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soakedandtoasted - Posted - 04/28/2024: 18:17:05
I am looking to purchase a pair of speakers for playing out using a single-mic setup. We will be playing indoors, in relatively small spaces, and do not need maximum volume. We just want a little sound reinforcement, and it is okay if folks in the back of the bar can’t quite hear us. We are using an Ear Trumpet microphone with a QSC Touchmix mixer.
What speakers do you recommend, and why?
Possible options we’ve considered are the Bose S1’s and QSC CP and K.2 series, they seem to be pretty popular. Other options I’ve seen online are Yamaha and Electro-Voice, but I’ve no information on them.
What do you think? Thank you in advance for any information.
TimFoster - Posted - 04/28/2024: 18:46:27
The small trio (mandolin/guitar, banjo & accordion + 3 vox) I play in uses three Yamaha DXR10 MK2 active speakers — two mains, and single monitor — and they’ve proven sufficient for both indoor (private party/brewery/restaurant/bar) and small footprint outdoor (car show/farmers market/winery/park) gigs…
I never really loved the small array Bose setups for this sort of music — the subs are wasted and the diffusion of the mains doesnt seem to hit the same way as a more traditional 10”/12” + horn setup imho.
We're not doing the single mic thing -- I wanted to initially, but reality in my situation is we get better results with a more traditional live band setup (admittedly closeR to the world I came from, playing in rock bands). I don't want to dissuade you from trying it -- but if your expectation is to have excellent sound reproduction from a single mic setup, in a variety of unknown rooms... You have your work cut out!!! Let alone the mastery and technique involved in eeking the best out of such a setup as a band. Ultimately, you have a much lower volume of sound support before feedback, and inability to account as closely for individual vox/instrument balance.
it's admirable to aim for no doubt. But I've seen few in my neck of the woods pull it off outside of carefully controlled rooms, which... I'm not lucky enough to play in.
Edited by - TimFoster on 04/28/2024 19:03:09
TimFoster - Posted - 04/28/2024: 19:23:05
Last thought… i get you’re saying you “don’t have to be heard at the bar”. But don’t underestimate the amount of ambient noise from folks talking and having a good time at a gig. It’s heavily venue dependent — but you may be surprised at how much headroom you need… and headroom is not where the “single mic” technique shines, by a long shot. Check out the video feed, from a recent gig — and bear in mind we’re close mic’d through the PA. The camera despite the view is pulled back quite a bit -- it's loud in front of the speakers, but you get the idea...
youtu.be/HWcvdPCoJBw?si=Qe6RzIQOdM1zoXTe
Edited by - TimFoster on 04/28/2024 19:25:03
rvrose - Posted - 04/28/2024: 22:44:52
Using a condenser mic in a noisy venue is a challenge because it will pick up the ambient noise. We use them all the time in concert venues where you have a relatively quiet audience like a senior living complex, church, etc. They produce a great natural sound.
KingStudent - Posted - 04/29/2024: 05:46:39
For our duo - banjo & guitar (acoustic), instrumental only (no vocals), we use Ear Trumpet Labs Delphina > Sound Devices MP-1 > Symetrix A-220. Then I have two custom made cabinets each with a 12" Tone Tubby hemp cone speaker. The mic/preamp/amp are very clean and linear, the speakers not so much, but I can get plenty of volume pretty much anywhere, and those speakers have a nice round natural quality: it sounds like us but louder. I personally don't like the over-hyped treble and bass of modern commercial PAs. But we have been in situations where people wanted that - fortunately in those cases there's usually a big house PA. Just my $.02, but I was interested because of your single-mic technique, which I'm all for.
wrench13 - Posted - 04/29/2024: 06:24:31
Personally I like the 12" + horn amp-in-speaker offerings from EV and JVC. Our last set of ElectroVoice speakers lasted 15 years of not very careful roadies and handling. With amp-in-speaker you can still pull the gig off if one of the amps craps out, and you only need a simple mixing board. If you go the traditional separate power amp and mixing board and add in effects like reverb etc, you need a dedicated cabinet for all those components.
I stay away from Bose. Bose speaker systems are designed to work with Bose power amps, etc. They need a LOT more power then usual speakers, in order for them to work as planned by Bose. One bud has a whole Bose system we have used in a large crowded brewery type setting and it was totally overwhelmed by the ambient noise. Totally!
2 EV 12" + horn speaker cabs with 600W amps in each
24 channel Mackie mixing board (we mic each instrument and we all sing)
and thats it! THe Mackie has built in effects.
My 2 cents worth of advice. With my current set up, as outlined above, we have done fairly large out door concerts to intimate shows with 30-40 interested audience members. The EV's or JVC's have never let us down.
sdfarris - Posted - 04/29/2024: 16:08:27
I've had good luck with my Maui 11 sound column from LD Systems. Very portable, easy to set up, great sound quality, no monitor required. The only drawback is it doesn't have built in phantom power for your condenser mic. This should be all you need for the situations you described. I have the older version of the Maui 11 but the Maui 5 line might be enough for you. They even have rechargeable versions for playing without AC power.
LD Systems MAUI 11 G2 | MAUI® Series | LD Systems (ld-systems.com)
I've played using the Fishman 330 column PAs and the Mauis are better in my opinion - better sound quality and easier to carry and set up.
Edited by - sdfarris on 04/29/2024 16:12:04
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