Have to overhaul entire band PA. Looking for advice.

G

gibvictory

Inspired
It's old, tired and no longer enough. The debate within the band is twofold. New and expensive, we're basically a bar band with some private affairs thrown in, or higher end old school gear. In either case we need power and effects as our cabinets are passive and the power and effects are in our current board. Twenty four channels is enough. Old school would have serviceable parts and new would be something like an x32 and all the add ons. My concern is if something goes wrong the whole mixer is out of commission. Old school means if our regular stable of sound guys are unavailable then anyone can come in and mix. I have no experience with any of the new programmable stuff and don't know whats involved but is sure is sexy. What are your real world experiences? There is no budget to do this. If used everything would be cash. If financed it would be a dollar a day for the rest of our lives. Oh boy.
 
We're a couple of rock scars in a hybrid band that utilize a backing track for part of our show. Every effect and light we have is MIDI controlled. We opted for the 'pay for the rest of our life' plan and went with QSC KW 153's for tops and KW181 subs for bottoms and a Behringer X32 rack mixer. Couldn't be happier. Silent, no hiss, punchy, easy to set up and we're able to save scenes for different gig types (outdoor, indoor, etc.).

We went with Sweetwater and got 36 month no interest so it helped tremendously. All of the gear was at the recommendation of a gent on here screen name BBN. Helped us a lot.
 
I have the X32 and really like it, but we do have the issue that a lot of sound guys aren't really familiar with digital mixers
 
get a x32 rack with a iPad, it's so easy to use and small, no more cable and stuff, and if the local bar have a x32, all you need is a USB stick and cat5 cable to change your kit in a monitor/foh setup.
that easy
 
One more vote for the behringer x32 line of mixers. Best bang for your buck, and it is one box that contains everything you need. It's scary at first to rely on a mixer like this...but is exactly the same risk we take with the axe. They're both just computers.

For speakers, id go for a pair of powered single 18" subs, and powered 12" tops.
Qsc HPR can be found on the used market for very reasonable prices, and they are excellent.
Qsc kW series is great too....but will be a little more expensive.
JBL prx series as well. I would only for for the 600 or 700 series PRX stuff...and the subs have to be the XLF versions.
And if you're feeling like spending a little more, the new jbl srx powered line is getting outstanding reviews.

All of those would rock any normal bar gig, with plenty of gas in the tank.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. I'm a PA junkie.
 
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I am a lead guitar player first and sound guy second. I say this to be right up front that am handicapped lol. I purchased the Presonus 16.4.2 a few years ago and have never looked back. It is an awesome live mixer but it also doubles as a control surface in my studio for recoeding on the inluded DAW called StudioOne. It also has remote capabilities and a one click control for recording live shows. It has been an excellent purchase.

Now I have recently started using a QSC Touchmix 16 and it is an awesome substitute that is very feature rich and a small package to carry around.

Good luck!!

Brian


gibvictory said:
It's old, tired and no longer enough. The debate within the band is twofold. New and expensive, we're basically a bar band with some private affairs thrown in, or higher end old school gear. In either case we need power and effects as our cabinets are passive and the power and effects are in our current board. Twenty four channels is enough. Old school would have serviceable parts and new would be something like an x32 and all the add ons. My concern is if something goes wrong the whole mixer is out of commission. Old school means if our regular stable of sound guys are unavailable then anyone can come in and mix. I have no experience with any of the new programmable stuff and don't know whats involved but is sure is sexy. What are your real world experiences? There is no budget to do this. If used everything would be cash. If financed it would be a dollar a day for the rest of our lives. Oh boy.
Click to expand...
 
The Turbosound IQ15 I bought sound really good. Waiting on getting the IQ18 subs so cannot report on them yet. These will hookup seamlessly to an X32.
 
d2dark said:
if you can fit under 18 ins take a look at the X-air 18,
that's what my band use for our monitor mixer.
Click to expand...

I've got x18 also....and I was going to suggest that as well. I will be honest and say I like it but don't love it.
It's very simple and is not complicated...so it has it's advantages.
But....I am likely going to sell it and buy a second xrack.
The x18 doesn't have the advanced capabilities that I love about the xrack....like matrix busses and xover filters.
I love those features about the xrack.
 
i would suggest an analog board. digital mixers are great, and i personally use an x32 rack, but it can be confusing, especially in crisis moments during the gig.

there's something calming about an analog board where a knob or fader does ONE THING and i can just grab it instead of changing pages or screens, or trying to find where i left the iPad.

if you're open to learning the digital mixer route, a x32 is a no brainer.

24 inputs seems like a lot for a "bar band." can you give some insight into the channel layout? you'll have much less to carry and hook up if you can get that down to 16 or so.
 
Thanks for all of your responses. We're a full on six man rock band with five of us singing with a lot of harmonies, keys, bass, drums, percussionist and two guitarists. One guitarist plays electric plus a six and twelve string acoustic and I play electric plus a Roland guitar synth. As far as inputs go it adds up. Sometimes friends of the band come on for a few songs. I guess this all points to the x32. Although our steady gigs are nightclubs there's private events both indoor and outdoors and a fair number of outdoor concerts in the summer. There is almost never a supplied PA system. At least that's the way it is here in New Jersey. Forty to fifty gigs a year. We have two main soundmen and a third guy for about six or so. They would all have to be brought up to speed. A couple of guys in the band really like the Ipad concept. I'm afraid they have very little idea of what it would take but then it wouldn't really be they're responsibility. There would have to be one or two of us in the band well versed also.
 
If you want to keep the footprint small, you can get an x32 with 16 inputs, and an add on s16, which adds another 16 inputs.
 
We are using a Behringer XR18 ($500 cheaper than the X32, but less features too?), and 2 JBL PRX 615's and 2 PRX 618 XLF subs. Working great for us.

Being able to multi-track record at gigs and re-mix the band at home, tweak EQ's, effects, gates, compressors, etc... Then save that mix and sound like that at the next gig is priceless.
 
X-32 Rack user here. Has exceeded all expectations for our group. Part of the beauty is the 8 xlr outs plus I use the 6 aux outs, all giving me 6 stereo sends for our iem and lr for foh. Hit a couple of limitations (can't really have more than one effect on a channel insert) but the routing is so flexible that you can do about anything you set your mind to do with it. I plan to buy a second one to use as a stage box and backup unit when funds are available.

Btw - we started with X-32Rack and Art Headamp pro. Was all we needed to get the 6 stereo iem system up an running. Pretty economical solution!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
yek said:
Which product is that?
Click to expand...

X32 Producer and X32 Compact both have 16XLR ins (and are therefore smaller footprints). The X32-Rack is also 16 XLR ins.
You can then add an S16 (rack) to get the additional inputs if needed.

This would allow a 'narrower' footprint.
(Producer and Xrack are both rack mountable).
 
I just sold my X32 Producer and downsized to the X32 Rack. It's a great board. My band used it for in-ear monitoring, not FOH. If we ran our own FOH at all we'd have kept the Producer then of course. For our in-ear's though we realized we hardly used the surface controls and so a smaller/lighter rack with the x32 rack will be just fine for us.

As much as I'm a fan of the X32, just be sure to do your research and check out some of the competing digital mixers. The Allen and Heath's are great with a little simpler approach but of course some sacrificed flexibility. Also the thing I really wanted from the A&H QU series was how you can record multitrack direct to a usb hard drive. With the x32 you must use a computer. Budget always comes in to play and the behringer's are of course the cheapest. We also use JBL PRX615m for our practice space. They've been great.

Good luck, PA's can be so pricey.
 
levipeto said:
I got a IQ18b Sub yesterday. I am using cat5 with the X32 rack. Tops are CLRs.
Sounds nice!
Click to expand...

Keep us posted about your experience with it. I may want to add such a (single) sub to my CLRs, and X32 Producer.

I switched from the X18R to the Producer because My bandmates and do prefer physical faders.
 
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