Synth-DIY Yahoo! Groups Archives

Thread

Amps/PAs for live synth music

2005-05-31 by Larry David

Well since I delurked, I'll post one more before I relurk. :)  Like 
many of you, I'm in a band, and we have recently started playing bigger 
shows (with an actual stage, as opposed to a ridiculously small corner 
in a bar).  Up to now I have used a 100W combo amp as a monitor, and 
sent a DI signal to the house PA.  This doesn't work anymore, since I 
have to have that amp practically strapped to my head to hear over the 
drums 10 feet away and the Marshall half stack behind me.  We are not 
to the level yet where we play places that actually have capable sound 
engineers, let alone separate stage mixes, so I cannot rely on the 
house monitors at all.  So, my question to all you gigging vets:  What 
have you found to be a good solution for medium to large size venues 
for amplifying (i.e. being able to hear onstage) high bandwidth synth 
music?  I'm playing organ, piano and analog synth, fwiw.  (The organ 
uses a stereo leslie sim for now.)  I bought a Roland KC 550, which is 
180W, and much, much louder than my 100W Carvin amp (though for those, 
like I used to be, who wonder if Carvin gear is any good, this is a 
great little amp - excellent feature set and sound for the price).  The 
Roland has a line out that sends all of the left sides of each channel 
to another amp, for a stereo set up.  Paired with my Carvin, it is a 
100% improvement - way louder and stereo to boot.  But I realize to be 
really satisfied with such a set up, I'd want a pair of KC 550s, which 
would be roughly $1200 altogether.  Besides the fact that they weigh a 
ton and are bulky, that is a lot of cash to me, and I'm wondering if I 
wouldn't do better with a small PA system.  I already have a nice JBL 
12" passive monitor (that I use on another gig with a bar duo) and I 
figured I could get a matching one and a small powered mixer for as 
much or less than the 2 KC 550s.  I'm old (according to my bandmates 
who are all at least 10 yrs younger than me :) and set up/tear down 
ease, and schlepping factor are important to me - almost as much as 
sound quality (it's punk rock, after all).

So what do you guys use to amplify your MOTM based, analog synth rigs 
at rock shows?  <on-topic content>  :-)

Thanks,
Larry D.

Re: [motm] Amps/PAs for live synth music

2005-05-31 by Jason Proctor

i've always been unsatisfied with the sound of keyboard amps. to me 
they sound boomy, coloured, and lacking in faithful high end. of 
course, if you want rawk, fair enough.

for the last 3 years or so, my band has been using a QSC MX2000a amp 
driving a pair of Yamaha S115IV 2-way passives for LOUD onstage 
monitoring, and as mains for playing parties etc. we also have a 
Mackie 15" powered sub, which kicks nicely for parties but isn't 
strictly necessary for simple monitoring.

we have beaten the shit out of this system and it holds up really 
well. the Yamahas are bulletproof and pretty faithful. we took on a 
drummer last october (and earplugs in the practice space!) - i was 
concerned that i wouldn't be able to hear anything over him when we 
played out, but thanks to the Yamahas it's not been a problem.

a more portable system would be the monitor versions of these 
speakers (SM15V or somesuch) which have a more sharply cut cabinet 
for parking on the floor. Yamaha also make 12" versions of these 
cabs, though i've no direct experience with them.

hth

j

Show quoted textHide quoted text

>Well since I delurked, I'll post one more before I relurk. :)  Like
>many of you, I'm in a band, and we have recently started playing bigger
>shows (with an actual stage, as opposed to a ridiculously small corner
>in a bar).  Up to now I have used a 100W combo amp as a monitor, and
>sent a DI signal to the house PA.  This doesn't work anymore, since I
>have to have that amp practically strapped to my head to hear over the
>drums 10 feet away and the Marshall half stack behind me.  We are not
>to the level yet where we play places that actually have capable sound
>engineers, let alone separate stage mixes, so I cannot rely on the
>house monitors at all.  So, my question to all you gigging vets:  What
>have you found to be a good solution for medium to large size venues
>for amplifying (i.e. being able to hear onstage) high bandwidth synth
>music?  I'm playing organ, piano and analog synth, fwiw.  (The organ
>uses a stereo leslie sim for now.)  I bought a Roland KC 550, which is
>180W, and much, much louder than my 100W Carvin amp (though for those,
>like I used to be, who wonder if Carvin gear is any good, this is a
>great little amp - excellent feature set and sound for the price).  The
>Roland has a line out that sends all of the left sides of each channel
>to another amp, for a stereo set up.  Paired with my Carvin, it is a
>100% improvement - way louder and stereo to boot.  But I realize to be
>really satisfied with such a set up, I'd want a pair of KC 550s, which
>would be roughly $1200 altogether.  Besides the fact that they weigh a
>ton and are bulky, that is a lot of cash to me, and I'm wondering if I
>wouldn't do better with a small PA system.  I already have a nice JBL
>12" passive monitor (that I use on another gig with a bar duo) and I
>figured I could get a matching one and a small powered mixer for as
>much or less than the 2 KC 550s.  I'm old (according to my bandmates
>who are all at least 10 yrs younger than me :) and set up/tear down
>ease, and schlepping factor are important to me - almost as much as
>sound quality (it's punk rock, after all).
>
>So what do you guys use to amplify your MOTM based, analog synth rigs
>at rock shows?  <on-topic content>  :-)
>
>Thanks,
>Larry D.
>
>
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Re: [motm] Amps/PAs for live synth music

2005-05-31 by Greg Amann

Assuming you don't roam, and I take this to be a good assumption given 
your equipment list, in-ear monitoring is my preferred choice.  It is 
relatively cheap, portable and it keeps the on-stage sound pressure down 
to manageable levels.  Any local music store can help you glue together 
whatever you would need for your specific application.  I use a 
Behringer 1602 or a Mackie 1402 and just grab a line off of whatever I 
want to hear.

YMMV, BFG


Larry David wrote:

Show quoted textHide quoted text

> Well since I delurked, I'll post one more before I relurk. :)  Like
> many of you, I'm in a band, and we have recently started playing bigger
> shows (with an actual stage, as opposed to a ridiculously small corner
> in a bar).  Up to now I have used a 100W combo amp as a monitor, and
> sent a DI signal to the house PA.  This doesn't work anymore, since I
> have to have that amp practically strapped to my head to hear over the
> drums 10 feet away and the Marshall half stack behind me.  We are not
> to the level yet where we play places that actually have capable sound
> engineers, let alone separate stage mixes, so I cannot rely on the
> house monitors at all.  So, my question to all you gigging vets:  What
> have you found to be a good solution for medium to large size venues
> for amplifying (i.e. being able to hear onstage) high bandwidth synth
> music?  I'm playing organ, piano and analog synth, fwiw.  (The organ
> uses a stereo leslie sim for now.)  I bought a Roland KC 550, which is
> 180W, and much, much louder than my 100W Carvin amp (though for those,
> like I used to be, who wonder if Carvin gear is any good, this is a
> great little amp - excellent feature set and sound for the price).  The
> Roland has a line out that sends all of the left sides of each channel
> to another amp, for a stereo set up.  Paired with my Carvin, it is a
> 100% improvement - way louder and stereo to boot.  But I realize to be
> really satisfied with such a set up, I'd want a pair of KC 550s, which
> would be roughly $1200 altogether.  Besides the fact that they weigh a
> ton and are bulky, that is a lot of cash to me, and I'm wondering if I
> wouldn't do better with a small PA system.  I already have a nice JBL
> 12" passive monitor (that I use on another gig with a bar duo) and I
> figured I could get a matching one and a small powered mixer for as
> much or less than the 2 KC 550s.  I'm old (according to my bandmates
> who are all at least 10 yrs younger than me :) and set up/tear down
> ease, and schlepping factor are important to me - almost as much as
> sound quality (it's punk rock, after all).
>
> So what do you guys use to amplify your MOTM based, analog synth rigs
> at rock shows?  <on-topic content>  :-)
>
> Thanks,
> Larry D.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *Yahoo! Groups Links*
>
>     * To visit your group on the web, go to:
>       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/motm/
>        
>     * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>       motm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>       <mailto:motm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe>
>        
>     * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
>       Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>.
>
>

Re: Amps/PAs for live synth music

2005-05-31 by crmatt99

I was also wondering about this. I play guitar through a custom built half stack (NAU 
Engineering) it like a Soldano and I was assuming I could use an A/B switch between my 
guitar and my synth. Of course attenuating the signal down first. If this is not a good idea 
someone let me know. 

As a side note to other ageing gigging musicans check out http://www.jucifer.com/ Its a 
rock duo and this girl played guitar through like 14 amp heads and I counted 71 speaker 
in the cabinents excluding horns. The concert was cool and your whole body vibrated from 
sound waves. RAWK!








--- In motm@yahoogroups.com, Greg Amann <greg.amann@s...> wrote:

Show quoted textHide quoted text

> Assuming you don't roam, and I take this to be a good assumption given 
> your equipment list, in-ear monitoring is my preferred choice.  It is 
> relatively cheap, portable and it keeps the on-stage sound pressure down 
> to manageable levels.  Any local music store can help you glue together 
> whatever you would need for your specific application.  I use a 
> Behringer 1602 or a Mackie 1402 and just grab a line off of whatever I 
> want to hear.
> 
> YMMV, BFG
> 
> 
> Larry David wrote:
> 
> > Well since I delurked, I'll post one more before I relurk. :)  Like
> > many of you, I'm in a band, and we have recently started playing bigger
> > shows (with an actual stage, as opposed to a ridiculously small corner
> > in a bar).  Up to now I have used a 100W combo amp as a monitor, and
> > sent a DI signal to the house PA.  This doesn't work anymore, since I
> > have to have that amp practically strapped to my head to hear over the
> > drums 10 feet away and the Marshall half stack behind me.  We are not
> > to the level yet where we play places that actually have capable sound
> > engineers, let alone separate stage mixes, so I cannot rely on the
> > house monitors at all.  So, my question to all you gigging vets:  What
> > have you found to be a good solution for medium to large size venues
> > for amplifying (i.e. being able to hear onstage) high bandwidth synth
> > music?  I'm playing organ, piano and analog synth, fwiw.  (The organ
> > uses a stereo leslie sim for now.)  I bought a Roland KC 550, which is
> > 180W, and much, much louder than my 100W Carvin amp (though for those,
> > like I used to be, who wonder if Carvin gear is any good, this is a
> > great little amp - excellent feature set and sound for the price).  The
> > Roland has a line out that sends all of the left sides of each channel
> > to another amp, for a stereo set up.  Paired with my Carvin, it is a
> > 100% improvement - way louder and stereo to boot.  But I realize to be
> > really satisfied with such a set up, I'd want a pair of KC 550s, which
> > would be roughly $1200 altogether.  Besides the fact that they weigh a
> > ton and are bulky, that is a lot of cash to me, and I'm wondering if I
> > wouldn't do better with a small PA system.  I already have a nice JBL
> > 12" passive monitor (that I use on another gig with a bar duo) and I
> > figured I could get a matching one and a small powered mixer for as
> > much or less than the 2 KC 550s.  I'm old (according to my bandmates
> > who are all at least 10 yrs younger than me :) and set up/tear down
> > ease, and schlepping factor are important to me - almost as much as
> > sound quality (it's punk rock, after all).
> >
> > So what do you guys use to amplify your MOTM based, analog synth rigs
> > at rock shows?  <on-topic content>  :-)
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Larry D.
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > *Yahoo! Groups Links*
> >
> >     * To visit your group on the web, go to:
> >       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/motm/
> >        
> >     * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> >       motm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >       <mailto:motm-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe>
> >        
> >     * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
> >       Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>.
> >
> >

Re: Amps/PAs for live synth music

2005-05-31 by paulhaneberg

It has been a couple of years since I played live with a band, but I 
have found, since I'm now pretty much an old fart, that I cannot 
tolerate high SPLs the way I used to.

So I purchased a set of in-ear monitors.  The set I use is made by 
Shure and they are wireless.  I also use a wireless headworn mic when 
I sing (which is as little as possible.)

I use a Samson mixer I got off of ebay that I have modified.  I use 1 
channel for my mic which has a discrete output for the PA as well as 
feeding the mixer for my in-ear mix.
I also run all my keys into the mixer, both for the in-ear mix and the 
PA output which is separate from the mic PA output.
I also receive the same stereo feed that comes out of the PA mixer.  
This goes to my in-ear mix, but not to either of the ouotputs that go 
back to the PA.  (That would cause a feedback loop.)

Ten years or so ago, I used two EV floor slants with 15" speakers and 
horns, pointed at myself, with the same mix feeding the PA.  At the 
time I used a third slant for my vocal.

Going back even further, I used to use 4 cabinets with 2-12s each and 
1000 watts of amplification.

Although the low end frequency response is not that great with in-
ears, I can hear myself and everybody else far better than I ever 
have, and I think my playing and singing has improved as a result.  So 
I'd recommend in-ear monitors, especially if you are playing at high 
SPLs.

As a side note, a friend of mine uses the new Bose system.  It's not 
that loud, but somehow seems to be audible everywhere in the room, and 
is not overly loud on stage.  Something to be looked into, perhaps.

Paul Haneberg