Equipment Help

[DerekJTR2]

My buddy and I play in bars around New Jersey. We rented equipment last summer, now we need to buy because we'll be having 3-4 gigs a week. I was hoping everyone could enlighten me on some deals, shortcuts, things to buy, things NOT to buy, brands, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

(We use two mics and plug in 2 guitars

Here's what we need:

2 Microphones w/ cords
1 Mixer...we don't really need more than maybe 5 or 6 channels.
2 Speakers...15's?
Speaker stands and cables


Thanks so much

[jmccue7]

your best bet would probably be one of those PA packages they sell at musicians friend, etc. There are a quite a few with different sizes, number of mics etc. I don't have one, so I can't recommend brands but read the reviews on those sites.

As for microphones--the shure SM57 is a great instrument mic for micing amps and guitars and the SM58beta is awesome for vocals. both are affordable. If you're looking a little more upscale, try out the Audix OM9. It's an awesome live mic for vocals. good luck!

[lestat1600]

guitar center, if there is one where you live has the best prices.
for mixers behringers are good. i have a 12 channel

[VanHorneDog]

just get a PA pack. then upgrade the Mics. other than that you will probably be fine, something like this. Yamaha makes good stuff. Peavy is good too.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-EMX512SCBR15-PA-Package?sku=630199

Just get some Shure mics for vocals at least.

Cables are cables are cables, stands are stands, speakers you could upgrade later. but if you get a Peavy PA system or even Kustom (really cheap) they work and give good enough sound off. you can always upgrade to say JBLs later.

I dont know how much you want to spend but you could do something like this too.

Powered Mixer by Behringer (if you dont buy a powered mixer you will have to buy an amp or active speakers, but those can get pricey)
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-PMH2000-Europower-Powered-Mixer?sku=631240

Speakers by JBL (passive so you need a powered mixer or amp)
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/JBL-JRX115-15-2Way-Speaker-Cabinet-Pair?sku=600347

Mics: Shure 57s and 58s. (yes if you gig 3-4 times a week you will need that many, plus it comes with cables, a hard case and clips for 40 bucks less if you bought the mics alone seperatly)
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Shure-SM57-SM58-Mic-Package?sku=270151

Mic Stands by On-Stage (once again you will need extras, if you are going to mic your guitars plus 2 vocals you will need at least 4 anyway, plus you get bags. bags are good)
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/OnStage-Stands-Mic-Stand-Package?sku=452062

Speaker Stands by On-Stage (i have their mic stands, quality seems fine so i trust them)
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/OnStage-Stands-SSP7855-Professional-Steel-Speaker-Stand-Pak?sku=450458

that comes in around 1800 bucks. thats mainly becuase you are getting good speakers and mics. you can dump off about 1000 dollars by getting shitty Nady/Behringer Mics and Kustom/Nady speakers.

but the JBLs and Shures will last forever and are for the most part the industry standard.

If you have say 3000 to spend, id get a good none powered mixer and a good amp to power your speakers.

but for a little coffe shop setup, thats way more power than you will ever need. but if you are ever thinking of making a full band, the JBLs, Shures and evev the Behringer Mixer will give you a decent enough setup right away.

just my 2 cents. somebody will probably completely disagree with me (except for with the JBLs and Shures of course) Just remember, that stuff might be expensive and more power than you need, but it also has some of the best sound quality. when you are doing a duo thats what you want.

[lestat1600]

unless its the best way to go, you wanna try to stay away from package deals if possible, unless its a good one. musicans friens is awesome but what you get may not be new. guitar center sells stuff at same price and you know for a fact its new.

[VanHorneDog]

^^^ they are the same company and ship out of the same warehouse. At least when buying online.

If you buy in the store, you dont get the deals but you do get new stuff. probably.

[lestat1600]

^^ really!? i didnt not know that. have heard it before but thought the person didnt know what they were talking about

[VanHorneDog]

^^ really!? i didnt not know that. have heard it before but thought the person didnt know what they were talking about

Guitar Center owns Musicans Friend, Guitar Center can take whatever they want out of MF warehouses, but i dont think its vice versa.

which is why you will see things out of stock on MF but not GC website.

anywho, ive gotten stuff from Guitar Center that was shipped from the same place as stuff i got from MF.

also ive never had a used item before. i have had some bad boxes, but the products were intact and new.

[Gladstone]

My buddy and I play in bars around New Jersey. We rented equipment last summer, now we need to buy because we'll be having 3-4 gigs a week. I was hoping everyone could enlighten me on some deals, shortcuts, things to buy, things NOT to buy, brands, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

(We use two mics and plug in 2 guitars

Here's what we need:

2 Microphones w/ cords
1 Mixer...we don't really need more than maybe 5 or 6 channels.
2 Speakers...15's?
Speaker stands and cables


Thanks so much

What type of microphones?
What type of mixer?
What type of speakers?

[pig494]

Here's some suggestions...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Passport-Deluxe-PD250-Portable-PA?sku=480665

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Kustom-PA-Profile-One-PA-System?sku=630506

I've worked with both and both are pretty good for what your looking for. Although its more spendy I'd say the passport has a better tone and better lows. Probably give a better acoustic sound

For mics, Really can't go wrong with the Sm-58

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Shure-SM58-Mic?sku=270101

[SatanZilla]

Friends don't let friend's buy Behringer...

[pig494]

Friends don't let friend's buy Behringer...

Amen

[DMBFan920]

^^^ they are the same company and ship out of the same warehouse. At least when buying online.

If you buy in the store, you dont get the deals but you do get new stuff. probably.
FYI, they arn't the same company anymore... every since GC started it's online store, they've parted ways. my source... I worked there for a year.

[lestat1600]

Friends don't let friend's buy Behringer...

Amen

why do you 2 say that? i have had no issues with mine, also know alot of other people who use them professional and not. the only down side i've seen so far is the effects when recording doesnt give you any head room. but i dont nor wouldnt use them anyways. using effects on any mixer for recording is just a bad move.

[VanHorneDog]

FYI, they arn't the same company anymore... every since GC started it's online store, they've parted ways. my source... I worked there for a year.

yeah i had been wondering about that. since for the longest time GC didnt have an online store.

interesting news.

EDIT: i havent had any problems with my Behringer Mixer btw, i also have some of their mics. they make good amp mics actually.

[dpresti]

go to this website, call them, tell them what you need...

they will get you the lowest price around!!!!

www.yoursoundsource.com

[DMBFan920]

yeah i had been wondering about that. since for the longest time GC didnt have an online store.

interesting news.

EDIT: i havent had any problems with my Behringer Mixer btw, i also have some of their mics. they make good amp mics actually.
yeah. the GC online store is actually pretty cool. they put their used stuff on there as well.

[dvalukis]

my buddy just haggled with musicians friend. he called them up and wanted to buy a PA pack that was listed at 400 and said to the guy on the phone that he wanted it for 300. the guy said "if you pay right now i'll give it to you for 300". so maybe try musicians friend and give haggling a try.

[VanHorneDog]

my buddy just haggled with musicians friend. he called them up and wanted to buy a PA pack that was listed at 400 and said to the guy on the phone that he wanted it for 300. the guy said "if you pay right now i'll give it to you for 300". so maybe try musicians friend and give haggling a try.

depends on the type of stuff though, i did this with a guy on their phone and he could give me discounts on a far bit of stuff, just not the stuff i wanted.

[dpresti]

as i said before.....



go to this website, call them, tell them what you need...

they will get you the lowest price around!!!!

www.yoursoundsource.com



my band bought our entire PA from them and ampeg stuff too. the prices they have on their websiite are not as low as they can go, you have to call them.

[GuitarGuy305]

depends on the type of stuff though, i did this with a guy on their phone and he could give me discounts on a far bit of stuff, just not the stuff i wanted.

MF is good at matching other websites' offers too. I got them to knock $50 off of an electric guitar and throw in a case ($80 value) because of an offer another site had. I have done this with many things that I've bought from MF. GC sucks.

[DaveHead36]

I try to avoid MF at all cost. A number of times I've placed an order online and they either never shipped it or "lost" the order. Once I ordered 3 Behringer DI's from them. Waited 2 days for the shipping order to come through. I call them and they say "oh, yeah we've been out of stock for some time now." I said, you could send me an email or call me? The guy said it wasn't their policy to call people on out of stock items. :shrug

I usually go with americanmusical.com (prices are just as good if not better and most of the time it's free shipping on everything).

As for Behringer products I've never had any problems with anything I've bought from them. My only complaint is that if something breaks, you have to ship it to Washington state to have it repaired. But their prices are so cheap, you're better off just buying the product new. :shrug :shrug

[GuitarGuy305]

I try to avoid MF at all cost. A number of times I've placed an order online and they either never shipped it or "lost" the order. Once I ordered 3 Behringer DI's from them. Waited 2 days for the shipping order to come through. I call them and they say "oh, yeah we've been out of stock for some time now." I said, you could send me an email or call me? The guy said it wasn't their policy to call people on out of stock items. :shrug

I usually go with americanmusical.com (prices are just as good if not better and most of the time it's free shipping on everything).

As for Behringer products I've never had any problems with anything I've bought from them. My only complaint is that if something breaks, you have to ship it to Washington state to have it repaired. But their prices are so cheap, you're better off just buying the product new. :shrug :shrug

I have heard plenty of horror stories about MF but I, fortunately, have never had any issues. If I did, I'd probably think twice about using them again, so I can respect your opinion about them.

American Musical is good too. I actually usually peruse MF, American Musical and a few others when making a purchase.