I live in a the country so the Cash Converters (or equivelent stores) are pretty crap.
I'm gunna have a look in the Trading Post Too.

[QUOTE=Aes820]^ a 2x300 watt powered mixer should see you suited.[/QUOTE]

who was that directed to?

It was directed at you my good friend.

Sorry, but i cant be of too much help with the headset tho.
But. I always go for Shure. I know that is a good brand and you should be pretty safe with them.

oh alright thanks, that sounds good then cause were thinkin about geting some peavey speaker cabs that can handle 500 watts each,

ok power amps the ones designed for drving PAs, naddy,peavy, etc... could i use one of these power amps to for runing just a bass cab, like Bass--amp speaker out---> nady 800 watt power amp--->410 bass cab.

thanks.

^ Yeah. you can.
But keep a keen eye out for clipping. The lower frequecies with bass guitar suck up headroom like you wouldnt believe. But I think with 800 watts you should be alright. But still, look for a power amp with clip indicators on the front of it.

Do you wish to use it in stereo?
Becasue I'm guessing you are thinking of running it via a stereo preamp, right?
But if you can only use the 4x10 in mono...(i dont know if you can or not. I spose it depends on the cab) Then you are going to have to get a poweramp that can be bridged.

So if the 4x10 is 8 ohms. Get a 2x400 watt @ 4 ohm poweramp, that can be bridged. So, when bridged, it'll pump out 800 watts at 8 ohms.

I hope this makes sense. Let me know if you need it explained further.

EDIT:
Ohhh. no no.
Wait a minute.
DO NOT run additional poweramps off the speaker output of other amps.
You will very quickly cook the input stages of the poweramp if you do. And cause major damage to possibly both amps.
Use the poweramp with a dedicated bass preamp.. Or if your amp has a 'preamp output' or 'slave output' use that.. Dont use the speaker output.

im looking to buy speaker cables and stage snakes.. what should i look for?
is there a difference between different gauge cables?
how do i determine the quality of a cable or snake?

Ok could somebody explain to me how the wattage and the ohms are supposed to fit together between a powered mixer and 2 speakers? If a mixer has 150W output, I'm assuming this means mono? And if it is mono, does that mean each speaker only gets 75W of power? But if its 150W stereo that means each speaker gets 150W of power right? So is 150W stereo the same as 300W mono? And some questions on speakers, if a speaker is receiving 150W from the mixer, that means the speaker must be at least 150W power handling if you intend to turn the mixer all the way up right? And what is continuous power, program, and peak? Last question, what does brigged mean on a mixer?

[QUOTE=daaaaaaveeeee]im looking to buy speaker cables and stage snakes.. what should i look for?
is there a difference between different gauge cables?
how do i determine the quality of a cable or snake?[/QUOTE]
Different guages determin the cables efficiency.
Long cable runs with low guage - low quality cable will reduce your sound quality. The high end 'crisp' and low end 'thunk' of your tone will be the first to go.
It'll be best to stick with using high quality cables, for the best results.
Same thing goes for the connectors.

Good quality cables are most important between the poweramp and the speakers.. As this is the cables which do most of the work in carrying your signal. You can sometimes get away with using a slightly lower quality snake between the mixer and the poweramps (as long as you are happy with the quality that is). Except you'd want to have the connection between the poweramps and the speakers to be of the higest quality.

For my speakers, I use 16 guage Proel cables and Neutrik connectors. They've been cut to pretty much exactally the right length.

[QUOTE=BlinkRockr41]Ok could somebody explain to me how the wattage and the ohms are supposed to fit together between a powered mixer and 2 speakers? If a mixer has 150W output, I'm assuming this means mono? And if it is mono, does that mean each speaker only gets 75W of power? But if its 150W stereo that means each speaker gets 150W of power right? So is 150W stereo the same as 300W mono? And some questions on speakers, if a speaker is receiving 150W from the mixer, that means the speaker must be at least 150W power handling if you intend to turn the mixer all the way up right? And what is continuous power, program, and peak? Last question, what does brigged mean on a mixer?[/QUOTE]
Wow. so many questions.

First off. You'd want to check if the powered mixer is stereo or mono. If it is mono, then yes. it'll just be 150 watts. And driving two speaker cabs off the one mono amp, then each speaker cab will be receiving 75 watts.
Stereo powered mixer have two totally seperate mono amps sitting right next to each other. and if both the left and right part of the stereo amp put off 150 watts. then the amp would be rated at 300 watts total. Although they are also also commonly rated as having 2x150 watts. Which is essentially the same thing.
If a stereo amp is rated at 150 watts, then I'd assume that this means 2x75 watts.

With the speakers, their wattage rating is the indication of their maximum RMS power handling. Usually you would want to match this with what the poweramp puts out.
Except... it is really not uncommon for setups to contain poweramps which provide more power than what the speakers can handle.
300 watt poweramp through a 250 watt speaker for example.

This is done for the reason of 'headroom'. The poweramp will be able to provide plently of power to the speakers so you can run them up loud without any indication of clipping (clipping is what happens when the poweramp is run up too loud for it to handle). everything above this maximum level is cut off by the poweramp and ignored. You will get an unpleasant sounding distortion as your signal is clipped out and (more importantly) your poweramp, while it is clipping, will be sending a solid voltage straight through your speakers. And this can very easilly burn them out.

So. Having a more powerful poweramp means that you'll have a little bit of headroom spare. So you can run it up loud without any risk of clipping. But bare in mind that with the extra wattage you do run the risk of blowing your speakers if you push them up loud enough and push them past their peak handling.
So.. It is kind of a trade off between the risk of buringing out speakers due to a lack of headroom and blowing them because of too much headroom.

A 150 watt poweramp will provide 150 watts RMS. In most cases it'll be best to match that with a 150 watt RMS speaker.

RMS = Root mean Square. Think of it as the average amount of power that the amplifier can produce under normal conditions. Similar, and also often refered to as Program power.

Continuous power = the wattage that the amp can cleanly produce while producing one continous tone. Pump a straight 440hz sine wave through a 50 watt amp. And you'll get one solid tone out of the amp. Cleanly. At 50 watts.

This is differnt to Program power. Because real music isnt just one continous tone. It contains many changes in loudness and many differnt frequencies.. on occasions it'll peak well over 50 watts. But it'll spend just as much time producing more than 50 watts than it would producing less than 50 watts. But still, it'll have an 'average' power output of 50 watts. AKA, 50 watts RMS.

Peak power is the absolute maximum output power that an amp can produce (or a speaker can handle) before damage (or clipping) occours. A 50 watt RMS amp may be able to peak upwards of 1000 watts.. But this peak may only be for one very brief instance.. And one again, the amp will be peaking above the RMS for the same amount of time that it would be below.

Same with speakers. a 50 watt speaker will be able to handle 50 watts RMS but maybe up to 500 watts peak. With speakers, this peak power handling describes their absolute maximum power handling capability before damage occours.

Now for Bridging.. Some stereo poweramps/powered mixers have the ability to be bridged. What this means is that you are taking the two individual left and right mono amps that are in a stereo amp and combining them into the one. The left channel would manage your signal as is, except what used to be the right channel would be switched to manage a negative version of your mono signal. And so, when pushed through a speaker, will provide twice as much wattage as just one of its channels would on its own.
So a 2x150 watt amp would provide 1x300 watts when bridged. But bare in mind that not all poweramps can be bridged.

I hope all this makes sense.

Thanks alot Aes820. Yeah it all makes perfect sense. I'm glad I now know this as our band will soon be buying a PA. Thanks for the help

thanks aes

Here's something handy to know about amps that can be bridged:

Bridge the amp and run a higher wattage low range driver off the bridged terminals. Then run a full range speaker off the left channel as you normally would, even if it wasnt bridged. Now rewire your other full range speaker so that it is out of phase (swap around the negative and positive terminals) and run it off the right channel as you normally would if it wasnt bridged.
Doing this can give you a 6db increase in volume off the same poweramp. An increase in volume that you would otherwise achive by using a poweramp with 4x as much output power.

But. You've just got to make sure that the speakers you use can handle the wattage. And that the total ohm loading on the poweramp isnt too small. As in, if the minimum loading for each channel is 4 ohms each. then use 8 ohm speakers all around.

I have another question. As I said before our band will soon be buying a PA. I play guitar and sing and have a 100W 112 combo. Our bassist sings and has a 120W 115 combo. We have practiced maybe a dozen times singing through our guitar amps. Would you suggest we buy a small cheap PA just to practice or a larger one for shows later in the future. And whatever would be better, what wattage will be needed.

well, depends how soon you would be looking at gigging, and how big a gigs you would be looking at

If you are unlikely to be gigging in the near future It'd be good to look for a medium sized keyboard amp (2nd hand) to use, these handle vocals very well for practice

[QUOTE=BlinkRockr41]I have another question. As I said before our band will soon be buying a PA. I play guitar and sing and have a 100W 112 combo. Our bassist sings and has a 120W 115 combo. We have practiced maybe a dozen times singing through our guitar amps. Would you suggest we buy a small cheap PA just to practice or a larger one for shows later in the future. And whatever would be better, what wattage will be needed.[/QUOTE]
I think a 300 watt powered mixer and a couple of speaker cabs would be a good option. It will be more than enough for practising. And would even be able to stand up at some smaller (and perhaps even some mid sized) pub gigs. It should last you quite a while and see you easilly through the majority of situations.
I think if you invest in something decent now. It'll save you having to go through this all over again when the time comes to upgrade.

[QUOTE=Aes820]I think a 300 watt powered mixer and a couple of speaker cabs would be a good option. It will be more than enough for practising. And would even be able to stand up at some smaller (and perhaps even some mid sized) pub gigs. It should last you quite a while and see you easilly through the majority of situations.
I think if you invest in something decent now. It'll save you having to go through this all over again when the time comes to upgrade.[/QUOTE]
Yeah that sounds good. We're broke so we'll be waiting a while till we get it. I did want to make sure you realized the only thing we would be using the mixer for are 2 mics, cause our amps would be plenty right? (100W 112 Guitar Combo, 120W 115 Bass Combo) Or would that size of mixer be one that we mic'd the amps if the show was big enough? I think it would be wise to buy it in a package and buy the mics seperate if none are included. Do you have any suggestions for some good equipment? What are some quality mixers, speaker cabs, and mics? Also, how many people are you thinking, based and the size of our equipment, and the equipment you are suggesting, would be in the audience we are playing to? (How many people do you consider small to mid sized pub gigs) Thanks again.

Your amps should be alright as they are. There really shouldnt be a need to mic up the drum kit either.
You'd probably want to add on more speakers to you own amps (1x12 extension cab) before you get to the stage of running them into the PA.
But you can go either method. And running them into the PA would be simple if your amps have got a 'line out' feature. As in that case all you'll need is a cable to run it into the PA. You wont have to spend money on a mic.

But. when it comes to if there is a need for that or not. You are going to have to use your own judgement

But.. if you get a PA that can accomodate a set a drum kit and instrument mics at a later stage then you'll have room for upgrading later on.

When I say pub gig. I'm thinking to about up to about 150 people. But it depends on how noisy the place is. All you'd want is to get the speakers up onto stands. Having speakers at head height are going to be heard alot better than what they would if they were pointing at your audiences ankles.

I would strongly reccomed a packaged setup. When you buy individual componets you can quite easilly go over your budget. That is unless you find a real bargain.
I think there are Yamaha and Peavey packaged systems (that I think may include a couple of speaker stands and microphones) on Musicians friends that would be worthwhile taking a look at.

Thanks once again Aes820. I think you have finally answered all of my questions, thanks for the help. One more thing, the majority of PA packages seem to be either 200W or 400W, nothing inbetween, any suggestions?

There's plently of 300 watters going around:

[url]http://www.andysmusiconline.com/product_p/samson_pa324.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=333058&is=REG[/url]
[url]http://www.elevation-music.com/jomx300wapom.html[/url]

But of course, if you can find a 400 watter that you think is of good quality and you can get for a reasonable price. Then of course you should go for it.

300 watts is a fair setup, for most situations. But of you can get something with more headroom for a reasonable price. Then why wouldn't you go for the model up.

EDIT:

Ohh sorry. I realise now you were asking for 300 watt [B]packaged[/B] setups. Those links above are just to 300 watt powered mixers, not inclidng speakers and etc.

What I would suggest you do is to go to a local music store and tell them what you are after. Tell them that you are looking for a 300 watt powered mixer, plus a couple of speakers, stands microphones and all the cables.
I think if you talk to them about this you may find that they will be prepared to throw together several individual components in a kind've 'make your own' packaged setup deal. And should hopefully be able to do you a reasonable price on it also.
Especially if you tell them that you've seen some similar setups on some websites for X amount of dollars. And compare that price to what they are prepared to do for you.
See how you go with it.. Happy shopping!

Alright man. Thanks once again for all your help.

My band is doing our firstgig soon, using the House PA, monitoring etc. but our own ampa and drum kit

My guitar amp is a 25w fender which, although fairly loud for its wattage, isn't going to fill a venue with a capacity of 500

It doens't have aline out- it has a cab out (8ohm) and a headphone out. I was intending to mic it up but I don't have a DI box.

Could the Cab out go into the PA? If I miced up the guitar amp without a DI box how awful would it sound?

And shouldn't this thread be stickied?

Moaner

What would be good for a school gym? As in to fill it out so it doesn't feel empty?

blowing out 3 or 4 of the walls.

[QUOTE=moaner]My band is doing our firstgig soon, using the House PA, monitoring etc. but our own ampa and drum kit

My guitar amp is a 25w fender which, although fairly loud for its wattage, isn't going to fill a venue with a capacity of 500

It doens't have aline out- it has a cab out (8ohm) and a headphone out. I was intending to mic it up but I don't have a DI box.

Could the Cab out go into the PA? If I miced up the guitar amp without a DI box how awful would it sound?

And shouldn't this thread be stickied?

Moaner[/QUOTE]

This thread was stickied at one point.. And I think it should once again be stickied.. but its not up to me.

No, dont run the speaker out into the PA, you can however run the Headphone out into the PA quite easilly. The headphone out will work just as well as a 'line out'.
But you'll have to let the bloke who is looking after the PA to dial in a nice tone. As the signal from your headphone out may sound a little differnt. But as long as you use your ears and your own judgement as to what sounds good then you should be right.

It would also be quite alright to Mic up the amp. And you may even get better soundign results that way.
When micing up you dont need a DI, all you'll need to do is run the microphone into one of the spare mic input channels on the PA.

thanks dude

You're a lifesaver

<3 cheers>

i was wondering if a mic can make a falsetto/whisper scream sound more raw or if there are effects to make it sound less whispery and more screamish. I know thats kinda an arrogant question. ahaha.

so like moaner said... its ok to run a headphone out into the PA? but when i tried it it squealed like a piggy...mayb my guitar was too close to tHE PA or my guitar amp..any help is appriciated ...herobehindthemsk

[QUOTE=Yasgotcha69]i was wondering if a mic can make a falsetto/whisper scream sound more raw or if there are effects to make it sound less whispery and more screamish. I know thats kinda an arrogant question. ahaha.[/QUOTE]
You can add just a touch of distortion. Using a guitar distortion pedal. That make a scream sound a lot rougher.
[QUOTE=herobehindthemsk]so like moaner said... its ok to run a headphone out into the PA? but when i tried it it squealed like a piggy...mayb my guitar was too close to tHE PA or my guitar amp..any help is appriciated [/QUOTE]
It may be feedback.. But it more likely would be incorrect gain and level settings.
Watch your input levels on your PA. Turn the gain down on the channel which you are running your guitar into. And of course turn the output volume of your guitar amp down to. If you are running your amp through the PA, then you'll be relying on the volume of the PA to get your sound out to your audience. You'd be using your amp just for your own stage presence.. So turn your amp down.

can i use my guitar amp for a mic? and if so, can i use the distortion on the amp like you said for the more aggressive sound, or is there a particular kind of speaker i need for the mic. sorry im kinda new with this. thanks!