Hey guys,

As of recent, I've been doing sound for local bands in my area every weekend, however last night made me realise that I need a major Equipment upgrade if I'm to continue and make a good job of it. My current equipment is more suited to my other line of work, Discos.

Key concerns at the moment are Monitoring, and my Mixer, so I'll base this post around that.

Monitoring - at the moment - is non-existant (problematic I know)
I've been looking at the JBL JRX112M which seem reasonably spec'd and not a bad price of around £300 for a pair - however I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for other speakers which may be better in respects to performance/value. I'm budgeting up to £400 for a pair of monitors. (possibly £500 for Active)

Mixer wise - I currently have a Mackie DFX-6 - which I originally bought to startup Karaoke....but I came to my senses. But I'm seriously struggling on 4 Mic channels!

I've been looking at the Soundcraft M-12 and the Allen & Heath PA12 - as I've got a budget of £400 for a new mixer. I'm more veering towards the A&H, as it has built in FX, however in the future I'm wanting to be able to record the performances that I do, so a direct out on each channel would be preferable (hence the Soundcraft M-12) Just wondered what your views were on these mixers, or if you had any other suggestions.

I'll leave it there for now as they're the key issues for me.

Other information which may be useful - My rock nights vary on styles from Acoustic, to Indie, to Metal.
Audiences are up to around 150 people
my current equipment list is as follows:

2x Peavey UL-15
2x Omnitronic 18" subs
Crown XLS602
DBX 266XL
KAM KEQ-215
Mackie DFX-6
Shure & Sennheiser Microphones

Cheers
Matty

Hey Matt,

Hope these thoughts are of some use

Yamaha Club V SM12V is a nicer sounding speaker that is more punchy, cleaner sounding and generally needs less EQ than the JRX (Formerly known as Soundfactor, and they weren't great then). The Yamahas will set you back about £180 each I think.


Don't get too hung up on having direct outs or built in effects. You can fabricate a direct out using the insert jacks (wire Tip-Sleeve in the plug and tap off that). Built in Fx aren't generally that hot, and the tc Electronic m300 isn't very expensive these days and will serve much better. I've bought a Soundcraft E12 for a society mixer and its held up just fine, with a reasonable though not brilliant EQ section. I would suggest that if you are looking a&H the MixWiz 12:2 at £600 would be a better investment, but that's over budget. The Soundcrafts will be fine, or you could try a Yamaha MG series if you liked.


For live work I would strongly suggest an additional amplifier and a decent crossover to help give you more system control, if you got a basic DSP instead of a crossover your EQ wouldn't be needed either.

Regards

Chris

First of all, Agree with Chris about an active crossover and a second amp for FOH,
Monitor wise, say what you will but for the budget you really can't go wrong with the Behringer B1220pro's. maybe not quite as efficient as others but a decent sounding box for the budget, with them being a bit cheaper you can possibly spec a slightly bigger amp for that big more headroom. Swings and Roundabouts really.

You may be able to pick up a second hand Wizard for £450-£500, the 12 channel ones less, but they dont crop up much, I dont think the in built effects on the wizard are too bad, they are afterall inbuilt effects, But again the M300 or a used REV500 aren't too expensive if you wanted to upgrade maybe at a later date.

with an active crossover and 2nd amp for your FOH I dont see any need to upgrade that majorly, although you know how it performs in the venues you play, with the program material in question.

Rob

Cheers for the replies so far guys - will deffinately look into those Yamaha monitors.

PA wise - im not happy in general - as I said in my first post, my gear was more aimed towards disco use - not live sound.

I find the crown a really stable workhorse, but I find my speakers to be lacking - so they'll be 3rd on the list to upgrade....but thats another post lol.

I played my usual venue tonight, but with my old Omnitronic tops - and dear lord did I suffer! - no volume, and far too much mid-top - damn those Piezo horns and tweeters....my ears need a rest for a few days now!