Trolled through some older posts (and some spirited discussions ) but that were mainly based on a guitar amp.
What I’m wondering is anyone using a PA/Amp (or whatever the correct term is) to plug their Guitar, Mic, Pedals etc into as per a live environment but for a small space,? ie: home practice use mainly or very small venue?
Not sure if I am correct but I am thinking that using something that needs to be turned right down will not provide the best sound, think I’ve seen something on Amps to do with this on this site?
I’ve hunted through used sites and the local music stores. They certainly have some nice gear but something like a Mackie Showbox could be just a little overkill (mind you, xmas is coming )
Anyway, interested to know what others might have setup at home or in their smaller venues.
Hi Craig - I do. Mainly to mimic my live playing - I found that learning to use a mic requires practice (how hard can it be you may ask … I was surprised!!).
Here’s my home set up - I use a different set up for live playing as I typically go through my QC, use the house PA and monitors).
The key points …
Guitar goes through a looper and a few pedals - then I either send it to my valve amp or via a Boss IR-2 and from there into a mixer and to the Headrush FRFR 108 PA speaker. I select amp or IR2 via an ABY switch on my board.
Mic (SM58) goes into a HC Helicon ‘mic mechanic’ for reverb etc, then into the FRFR (via the mixer)
I use an old Behringer Xenyx 1204FX mixer and into that I put the drums from the looper, the IR2 output and the mic (via the Mic Mechanic). Output from the mixer goes to the FRFR speaker.
The more I get to know people in my community, the more I learn how many people own their own mixer/PA setup. In my town, you can find live music just about everywhere. It seems like it’s really only the bigger venues that have their own house setups and that most solo performers doing small venues absolutely must have their own systems. Even people who are 100% acoustic at minimum need their own mixer/PA with two mics because they might stick you in some weird corner somewhere or outside on a patio or wherever.
It makes complete sense to me that you need to get comfortable with your gear LONG before you need to set up at a venue to perform. So that means practicing with it at home. Explains why I see small mixers for sale in local classifieds all the time.
I use the JBL EON One Compact for this. It works quite well for me. Previously I had an AER Domino that I used for gigs (just casual ones) and home practice. The JBL isn’t as high end (sound quality) as the AER, it’s still fine for my casual use.
What I like about it is:
Battery Powered
4 Channels
Mixer is available on iphone as app
what I don’t like
Power on/off button is a pain to use. Have to hold it in for 5 seconds to turn on and 2 seconds to turn off. What’s wrong with a simple toggle.
It’s so much better than the AER for small gigs, you can adjust levels from where you are playing, with the AER I had to get up and operate the levels from small knobs on the amp.
I use it at home also, have a looper and some pedals set up, it works well for noodling along to the loop track when practicing soloing.
100%. When I was doing open mics before I got a decent setup at home, I was regularly surprised on stage with how different things sounded, my voice through a mic, the guitar through an amp, that sort of thing.
When I got my first decent amp (AER), I rehearsed a LOT at home before my next open mic and OMG it made such a positive difference.
Great info thanks. I just wanted to get some feedback on others setups before racing into something that I later realise should have been something else.
There was a JBL EON One for sale as an ‘open box’ item at Mannys, I had considered it
Also, currently I am only using an AI and not a mixer.
On this Paul, do you ever run your Mic Mechanic through an AI or into your DAW? I am running a Harmony Singer 2 via an AI into Reaper but if I take the AI Input Gain past midway I get a lot static type noise
No - I always record everything dry and any effects or reverb get added afterwards. I vaguely remember the Mic Mechanic having some sort of ‘auto gain’ which is a pain as you can’t adjust the level manually on the pedal and the SM58 always needs a lot of gain!
Hi Craig,
I don’t have a PA system but there’s a local coffee shop near my home that hosts live acts on weekends. One of the regular performers uses a Fender Passport PA system. He loves it & it really sounds phenomenal! It’s compact… both speakers clamp onto the unit for hauling around, it has a built in mixer, looks good & I think it’s something like 500 watts. I was talking to the guy a few weeks back, he’s got the original version but said the newer ones have built in Bluetooth to stream backing tracks… says if his current unit dies, he’ll for sure buy the latest/greatest one Fender has out!
) but that were mainly based on a guitar amp.
)
