PA, mixers, speakers and stuffs.

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danthenoob

Member
Hey guys, im sorry if this topic has been raised before.
Anyway, it seems that me and my band need a small PA system because we need to pump up the volume of the vocals guitars and bass.
I have little to nothing knowledge about all these stuffs.

First, what is the most minimum requirement for setting it up?
Probably the inputs are only four, 2 guitars, 1 bass, and 1 vocal.
And do i need a mixer? If i do, do i need anything else besides the speaker and the mixer?
Or perhaps you know a better way for this.

Thank you
 
first off..

What is your budget?

Will you just be using it for practice?

You can get mixers with 4 channels, but the standard is 8. and that will give you some extra inputs when you need them. and trust me, you'll need them.

You say you're wanting to run bass through it.. So it sounds like you'll be needing 15" cabs.

This is what i have. It has plenty of power. I've recently upgraded, but it got us through practice, and it could cover small gigs.

Powered Mixer:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Soundcraft-GigRac-1000st-Powered-Mixer-103041380-i1153460.gc

Speakers:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Peavey-PR-15-Loudspeaker-104006200-i1153015.gc
x2

Hope this has helped.. and ask away if you have more questions.

Alex
 
sorry i forgot to mention my budget.
well as my band is consisting of 4 really young persons and beginners maybe :p, so probably it will be a little more than $400.

ya im using it for practice at my home.
but perhaps, this is another question that i want to ask.
can i just simply use the mixer and the speaker for my monitor when im having a gig?

yes the peavey may be nice, quite affordable i think.
but the powered mixer, cant just a simple, cheap, mixer do? like, maybe this one? http://www.guitarcenter.com/Nady-MM-141-4-Channel-Mini-Mixer-630433-i1153423.gc
cuz its really off the budget for us :p

thanks anyway :D

btw, i forgot to ask.
maybe you can help me again on this one.
my room is sooo small, will it be suitable for the speaker? im afraid that all things will mix up.
and, is carpet effective enough for soundproofing? and do you know how much does it cost usually? ( the carpet for a small room )
 
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You need three things:

  1. A mixer
  2. A power amp
  3. Speakers
The advantage of a power mixer is it combines the power amp and the mixer into one unit. It is often cheaper than buying a separate amp and mixer. This is the option I went with for my personal studio.

The other option is buying powered speakers, which can then be used with any mixer, but selection of powered speakers is limited, and last time I looked, they're not cheap.

The Nady MM-141 4-Channel Mini Mixer is just a mixer. You would still need an amp and speakers. It is also lacking an XLR input that is generally needed for a microphone.

I don't really know what's out there in your price range these days.

And don't forget the cost of the cables, which are sold separately. You have to have speaker cables to go from the amp (or powered mixer) to the speakers, regular guitar cables won't work.
 
oh ic.
so in other words, unpowered mixer and speaker alone can't do the job huh?

yes me myself would like to invest in it but it seems that we won't use it often and not for a long term because of this and that. besides, my mates are a bit reluctant to broke the bank for it.

thanks for the suggestion, though i dont live in the states and its kinda hard for me to get those kind of stuffs, let alone in the normal price.
 
danthenoob, you need these things...

1. some way to transmit the signal (cables, mics, etc...)
2. some way to adjust the levels of the signals in relation to each other (mixer)
3. some way to amplify the signals so they're louder (power amp)
4. some way to hear the signals (speakers or monitor headphones)

There are some products out there that combine 2 or more of these things, or you can buy them all separately. I would check on craigslist if you can. You can find small PA systems for pretty cheap nowadays.

Why do the guitars and bass need to go through the PA? Don't they have amps? The only things that you should NEED a PA for during rehearsals is vocals and maybe keyboards (but they should have their own amp, too). If you start running guitars and bass through the PA, especially if they use effect pedals, you run the risk of getting a very muddy mix through the PA, as well as possibly blowing the speakers or overpowering the power amp (frying it).
 
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