Everyone that plays in a live band knows that you need a good mixer at the heart of your P.A. system. Many musicians who are building their first PA system spend a lot of time researching and choosing a mixer and completely forget that they will need a good power amplifier to power that mixer. Today I’m going to talk about an excellent, affordable power amplifier that will work with any mixer. I’d like to introduce you to the Behringer Europower EP4000 stereo power amplifier. (more…)
If you’re looking for an extremely versatile mixer and you have a limited budget then look no further than the Behringer Xenyx X2442USB Mixing Console. This mixer is ideal for use with your live band or even in your home studio. If you have a band with four or five members then this is the ideal mixing solution for you simply because of the excellent selection of input and routing options.
The Xenyx X2442USB is the upgrade to the Behringer Eurorack UB2442FX Pro mixer. The mixers are very similar in capability and channel availability and I suggest you read the Behringer Euorack UB2442FX Pro Review to get more of an idea of these mixer’s capabilities. The Xenyx X2442USB has two very important upgrades. First, it has built in compression! This is a major advantage for mixing live vocals as well as live drums. It saves you from having to hook up an outboard compression unit to the mixer. The downside is, it’s only available on channel’s 1-8. Still, that’s generally enough channels for your vocal mics and basic drum mics. (more…)
If you play in a smaller live band such as a 2 to 4 person group then I’m sure you understand the need for a smaller P.A. system. A lot of acoustic duos will go out and play with a small amp, a couple mics and a pair of small speakers. But with a larger 3 or 4 person group I’m sure you’ve learned that you need more than just a little 4-channel powered mixer head and a couple of speakers.
I’d like to talk about an excellent P.A. system for smaller groups of two to four people. The Yamaha EMX512SC/S115V is a complete P.A. package that will have your smaller group completely covered for all your P.A. needs. At the heart of the system is an dual-channel, 500 Watt per channel, powered mixer that has 8 total microphone inputs. The really nice thing about the EMX512SC is the added bonus of four of the eight channels being able to function as either mono microphone inputs or stereo line inputs. This gives the amp/mixer a total of 12 input channels. (more…)
The most important component in your live band’s P.A. system is the mixing console. Without a mixer you’re not going to be able to mix your live sound properly when playing a gig. I’ve written a couple posts such as “You Need A P.A. System To Play A Gig” detailing how important having a good P.A. system is to the success of your band.
Today I’m going to talk about a budget mixer made by Behringer called the Eurorack UB2442FX-PRO. I know that many of you that have experience with Behringer equipment are rolling your eyes right now and I don’t blame you. Behringer has a reputation for cheap equipment that doesn’t always come with the best build quality. I know I’ve had my share of problems with Behringer equipment but at the same time I’ve been able to use Behringer products quite successfully in my studio and with my live band.
(more…)
As you know, it’s crucial for your live band to have the right equipment in order to play a gig. The most important thing you need when playing a gig is a good P.A. System. You can buy yourself a complete P.A. package or you can assemble a P.A. by it’s individual components. The three main components in a P.A. system are a mixer, amplifier and speakers. Today I’m going to talk about a speaker system that has it’s own built-in power amp, the B-52 Matrix 2000 Speaker Sound System.
There are a lot of advantages to buying the B-52 Matrix 2000 speaker sysem. One of the most overlooked pieces of equipment when assembling a P.A. system is the amplifier that powers the speakers. I’ve seen a lot of musicians who are just starting out purchase a very nice speaker package with a mixer and totally forget to buy a power amp for them. That’s why it’s so nice to have the amplifier that powers the speakers built right into the speaker system itself. (more…)
Since it’s the season of giving (and of using the last of my live band earnings for tax write-off purposes) I was looking for gifts for live musicians and came across this sweet deal on a Live Sound Accessories Pack. I don’t know about you, but I seem to go through a microphone stand every year. I also hate hauling equipment in and out of the gig. I also always seem to play in some venues where I struggle to get the speakers aimed for the best sound projection.
Well, this live sound accessories pack addresses all three problems for an incredibly low price. This pack includes two ProLine Boom Microphone Stands, two ProLine Speaker Stands, one Speaker Stand Bag and one Rock N Roller R2 Micro Cart! All for the amazingly low price of $149. You just can’t beat that price for such a sweet live sound accessories pack. (more…)
One of the biggest things I dread about playing in a live band is hauling equipment in and out of the gig venue. I have hauled more equipment up stairs and ramps than I care to remember. I always hoped I would get rich enough one day to afford my own roadies to haul my equipment. That’s only happened a couple of times so it’s usually me that has to carry my gear in.
That’s why today I’m recommending to you an excellent mini cart designed to fold extremely small for stowing in your vehicle yet is still strong enough to have a hauling capacity of 500 pounds. This cart is called the Rock n Roller R6 Mini Cart and it’s a real back saver for all you live musicians out there. (more…)
There are a lot of different ways to run a P.A. System in your live band. Depending on the size of your gigs, your P.A. requirements can be very different. If you’re just playing a small room such as a coffee house for 20-30 people then using powered speakers may be the way to go. If you’re playing medium sized to large clubs, it may be time to step up to a bi-amped P.A. System.
So what is bi-amping? Put simply, it’s using two separate amplifiers on your P.A. System with one of the amps powering the low frequencies and the other amp powering the mid/high frequencies. (more…)
Today on Live Musician Central I’m going to put up some eBay links to my favorite Shure Microphones. I am an avid user of both the Shure SM57 instrument microphone and the Shure Beta 58A Vocal Microphone. Both of these microphones represent the best return per dollar spent on them. They are both amazingly affordable and they perform their job extremely well. I’ve never had any trouble with my Shure microphones and I’ve been using them for years. My Shure SM57 microphones have been used at hundreds of live shows as well as studio sessions and they still sound fantastic. I’ve had my Shure SM57 mic’s for about 14 years now. (more…)
Here are some of the best deals for the live musician on your shopping list this Christmas. You can save a lot of money by using the following list of links to do your shopping. You can save 15%, 20% or even 89% on music equipment and accessories with some of these deals. There’s also a lot of chances to get free shipping on your orders, regardless of the weight and you know how heavy speakers and amps can be. You could save hundreds of dollars on shipping costs alone. There’s also a link to excellent equipment rebates and gift guides as well. Amazon’s Black Friday deals are huge this year too and they have a great selection of music and music equipment. (more…)
Powered by eShop v.6