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Thread: How much PA?

  1. #1
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    How much PA?

    Sorry if this has been done to death already. I had as much of a search as my work commitments would allow me and I couldn't find anything on this. I know I'm opening myself up to the: "how long is a piece of string?" variety of abuse and it may be that that is the only sensible response to my stupid question...

    I was wondering if there is any kind of a rule of thumb for how big a PA (in terms of wattage... or is this the wrong indicator?) one would need for a particular size of room and/or audience? I know that this won't be a precise science and will depend greatly on how loud you want to be.

    As an indicator of what I'm after: we have a pretty heavy-handed drummer and all volumes are set against the drum which will not be mic-ed. Any help at all, however subjective and anecdotal (e.g. we use[*] and it does the job), would be very gratefully received

  2. #2
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    Re: How much PA?

    Actually it can be a pretty precise science. there are formulas to figure out SPL at a variety of distances from the stage if you know the effeciency rating of the speakers and the amount of power available. This board http://www.prosoundweb.com/ will answer all of your questions and probably lots you haven't thought of yet. Look in "lab lounge lite" for your answers.
    Doug

  3. #3
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    Re: How much PA?

    Quote Originally Posted by twin twelve View Post
    Actually it can be a pretty precise science. there are formulas to figure out SPL at a variety of distances from the stage if you know the effeciency rating of the speakers and the amount of power available. This board http://www.prosoundweb.com/ will answer all of your questions and probably lots you haven't thought of yet. Look in "lab lounge lite" for your answers.
    Doug
    Twin Twelve, prosoundweb looks like it will be to PA what this forum is to Strats and Teles. Many, many thanks for the speedy response.

  4. #4
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    Re: How much PA?

    I'm a player 1st and a SR guy second.
    That site is the place to go. Lots of pro's that do world tours and reach down to help us little guys. The articles are great. Check out the mixerman diaries and the pages written by the guy from Death Cab for Cutie. Dave Ratt, who is on the site just finnished up the Chilli peppers tour.

    I learned more about sr from that site in 3 months than I had learned in 10 years. Glad to be of help.
    Doug

  5. #5
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    Re: How much PA?

    Rule of Thumb: Buy Once/Cry Once

    Figure out what you can afford and double that. I have found out from seeing bands (talking about the typical bar room club of 150people) that not many of these bands place the same emphasis on PA equipment as their individual equipment. The guitarist will have high quality tube amps and $1000 in pedals. The bass will have a nice $3000 hunk of wood. The drummer (does he count) and then the band will have a $1000 PA system that barely makes the vocals understandable. Many here will argue that a system is just fine. Then go for it.

    I started with a Yamaha EMX500-12 and thought that I would be able to use one side for monitors and the other side for mains. This Powered Board has some great features some of which are many ways to configure the power amp section. I used this board to grow and I still use it. It's a great board with a great sound. I found out that I needed more power. (I was using an old pair of EV 1-15 and a horn) I went to buy a small power amp to power the monitors and use both amps in the board for the Mains. I ended up with a QSC2450 to power the Mains and use the board to power the Monitors. This was probably one of the best things I ever did because it made a major difference in the Mains. Powere does NOT necessarily mean louder. To me it means CLEAN.

    I have since sold the RMX2450 and the EV's. The EV's had some years on them and thought I should sell them while I still could. I bought a pair of JBL MPro 415's that could handle more power than the EV's so I bought a QSC PLX3402 which were being phased out at the time at some great close-out prices. 700 watts per channel through these JBL's is pure sweet and clean. Finally a QUALITY of sound that compares to my '68 335 and '69 Pro Reverb with quality pedals. I can't stress enough to go about this like you would for your individual instrument with the same care for a quality finished product.

    I managed to come out of this pretty good because I sold the RMX2450 for a few dollars more than the great deal I had gotten off of ebay. My local music store matched the killer sick prices I had gotten for the JBL's.

    One more thing to show the versatility of the EMX5000. I happened to luck out with this board because I had no idea at the time how far I would end up going with this thing. I did a lot of research AFTER I bought the EMX5000. This is the one piece that I would probably still have bought knowing what I know now.

    One last upgrade. I bought a pair of JBL418's (another killer price) and another QSC PLX3402 (which is 1100 watts per channel @4ohms) for the subs. A dbx PA for a crossover and now I have more than I could ever dream. Having the drums mic'ed (even just the kick) and the bass guitar reinforced by that pair of 18's at 2200 watts absolutely kills.

    OK so I went overboard! It still kills even in small rooms at moderate volumes. The kick in the 18's is like going from a transistor radio to a stereo system. The fullness and clarity is amazing.

    Certainly no need to go this far. Just gave you this story to show you what you may be in for. Do your homework! Go listen to bands in the area playing the same type of music in the same type of clubs. That was the driving force for me. I heard great bands with really great musicians with mediocre PA's and I didn't wamt to go through all that trouble and have a mediocre sounding finished product.

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