Live PA setup help - QSC - Mackie - JBL ?

[shanghaitang]

Looking for some advice on a live PA setup for a band... Its a band that uses some acoustic instruments but mostly electronics. The Speakers would be used as live sound reinforcement positioned behind the band. This would be used in conjunction with whatever FOH had. The PA speakers would basically replace the lack of amps. There is a lot of low end in the music and its crucial that the band can hear it very well and the first few rows of audience should be able to hear the bands stage volume coming from the speakers as well. The speaker system would also be used to play in irregular venues that dont generally have a sound system fit for the band...

the band wants to hear themselves the way people would hear music at a club...instead of using the FOH stage monitor wedges which are basically designed to playback guitar or vocals. we're trying to avoid including subwoofers so that setup can be quick... so its beneficial if the speakers can provide enough low end and volume on their own

Initially we were looking at the Mackie sa 1530z, but other people have suggested speakers like the JBL MRX525, as well as the QSC HPR HPR153i

The idea is to have 4 speakers in a horizontal line act as a wall of speakers behind the band. Size and weight are issues, it would be great if 4 of these speakers could somehow fit into a vehicle the size of a minivan, but that may be unrealistic.


I know that the Mackie SA series and the QSC series are both 3 way systems, which offer more coverage...it may be superfluous to line 4 speakers like that in a row...


If anyone has any guidance for sound, value, or experience with these speakers systems, or other suggestions please respond. i know the HPR system has a 6 year warranty which is a good value, and all of the speakers have different limiters, QSC apparently having a multiband limiter to prevent people from blowing the speakers

[Mikeren]

The reason folks use floor monitors is to avoid feedback. Micing acoustic instruments (and assume vocals too) with speakers behind you is a recipe for feedback disaster. Just a thought...

[GZsound]

There are only two systems that I know of that would work for acoustic instruments with the speakers behind the band.

The Bose stick system seems to work pretty well, although at a cost of $2,500 for each system it can get expensive. I know of a five piece acoustic/electric band that bought three of them and they seem to be very happy in small to medium sized venues.

A better choice would be to check out the new Fishman SoloAmp stick. I have a track singer client that just bought one of them and it works very well with the speaker behind the musician.

Plus.. it's only $1,000 per stick, weighs 25 pounds, easy to transport and three or four of them would work pretty slick for a four or five piece band.

My suggestion would be to go with a conventional FOH system with monitors..cheaper, easier to expand if needed and pretty much an industry standard way of doing things.

[shanghaitang]

to answer your questions, the vocals wont be routed through these speakers, they will just be for the electronics, drum machines, synthesizers, etc...

the fishman and bose seems way too quiet for what we need..

did you see the mackie 1530's? they are close 1100 watts...

[Don S]

Some of my fiends really like the new QSC powered line. They used to use EONs most of time, now switched over. FWIW

[jude]

Originally Posted by GZsound

My suggestion would be to go with a conventional FOH system with monitors..cheaper, easier to expand if needed and pretty much an industry standard way of doing things.

As an ex-FOH engineer i really suggest you stick with this kinda set up. putting the PA behind the band your going to end up with a huge ammont of spill into the vocal mics, not to mention the phasing caused by having one PA behind the band then another , say 3 meters in front of it. it will be nothing but a head ache for you all

[GordZilla]

Originally Posted by jude

As an ex-FOH engineer i really suggest you stick with this kinda set up. putting the PA behind the band your going to end up with a huge ammont of spill into the vocal mics, not to mention the phasing caused by having one PA behind the band then another , say 3 meters in front of it. it will be nothing but a head ache for you all

Yeah.. I gotta agree with this. Having some fairly loud "monitors" behind the band will likley cause more probs than anything else. It would also wreak havoc with the FOH engineer, trying to balance the mains and monitors.

What about some in-ear monitors? For the cost of what the OP is proposing, you could outfit everybody with some pretty decent in-ears.

[tINY]

Sounds like you want a back line for the electronica, mostly.

I had a chance to play with the new Cerwin Vega CVA-28 this summer - nice! They are small, but they are heavy. They have good, clean response and play LOUD.

Used in the non-sub mode, they are just a little tubby, but not bad. Alone, they'd be fine for anything in a smaller club. You said you didn't want subs anyway...

The active subs that go under them are nothing short of awsome. But they are big.




-tINY

[PMoshay]

We've been using the QSC powered monitors for more than a year now and we love them. They very much compare to hi end touring monitors (which we use regularly too).
I had the JBL EON's for a week and did not like them all that much..... The QSC's are much more pro and can take a beating and kick out great dynamic levels.
They have an amazing guarantee too.......

QSC = Tried, True & Tested with us (Daryl Hall / Live From Daryl's House with Daryl Hall :: Homepage)

[jude]

i forgot to mention... if you plannon touring a rig like this and playing festivals you WILL get shot down by stage managers and system riggers.

there is a standard stage setup for a reason