Good gigging amp (or PA)

[RedLeo]

I sent the Yamaha L/R Main Outs to the Band's main Mackie Board (two separate channels as no dedicated stereo inputs - old board) and left the pans straight up.

Is there any particular reason for running your FOH sound in mono, or is your PA system just a mono system in the first place?

[pablomastodon]

Your "small" mixer is Yamaha MG32CX? That's a pretty big small mixer to act solely as a stereo DI.to band mixer. Sounds like the band should consider buying this from you.

Also, given that setup I still think you should pan your feeds hard left and right to preclude phase cancellation possibilities.

Lastly, thanks for the props, but I think there are others here who deserve as much credit.
\Bless,

Pablo

[Alnico61]

A few years ago, I was also looking for a better keyboard amp, and I purchased a pair of the older version JBL Eon powered cabs, and a Mackie Mixer(1402 VLZ), which seems to work great, as the Eons are bi-amped, these have the 15inch woofer, and a horn for highs. This rig provides great flexibility, enough clean volume to be heard, our guitarist asks me to turn down for club and gigs where we do not send any signals other than vocals to the PA. On gigs where we do use a larger PA, I can send my signal from the mixer to the PA and use the Eons as stage monitors. At the time I was using an 88 key Korg N1 for piano, and a Korg CX-3 for organ. Needless to say it was a heavy rig to move around, with heavy cases for both keyboards. I have greatly reduced the weight of my rig, since my new Electro 5 does the job of both keyboards, and the Electro 5 sounds great thru the system. So now the heaviest part of my rig are the 2 Eon cabinets. So, I do agree that you should purchase some type of PA, that will suit your needs and budget. I hope this helps

[rb4u1]

The 12's would sound great, I guess that's why so many people use the 10's. I've started using an RCF 10 with the QSC 10 and it's a very full sound.

[mwtzzz]

There are two things going on here:

First, the Mackie needs more input level than the Nord can provide.

.... <snip> ...

Thank you. Your post is the best explanation and most informative reply on this thread. Exactly the information I was looking for. A small "coffee shop singer-songwriter" amp is definitely what this amp seems to be, after having practiced with it. And definitely much less than what we need. I'm going to have to replace it.

Any suggestions? QSC K10? Eon JBL612?

[mwtzzz]

A few years ago, I was also looking for a better keyboard amp, and I purchased a pair of the older version JBL Eon powered cabs, and a Mackie Mixer(1402 VLZ), which seems to work great, as the Eons are bi-amped, these have the 15inch woofer, and a horn for highs.

This looks pretty good.

3) It can be useful to conduct rehearsals at low volume levels, sufficiently low that vocals need not be mic'd. You can alternatively remind your drummer/guitar players that stupidly loud volumes do not demonstrate skill and talent, but a lack thereof

The past couple practices have been a bit louder, but I 'm not going to harp on them about it. Especially considering when I used the house PA and my keyboard sounded great, perfect balance with the rest of the band, great tones, etc, so I know it can be done, with the right equipment. And I need something that be gigged with too, not just for practice. So I need a better solution than the Mackie DLM8

[mwtzzz]

Here's a comparison of the two different things I mentioned, both these are recordings from practice,

" A Go Go " was done with the rehearsal studio PA system, I don't know the model, brand, etc. Great clean sound, powerful, great tones:
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/cq2r7fr ... 080615.m4a

"Windjammer" was done with the Mackie DLM8 turned up all the way possible with the NE2 volume knobs turned up all the way. Sounds like crap, honestly:
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/q5m0bfr ... 081315.m4a

[RedLeo]

Any suggestions?

The most popular choices would be:

1. 10" or 12" powered PA speaker from Yamaha DXR series, QSC K series, EV ZLX (budget) or more expensive ELX series, JBL Eon series.

A lot of choices here, but any of the above will do you very well; it's just a case of personal choice and budget. Check out the "Accessories And Amplification" section for other people's views on these, and search other keyboard forums eg Keyboard Corner. But you couldn't go wrong if you just picked one model at random!

Don't agonise over choosing between 10" or 12", both are fine for any standard application.

Do check input level requirements; some need more level than a Nord can provide, and you would need a small mixer to boost your Nord's level sufficiently. This is because they are PA systems, not keyboard systems, and PA's often run at the higher 0/+4dB level. Unfortunately most keyboards including Nords run at the lower -10dB level. However, adding a small mixer to your setup is not a bad idea anyway; it gives you a lot more flexibility and options - even if you don't think you need them now, you surely will later

2. Space Station V.3 from Center Point Stereo for an interesting variation on the theme.

3. EV ZXA1, often said to give the best digital piano reproduction in class, but suffers from being under-powered for louder bands.

[dhbp-nord]

For what it's worth I have not noticed at all that my NP2 has any less level than any other keyboard I've ever owned. I use it with a Yamaha Stagepas 400i and I have plenty of level.

DH

[RedLeo]

For what it's worth I have not noticed at all that my NP2 has any less level than any other keyboard I've ever owned. I use it with a Yamaha Stagepas 400i and I have plenty of level.

It's not about the keyboard, it's about the amplification system. Some are suited to the level that keyboards put out, and some aren't. The Stagepas has a built-in mixer to cope with any type of input, but some of the popular powered units I listed above don't.