Rehearsal PA Suggestions?

T

thispleasesme

New member
Hey everyone. I had a question that I've been meaning to take care of for some time.

My group and I are fed up with our hokie POS rehearsal monitor setup. For the past year and a half we've just run vocals through my DAW, into the headphone amp, and cranked the volume till the headphones were making our ears bleed. It was the only way we could hear those damn vocals without a PA.

Now, we've made some money off the record, so we are ready to invest in something decent to rehearse with. Our rehearsal volume is pretty high, and we play the following instruments:

Guitar -> Fender Hot Rod Deville 410 (REALLY LOUD)
Bass -> Ampeg SVT classic stack (6x10)
Rhodes -> Fender Twin Reverb
Drums -> DW maple

So, needless to say, even with our volumes turned down, we're pretty damn loud. So, any recommendations? We want to keep the budget maxed at around 800 USD, but can stretch to I'd say 1200 if we ABSOLUTELY HAD TO.

Monitoring for one lead singer, one backup is going to be necessary, so I'm thinking maybe two monitors? (small room, by the way, only about 14x18 feet)

Alright, have at it.

Thanks a lot!
 
You should be able to afford a decent power amp and set of PA speakers for that; especially if you go the used route. Look for a stereo power amp with at least 300 watts per side; preferably at 8 ohms; and then get yourself a set of PA cabs with a 12 or 15-in LF driver and a horn. Yamaha makes some decent cabinets that are good value. Carvin does as well. You should be able to continue to use the mixer on your DAW sounds like. If not, you can get a budget Mackie or Soundcraft mixer to use as the front end.
 
Crest is a good manufacturer and has started making some budget amps. I haven't tried them but they may be worth looking into. I've had good success with an older model QSC. The Carvin's are probably alright as well.
 
Think about a pair of Samson powered PA speakers. Or a smaller set of Mackies. That'd do the trick for monitors and they're good enough to use as PA speakers if needed.
 
to be honest, i'd continue back towards the way you were originally heading.

i'd stick a mic in front of the amps, run the bass DI (or mic the amp), and put mics on the kick and snare, and then run headphone mixes to everyone. get some headphones that isolate decently (harvey's "more me's" work splendidly for this) and you should be good to go.

the benefit? you save your hearing. the side benefit is that you can hang some overheads and record practices.


cheers,
wade
 
I'd go with an amp and mixer or a powered mixer, and wedge floor monitors for whoever may need them, and maybe a side fill for the drummer.
 
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