[Dixielandjazz] Sound systems

[Talegatorz at aol.com]

Hello Bill,

       The subject of mics has been recently exhausted, so I won't mention 
that at all.
There are many good brand names out there and most are OK. Mackie, Community, 
JBL, Yamaha, Fender and EV come to mind. Behringer is a very economical brand 
and though I have no experience with their PA gear, their amplifiers seem to 
give great performance for very little $$. 
A big question is powered or passive speakers. Powered have amplifiers inside 
the speaker cabinet and passive types need a 'powered mixer' or mixer and 
power amp. 
I have some powered JBL EON G2/15's which are very powerful, clean and 
versitile. They work on stands or as floor monitors and each has a small three 
channel mixer 
(one input balanced, two not), which makes them useful for little gigs as 
single units without an external mixer. 
The disadvantage is that they weigh more and require an AC cord as well as a 
signal (balanced mic) cord. Lots of grounded AC extension cords are a must as 
well as a noise cancelling power supply. They will pop when a light switch or 
the bass player's amp is switched on or off without one of these. Otherwise, 
they soung great aand have been reliable. In a pinch, they make a usable bass 
guitar or keyboard amp. 
If you have a choice between additional watts of power or extra features, 
always go for the power. You won't really use that extra 300 watts except in the 
sense that it adds headroom. That means that you will get the volume you want 
at half power instead of wide open and it will be much cleaner. Its like the 
difference between a Yugo and a Cadillac. Both will climb the hill; but the 
Yugo will moan and strain at full throttle and the Caddy will smoothly and 
quietly go and pass the semi half way up. 
Speaking of headroom, the best way to get more of it is to get the keyboard 
out of the PA mix. It needs its own 'keyboard' style amp of at least 100 watts 
power. It will not only sound better, but the sound will come from out of the 
keyboard instead of from out in space somewhere. In the PA a keyboard takes up 
so much power and headroom that there is almost nothing left over for the 
mics. If you want the horns and vocals out front and the rhythym section out 
back, thats the way to go. Make this change and maybe you won't need a new PA 
after all. 
I hope this has been helpful.

Regards,

Gus Bloch