r/livesoundgear

I have a budget of about $1000-1500, I’d like to stay close to $1k if possible. I perform acoustic guitar and sing without backing tracks, and would like to know about options for speakers to amplify my setup. Usually performing for about 75-125 people and in rooms varying in size from banquet halls to small dining areas. Mainly needing decent sound dispersion for larger areas - not sure if I need multiple speakers or if one speaker + my amp can do the job - they have been fine so far but I know it’s not ideal. I currently use a shitty alto powered 10” speaker to amplify my fishman loudbox artist guitar amp. I know it’s bad, I need some options for a better speaker setup. My amp has a DI out and I just send an xlr out to whatever sound system I need.

I have a few considerations -

1. Power - I have entertained the idea of a battery powered unit like the EV Everse 8 or 12 to make life more convenient - I do perform infrequently in a field or somewhere outdoors where access to power is limited. Most advice tends toward getting a separate portable power source like a small generator or battery to power a powered setup instead for quality. Curious on thoughts.
2. Sound quality - I’m coming from bottom end alto speaker and it’s gotten me a ton of gigs.. so I want to upgrade and make it sound as good as possible but also don’t stress too much about top of the line because this little speaker has gotten me throughyears of gigging already. (my amp and guitar setup sound phenomenal, all of the eq is done there.)
3. Control and convenience - I like the idea of controlling volume and some eq from my phone across a corporate/wedding space so I don’t have to get up to mess with things.

Honestly don’t know what I’m missing, so if there are other things you recommend considering I’d love to hear them.

I’m a singer-guitarist, I usually play solo, mostly nicer joints (wineries, country clubs), and I like doing crowd work. So I idea of a wireless rig sounds nice to me.

Should I spend the cash to get a top quality one? What do you use? I have friends who have used cheapo’s and swear by them even in theatres, but I wasn’t sure with all the streaming if that’s an instant danger.

Thank you!

Hi all. In the last couple months I've started cycling to venues I work at in my city, each have different in-house setups. I try to take a general pack of stuff to each show to make my day a little easier - thing is, riding my bike to work I can't take everything that I'd want.

At the moment I'm working out where that threshold of useful versus unnecessary items to take to each show is, which leads to me to my question - if you're cycling to your venue, what do you take? What gear has the best ratio of lightweight and useful? A bunch of XLR turnarounds? Some USB-C to 3.5mms? A soundbullet?

At the moment I'm usually taking a mic case full of adapters, a Thomann CAT5-to-XLR snake, and a laptop for playback/QLab. I usually ride with a small lightweight 20L rucksack.

I mostly work at music venues, with a smattering of corporate events thrown in there. What should I be taking to work?

I am looking for a solution for my problem!
Currently I have a flight set consisting of a Yamaha DM7 compact and a TIO1608-D2.

I am looking for a flight friendly way to add two or more outputs so that I can connect to the house LR systems from the stage too if need be.

All of the outputs of the TIO are in use for the artist (stereo IEM x4).

My current plan is to buy a Dante AVIO output adapter paired with a PoE injector and connect it to the secondary port of the TIO in daisychain mode. Will this work?

If not or if there's a better solution, please let me know!

Hello!

Yesterday I picked up a AKG SR 40 wireless system for my bass, I was gonna try it out and make sure it all was working but the signal is for some reason not coming through to my audio interface?

I tried looking for any freq options or anything that might be not synced but none, mute is not engaged either

Signal chain is BASS -> WIRELESS TRANSMITTER -> WIRELESS RECIEVER -> SCARLET 2I2 INTERFACE -> LAPTOP

Link below is wireless unit in question

https://www.akg.com/wireless-systems/wms40mini-system/SR40Minigroup.html

Does anyone know what this could be? Any help is much appreciated

I'm new to digital consoles. I've mainly used analog ones.

Seeking recommendations for the Best value, Portable/Compact, Digital Console. I'd like something I can bring to a gig, for live events, and etc.

I was just curious to see how console boards hold up over the years, and which ones have lasted

I have 3 used console boards Behringer Xenyx, Soundcraft EPM, and a Mackie VLZ4.
They all have different sizes (depending on the application I need them for). None of them have any issues, and all of them are used.

I don't know how to tell if a mixer board goes bad, or why it even happens.

But what brands have lasted people over the years?

Hey yall!
I’ve been thinking about getting some new XLR cables and I know I’ve always wanted Mogami Cables, but I know all of you guys know the pricing of those are definitely an arm and a leg lol. I researched a good amount of PigHog cables and have heard they are really solid, close to a Mogami almost. Of course they don’t have things like neurtrik connectors, but I would like to hear y’all’s experience and is it a worth it, high quality cable buy?

I need help finding this pedal I saw advertised recently. It allows you to plug in an XLR cable from a mic and from there route the signal through a pedal board. It provides phantom power. I saw the device advertised on Facebook and visited the website, but apparently I did not bookmark it and I can't remember the company name. They have a range of other products. The pedal I'm talking about I seem to remember being in the $300 range.

I use a condenser mic to amplify my acoustic guitar on stage. This pedal would allow me to treat the signal like a regular guitar signal and route through a pedal board, whereas without the pedal my only choice is to go straight into a mixer providing phantom power.

Anyone know?

I just want great IEM’s that have more than 2 drivers, good ambient sound so I could connect with the crowd while hearing the band super well and I want to run everywhere, jump, crowd surf with my shirt off without having the fear of getting my wires all ripped off. I also want them to sound good enough to mix on my DAW like ATH-M50x’s. Is there such thing as complete wireless IEM’s like AirPods without latency?

so, I'm a part of a few XR18 groups, and another user posted a question and some folks suggested as a solution to their question using Y cables to double the outputs available to them from their Main L/R

is this a good, bad, or neutral idea?

Apologies in advance, I am a total NOOB about sound and am looking for basic help here. I volunteer at an inner city elementary school that has very limited resources and a tiny budget. I create a show for acting, live singing W/ backing tracks and live musicians for the children ages 8-12 to perform. We rent the equipment and everyone works for free to pull it off. It is in the large double gym. Last year we had a 16x16 temporary stage built for the acting portion of the show. The sound was great speaker wise EXCEPT you still couldn’t hear the child actors very well. Getting them to project is a challenge and mic pacs are not an option. We used 4 shotgun mics at the 4 corners of the stage. I was told we had to use shot gun mics due to feedback issues of the gym. Wouldn’t Omni directional work better? Is that not possible? Should we also be having pencil mics or more mics? Can someone help me understand and create a better sound design for these kids? These children and the community really deserve the best and I could really use your expertise in figuring out a better way. TIA

I’m hoping to get back into taping after a 29 year break. I used to run SR-71 - preamp - Sony M1 but I’m looking at getting a Zoom F3.

A friend shared a pair of AKG C430 mics with me and I love how small they are. Thinking they would be good for an onstage XY if the floor is too much for the stand and SR-71.

Does anyone have any input on these? They seem like a fun small setup and free is always good but…… I’ve read they are pretty bright.

Thanks!!

Alan

hi, i've been lurking this sub for a little bit - i was wondering what the best IEM for performing for around ~300 people would be? I tried some shure se215s, they sounded very very dull and almost lifeless (?). it seemed like i couldn't hear my vocals too well at all.

Is there any iem under or around $200 that would hold up for 30 minute sets and have decent enough quality to hear myself well? I've researched the sub and there's a lot of recommendations for casual listening, gaming, etc, I just want to make sure I grab something that'll be good enough for a few shows throughout the rest of the year.

edit: i am in the u.s., so $200 USD ish.

Hello everyone, The company I work for is building a concert / theatre hall with a capacity of 800 seats. We need to choose a console for FOH and I have been checking out Digico quantum 225 (MQ RACK) and A&H Dlive (3500 surface + mix rack). I'm wondering which one would be a better solution, provided that, the company thinks that there are going to be significantly more concerts than theatre plays or musicals (Nevertheless, we will hold 2-3 big musical theatre shows on the year). Could you give me any recomendations?

Hi all,

I'm having a very small backyard wedding ceremony. 20 people including me and my future wife.

I'm looking for a small, reasonable pa system for them to speak into and also play music.

Sorry if this isn’t the right subreddit.

I work at a summer camp and the goal is to communicate with 400 excited campers all at once via wireless microphone. We have an okay budget and are planning to buy at least JBL quality.

A four piece speaker setup would be ideal.

Some kind of wireless is a necessity.

We need it quickly, so a week delivery time or pickup from a store will work best.

I have included a picture of the kind of thing we think will be good, but i’m also not sure if I can add speakers to this setup.

Any education or suggestions will be appreciated 🙏🏻

I’m trying to determine which mic would work best for placement inside a mask during a live rock band performance (with in-ears)–omni (like Shure DH5) or directional (Countryman, DPA…).

I’ve seen a number of tradeoffs mentioned in both directions. I’m a fan of the proximity effect of directional mics but I’m not sure how well they would perform inside a mask. I’m also worried an omni mic would pick up too much of the drummer.

My ideal sound and placement would be the AKG 311 but the boom arm is too obstructive for the mask to work.

I’m also open to some sort of capsule that can just be placed inside the mask with tape instead of a full headset. The mask is plastic and has an inch of clearance over the mouth

Any suggestions welcome!