So we got a small grant for sound equipment...

JLNorthGA

Active Member
Enough to make a small dent in our wish list at any rate.
Joshua, our sound guy would like to expand our monitor amp capabilities. We currently have two monitor amplifiers (our old 300 W RMS, 2 channel Carvin and an American Audio VLP300 100 W RMS @ 8 ohms). We are using these amplifier to power six monitor speakers (Kustom KPC10M which are actually 75 W RMS, 150 W peak @ 8 ohms). So we have six monitor speakers and four channels. He wants another monitor amplifier ($200). He is of the opinion that we could use another amp to have six channels.

We're currently scheduling 12-15 concerts a year along with too many dance recitals. Do we need another two channels for monitor speakers? Our mixing board (Mackie 24.4) can handle the extra outs without too much trouble (just repatching).

The grant was written for a number of things including replacement microphones, cables, amps, studio monitors, speakers, etc. We only got a fraction of what we asked for - but hey - it only cost an application!

Do we need another monitor amplifier? Are four channels sufficient or do we need six? The reason I'm asking is - a monitor amplifier wasn't on the list - if we really need one, I'll get it. Alternatively, I can easily get several SM58 and several SM57 microphones and then we wouldn't need to ever borrow any (unless we did a big band sort of concert). Alternatively I could get studio monitors (either powered or an amp/speaker combo) for the booth. The list goes on...

Thoughts?
 
I think a big upgrade for you would be getting your console out of the booth. You will have a much easier time mixing and your mixes would sound better because you will get an accurate representation of the sound in the house. Get some plywood and a decent table and your set, provided you can route your cabling to the mix location.


As for the monitor amp question, for most of the events your are hosting, are large amount of individual monitor mixes necessary? Have you found yourself wanting more channels of monitoring? If yes then by all means go for it. But I think that money could probably be better used elsewhere. See above paragraph.
 
I think a big upgrade for you would be getting your console out of the booth. You will have a much easier time mixing and your mixes would sound better because you will get an accurate representation of the sound in the house. Get some plywood and a decent table and your set, provided you can route your cabling to the mix location.


As for the monitor amp question, for most of the events your are hosting, are large amount of individual monitor mixes necessary? Have you found yourself wanting more channels of monitoring? If yes then by all means go for it. But I think that money could probably be better used elsewhere. See above paragraph.

I don't have enough seats in the house to sacrifice any of them for a mix table in the house. I can always open the windows or go out of the booth.

We need at least four mixes at any one time.
 
I would target the stuff you find yourself borrowing. do you use any effects? it is usual to use the last two aux sends for effects.
 
6 mixes is pretty much a minimum, especially if you have 6 wedges already.... seems like a no brainer. I have a feeling your sound guy is wanting this because he is the one who has to tell the acts "sorry, you have to share...". Most musicians anymore assume that if you have a wedge you can individually control each one.
 
You know what you need for your space/shows better than we do. If you're constantly needing more monitor mixes than you have then go for it. If not then spend the money elsewhere. If you don't spend the money on that for which you wrote the grant will there be people upset about your misappropriation of funds?
 

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