PA gas…….

Tracker

First, for what purpose do you want this PA? For instance, is it for a solo acoustic guitar act, a full fledged Rock band, a church group, etc.... ??

Second, how much can you spend?

I can tell you right now that it is difficult to build a decent PA for less than a $1000, but it can be done.

OK, you already have a mixer. That's a start. By the way, what make and model is that mixer?

As for those speakers, I don't know. Home entertainment speakers cannot usually handle the output needed for loud gigs. But maybe.

So, to start with, tell us how you intend to use this PA, and even what you might like to do in the future. Then let us know your budget. Then we will better be able to help you.

First, for what purpose do you want this PA? For instance, is it for a solo acoustic guitar act, a full fledged Rock band, a church group, etc.... ??

Home recordings and to bring out to a gig when I have to, acoustic and electric.

Second, how much can you spend?

That depends. I know the theory, "you get what you pay for". That's why I said earlier that I'm willing to build it up if I have to. Overall, @ 2 grand, but if I can go cheaper........ (mostly home studio recordings with gigs on the side).

I can tell you right now that it is difficult to build a decent PA for less than a $1000, but it can be done.

I understand that completely!

OK, you already have a mixer. That's a start. By the way, what make and model is that mixer?

Behringer UB1222 FX-PRO

As for those speakers, I don't know. Home entertainment speakers cannot usually handle the output needed for loud gigs. But maybe.

I thought that, but these puppies are worth their weight in gold, so I thought I might be able to throw them in somewhere.

You can see my little studio.........HERE

Mike

Mike (Tracker)

OK, you've got a pretty good little mixer, so you are set there.

As you mentioned before, you could go with a simple set of powered speakers. This would be a very basic and simple PA.

I would suggest you get speakers that provide at least 200 watts of power each. This is the minimum for loud music (Rock) that would get your vocals up over all the instruments.

You could buy a seperate amplifier and a set of passive speakers. Behringer has some very powerful amplifiers at great prices. The EP2500 is great (I own one of these).

Behringer EP2500 Amplifier

This is probably the best bargain out there today. Read the reviews.

You might be able to incorporate those Bose speakers into your system as floor monitors.

I would go for full range speakers for your Mains or FOH (front of house). I don't think those Bose with small 8" speakers would provide the low end response you would need for a gig.

Probably the best bang for your buck in full range speakers are the Peavey PR Series speakers. I would go with 15" speakers.

Peavey PR-15 Full Range Speakers

These are great speakers with awesome low end. They are lightweight as well. Read the reviews.

These are just some suggestions. But everything I have suggested is quality gear. You can get better gear if you want to spend a lot more. But this will give you quality sound at the most reasonable prices out there. You will be able to gig most anywhere with this basic set-up.

Figure in another $100-200 for speaker stands, cables, etc.....

If you have any questions let me know.

I'm glad you mentioned the EP2500 ($300) because I was looking at either two of those or two of the EP1500. For $50 difference I think I'll go with the EP2500's. I have read many reviews, but sometimes all 9's and 10' just seam to good to be true.

I know the active speakers will be more “compact”, but do you think they give the same sound quality? Overheating issues due to there compact size?

Of course I like having hardware lying around, cuz it looks cool :D ! I was leaning towards the amps and passives because I thought (in theory anyway) that they are separate so they must keep cool longer (with fans of course). Plus, rack mounts look cool. Unfortunately (I mean fortunately :wink: ), I have a wife so getting the chicks by luring them in with my hardware is out of the picture. :cry: :lol:

Another thing, Behringer says that there amps are geared towards there speaker lines. Do you think that is just hype or do you ‘think' that holds water? And what speakers do you use with your amp?

Thanks,

Mike

Tracker

Yeah, I think Behringer tries to design equipment that works well together.

By the way, they are offering some great PA packages on sites like Musicians Friend. Just click on Live Sound and then Packages on the far left. You can get some outstanding deals there. Yamaha also offers some nice packages. Yamaha makes excellent PA gear.

Right now, we are using one side of the EP2500 to power two Behringer subwoofers. This is a little underpowered but has been working great with no problems at all.

We use the other side to power two Peavey 15" speakers for our mains. They are old and belong to the bass player, I am not sure of the model. But they sound great.

We have four Yamaha 12" floor monitors. They belong to me and the bass player.

I also have some Yamaha 12" full range speakers I used for bands in the past.

I own a Behringer PMX2000 powered mixer. I love it, it has served me well. We use this as our mixer (10 channels) and to power the four floor monitors.

Behringer speakers get good reviews. I believe in Behringer. I own a Behringer dual 31 EQ and Crossover. Everything works great, never had a single problem.

I've had lots of experience with other makes like Peavey and Mackie. In my opinion Behringer can hang with them any day of the week. And costs a lot less! :D

There is better gear out there. But it costs big bucks.

But Behringer is the real deal. It is not shabby. It is quality gear. The best bang for the buck out there.

Their mics are great too. I bought a couple of the XM5800 mics because I read great reviews. I like them so much I quit using my Shure mics and use the Behringers now. Really.

Behringer XM5800 Microphone

You can buy 5 of these for the price of one Shure SM58. That is what I was using. Not anymore. I like the Behringer mic better.

Yea, I looked into Mackie, but there prices were to far out there for me.

I trust you when you say Behringer is a quality manufacturer. I'll look into them more.

For the record, I was looking at the Eurolive B1520 (full range loud speakers) and Eurolive F1520 (floor monitors) to compliment a pair of EP2500's.

I heard that the B1520's didn't get great reviews for their bass response.

Mike

I have mic's now, but I'll have to check out those XM8500's.

As far as the "packages" go, I have half the stuff in the package so buying it seems like a waste of money.

Thanks Wes, you rock!

Mike

Mike

I'm surprised you read that about the Behringer B1520s. I have actually read lots of good reviews on those, but I've never personally heard a pair.

The only problem I have ever had with B speakers is weight. They are heavy. I am not the young chicken I used to be. I like lightweight gear if it's good.

That is why I recommended the Peavey PR-15s. They get great reviews. I have heard them and they are pretty darn awesome IMHO. They are very light (about 30 lbs.) and are known for great bass response. I heard a band with these and they almost sounded like subs! I was very impressed.

One thing that turns people off to Behringer is the Speakon connectors. Speakon connectors are great, the best improvement for connectors in years, but the cables are expensive.

To use with the Peavey speakers you would have to have cables with Speakon on one end and 1/4" connectors on the other. The Peaveys only accept 1/4" connectors.

But I have even found a great place for speaker cables. Cheaplights.

Cheaplights

Click on Sound at top. Then go down to Speaker Cables.

I order all my cables from these guys. You have to call them, but they will make cables to your specifications. They cost about 1/2 of elsewhere.

I tell ya, I AM THE MASTER OF CHEAP.

But really, I spent months researching and reading reviews when building a PA. I wanted the best system I could get without spending a lot.

But really, I spent months researching and reading reviews when building a PA. I wanted the best system I could get without spending a lot.

Yup, I do the same and thats why I am here now and I can't thank you enough!!!!!!!!!!!

Within the next month I will be buying this stuff and I want to get any and all info I can.

BTW, my friend played at Black Eyed Sally's in Hartford the other night. Do you know of the place?

Mike

I have never been to Black Eyed Sallys, but Chris (Cnev) has. He is originally from Ct. (now lives in N.C.), and visits his parents on occasion. We have been talking about going to an Open Mic there for two years but have never made it.

Hey, maybe someday the three of us can go and jam out!

I live about 25 miles west of Hartford.

Yeah, this PA stuff is really interesting when you get into it. You can find great info about sound at Peavey, Mackie, and Yorkville.

Yorkville Audio Guide

Click on PA Basics and PA Systems Primer for some real interesting info on PA systems.

Wes,

Sorry for the delay. I'll check out that site thank you.

As far as the jam goes...... COOL!, but can you give a couple of years? O.k., 10! :roll:

Just kidding! That would be fun. My friend already knows the backing band and says they are really tight. I haven't mapped it out, but I think I'm a good 1 or so hours away. Give or take a lead foot. :wink:

Drop me a line. My friend and I will be more than willing so there will be four of us. Does Chris know about this yet? :lol: :lol: :lol:

As always, Thank You!

Mike

Uhh...

Behringer may be of reasonable quiality FOR THE PRICE, but I really wouldn't describe it as quality gear.

I worked for 2 years in a pro audio hire and sales shop, I've seen more broken Behringer gear than I can remember. A couple of tasty ones are as follow...

1. We got a pair of the 15" active speakers through for demo purposes. Plugged one in. Blew a fuse. Fixed it, it came on fine. Plugged the other one in. Blew the mains fuse. Power out in the whole building. Sent it for repair. Came back 3 months later, nothing had been done. Sent it back again. Came back 6 months later, blew the fuse straight away. Fixed that, plugged it in. Sound output was incredibly low, and distorted to sh*t. Sent it back. Got a letter through a few weeks later asking for the other one back as well, product range discontinued about a month after that..

2. Got a dual 31-band graphic in for repair as opne side was louder than the other. Thought it would be a simple job, so I get out the test gear. Test the thing. Nothing wrong with anything. Run a stereo signal through it, the output is about 10db quieter on one side that the other. Open the thing up again. Check that the output trim pots are correctly aligned. They are. Plug it all back in and start playing with the trim pots. Find out that if you had the trim pots at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock, the thing works perfectly. WEIRD!!!!

And that's not to mention the countless lists of mixers killing themselves, crossovers resetting themselves (mid gig!) and many other nightmare situations.

In my recommendation, stay clear of Behringer if you can possibly afford to. The budget yamaha stuff is much much better, and a very similar price. MG mixers are the best for the money I've ever used!

drgonzo

I am not doubting those stories, but I have personally never had one single problem with Behringer gear. At present I own a PMX2000 powered mixer that has performed flawlessly with heavy use for over 3 years, FBQ6200 dual 31 band EQ, CX2310 crossover, two B1800X subs, EP2500 amplifier, and even 3 XM8500 mics. Everything works very well, no problems at all.

With all that various B gear you would think I would have had a problem here or there if it were inferior. But that has not been the case with me whatsover.

I have had some problems with other more well known makes.

I am a quality inspector by profession. I can tell you right now that nobody is perfect. A few defects get by even the closest inspection.

You also have to consider who uses the equipment. Some people do not bother to read a manual. Then when they plug a speaker out from an amp into a mixer instead of a line out and the mixer is fried they blame the manufacturer. I would bet that the majority of problems are caused by the users like this.

I dunno, I read my manuals and have almost never had any problems with any gear I own regardless of who made it.

Defective gear is usually bad right out of the box. If it goes bad later it is more likely the user that caused it.

But I WOULD recommend Behringer to anyone. It works. It doesn't cost and arm and a leg like others. And if you read the manual before you start plugging things into it, it will last for years.

At least it has for me.