Carnival float PA

[peterdevon]

Hi guys

 

I have got myself involved in our local carnival float which needs a PA for the music that goes along with the theme. I realise that there will be a huge ammount of background noise from generators, lorry engines other floats PA etc can someone give a rough idea what sort of speakers and amp setup? (budget <2k)

 

Also there are on about doing an outdoor event with bands to raise money, what sort of PA would we need to hire for outdoors with 300 or 400 people?

 

Thanks

 

Peter

[backwater]

A few years ago I was involved in supplying sound for a float at the Edinburgh Festival parade. Sound was for live vocals and an MD backing track.

 

As I recall (looking back at the photos!), we used 8 bose 802 tops and 4 bose 302 subs running from C-Audio RA3000 amps.

 

I would imagine that something similar (or modern equivalents) would cover the job nicely.

 

Andy :P

[Kevin Ross]

Bit hard to say what to hire given that we do not know what type of music you will be playing at this event. It would change greatly if you were playing say light jazz or hardcore D&B.

 

 

 

As for the floats I find the main things to think about are power and coverage. As it will be mobile it will be running of a generator so you will need to be careful about the power you consume.

 

 

 

The next thing is coverage, it is almost 360* you need to cover and again depending on the levels involved that could be anything from a few small 12” trap boxes on each corner to a larger point source or line array type setup, you can however get away with only one sub location and delaying the rest of the speakers to that location. Depending on your float design this location can vary from hanging off the back to up by the cab.

 

 

 

Just a few ideas to get you started but if you could post back with some more detailed event plans then that would be great

 

 

 

HTH

[drsound]

Where are you located? If you post your locaility I'm sure you'll find someone to help.

 

Also, PM sent.

[darrenmood]

Hi guys

 

I have got myself involved in our local carnival float which needs a PA for the music that goes along with the theme. I realise that there will be a huge ammount of background noise from generators, lorry engines other floats PA etc can someone give a rough idea what sort of speakers and amp setup? (budget <2k)

 

Also there are on about doing an outdoor event with bands to raise money, what sort of PA would we need to hire for outdoors with 300 or 400 people?

 

Thanks

 

Peter

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

Hi guys

 

I have got myself involved in our local carnival float which needs a PA for the music that goes along with the theme. I realise that there will be a huge ammount of background noise from generators, lorry engines other floats PA etc can someone give a rough idea what sort of speakers and amp setup? (budget <2k)

 

Also there are on about doing an outdoor event with bands to raise money, what sort of PA would we need to hire for outdoors with 300 or 400 people?

 

Thanks

 

Peter

give me a call I can help you on this we do lots of carnival stuff and floats

01782 310795 Darren

www.dbentech.co.uk

[Robin D]

Having done many carnivals, the secret is to keep it simple remembering that at the most any audience member will hear it for is probably about 1 minute. We used to do the float on a 44' curtain-sider and one 500w amp with 4 PA units did the job a treat. We placed a pair straight on the deck near the front facing out and the other near the rear. Be aware that many organisers will restrict the overall level you can produce and will not permit forward facing units. This comes from big floats following majorettes for example using a small PA to present the sound to their team.

 

The genny is the biggest issue. The best solution we found to avoid the noise issue was to strap it on the back of the tractor unit and throw a flexible cable up to the front centre top the trailer with more than enough spare to allow a 90 degree turn. The driver will have to move the fifth wheel to its rearmost position to allow room for the genny, but in my experience, that's not a problem. Fuel it for judging, then refuel it just before moving off and if you have a decent enough one, it will last for the length of the procession. Positioning it there means its hardly heard above the engine of the tractor and no-one is going to get burned by hot exhaust etc.

 

You must consider weatherproofing in the design. If it rains hard, the gear needs protecting. It's best to bild some form of cupboard into the design to house the gear and select PA boxes that don't mind getting a trifle damp. Avoid speakers on stands at all costs. The effect of inertia when the unit stops suddenly is massive and you don't want one of your precious boxes on someone's head.

 

I always put a decent UPS betweeen genny and the amp/mixer. Added weight but the smoothing helps when the genny runs short of fuel.

 

Sound tracks are best driven from a portable MP3 or CD player. Most other kit (however professional!) will jump when the lorry hits kerbs, breaks hard or if the kids really go mad on a knees up! If using radio mic's make sure they are not on open bands or you can get cross talk from other units and even organisers walkie talkies.

 

Good luck and most of all have fun. :P

[peterdevon]

We have a supersilenced 18kva diesel generator with about 6kw of lights at present so power shouldn't be an issue, I imagine the music on the float will be pop, and the outdoor event will be rock.

[smalljoshua]

Where abouts in the Country are you Peter? There may be a kind soul on here who will help you out for beer/pocket money.

 

Josh

[noiseman]

Hi guys

 

I have got myself involved in our local carnival float which needs a PA for the music that goes along with the theme. I realise that there will be a huge ammount of background noise from generators, lorry engines other floats PA etc can someone give a rough idea what sort of speakers and amp setup? (budget <2k)

 

Also there are on about doing an outdoor event with bands to raise money, what sort of PA would we need to hire for outdoors with 300 or 400 people?

 

Thanks

 

Peter

The folks on here will know more about carnival floats than anyone else in the universe :Carnival forum

[donald463]

Having done a number of floats with live bands travelling through town centres etc I highly recommend using some sort of limiter as it is impossible to tell how loud everything is when there is no reflected sound. We used our standard 2kW PA tops and subs placed at the rear of the truck facing both sides. Mixing between the speakers as far from band/vocalists as possible and monitoring mostly on headphones, hence the limiter. At times we had a runner alongside the truck giving feedback. It is impossible to get a perfect sound as the acoustics change as the vehicle moves.

[Rob_Beech]

Devon I'm guessing, as after checking, his surname ISN'T Devon.

 

This is not something you need to be buying is it. Hire a system from a local company, or seek out members on here that own suitable stuff that you can hire / borrow / whatever.

 

4 stacks of something industry standard, Aspect, res4, W8, C7, KF850, will come well within your budget, use the remaining budget to hire a better system for your other event. The north south divide is the killer here if you're in Devon. 4 stacks of Floodlight with amps for the day can be had for not much over £100+vat, this would sound nice on your float (but would almost certainly be over the top). It would also do the trick as the FOH system for your other event. Down there though this price will likely go up in the region of 250%.