rh01bellc Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Hi there,I have recently been asked to buy a new sound system for a school's hall with a grant or something they were awarded. The budget is £3000 and that has to cover everything - speakers, amp, multi core, desk, radio mics (4 lapels would be good), cables and conventional mics. Basically I need to use the money for as much as they can get.The hall itself is quite large with a total maximum capacity of 400 I think, but usually its closer to 300 at the most. The hall can be used for anything from assemblies to concerts to exams to musicals so the system needs to be quite diverse, but also as a PPP school the system can't be a permanent thing so it has to be deemed "temporary" otherwise its a nightmare to get anything done. Which means the speakers go on stands basically.I am primarily a lampie mainly so any advice would be greatly appreciated!Thanks, C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 First of all, have a look at the "Sound FAQ", which can be found HERE - in particular the section on "What sound equipment should I buy / hire for my school / college / church / village hall / other small venue or system?". There's lots of useful discussion there. Of course, there is no "correct" answer, but that discussion should given you some pointers, and let you formulate some more specific questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Hinds Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 The budget is £3000 and that has to cover everything - speakers, amp, multi core, desk, radio mics (4 lapels would be good), cables and conventional mics. Basically I need to use the money for as much as they can get. On your budget the first thing to say is forget Radio Mics, hire them when they are needed. You need to spend about £400-450 each to get decent ones, and you don't want to be blowing that much of your budget on them. You'll do much better buying other bits that are of more use. Set aside £180 for a 30m 16x4 Multicore, you will easily use that much cable as you route around doorways etcAnother £750 with get you an A&H MixWizard 16:2DXPersonally I'd suggest the powered speaker route would be more efficient than having an amplifier, you'll certainly get more for your money. A pair of Mackie SRM450s will cost you £800.Then there's cables (10x 20m XLR) - £280Mic Stands - 2 Short, 4 Tall - £150Speaker Stands - £50Fight Case for Mixer - £1104 Sennheiser e835 for Vocals (£300)2 Shure SM57 for instruments (£190)1 Behringer DI box for a keyboard etc (£20) Total £2930 That's your budget spent, as another £70 will easily go on mains cables, Lx tape, a box for the mics etc. Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigglesuk Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Then there's cables (10x 20m XLR) - £280Where did you get your pricing for the XLR's from? £28 pounds for a cable and why 20m long? Being a school, lots of 20m cables will keep getting tangled up with each other as most people won't know how to coil them properly. I'd say they would be better off going for: - 10 x 10m XLR mic cables5 x 15m XLR mic cables Pricing from VDC's website comes to £230. I'd also recommend getting different colour cables for different lengths, makes it easier to tell which cables are which length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Hinds Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I got it the wrong way round, I meant 20 x 10m cables from VDC via Pro Audio Systems Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev-no1987 Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I agree with the Chris's Spec. I recently Fitted a school with a new P.A and the spec chris gave I nearly identical to wot I speced. Mackie SRM450's Mackie bins( Cant remeber Exactly what ones) A&H Mix wizard 30m 24:4 Drum Multicore SM57 instrument mics Beta 58 Vocal mics Peavey Pro12 Mons and all other bits and bobs to go with it As for amps we used Peavey valvekings 2x12 (guitar amps) Harkte VX3500 (4x10 Combo bass amp) Mapex Pro M Drum kit The school seemed to like the system and they have had no problems with it so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scouse Dave Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I'd also recommend getting different colour cables for different lengths, makes it easier to tell which cables are which length.I must heartily object: Different colour cables on stage = ugly (I concede that they have infinite uses elsewhere but, to me, on stage is a big no-no). If you make them yourself, I would put coloured glands on the male end to diferentiate cable lengths - Alternatively you could use retrofit coloured ring markers. I don't like tape as a marker, though. Just a couple of thoughts... Dave M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigglesuk Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I must heartily object: Different colour cables on stage = ugly (I concede that they have infinite uses elsewhere but, to me, on stage is a big no-no). If you make them yourself, I would put coloured glands on the male end to diferentiate cable lengths - Alternatively you could use retrofit coloured ring markers. I don't like tape as a marker, though. Just a couple of thoughts... Dave M I do agree with your comment. Personally I would have all the cables the same colour, but thought that the for the schools purpose it may help them. Dark blue cables and black cables don't look too different on stage and easier for someone to shout "get me a blue cable". Most school kids won't know the difference between a 10m and 15m cable. Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Why is it always me that disagrees with things? I don't think that coloured cables look bad at all - I have routinely ordered both musiflex and Canford HST in as many colours as I can get. They make miking up kits so much easier, if you don't use a custom loom. Seeing a coloured cable is vastly simpler than a tape stripe that the turns cover up with their hands. I've even got some UV ones that look great too. Dozens of cables in dim light backstage all look the same - coloured ones work so much better. Fair enough, if the show has a particular look, then the cooured cable may look a bit prominent - and in those situations I do back down and use good old black for the stand mics - however, I still colour the drums and other sources for convenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjkered Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Any body got a good source of colour retrofit labels mentioned in previous post instead of tape Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scouse Dave Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Canford do them... Catalogue page here You can get them other places too..... Dave M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PYROmaster Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Then there's cables (10x 20m XLR) - £280 go on DSH SALES they have a bundle of that for just £50 all I can find is a bundle of 6m XLRs at the moment, herebut I think these would suit your purpose better than the 20m ones :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scouse Dave Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Looking at the way those are coiled (on the bigger pictures), it looks as though you would end up with very zig-zaggy kinked cables! I wouldn't recommend them just because of that! (or am I being too harsh??) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PYROmaster Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 But in a school environment it doesn't really matter the students do worse to them :)I am always telling my fellow stage crew off for coiling it wrong, the way it damages itI have bought these personally and they haven't kinked when I opened them :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom R Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Any body got a good source of colour retrofit labels mentioned in previous post instead of tape Thanks in advance Got a feeling CPC do them also... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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