Fender Passport 500 Pro Portable PA

bobdadruma

Platinum Member
I bought one of these a few weeks ago to use as a PA for my practice room.
This system works great! It is clear sounding and simple to use.
It has the basics of everything that you need and nothing that you don't.
It becomes a 54 pound suitcase when packed.
It can record directly to a usb mem stick.
It has 6 instrument inputs XLR and 1/4"
It has phantom power for condenser mics and you can also pad the mics if needed.
It has 2 stereo line in channels and an effects channel.
It has a stereo 1/8" line output for recording or adding a powered monitor.
It has a 1/4" sub woofer output for a powered sub.
I have begun to mic my kit with it and record to my laptop using the Passport as the mixer.
It works great for that also.
I highly recommend this system.
I am listening to recorded music on it as I write this.
It has become my entertainment system too.
I like the way that it stands on the barstool and I can easily adjust the controls as the band plays.
I also notice that it doesn't feed back easily because Fender has installed circuitry to help prevent it.
 

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I'm also considering the use of a relatively inexpensive setup, either the cheapest CAD set or Nady (I don't have a preference yet), and a mixer, connected to an amp (or not, if the mixer is active).

My question: The mic sets I'm looking for are 7 pieces - perfect, 1 bass, 1 snare, 3 toms, 2 overhead. Possibly an 8th mic input for vocals (not mine, thank goodness). But your setup has 6 mic inputs (and I noticed only one overhead). Is this desired? Or just something to deal with, because it is adequate for your purposes?
 
I bought the PA because it is more than adequate for vocals in my home rehearsal studio and for small gigs.
Using it for the drums was a secondary benefit. You could always use a small inexpensive mixer in conjunction with the PA for the drums.
Just mix the drums in the mixer and send the drum mix to one of the stereo channels of the PA to get the drums in the PA mix. That will leave you 6 PA channels for vocals and other inst's.
It is also great for an E-kit amp if you add a powered sub woofer.
 
Wow.. Wasn't planning on spending that much but maybe you're onto something.

I have an mbox, if I could run a few mics into this thing and run into the mbox that would be handy. I am aware it records to USB too but it would be cool to use it as a mixer and still edit in protools.

Also starting up a cover band so this could be used there. I don't need oodles of bass, does it sound alright without the sub?
 
Yes it sounds fine without the sub. I used for a year without one. I added a 10" JBL powered woofer recently to complete the system.
The sound is crystal clear. All of the singers who use it love it. It is simple to operate and it isn't prone to feedback because of technology that helps to control it automatically.
The Passport along with the Nady personal monitor is a simple system that works great for my practice room and small venue gigs.
For the money it is the best value out there in portable PA's
The next best thing would be a Bose Tower that cost much more.
 
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Yes it sounds fine without the sub. I used for a year without one. I added a 10" JBL powered woofer recently to complete the system.
The sound is crystal clear. All of the singers who use it love it. It is simple to operate and it isn't prone to feedback because of technology that helps to control it automatically.
The Passport along with the Nady personal monitor is a simple system that works great for my practice room and small venue gigs.
For the money it is the best value out there in portable PA's
The next best thing would be a Bose Tower that cost much more.


How much i$ a PASSPORT like you have?
 
The Passport 500 Pro runs $900USD. It came as a package deal from Music 123 with 2 free speaker pole stands.
I bought the 10"JBL powered sub on eBay as factory reconditioned for $160USD.
I added a NADY PM 200-A powered monitor with a heavy duty tripod stand for $210USD. The stand puts the monitor at chest level when I sit at my kit.
I use the Nady when I gig even when I am not using the Passport.
Helpful hint, I needed a travel bag for the Nady monitor. I bought a fur lined bass pedal bag from Protection Racket. The Nady fits perfectly in the pedal bag along with the needed cables.

This system also doubles as my home stereo system. I have a Bluetooth receiver that allows me to send audio from my laptop to the Passport wirelessly.
If we play at a small venue I bring the Passport because it is the right tool for the job. The Passport isn't prone to feedback as easily as many other PA systems so we can put the speakers behind us high up on the poles and then the singers don't need a monitor. Sometimes we put a small powered monitor in front of the singer if there is space.
 
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The Passport 500 Pro runs $900USD. It came as a package deal from Music 123 with 2 free speaker pole stands.
I bought the 10"JBL powered sub on eBay as factory reconditioned for $160USD.
I added a NADY PM 200-A powered monitor with a heavy duty tripod stand for $210USD. The stand puts the monitor at chest level when I sit at my kit.
I use the Nady when I gig even when I am not using the Passport.
Helpful hint, I needed a travel bag for the Nady monitor. I bought a fur lined bass pedal bag from Protection Racket. The Nady fits perfectly in the pedal bag along with the needed cables.

This system also doubles as my home stereo system. I have a Bluetooth receiver that allows me to send audio from my laptop to the Passport wirelessly.
If we play at a small venue I bring the Passport because it is the right tool for the job. The Passport isn't prone to feedback as easily as many other PA systems so we can put the speakers behind us high up on the poles and then the singers don't need a monitor. Sometimes we put a small powered monitor in front of the singer if there is space.


I scored my YAMAHA STAGEPASS 600i for a little less ($820 new), happy w/it, sounds sweet, tho it'd be better with a sub. Will look into a K SUB, tho the YAMAHA DXS12 is a couple hundred cheaper and almost as good.

I use a K10 as a vocal monitor.
 
The Stagepass was one of the choices that I looked at when I bought the Passport.
I like the way that the Passport packed away better, and also I liked the control console config better.
Both units are good choices. Just a matter of personal taste.
 
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