New PA Day!

jeepnstein · 10-21-2010, 07:41 AM

It's finally starting to come in bit by bit. Our church decided to use some money that had been sitting in a "special" piano fund to actually do something about our piano sound. So we ordered a Roland V Piano. Now of course that Roland will sound kind of funky playing through our late '80's generic and poorly laid out PA. We took the rest of the money in the fund and ordered some PA gear....

10 Shure Beta 58's
1 24 channel/4return snake
2 JBL PRX615 powered main speakers
1 JBL PRX618S Sub woofer
Soundcraft GB2-32 mixing console
TC Electronics M One
A bunch of cable and stands and stuff...

We're using the old PA as monitors.

I've got to say so far we've used the Shures once. They live up to they hype. The M One is fantastic. We've got it tied into the old system right now while we wait on the Soundcraft and two of the JBL's to ship. The Roland will be here tomorrow.

Transitioning from using a 12 channel board and a mish mash of cheap microphones to a real PA and piano is going to be quite an eye opener for the congregation. They constantly complained that they couldn't hear anything even though it was way too loud.

Talk about being truly blessed, we've got it right now.

ethan_hanus · 10-21-2010, 09:25 AM

Nice. Our PA is a mismash of random gear we've been given. I've jerry rigged alot of stuff on our PA system to keep it working. Hopefully we're going to get new gear as well.

Congrats

**redbaron** · 10-21-2010, 10:41 AM

Very nice, I like the beta58's, they have a nice warm sound while still being brighter and cleaner than the SM58's. I would definitely recommend grabbing a couple Beta57's if/when budget allows as well. They're a nice compliment. If you have instrument micing needs, or a vocalist who really loves to project, they'll pay huge dividends.

It's amazing how much some good equipment can help you bring your db down, while at the same time bringing up the clarity. It's amazing to me sometimes how much it can really affect peoples ability to worship & hear the message.

mulletman · 10-21-2010, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron

It's amazing how much some good equipment can help you bring your db down, while at the same time bringing up the clarity.

Hogwash! My amp only sounds good loud!

jeepnstein · 11-03-2010, 10:35 AM

So far we have the new board installed, the M One, and the mics. I'll be working on the cabling in a few days. The M One is an amazing bit of gear. It really does wonders for the sound in the room. We'll also use an older Behringer Ultra Curve to fight feedback and provide some EQ but it isn't in the PA yet. We may hook up the Sub tonight just for fun.

jeepnstein · 11-10-2010, 07:06 AM

It's coming together! I ran the 24 channel snake yesterday. It feels like such a luxury to have all that space available. Our V Piano is getting two channels, the Yamaha synth is getting two as well, and we still have space to burn. We're still waiting on the main speakers but are already using the sub, the board, M One, and all the mics. Oh, and the Piano!

I ran wire for eight hours solid yesterday and this is all I have to show for it.

**surferdude9375** · 11-10-2010, 09:32 AM

You might want to invest in something like a dbx Driverack or Ashly Protea for your PA management instead of using an Ultracurve and have someone experienced set it up. Proper distribution with crossovers and delay will make the subs and mains sound a lot better and have a lot more headroom.

jeepnstein · 11-10-2010, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surferdude9375

You might want to invest in something like a dbx Driverack or Ashly Protea for your PA management instead of using an Ultracurve and have someone experienced set it up. Proper distribution with crossovers and delay will make the subs and mains sound a lot better and have a lot more headroom.

We're out of money. There is no more. None. The budget's an ex-budget. It's drawn it's final curtain and joined the choir invisible.

So we get to use the Ultracurve for a couple of years. It could be much much worse. Had we not put six grand into a stage piano we could have done more. Until the JBL's come in I won't be able to say what the final verdict is going to be. The Driverack would have been my personal preference but the grim meat hook of reality set in and I had to quit spending.

Eriol · 11-11-2010, 10:01 PM

It amazes me how so many churches rush to purchase stuff without proper understanding. A $6000 dollar piano makes no sense if you don't have a good system. What kind of room is it? What are the dimensions more or less? Props on the M One, TC Electronics make good products. Looks like you've got yourself a decent little PA. It may be entirely adequate depending on your room. I'm been through the hoops with church leadership before though I guess thats why I'm such a skeptic.

jeepnstein · 11-12-2010, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eriol

It amazes me how so many churches rush to purchase stuff without proper understanding. A $6000 dollar piano makes no sense if you don't have a good system. What kind of room is it? What are the dimensions more or less? Props on the M One, TC Electronics make good products. Looks like you've got yourself a decent little PA. It may be entirely adequate depending on your room. I'm been through the hoops with church leadership before though I guess thats why I'm such a skeptic.

Normally I'd agree with you. This time around, with the exception of the Behringer being bricked, we have everything we really need. The room seats about 450 including the balcony. The money we put into the system has really paid off so far, and we are now in a position to continue to be able to grow. All the gear we purchased was geared towards eventually moving it into a new building we are beginning to design. If anything we might have too much PA for the room right now.

The piano was the topic of much thought and prayer. The money we spent was initially earmarked for a grand piano. That made absolutely no sense to us at all. The Roland, while expensive, sounds remarkable and we can tailor it to suit the styles of our various pianists. They get the tone they want and it's in tune for a change. They love the keyboard's touch. Oh, and we can actually hear the thing through the monitors now. It sounds absolutely wonderful and is greatly appreciated by the congregation that paid for it.

Church leadership basically told us to submit a package proposal and to not budge an inch when some folks tried to nickle and dime it. And oh my did a couple of guys try to stick their noses into it to buy a system "just as good for a lot less money". After our experience with the prior sound system, which is a subject worthy of it's own thread, there was no question that we needed good quality gear. It was a matter of trust on both sides with the Elders. They knew we weren't just blowing money on new toys and we knew they weren't trying to play budget games and go cheap.

I haven't given up on the Ultracurve yet. I despise the little thing but if I can get it to accept a firmware image it could stretch our money until we move to the new building.