Live sound rig for small acoustic music venue. Ideas?

[jimcroisdale]

Hi all,

Me and a friend are starting a live music night at a nice pub near where we live. The idea is to pay 2 local artists to do an hour each. My pal will introduce the acts and do a few numbers inbetween. I am in charge of the sound....

The venue is quite small and the volume does not need to be high. I have a pair of Yamaha 15" cabs and a 600w Peavey mixer amp that I could use, but I'm hoping that something smaller and less obtrusive will do.

Has anyone ever used a pair of studio monitors for this? I was thinking about my Event 20/20's? I assume the sound quality would be far superior to a pair of PA cabs? I know the volume would be low, but they are really only to re-inforce the sound. I have seen similar venues go totally acoustic (no PA at all) and it wasn't too bad.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated!

Cheers,

James

[swafford]

I do a lot of this kind of work. The best solution if the performers are up to it is no PA. Demands attention and requires a real performance. For mild sound reinforcement (due to bar size or crowd noise) I sometimes use a powered speaker and if I need a mixer, something like a 1402. Sometimes the guitar cuts through without issue, but the voice needs some oomph, and in that case just plug the mic into the speaker and leave the mixer at home.

Studio monitors.... I dunno, never occurred to me and seems counter intuitive for some reason.

[jimcroisdale]

Originally Posted by swafford

I do a lot of this kind of work. The best solution if the performers are up to it is no PA. Demands attention and requires a real performance. For mild sound reinforcement (due to bar size or crowd noise) I sometimes use a powered speaker and if I need a mixer, something like a 1402. Sometimes the guitar cuts through without issue, but the voice needs some oomph, and in that case just plug the mic into the speaker and leave the mixer at home.

Studio monitors.... I dunno, never occurred to me and seems counter intuitive for some reason.

But then I won't have anything to do!

[swafford]

You yell from the back of the pub "Sing louder", "More chest, less head", "work your guitar more towards the bridge", "there's a terrible bass trap in this corner" and my favorite "pour me another Old Speckled Hen and put it on the singers tab. Make it 2!"

[jimcroisdale]

Originally Posted by swafford

You yell from the back of the pub "Sing louder", "More chest, less head", "work your guitar more towards the bridge", "there's a terrible bass trap in this corner" and my favorite "pour me another Old Speckled Hen and put it on the singers tab. Make it 2!"

As Butt-head used to say to Beavis:

"I have seen the way...."