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Forum: General Discussion

Topic: Speakers and Gigs?

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I'm in the process of buying speakers but what do you all recommend? Someone recommended b54 matrix 1000 watts.
What do you all think?

Also what are some ideas of getting more gigs.
 
Posted Tue 14 Jun 11 @ 1:29 pm
 
Yep there are ton of threads comparing speakers, amps, price points. Everybody has their favorite brands and setups for various reasons but luckily you can get a lot of info from these forums from people that have real world knowledge and hands on experience with about every possible combination of speakers you can think of. :)
 
The thing about the Matrix systems is, you HAVE TO BRING THE SUB, even if you are doing a old lady party, or little kid jam. Also, what happens if something goes wrong with the sub? You could end up with no sound. These are just some things to think about. If you want to go powered speakers, there are a ton out there, at every budget. If one fails, you still have the other one. I always bring back up.
 
so what kind of speakers do you recommend?
 
That is a very broad question. To narrow it down; what is your approximate budget, what size/type of events are you most likely to be doing? Do you have experience setting up PA's and Amps?
 
well my budget is anything bellow a $1,000. I'm a new DJ in the game, I started in like January. No I do not have any experience setting up PA or Amps.

I'm looking for speakers good enough to host parties such as frat. parties and other events. I am a recent college graduate but I live in a college city. My main DJ focus is Latin music so all the rooms are big enough so people can dance latin music, very open rooms.

The cheaper the better but good sound quality.

Thanks.
 
So your two questions are:

What speakers should I get?

and

How do I get more gigs?

Well, there really is no simple answer unfortunately. Someone says,

"I need a new car. Which one should I get?"

The decision depends on a number of factors. What/who do you have to haul? Gas or diesel or electric? What type of environments will the car be operated in? What is your budget?

So you see, this isn't a simple cut and dried issue. You really need to first have a solid business plan in place. A part of a proper business plan describes the specific types of gigs the business will handle. Once the specific gigs are outlined, you will know what type of venues they are most likely to occur at. Knowing the typical venue will give you the information you need to purchase the right speakers. The business plan should also detail how much will be invested in gear.

I noticed a few things may have been suggested thus far, but they don't have ANY information to make any suggestion that is more than their own personal opinion. I have done shows in small spaces with a pair of Mackie SRM450's. I have also used a large line array system in front of a crowd of over 4000 at an outdoor festival.

The one thing I HAVE done is make sure to sit down and layout on paper what the goal of my business is and how I plan to get there. Just for the record, I don't own a line array, but I have forged business partnerships with other people who have the tools I may need for certain situations that are not often enough to warrant investing in that type of gear.
 
Does the music you mostly play rely on a heavy base line? The way Rap and Hip-Hop do? I am not terribly familiar with latin music but from my Salsa dance classes I don't remember it being heavily bass line driven. If not you can probably just use 2 powered mains to begin with and add a sub later. Decent powered sub will run you at least $500 by itself. This will allow you to get better mains that will sound better and be more reliable for your first gigs until you can put together the funds for a sub. Many of the powered mains have a bass boost feature that you could use to begin with and then discontinue when you get a sub.

Some popular choices in the $500 each price range for main would be:

Mackie SRM450 v2
or
Yamaha MSR 400

A lot of folks use the Mackies, less use Yamaha but Yamaha makes a decent product.

You are just out of reach of the sweet spot which is filled with the QSC K12, JBL PRX612 or Electrovoice ELX112P or ELX115P
Powered speakers make things much easier for setup and make sure that your speakers and their power source are well mated.

I would check your local Craigslist for gently used versions of the QSC JBL or EV speakers or a Guitar Center might have trade-ins for sale.

I don't know about the EV but the QSC and JBL speakers have 5 year transferable warranties so a pair that is 1 or 2 years old are still under factory warranty.
 
I use 5 Mackie SRM450, the original version. I have been satisfied, and I got a great deal on them. One I use as a monitor. I also have two Mackie subs to go with them. If I had to buy speakers now, I would get the QSC K12s, no hesitation. These speakers were not even out when I was in the market. We use these at the VDJ booth at the conventions, they rock the house, with ease. You may not want to wait till you have the money, but my motto is; buy what you want, not what you can afford. You will end up buying what you want any way. Either save for them, or go into debt to get them, now. I'm not talking about a mortgage or anything like that. You already have a grand, save up a little more and BAM, you won't look back. These will always be ready, and be up to the task. You will want to get a sub, simply because things go better with bass. Plus, if you are doing Latin, you will also do Raggaeton, which needs bass. Look here. These will rock your party with ease, and will not become dated or obsolete. This is just my opinion, and you will have to make the decision. Good luck.
 
 
ngonzalez wrote :
The cheaper the better but good sound quality.


It doesn't work like that!

If you want good sound quality, you have to pay more - not less.

$1000 should get you a new pair of SRM450 V2 powered cabs, but if you buy used, your $1000 could buy you
something that was $2000 new, and would get you off to a better start.
 
These kids don't want used though, everything has to be new, in a box and come with warranty.
 
Yep I saved a few hundred getting my QSC stuff used a few months ago. Paid $1800 for 2x k10 and HPR151 Sub plus a ton of cables and an Aphex 204 Would have been at least $2500 new. Good thing is the warranty on the K-series is 6 years no matter who owns it. Craigslist FTW ! And I turned around and sold my Peavey 12" tops and Crown CE1000 amp for like $250 to somebody. Always people upgrading looking to get rid of old equipment or retiring and cleaning out the garage. A good cab if taken care of will last for years and some of the older stuff was built like a tank.
 


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