Category: Jam Session
My band and I are looking for our first gig, but we need a decent sound system first. We don't know much about them, so what exactly do we need? We're trying to decide between the Behringer Eurolive B212D or B215D. Has anyone used either of those?
Do you know exactly what you are looking for? Passive or active speakers, microphones that require phantom power etc.
I have experience with the music industry both street performance and stage performance. Can you clarify what you want to be doing with your equipment and what kind of settings you will be using it in.
Also what type of music you perform as certain makes of speaker work better with certain sounds. At the moment I don't have enough information to be able to suggest what setup may be best.
First off, you need to decide what you're using for a consol, amps, and processing. All you told us about for equipment was your speakers. If you're using passive speakers, as both the ones you suggested are, you will need a way to power them. This can come in the form of a combination mixer/amp, or separates. In combos, I recommend the Yamaha EMX line of products for price to performance ratio. Get as many channels as you can afford. You will also need a snake to run the cables from the mixing position to the stage, and many other things. You can, for simplicity, look at Musiciansfriend.com, Americanmusical.com, or sweetwater.com, as they have packaged systemss for sale.
We play symphonic metal. We use two guitars, bass guitar, two or three keyboards, two vocal mics, and drums. For now, we're probably going to be doing just smaller venues. Probably under a crowd of 300. And we're looking for powered speakers. We have some vocal mics that we use during practice, but we're probably going to use wireless ones for performances.
I'd shy away from wireless, due to some places just aren't good for it, so you lose the connection or it goes and comes. Because you have not set a buget here my suggestion would be to go in to Guitar Center. You can check out things and actual set up and try them. If you are just starting out P A only for the vocals and keys might be a cheap and effective way to get it done. Have all others use amps. Get a time before your gig and do a sound check, so that amps and P A can be adjusted. Many many factors, but I'd start with what I call a box setup. The speakers come with stans, so you have a say 8 or 16 channel set with 350 to 1000 wats of power. If you go lower only vocals and your between set music should be piped through it. If you go highter then add the keys. The speakers have a slot in back that the board fits in to, so moving it is easy 2 speaker cases and the stands. Nice for small places.
Hope that helps you some.
Hi!!
You also want to take in to consideration what you want to mike up most in the band. Otherwise you won't get an even mix. Also, it would be a good idea to have a dedicated person to run sound...
If you have any other questions, you can get in touch with me if you'd like.
Chris Harrington
And, the type of mic you use on an instrument or vocal really does make a difference, so don't just buy your mics with uniformity in mind. Do your shopping. My personal recommendations:
Guitar cabinets = Audix I5, or Shure SM57.
Bass = DI
Vocals = Audix OM5, or Shure SM58 if you're gonna be abusing the diaphragms of the mics.
For male vocals especially, I like the Sennheiser E865, Audix VX5, and Shure Beta87, but that's if you're just gonna sing, and not scream. These are condenser mics, and their tolerance to abuse is a lot less.
For drums, Audix and Shure sell several some great mic packages with clamps and hangers designed for just that purpose.
In the wireless world, I recommend the Audio-Technica 3000 series, which are now up to the ATW3210 for vocals, and the ATW3231, or 3197 for speech. Also, if you want condensers in the series, they have the 3271.
Also the Sennheiser Evolution Wireless is great, but costs a bit more money, and I wouldn't buy any wireless from Shure, except the UHFR series, but they're over $1,000 per system.