P.A. Speakers and Power Amp Advice

Recording Techniques, People Skills, Gear, Recording Spaces, Computers, and DIY

Moderators: drumsound, tomb

Post Reply
User avatar
workshed
suffering 'studio suck'
Posts: 499
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2004 2:12 am
Location: Portland, OR

P.A. Speakers and Power Amp Advice

Post by workshed » Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:42 pm

Got a new band forming and realized I need to get a P.A. setup for practice and maybe some gigs at smaller venues. I have mics, stands, cables already and I have a decent Soundcraft board that I don't use for recording any longer. I need a power amp and some speakers, budget minded, but loud enough for female vocals to cut through indie-rockish, shoegazerish poppy music with alt-country leanings.

Any recommendations for brands/models to look for? Power ratings? Looking for the special TOMB sleeper good buy tips.

-Bret

Freakmagnet451
gettin' sounds
Posts: 107
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 8:02 pm
Location: The Great Northwest

PA speakers and amps

Post by Freakmagnet451 » Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:38 pm

I really like my Fender PD250, it is fairly small and light and sounds amazing. Plus, it packs up into a weather resistant suitcase thingie so you don't have to worry about rain. It is loud enough for a small gig or as sidefills at a larger club with an inhouse PA.

If you are going to get separates, look for 3 way systems, the classic 15" and horn setup just sucks ass sound wise. Both Carvin and Peavey make nice 3 way speakers. In general, you can get a lot for your money with Peavey gear, the resale value is lower than other quality brands. Make sure to get at least Scorpion and better still Black Widow drivers. They make some nice power amps too.

Really though, unless you are gigging casuals all the time I would just rent a PA when I needed one. All you need at the practice space is a couple of Galaxy Hot Spots and a power amp. Owning all that stuff is more trouble than it is worth.
"There is never enough time to be in a hurry"

vsr600
re-cappin' neve
Posts: 727
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:32 am
Location: Memphis, TN

Post by vsr600 » Sun Jun 03, 2007 5:05 pm

I have a Crown XLS 402 that's awesome for handling vocals over loud rock bands at small clubs and for practices. Any decent 15" with a horn monitor pair will work fine... the ones I use are older JBL TR series speakers and they work great.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 55 guests