PA question(s)

[Keith G]

First post here. Bought my first Larrivee (a 2004 D03 in as new condition) about a month ago. Beautiful and great sounding guitar. Did my first gig with it this past weekend. It was only our singer and I, and it was a blast. We're looking to do more acoustic shows in the near future and are in need of buying a PA system. Here are our requirements:

Room for 2 mics and 2 acoustic guitars.
Our bass player will use an amp
No drums
Would like to keep the budget to $1K or less
Used for coffee house sized gigs

The Yamaha StagePas 400/600 look interesting and tidy, but not sure of the quality for what we need and if the all in one systems are too limiting. All recommendations/knowledge is appreciated!

[unclrob]

Spend the money and get a nice pair of powered PA for mains and smaller one's for monitor's.I'm a fan of the QSC K12's for mains and monitor's but you will be spending some real coin for them plus you'll need a good non-powered board.After that Peavey has some good stuff,the Yamaha stuff isn't bad either.

[L07 Shooting Star]

I don't know where you are located, but if you can, check out the "Yorkville Sound" PA's and amps.  They are Canadian company.  Here is a link to their site.  http://yorkville.com/

Have a look at their "Micromix" line of powered mixers, and their "YX" series of passive loudspeakers.  I have the 8-channel MM810-2 (400 watts/side) mixer and a pair of YX10 loudspeakers.  It is a very versatile and great-sounding set up.  Only that combination would be quite a bit more than your budget.  The smaller mixer, MM5D, might do the trick for you at quite a bit less cost.  I have rented that model several times and it was great.

I bought my MM810-2 mixer and the 10" speakers used from Long & McQuade here in Edmonton.  They were rental units so I got them for about half of new retail cost.  You might try checking out music stores that rent equipment for both renting (to experiment), and for good prices on used equipment.

Welcome from Kurt in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

[Keith G]

Thanks for the suggestions! So you guys think powered speakers are a better option than passive with a powered mixer? I can see advantages/disadvantages to both, but is there a general consensus?

I'm in the US (Texas).

[ducktrapper]

I'm pretty happy with my Fender Passport system. Very portable and about what you're looking for.

[ffinke]

Hey Keith G,  to the forum...  :got donuts:

It's surprising that I can even learn about something I have no use for (since I only play for my own enjoyment). This is a great forum and we hope you'll stick around awhile.

Here's your starter kit:  and 

[carruth]

Another Yorkville fan here. I prefer a powered mixer and passive speakers myself. The amp in the speaker makes them too heavy for me.

[L07 Shooting Star]

Another Yorkville fan here. I prefer a powered mixer and passive speakers myself. The amp in the speaker makes them too heavy for me.

  I agree with that 100% for the same reason.  Plus, I think there are more options for different setups and interchanging pieces that way.  Simpler hookup and fewer compatibility issues as well.  I may be old school, but to me the power should come from amplifier(s) and go into passive speakers that can handle the power provided.

[headsup]

This thread is like a "best string" thread.

Like others, i have my own preferences, and experience.

Presently i have 2 or 3 systems I use, depending on the venue (and many provide house systems).

The easiest system is an unlikely underdog, I bought in a pawn shop on a lark (and stupid cheap) made by Samson. class D 300 watt powered mixer, which clips into the back of one speaker, with phantom power (a must) AND an iPhone charge/player (stereo even!) built in so I can program our break music.
for small venues (under 100 ppl) it works better than I ever thought it would, and it has been doing so for 4 years now (I predicted it would last 4 months-if that).

The second system I have is a Mackie 1208DFX mixer driving Yorkville 550p speakers.
Each speaker is 550 watts so it's a lot of sound. I am not a huge fan of monitors, but always have a pair of the Mackie SM150's (mic stand monitors with 150 watts each) in the rig some where just in case.

Heading into another busy summer with 4-6/week, it's important to have good gear, (check ALL cables) and a back up system just in case.

It also helps to have a pretty wife to carry all this stuff......