Is it possible to get a decent 6 channel mixer and speakers for a 3 member guitar trio for under $500? Is there a particular pockage you can recommend?
The gigs are mostly restaurant/bar gigs doing Jimmy Buffet crap--you know, to the Nantucket crowd. Sometimes outdoors, sometimes in. Would the Carvin be too weak for that kind of gig?
If you only run vocals and some guitar it may suffice. I would recomend at least 500watts and some 12" speakers. The carvin may have enough power but you will really be pushing it and I would be willing to bet it has a bit of a harsh sound to the sytem.
look for some cheap musicians friends packages. they're basically all the same quality. if you're lookin for some GOOD stuff, try the mackie, meyer sound, and yorkville
Ok, I'm a newbie about this I totally admit--but what should I be looking for? Obviously I want a system that sounds decent. It doesn't have to be great, but I don't want to spend $500 and have it be crap either. Are certain speakers better than others, for example, do I want speakers with a HF horn?
You will be set to do just about anything and can always add on...later...
Now we have 4 JBL Eons and one of their new subs and a 1604 Mackie - the whole band is going through it and it sounds great! It will help you get more jobs - believe me - it has!
Good advice from Dan. I have used Mackie's with the Eons and they are a great package. I would get the big Eons. The smaller ones are good as monitors but not for PA mains.
Basically you need 12" woofers with horns and about 500watts or better for each side to get a decent clean sound. JBL and EV make the best PA speakers generally. The Eons are available powered and unpowered. The powered ones are great and easy to set up.
If you go with a seperate power amp though you can use that to power your monitors for mixing in the studio.
A Mackie or Soundcraft board will give you clean sound with lots of headroom and you can also use the mixer for recording. If you get a PA head you wont have much use for that in the studio.
I have 2 EonG2's with and EON Sub, with a mackie board, cdplayer, EQ and other stuff. It was 3500 bucks, but it was definately worth it. Basically, all of the cheap packages are the same. If you want to get something for 500, ur going to have to go the powered mixer route.