Nord User Forum

Hi everyone,

I have a NS3. So far I have used it with headphones only. Now my living situation has changed (I recently bought my first house which has a garage that I want to eventually transform into a studio space, but it still needs some construction work) and I want to move away from headphones/IEMs. In the medium/long term I think a PA system makes the most sense for the aforementioned studio space I'm working on. But right now the living room is the space to jam. I have been browsing this forum hoping to find a solution that would work for both my current living room practicing/jamming as well as a studio environment. It makes sense to only invest once. My impression however is that it is hardly possible to find a "one size fits all" solution and perhaps I am trying to solve too many problems with a single solution? I hope the experts among you can offer some advice.

Usage needs

• Living room practicing and jamming with friends (acoustic/electric guitars, vocals).
• Studio setup that will in time include a drumkit (probably an electronic kit, but not completely sure). I am looking to invest in making this a suitable area for practicing/jamming first. I can mix on headphones/studio monitors later.
• Mobility/transportation is not an issue - I expect these will remain at my home
• Ideally I'd use the amplification for vocals and other instruments as well (especially vocals and acoustic guitars, possibly an electronic drumkit. Is that possible?
• I am somewhat obsessed with audio quality. My concern is that a solution aimed at live/stage environments with a lot more background noise might disappoint in a quiet studio/living room environment.

I imagine a budget helps narrow things down. Let's set this at EUR 2.000. I am willing to postpone a purchase in order to increase my budget. I have included a photo of the living room and future studio space (don't mind the mess, I only just moved in )

Thanks a lot for your thoughts in advance!

Trying to clear up what your talking about. You say Studio and I think of recording studio room for recording and mixing but when you talk about it, it sounds like your talking about a practice room. Which is it because the type speakers for recording/mixing are different from a PA for singers and instruments. Knowing what your use case is will help others answer you.

docbop wrote:Trying to clear up what your talking about. You say Studio and I think of recording studio room for recording and mixing but when you talk about it, it sounds like your talking about a practice room. Which is it because the type speakers for recording/mixing are different from a PA for singers and instruments. Knowing what your use case is will help others answer you.

Hi there, thanks for your response. I'm looking to create a space in which to both jam/practice as well as record, but for the purpose of this thread I mean to invest in amplification for practice first. Mixing I can do on my headphones or a pair of studio monitors in the future.

Here's an useful thread on the topic: accessories-and-amplification-f8/nord-a ... 16772.html
Some alternatives that tends to be mentioned by multiple users are the QSC K8.2 (or K10.2) and RCF TT08a II.
A couple of less expensive alternatives are the QSC CP8 and EV Everse 08

Small spaces and multiple musicians requires some forethought.

My rehearsal space is 100% IEM/headphone because we have vocalists and we would like to hear them occasionally vs. everything else in the room.

Acoustic drums will demand a drum shield, as will a guitarist who insists"his tone". Do not bother with acoustic treatment as you won't need it. HVAC becomes important, as does lighting.

If instead, you attempt cram a small PA into this space, buy a jar of earplugs for everyone, as it's going to be brutal indeed.

Garages for music room is tough sound wise because they are small and tend to have low ceilings. Also being many are bare walls big sound issue for keeping neighbors from calling the cops on you all the time. The one garage we practiced in a lot we sound proofed a lot and neighbors still complained, but at least didn't call the cops. First band I was in the neighbors actually went to the city and got us officially banned from rehearsing in our guitar players garage anymore.

For garage I would get a couple powered speakers on poles so you can play with position in room if how you setup will be changing. Then get one or two powered floor monitors for singer of horns. I would not mic any instruments let them bring amps, drums only the bass drum if really necessary and horns or acoustic guitars. You want to keep the volume down especially if the room doesn't have much sound proofing. If you're going to run electronic drums and keyboards thru the PA you're going to need a better PA to handle all that lowend. Try to keep the PA for vocals only if you can.