, and (if possible) use the equipment to play live, where PA's are not supplied!

recording that would be done would be multitrack digital (cakewalk), and I have little/no fx hardware, so FX would have to be done on the PC if we don't have the hardware. The recordings would be used for our purposes, writing etc. Not planning to record a demo in there yet!

thanks
 
Well to answer your first question, yes its just basically amp, speakers and mixing...in your situation alot of people use a powered mixer combo...check at the local pawn shops because you can pick up a good deal on this kind of stuff...unless you are rich in which case, let me know how much $$$ you want to spend and ill tell you how much you are in for...as far as recording, you can go from the tape outs of the amp into a tape deck and record the stereo mix there....whenever you get into demo recording, your almost looking at completely different equipment...mixers with better quality pre-amps, tape decks, studio type monitor speakers, etc...
 
The gear used for a normal live gig is as follows:

Mics
Direct boxes
Mic stands
XLR cables
A Snake
Mixing desk
Stage Monitors
Main Speakers
Amplifiers
A Crossover
Speaker Cables
A 31 band graphic EQ for Mains (Mono or Stereo)
A 31 band graphic EQ for each monitor mix
A Reverb unit
A Delay unit
Compressors
Noise Gates
AC Extension Cords with grounds

This is a generic list of basic stuff, more or less gear may be required depending on the specific application.
 
Wow, that's like for a kick ass show. All my band plays with when we supply our own stuff is a mixin board, two PA speakers, and a power amp and microphones. and of course the stands and stuff. For your situation you won't need the EQs, snake, probably not the direct box (unless for recording), delay, noise gate, stage monitors (unless you have that kind of cash to throw around). Like gidge said, you might look into studio monitors for your recording setup.

Peace love and chicken,
Mike
 
Well.

I don't know what a snake or direct box is! But, I would like to record live performances.

When it comes to demo recording. I would like studio monitors, but is it not possible to use the speakers from the PA?

THEN
One thing I am curious about is this: I want to record onto PC, specifically cakewalk. When multitrack recordings are done, I assume that the mixing is done ON the PC, and not on a "real" mixing desk. Do the two ever meet? Would it mean a sound card with a different output for each track, going into the desk?:confused:

Is this ok for rehearsals:
compressors (how many? 1 per line?)
pre-amp for mixing desk (lines coming out of instrument amps; vocal directly into preamp)
4 speakers (surround, or in center. What wattage (RMO) is used?)

There are serious price issues in SA. Professional, powerful speakers will set one back at least R8000 each (around $1000),
Then the amps, the mixing desk, etc...
The setup I want will cost about (I think) R30 000 (about $4000). Is that a regular price for a band to pay? That is a LOT of cash for me... need to win the lottery!

thanks
 
For a rehearsal space you don't usually need compressors, live however they really help the vocals to 'sit' in the mix and remain audible.

I have done live gigs where I only compressed the lead vocal, others where I compressed all the vocalists individually, some where I needed to do Vocals, Bass Guitar, Kick Drum, Snare Drum, and Acoustic Guitar.
I think 2 channels of compression is workable, 4 channels is reasonable, and 8 channels is ideal ( we won't get into really big concert requirements).

A Snake is a cable, usually between 1-4 inches thick which runs from the stage to the mixing board, it has a box on the stage end that you plug all the cables into and connectors on the other end that plug into the mixer. It contains several small seperate cables, all bundled into one thick durable cable.

A Direct Box is a small metal box that sits on the stage and lets you plug a Bass Guitar, Drum Machine or Keyboard into the 1/4" phone plug on one side and connect to the snake with an XLR cable from the other side. It also converts high impedence signals into low impedance so that signal loss can be minimized over long cable runs and your instruments can 'see' the impedance that they need. It usually has a ground lift switch as well to help get rid of hum and noise.

Boxes for use as rehearsal monitors should be at least 200 watts each, 300 is better.

If you wanted to mix the recordings on a mixer you would need a sound card which has as many outputs as there are recorded tracks. If you want to mix in software instead then your card only needs to have as many inputs as the number of tracks that you want to record at once.
 
equipment detail

We are a four piece.

Drum kit (standard). We don't know how to mic this, never have.
2 x Guitars (acoustic/electric/nylon string)
1 x Guitar or Bass
3 or 4 Vox, including lead
Synthesizer/Computer (may play pre-programmed/pre-recorded material in background)

That is about it... for live shows we are HIGHLY unlikely to do more.
 
another thing

We are in South Africa... and I don't think places like musiciansfriend.com ship out here. SO -> there is a small supply in the country, and prices are high.
 
Your only hope that Musicains Friend will ship to you is if someone you know has a US military address (APO,FPO,etc)....

but at least you can see what Im talking about ....with your setup Id go for a 8channel powered mixer like the ones shown and some small pa speakers....

3 for vocal mics,3 for guitars and bass,1 for synth...and then your drummer will need to get a submixer to mix all his mics (usually 4 to 6) into the last channel of the powered mixer....

theres my advice....
 
thanks!
that is a help. I assume that the mics go directly into the powered mixer and the guit/bas lines come from the guitar/bass amps into the mixer?

what about an amplifier? is a powered mixer an amplifier & mixer combined?
 
Yes, mics go straight into mixer/amp....bass direct also...guitar can go direct or you can mic the guitar amp....powered mixers are a amp and mixer combo....
 
THANKS

Thanks

That is really useful! I am gonna go and check out some stores and pawn shops to see what I can get and how much it will cost me. What names should I look out for for the mixers and the speakers?

Cheers
 
I dont know about pawn shops there, but here Peavey's can be found in almost any one....Carvin and Yamaha are also ones Ive seen recommended.....
 
PA Gear

Howdy there NationalSandwich,

Well, I don't know what prices are like in ZA, especially with the decline of the Rand, but you might look for deals on Peavey equipment for cheaper road-worthy gear. If you have more to spend, JBL and Electrovoice make some very nice speakers. I'm a great believer in AMP/MIXER combos for hard-gigging bands, unless you also have a soundman to run your board and equipment for you. Yamaha and Mackie (as well as Peavey mentioned above) make some good units.

Do you folks get Ahuja gear (from India)? I played in a band in Nigeria for several years, and we used an Ahuja amp to run our PA. It was a brutish and primative beast, but sounded quite nice and ran off of dirty generator power with hardly a whimper.
 
floor monitors

someone has suggested this setup:


mixing desk (NON powered).
4 floor monitors, each 100 watt, 2 are powered and run the other 2.

this seems like a less expensive option. has anyone used this? does it work?

tnks
 
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