Good gigging amp (or PA)

[RedLeo]

I'm still looking for the perfect amp which would be light and loud and make my keys sound like they do in the studio. I've even thought of putting some metal screens on studio monitors to get that sound. I think the ZXA is close but not perfect, anybody out there has tried the others like Yamaha DXR / EV ZLX / JBL EON615 / small stuff like TC Helicon Monitor / Behringer B207 / Mackie 150?

You're not going to get the studio quality sound you're looking for in this price range. Broadly speaking, all you'll get from the list of "the usual suspects" is variations on a theme. The sound quality of the EV ZXA1 (I have one myself) is about as good as it gets in this price range. To get a serious improvement in quality, you're going to have to go upmarket quite a bit - cost-wise as well.

I don't know anything much myself, but I've seen both RCF and Bagend being recommended highly. I am sure there are others too.

[S h a w]

Nothing is going to make your keyboards sound like they do in the studio. Don't underestimate the effect of being in a different space (meaning, your studio versus a live setting). I think the best thing you can hope for is your satisfactory combination of volume/heaviness/flat response --- and then put a graphic EQ between your keyboards and whatever PA speakers you decide to use so you can tweak your sound for the space (the ability to do that takes a great ear).

Good luck!

[AlQuinn]

When I need a great AP sound I use a pair of RCF TT08A powered speakers. Light, loud, clear, but expensive.

[Gustavo]

Maybe I am coming a little bit late to the discussion, but I have found the Electro Voice ELXP 112-P to be some of the best. They are big and can go very loud. Yet they are not too big or heavy to handle by one person, although I have sometimes had some trouble putting them in a stand/pole.

For the mixer, if you only have one single input, then I would test to see if the mixer is truly necessary. Personally, I think that an 8 channel mixer could be more than enough for most people's needs. I personally recommedn Mackie, I've also had a small Behringer 4-channel mixer and they are ok for the price, but the Mackies simply have a better build. About the sound, I personally cannot find a real difference between my small Behringer and my bigger Mackie, specially in live situations. Perhaps for your situation, a Mackie 402VLZ4 should suffice.

Saludos,
Gustavo

[mwtzzz]

Update: I took my mixer in to practice. It does increase volume slightly of the DLM8, but also at the expense of noticeable hiss. And the volume still wasn't enough and the sound itself (tone, quality,) was still not good, so i went ahead and bought a QSC K10 which I will try out at this weeks' practice.

michael_C1: thanks for the suggestion on the line level shifter. I probably won't need it with the new PA, but it's good to know there is such a thing.

[mfish]

Thanks for the feedback! I still have a hard time bringing thousands of dollars of keyboards and only a $500 speaker (EV ZXA) but I guess it does the trick for now. I tried an acoustic image and it sounded ok but the piano sounds more natural on the zxa IMO and with two zxas running stereo is loud enough to do a medium gig at only 19lbs a piece. Next to the zxa, I guess the K10/K12 is my pick because they sound great on synth and organ and blow away the zxas in power but piano is a little harsh to my ears IMO. Most of my gigs have FOH systems and I need only monitoring which the zxa does the job but I would still like something smaller that I could put on my mic stand or my nord for monitoring that sounds great. Let me know if anybody has that solution, I've tried both the TC Helicon and Mackie SRM150 but they made the grand sound like an upright. Thanks.

[Tommy]

I recently purchased a Spacestation - wow - my Electro 4 never sounded better - finally an amp that makes the acoustic piano as rich and full as it was meant to be. You owe it to yourself to try it with all the other suggestions here.

[Mr_-G-]

That is interesting. Several comments I have read say that there is not much bottom end for the piano sounds.

[JoeCool]

I also have the SS v.3 now and think it is an absolute amazing box. It has sufficient low range for piano, even for organ, just not for punching bass sounds (imho). If you would like it or not - nobody knows. Problem is you can't try it out, only by purchasing it.

[nsureit]

I solved my home monitor dilemma when I found my old Event Electronics 20/20bas speakers in storage (forgot they were there). But, the great sound I got on the 20/20s made me realize that my KC-550 that I was using solely as a stage monitor, was just underwhelming. The KC just could not accurately reproduce the NS2 sounds. So, I took the KC back to GC, and was fortunate enough to find a demo EV ETX-12P for about half retail. I had my first chance to use it as my stage monitor last weekend, and I could probably use it to amplify the venue! Absolutely perfect for a stage monitor, or a small venue mono amp.