Time for a new gigging PA

Weekend warriors or full-timers, if you perform live we want to hear about it!
Post your pics or videos, tell us about your gear and how you set it up! (or how that red head jumped up on stage just as your wife walked in) Every gig has a story please share them here.
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Lt. Bob
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Time for a new gigging PA

Post by Lt. Bob »

I'm not sure what I want.
In general I don't really want to go with active speakers ..... prefer passive.

Tell me 'bout any speaker experience you may have.
I'd like ideally, something with a 12" instead of 15" but it has to carry everything ..... bass ... drumbs etc and it has to be full sounding ...... no subs.
And it has to be light.

Currently I've been using some Peavey PR15s.
They're crap actually .... very boxy sounding and limited headroom but they're very light and I can EQ them so they're acceptable ..... but I'd like better than acceptable.

I've been eyeing the midrange EV's but I'm not sure.

I know this isn't a huge group of giggers but some of ya'll do plus a lot of you at least rehearse and use PAs for that.

I'm curious if anyone has any ideas about this.
Not just for me but anyone else that may be looking.
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miroslav
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Re: Time for a new gigging PA

Post by miroslav »

I assume you mean for you as a solo act...or is this for a band situation...?

What about those "stick" things...I think Bose makes them, maybe even others...?
I recall from another forum some people talking about them...and I was kinda skeptical about how well they would cover a decent room...but the folks using them said they worked quite well.
They seem like an easy to carry/set-up deal...and they don't suck up as much stage space in tight situations.

Maybe you can rent them out to try at a gig...just an idea, I'm sure there's all kinds of other options for you.
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Lt. Bob
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Re: Time for a new gigging PA

Post by Lt. Bob »

I'm interested somewhat in them because of the ease of transport however, on my gig the PA has to be able to do a convincing 'band' thing. Bass and drumbs and I'm a bit skeptical of their ability to do that plus they're stupid expensive.

With a regular cab I can set it up high on a pole and the 'band' will get to the back. With the sticks the subs gonna be on the floor and have to get thru a room full of legs ..... I sorta doubt they'd get to the back like a cab on a pole would.
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muttley
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Re: Time for a new gigging PA

Post by muttley »

Just wrote a long reply and my internet crapped out..... :mad:

In short, I still use peavey for jobbing gigs, they are rugged for more fidelity Active is the way to go on a budget. I use AER. For the same fidelity on passive stands look at Martin Audio stuff, expensive but on a par with AER. I also use their guitar amps for clean sound when my Fender Princeton or twin is too much. Speaker wise I would go with anything with JBL or AER depending on passive or active gear. You guys get a lot more choice than we do here though... I played through a Martin Audio setup the other day which was fantastic. Not sure what drives them though.

Whats your budget? I'm sure you know it but Ive never come across a "one size fits all" for a jobbing PA, thats why I still have 4 passive cabs, 2 active sets and 2 powered desks as well as a few PA heads and a couple of old cabs and bins for outdoor junk gigs....
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Armistice
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Re: Time for a new gigging PA

Post by Armistice »

I was using Mackie Thumps, which admittedly are 15" but they were reasonably light and reasonably OK. Might be a bit underpowered for full band but fine for a two man band, as we were.
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Lt. Bob
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Re: Time for a new gigging PA

Post by Lt. Bob »

I tried some of the old thumps and found them to go into clipping too soon but I'm positiver the newer ones have a lot more power .... the old ones were only 400 watts.

I'm not a fan of Peavey because a good friend has been a Peavey guy the last few years and they basically stay broke down. All active .... one'll go out .... gets it fixed ... another goes out. Hell, he had a pole mount in a sub actually collapse under the weight of the matching speaker and punched thru the sub cab.

So Peaveys no-go for me.
I love JBL stuff .... maybe them.
QSC is great but pricey ..... I'm even curious about Carvin stuff.
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muttley
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Re: Time for a new gigging PA

Post by muttley »

One of my Pwer amps is a QSC. Quite old now but still handles everything I through at it. Heavy but solid. JBL would be an excellent choice for speakers inmo.

Do you have some where to go and demo stuff before you buy?
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Lt. Bob
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Re: Time for a new gigging PA

Post by Lt. Bob »

oh yeah ,,,,, there's several Guitar Centers .... a Sam Ash ..... a Total Entertainment ..... I want to find a place that will let me gig test the stuff.
listening in the store is only semi-useful.


I have 4 JBL D110s that came from a Fender Super that I have laying around.
Been meaning to get them reconed.
I love JBL.

My old PA was big JBL stuff ..... the large radial horns with 4 bullet tweeters to a side and the JBL bass bins ..... now THAT was a PA!
Last edited by Lt. Bob on Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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muttley
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Re: Time for a new gigging PA

Post by muttley »

I too have a cupboard full of various JBL and Celestions that I have been meaning to attend to. I'm guessing some are upwards of 20 years in the waiting... :oops:
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