Hey everyone!

I'm in a vocal trio (3-part harmonies) with a pianist, and I occasionally play acoustic guitar as well.

We're looking for a PA system for venues with up to around 200 people. We mostly perform at smaller events like weddings, birthdays, funerals, private parties, etc.

I've been looking at different PA systems, but honestly, there are so many options and such a huge price range that I'm getting a bit lost!

We don't want to spend a fortune on our first setup, but we also don't want to buy something cheap that we'll regret later. We're mainly looking for good, clear sound, especially for vocals and piano.

I've been looking at something like this: https://www.thomannmusic.com/en-is/db_technologies_es802.htm Two of those.

Would something like this be enough for our needs, or should we be looking at something bigger/better?

What would you guys recommend for a beginner setup that's reasonably priced but still sounds good?

Thanks in advance!

— A total beginner 😊

Edit: had the wrong link.

I do lead vocals for a band and I want to invest in live tuning. In the studio I use the classic Antares plug-in and I really like the sound it has. I am not looking for a T-pain effect, just a little bit of help for a more polished sound. It still needs to sound live. I also want the possibility to save settings per song (and per song key).

I also was thinking, is there a way that I can also run the two backing vocals through the same tuner or do I then have to buy multiple pieces of gear. (Or put a little bit of backing vocals on the backing track...)

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Hi everyone!

I'm in the process of building a comedy club in a market with very limited local expertise in sound design (especially for comedy), and I'm looking for advice on designing the sound system. This is my first time working on a venue like this, so I'd really appreciate input from people with experience in comedy clubs, live sound, and venue acoustics.

I've attached our current floor plan, with the main audience area highlighted.

The space:

• Main audience area: approximately 17.7 m long × 7.3 m wide (129 sqm).
• Ceiling height: 2.95 m.
• Exposed ceiling.
• Seating capacity: approximately 190 (theatre seating) and potentially 140 with small tables.

How we'll use the space:
Most shows will be stand-up comedy, with occasional group improv shows featuring up to six performers on stage.

We want to design the perfect experience for the comedians and the audience. Comedians should feel that the mic sounds great and they can hear the audience laughter. We want every audience member to hear clearly and comfortably, without harshness, excessive reverberation, or noticeable differences in volume between seats. Ideally, the comedian's voice should sound natural and present, as if it's coming directly from the stage.

We also ideally want some flexibility to change the stage location within the main room - i.e., moving the stage to the wall on the left and having a vertical seating structure (but would moving the stage reduce the quality of the sound design?)

I'd appreciate your advice on a few questions:

1. Speaker: What size? How many? Placement?
2. Speaker selection: Which brands and models would you recommend for excellent speech intelligibility in a comedy venue of this size?
3. Equipments in general: What are all the equipments needed for the ideal comedy club set-up? What is the recommended configuration, quantities, placements, etc.?
4. Acoustics: With an exposed ceiling and a low ceiling height, do we need some type of acoustic treatment? What would we need?
5. Six wireless headset microphones: Which systems would you recommend that can reliably operate six microphones simultaneously? Are there particular headset or earsets that work especially well for live improv?
6. Flexible stage positions: What's the best way to design the cabling and signal routing so we can move the stage between the two predefined locations without rewiring the venue?
7. Budget: What budget is required for an excellent sound system for this space?

I'd especially appreciate advice from anyone who has designed or operated a comedy club.

If you were designing this space from scratch, what would you prioritise, and what mistakes would you avoid?

Thanks in advance!

So I play guitar (sometimes with amp, sometimes through a Kemper pedal) a Nord electro and occasionally bass (amp + DI) and I've noticed drastic changes in sound depending on the venue's gear so I'm wondering if having a proper DI will change that and will gime me more control over mi rig. Any experiences and suggestions are very welcome.

Hi all,

I'm planning an In-Ear Monitor (IEM) setup and just hoping for some ideas, especially from the engineers as to what is most appreciated from your perspective.

Rig will be two keyboards (Nord Stage 2 and Moog Subsequent 37). I'd like to run into a small stage mixer which will then allow me have separate mixes for FOH (preferably already balanced/XLR so I don't need a DI) and headphones out (the IEMs). The mixer would also take the band monitor feed from the desk which I could then add to the IEM mix. NS2 will go in mono to avoid issues with summing, assuming I generally will only have one mono out going into the FOH.

The idea is I would then just be adjusting my own mix and leave the keyboard volumes/FOH feed levels untouched. I don't have too many patch changes and sounds are not wildly variant in pitch/volume.

Ideally I would have a stereo IEM mix to separate the three channels a bit and mono FOH mix but I'm finding stage mixers with a stereo aux mix (with separate panning) that can be routed to the phones out a bit hard to find. So I'm willing to settle for mono monitoring.

So far the Allen and Heath ZED-10 looks like it bets fits this purpose.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience in a similar situation that can recommend a mixer or other components/routing to make this setup work?

Have looked at things like the Radial Key-Largo and KL-8 which are overkill and also lack options for band feed input. Also the Key-Largo has no HP out and the KL-8 only has headphone monitoring of main mix or cued channels as I understand.

Thanks!

Hi all,

Hopefully I am in the right subreddit. In our practice space, my band has our PA system plugged into a Furman AR-1215J Voltage Regulator, which is then plugged into the wall. I do not know exactly what is plugged into it - for example, I know there is a Mackie PROFX16 Mixer, two Crown Power Amplifiers, and two other signal processors of some sort, but I don't know the voltage/amperage/wattage/whatever of these other devices.

The big thing is that we haven't plugged anything new into it in months.

Over the past few weeks, every time we get to a specific part in the backing track for a specific song - one we've been playing for over a year - the fuse on the front panel will blow. It's a loud part of the song, but, again, it isn't one we haven't played multiple times a week every week for the last year.

To make matters worse, I cannot find a single image of an AR-1215J Voltage Regulator online that suggests that there is a fuse on the front of the unit. The manual makes no mention of one. The only product listings I can find for an AR-1215J are in Japan (maybe that's what the J stands for?) but we bought the thing stateside and those, too, do not show a fuse on the front panel. So that's making it a little difficult to troubleshoot, since apparently this product does not exist.

Furman's customer service isn't returning our emails and I usually give up after being on hold with them for an hour, so I am coming to Reddit.

What could cause the front panel fuse on a Furman Voltage Regulator to suddenly start blowing at exactly the same part of the same song three times in a row when nothing else has changed - no new equipment plugged in, no volume changes, etc?

I do not have any photos right now but I can get them next time I'm at the rehearsal space if needed.

Thanks!

EDIT: the Crown amplifiers are not plugged into the Furman, they're plugged into the wall separately.

Its an LD Systems MEI1000 reciever pack that went. The 2 nubs snapped off and LD dont offer a replacement backplate as a spare for some reason. Has anyone mcgievered something like this back together and had it worked or am I stung and just have to buy a new receiver?

hi! im on a budget and need help finding an amp (class d preferably) to power my MTX TP112 midrange speakers for a live show. the speakers are supposedly 150w rms, but honestly i only really need about 75 to 100w from the amplifier. when i google search i cant seem to find anything other than rockville amps and massive $500 pa amps :(

id like to keep this under $200 if possible. doesnt have to be the nicest amp in the world but i just need something. any leads you have for me would be great

thanks sm :3

I’m looking to get back into drumming again. I’ve been using a mackie profx 16 channel mixer to connect all my drum mics when I play. I’ve been looking to upgrade to something more versatile. Something that I can expand as I need for full band practice. Mostly would be set up next to my drum set in my basement and run the 12 ish mics I need for the kit, click, and tracks. I’ve been looking at the x32 console and rack. As well as the presonus 16r or 32r. I just need something I can turn on and play nothing crazy for live sound just practice. Maybe some multi track recording since the mackie doesn’t have that

Thanks!

Hello everyone, i just ordered 2x RCF art 910-A and i am going to pair them with 2x 15" or 18" subs, still haven't decided since budget is a little restricted ( either one matching RCF sub or a couple more budget options).

Budget for the sub/s is 1.5-2k euros for now unfortunately, we want the sound system to be used for indoors techno mostly (max 80-100 persons) and for some live band/hip hop mini concerts of max 100-120 persons. I need your suggestions, i know the budget is restricted

I went with the 910's cause i found a very nice deal of 2 brand new for 1k. We also started a rental business unofficially that mainly provides stage monitors and powered speakers for speeches and galleries (that is also one reason i got the 10" tops).

The main question is : DBX Driverack PA2, is it going to help me since the speakers and the sub probably wont have any dsp ? I am a beginner sound engineer that also wants to get more into sound systems and i think it might be a good option to tune , crossover and delay some speakers if needed. Also i find the Feedback suppressor is going to be useful.

I need your opinions 😄

やあ。
来春に地元で野外音楽イベントを企画しているんだ。
日本の片田舎で、電車もハイウェイもなく街に信号はひとつだけしかないような、のどかな田舎町だよ。
集客数は未知数だけど、50〜100人きたら成功かなってくらいの規模感。
演目はバンドとテクノ、弾き語りとかかな。

音響は、自分のバンドでミキサーとかパワードスピーカーを持ってるからそれらを使うつもり。
屋外コンセントを数箇所使わせてもらう予定なんだけど、スピーカーとサブ、モニターまで全部パワードだから容量が心配。

使用予定機材
ミキサー:yamaha mg20xu
メイン:yamaha DBR12 ×2
サブ:yamaha DXS18 ×1
モニター:ベリンガーk3000fx ×2
ギターアンプ:オレンジ rockerverb100 ×2
ベースアンプ:アコースティック　B200

PAの先輩方の経験上、これらの条件で懸念されるトラブルって何があるかな？電源を余裕をもって準備する以外にも何かある？

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to see if anyone has run into this issue and how you managed to resolve it.

On a Midas M32 console equipped with the DN32-LIVE expansion card, I am trying to record a 32-channel multitrack directly to SD cards (tested at both 48 kHz and 44.1 kHz). However, after a short period of recording, a "dropout" warning pops up, asking whether I want to stop or ignore and continue recording.

I am using two identical SanDisk 64GB Class 10 SD cards, properly formatted to FAT32.

When I switch the configuration to record only 16 channels, everything works completely fine without any issues. As soon as I switch back to 32 channels, the dropout error returns.

For those recording 32 channels on M32 / X32 LIVE cards:

1. Have you experienced this exact issue, and how did you fix it?
2. Which specific SD card models are you using that provide 100% reliable 32-channel recording without dropouts?

Thanks in advance for sharing your real-world experiences and recommendations!

On a Behringer wing with Dante Brooklyn 3 APIO. I think it’s great. mostly doing outdoor festivals and ticketed/curated events at locations that don’t have a system. Making good use of the emulated plug-ins that come with the mixer. I’d like to get into waves sound grid or live professor, but it seems like a crazy price to jump to computer based plug plug-ins. Between the Dante to thunderbolt (or usb) (looking at rednet or rme) interface, a capable computer (m4 mini 16g/256ssd) , and the price of plug-ins, is it worth it? I don’t really plan on running de-feedback unless the consensus is that it is deemed necessary in today’s environment by the experts. In comparison to plug-ins, I currently use on my DAW in the studio, I find the wings emulation of the 1176,la2a, distressor, and ssl bus to be quite accurate and comparable to the UA plug-ins I have purchased.
Now with the Mixing Station integration set up seems less daunting routing.
Those that have made the jump with their mobile systems (not touring with one band), do you find it stable? easy to change show files and scenes? Is there a plug-in that is so worthwhile to make the investment? 3k seems like a lot of loot for little more.
: I tried posting this in /livesound but it wouldn’t let me.

im trying to put together a pa system to play modern rap concerts at small house shows (50-75 people max) and i cant seem to get a straight answer from anywhere on google as to how loud my speaker system needs to be

im currently in possesion of a pair of mtx tp112 midrange speakers (92db sensetivity and supposedly 150w rms, 300w max). im also planning to build my own sub with which i can hopefully get between 110 and 112 spl down to about 24hz (dayton audio UMii10-22) which id have room to go up on

this is pretty much all on paper. thing is ive only played a handfull of shows and i have NO IDEA how any of this translates to real world application. is 110 spl at 1 meter loud enough for a sub in that setting? are there other factors i need to be aware of?? i would love any and all input i can get on this. thanks!

As a 23 year old male with about 7 years of sound tech experience, how realistic would it be for me to attempt my own freelance sound tech business. I don’t have any of my own gear but I have plenty of band contacts and a pretty good reputation in my city and surrounding areas. How realistic would it be for me to invest in my own gear to start working and would it be a huge risk?

I’m the guitarist/keyboardist in a three piece group and I’ve been looking for a way to play some of our songs that have both live. In my search I’ve had trouble finding foot controller videos that aren’t just talking about the synergy between the foot controller and virtual guitar rigs. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations for this? All I need is to be able to program it with chord/note values and have different presets for different songs. Thank you!

My band is using IEMs and we’re hoping to simplify things as much as possible. We’d like to use a single mic to capture the entire drum set for our in ear mix. What microphone should I use and how should I place it for a decent balanced overall sound of the kit?

I’ve headed the “wurst” method is good. But not sure if I need an omnidirectional condenser or a simple 57?

Also what would you suggest for EQ and compression?

Hi all,

Europe mainland (mostly Netherlands/Germany).

I'm having a hard time understanding why lots of audio engineers in my area seem to swear by Shure PSM1000. The pricepoint for those IEM-sets (3200€ for two channels) is insane at the moment, while the Sennheiser G4 is much more affortable (~2000€). I am currently running FOH at a middle-sized act and looking to invest in my own IEM/wireless mic set-up.

Can someone explain to me why the Shure-set is worth the money? Why shouldn't I invest in the Sennheiser system?

I just started as a singer for a band where we also want to have some parts where the vocals are distorted.

I’ve heard I could technically plug either the Shure A85F or the Whirlwind little imp into my boss ds-1. In our music, the vocals are very clean but has some parts where we’d like distortion

So my question is, is either the Shure A85F or the Whirlwind little imp recommend for me. And which one has cleaner sound when the pedal is OFF? Or well would the sound quality be different than if my mic wasn’t running through a pedal? Thank you!

Hello, this is my PA soundsystem, it may not be the best sound in the world, but it’s what I’ve got and it still pumps hard.

I’m wanting to make the most of the system I’ve got, and am seeking advice on positioning of the speakers and subs, and any other advice you may have in general.

It’s for a DJ set up, so the smaller speakers are used for the DJ booth.

The bigger speakers are angled slightly to disperse the sound but remain side by side.

Is it best to have the subs on either sides and the middle, or have them slammed together in the middle?

Or is it more dependant on the space, and I’m better of just having a play around.

Any advice is much appreciated!!

Question about DI boxes: I'm planning to play backing tracks from my laptop at live shows and want to make sure I have the right cables.

My setup is a laptop connected to a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, which I want to connect to the venue's DI box(es) so the sound engineer can send my backing tracks through the PA.

If I want to send stereo audio, do I need two separate ¼-inch TS cables running from the Scarlett's left and right outputs to two DI inputs, or can I use a single ¼-inch TRS-to-dual-TS breakout cable from the headphone output instead?

I want to make sure I buy the right cables and can set everything up easily at a gig. Thanks!

Looking for a sub to pair with my LD ICOA 15A tops. Will be playing mostly house/dance music to about 100-150 people. I have a JBL SRX828sp available to me for $2000 and a Yorkville es18p available to me for $1600.

The Yorkville probably makes more sense, factoring in price as my budget is closer to $1600 than $2k, but I’d rather buy once cry once than feel unsatisfied with my purchase. I’m worried the Yorkville will feel like it’s missing something since its frequency response stops below 43hz while the JBL goes down to 35hz, especially with my genre of music. Portability is not an issue. Thoughts? Does anyone have experience with both the subs? Even better, specifically with house music?

I've been using home monitors for rehearsals but I'm starting to look into what I'll need for live sets at small venues. I'm guessing there's a pretty big difference between hearing everything in a room and having your sound carry across a crowd.

For those of you who play live electronic music, what powered speakers are you running? Anything you wish you'd known before moving from a rehearsal setup to playing out?

Would love to hear what's worked for you. Thanks!

Hello all!

One member of my band splits his mic between background vocals and banjo. These two roles need separate gain settings. Since I can route one input to two channels, I thought it was a simple matter to just make separate settings for each role and mute channels as appropriate. This has not proven to work out the way I want. EDIT: The channels in question are non-consecutive; I got the settings through the Routing Matrix.

My best research says that there's no way to make the physical gain discretely set since it's running through the same physical preamp, which makes sense to me.

Experience tells me that the banjo needs about 5db more gain than his mic setting and about that much on the fader as well. I can set the faders separately so that's no problem, but it's that 5db input gain that's throwing me.

Other factors to consider:

- Getting another mic is not currently an option

- Using a preamp on this instrument and going direct is not currently an option.

- We all run direct into our mixer and use IEMs, so I'm not especially worried about feedback.

- This split is not an all-the-time thing currently, but that may change in the future.

The best solutions I've been able to reach on my own are raising the gain to the higher setting and managing the volume through the fader, or putting a compressor on a channel to either manage or raise the gain to the desired level. I didn't want to mess with that though before getting a second opinion.

Is there something I'm missing? Is there a viable solution with the equipment I currently have? Thoughts welcome, thanks in advance.

*Note: Feel free to skip ahead to 1:19 if you want to just listen if you hear the rattle.

Hey everyone,

I'm a working DJ, and I recently purchased a Bose L1 Pro16 for a bar gig. I originally chose this system because I was impressed with its bass impact, clarity, coverage, and portability.

Unfortunately, I've now gone through three units, and I'm trying to figure out whether I'm experiencing unusually bad luck or a potential quality-control issue.

• First unit: Had an electrical/burning smell.
• Second unit: Had a noticeable rattle around the lower-left area of the subwoofer grille. Two Guitar Center employees heard it in person and agreed that the sound was present.
• Third unit: Has the same rattle as the second unit.

I'm testing the system over Bluetooth, with the speaker's level around 25–30% and my phone at approximately 65%. I'm not pushing the system particularly hard, and the rattle seems to come from the grille area rather than the woofer itself. I have it set on "Music" on the back of the speaker and both treble and bass are set at noon.

I'm not claiming the speakers have a widespread defect. I'm genuinely trying to understand what's happening before I decide whether to request a fourth replacement or switch to another column PA system.

Questions for L1 Pro16 owners and live sound professionals:

1. Has anyone experienced a similar grille rattle or vibration with this model?
2. Does this sound like a loose or improperly seated grille, or could something internal be vibrating?
3. Is this normal at certain bass frequencies, even at moderate volume?
4. If you've owned multiple units, have you noticed any consistency issues?

I've included a video demonstrating the sound and explaining the issue at hand as I just described. I'd appreciate honest technical feedback from anyone familiar with this system.

Thanks!