The hunt is on.
Dan Bayer and I hit up Carey Sounds, SE Systems and the Music Loft this past week in an attempt to narrow down our PA system options for our monthly show.
Heading into the afternoon I had a basic understanding of what I was looking for — a couple of high-quality active stage monitors, a couple of lesser-quality active monitors (that can double as a vocal speaker for Molly’s solo shows, and as floor monitors for our gig) and a mixer with enough mic preamps, channels and settings to handle a wide-range of acts, coupled with the ability to record output in separate channels directly to my MacBook Pro.
Thanks to Dan the Man, a bunch of footwork around town and the forums over at rhythm(ism), I think I’ve got my head wrapped around what we need.
Since the venue — the back bar The Green Burro — is relatively small (35′ x 25′ with a 15′ x 15′ bar in one corner) and sound bounces nicely off its brick walls, I’ve been looking for high-quality over high-wattage since day one. That means portability and active components. The advise I’ve received from friends, who live and breathe music, all point to Mackie, so this is the setup I’m currently looking at:
- Mackie SRM450v2
400W Active 2-way Live Speaker with Active Electronic Time Alignment, Light Weight, and Class-D Amplification
I’ve found nothing but rave reviews about this speaker; at high-volumes it’s supposed to be able to continue to produce studio quality sound with impeccable stereo imaging, depth of field and definition — at full-on loudspeaker levels. - Mackie ONYX 1620
16 x 2 Analog Mixer w/ 8 Onyx preamps, 4-band Perkins EQ, and Support for FireWire Option
It has 8 mic preamps and all the pre/post controls Dan says we need, but what sold me is the optional FireWire I/O card, which bridges the analog-to-digital gap by providing up to 18 independent channels of high-quality 24-bit/96kHz audio that I can plug right into my MacBook Pro. We’re going to record each show to get the music out all over the web, so I want to make sure we have separate channels to mix in post. - Mackie SRM350
2-way Bi-amplified Loudspeaker with 165W LF amp & 30W HF amp (each)
The SRM350 has incredibly smooth, spike-free response and dispersion over a wide range of treble frequencies. So you can turn up the volume without boosting feedback-inducing spikes. Perfect for a floor monitor and as a vocal speaker for one of Molly’s solo gigs.
Save for an equalizer down the road, that pretty much covers the majority of the system.
I fully realized when I decided to put on this show that there was going to be a substantial upfront cost, but going high-quality with active components is damn costly. As I lamented this fact on the phone with Danny yesterday, he quickly put it back into perspective for me:
Pay once; cry once.
Agreed. That being said, I still need to hunt for a package deal for this bad boy. I’ll probably head back to SE System to see if we can work something out.
I’m more than willing to shed a few tears upfront to ensure that the only way our show sounds crappy is if the act themselves don’t bring it. Aside from building a quality sound system and booking killer acts, there’s not much more I can do to control that from not happening.
Up Next: Vocal mics
UPDATE I: Ok, so I headed out to SE on a mission to get a great package price and Ed Poindexter over there hooked me up. But just as we were putting together the sales order (and I was pulling out the plastic). Ed and I started rapping about the state of Mackie as a company:
- Mackie has been bought and sold 3 or 4 times over the last few years
- The latest owners dropped customer service to the bottom of company priorities
- All production has been shipped overseas. For an entire year, parts were unavailable. The current situation is only “slightly better.”
- SE Sounds doesn’t do Mackie warranty repairs; the closest Mackie warranty repair shop is in Durham and the service there is unenthusiastically “ok” and “slow at times.”
I had previously read a bit about Mackie the company — their off-shore production situation in particular — but when Ed told me that they didn’t do Mackie warranty repairs, well, that pretty much made me stop in my tracks.
I’m now looking at the JBL Eon 15 G2’s and 10 G2’s with a Yamaha MG206C USB mixer. More soon.
UPDATE II: I’m now hitting up the forum at rhythmism.com for feedback.
UPDATE III: After a bunch of feedback, I went ahead and picked up the following system:
In a side-by-side test, the QSC HPR 112I had a clarity that was lacking in the Mackie SRM 450. Two other pluses: a wooden cabinet and a 6-year warranty.
The JBL EON’s couldn’t hold a candle to the 450’s as FOH speakers, but they’re a good option for a floor monitor.
Our first show is on April 25th!
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