PA (subs) for live techno/dance band

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   Hey speakerplans. Ive bin looking alot around your forum, but designed to sign in, cause i need some help.

I play in a partyband, that plays all sorts of bass heavy music, but in a live setup. We have an old PA that we use for rehearsal, but we need something bigger that we can bring for gigs. Our gigs are primarily 200-500people. In 200-300^m2 rooms.

1. I need alot of bas, especialle to mic the kick drum, and a bit of bass guitar aswell.
2. I need to transport it around. So large horns are out of the picture.
3. I dont need long throw. 
4. I don't need super low bass (its a live setup) Lowest frequency generetad would be the 41hz from the bass guitar (E)

My thoughts were a pair of double 18" (reflex or?), and then buying some primade fullrange tops with a 15" bass/unit, to be able to reach the subs without to much of a gab.

I already have a x-over (Dba DriveRack PA), but i need everything else. The budget is around 3500 euro.

So the question is which subs to build, and which tops to buy (or build myself, though i would prefere buying these). 

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christiana_ahm Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 17 January 2012 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 39	Post Options Post Reply Quote christiana_ahm Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: PA (subs) for live techno/dance band Posted: 17 January 2012 at 11:39am
	Hey speakerplans. Ive bin looking alot around your forum, but designed to sign in, cause i need some help. I play in a partyband, that plays all sorts of bass heavy music, but in a live setup. We have an old PA that we use for rehearsal, but we need something bigger that we can bring for gigs. Our gigs are primarily 200-500people. In 200-300^m2 rooms. 1. I need alot of bas, especialle to mic the kick drum, and a bit of bass guitar aswell. 2. I need to transport it around. So large horns are out of the picture. 3. I dont need long throw. 4. I don't need super low bass (its a live setup) Lowest frequency generetad would be the 41hz from the bass guitar (E) My thoughts were a pair of double 18" (reflex or?), and then buying some primade fullrange tops with a 15" bass/unit, to be able to reach the subs without to much of a gab. I already have a x-over (Dba DriveRack PA), but i need everything else. The budget is around 3500 euro. So the question is which subs to build, and which tops to buy (or build myself, though i would prefere buying these).

digitallake Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 04 July 2009 Location: Cornwall, UK Status: Offline Points: 19	Post Options Post Reply Quote digitallake Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17 January 2012 at 2:02pm
	Hi If you don't need long throw then direct radiating / refex bass bins would be the best option by the sound of it, you would get better quality close up. Double 18's however are really heavy and difficult to move around. You may be better building single 18's or 15's for bass, and then buy the mid+tops you mention, but personally I would go for a 12" top because better for vocals ( for example EV SX300, or better) the dbx driverack would be fine for that setup. Hope that helps, Jim

mk2_ginger_biscuit69 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 03 November 2008 Location: Southwest Status: Offline Points: 4377	Post Options Post Reply Quote mk2_ginger_biscuit69 Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: 17 January 2012 at 2:24pm
	if go for four x 15" reflex subs (singles so easier to move, and can use just a pair in a venue). B&C sub15 design maybe? Midtop, a decent pair of 12"+comps will do it fine, something meatier than SX300, from the olderschool EV QRx112/75's, to newer stuff like the EV ZX3 - driven with decent amps and a nice processor - say EV CP3000 bass CP2000 midtop with DX38 processor... lovely little compact great sounding rig! As you may have noticed, i do have a thing for EV kit for these sized jobs - i think its very well priced for performance and quality in this portion of the market, i prefer EV over the similar sized turbosound opus ect ect... Depending on your budget might be worth going for an integrated active rig designed to work as a whole, the active Fohnn Xperience rigs are by far my favourite live rig of this size range, sound incredible and such a high output in a small package. They dont come cheap however but are worth every penny if you have it
	''Remember that the object of a subwoofer is to enhance the output of your main speakers, not overpower it'' ''Dubstep - an elongated electronic fart''

digitallake Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 04 July 2009 Location: Cornwall, UK Status: Offline Points: 19	Post Options Post Reply Quote digitallake Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17 January 2012 at 2:43pm
	Yes very much a fan of EV myself :), which is why I used the SX300 as an example, but yes maybe go for something a little meatier. I still use the original S-200's.... 6 of them, and a DX38 on my main system!

king david Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 17 January 2007 Location: italy Status: Offline Points: 858	Post Options Post Reply Quote king david Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17 January 2012 at 2:49pm
	for 200 people 4x18"/15" subs maybe be enough, but for 500 you would need to double that... i would look at 2nd hand market and DIY because 3500 isnt much money for a 500people gig...
	http://www.warriorcharge.noblogs.org

Dref Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 05 April 2010 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 103	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dref Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17 January 2012 at 4:12pm
	At kikke på DBA, GulogGratis og lign. Efter en brugt halfront er nok et godt sted at starte, der er af og til noget der tilsvare det du efterspørg, til en fornuftig pris.

christiana_ahm Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 17 January 2012 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 39	Post Options Post Reply Quote christiana_ahm Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 January 2012 at 8:55am
	So sounds like reflex are the way to go. I longest throw will be around 20-30 meters Our current PA is using to old JBL 18" (2240H) reflexes for subs, and that doesn't deliver nearly enough SPL, so we wan't something that will deliver a descent bit more than that. Just so you know what we are used to. Isn't double 18" the cabs where you usually get the most spl/cubic meter?... I mean, 2 drivers placed in a "rather" small box? or is 4 single 18"s just as good? Kind Regards Christian

king david Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 17 January 2007 Location: italy Status: Offline Points: 858	Post Options Post Reply Quote king david Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 January 2012 at 12:45pm
	8 x single subs would be my favourite choice, reflex is good, but for techno...bandpass horns like es18/usb/turbosound will kick hard!
	http://www.warriorcharge.noblogs.org

christiana_ahm Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 17 January 2012 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 39	Post Options Post Reply Quote christiana_ahm Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 January 2012 at 3:44pm
	okay... i think we have a budget to go with four decent, 18" speakers (pd186 or similar?) How would the a pair of g-subs compare to a pair of bandpass subs like the usb or turbosound tsw 7-18? And thank you all for your help

andycw Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 17 November 2010 Location: Norfolk Status: Offline Points: 424	Post Options Post Reply Quote andycw Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 January 2012 at 4:49pm
	Could you not get something like this? http://www.theaudioworksuk.com/index.php/active-pa-systems/hk-audio-esys-epx-2400w-active-pa-system.html or a bit over budget http://www.theaudioworksuk.com/index.php/active-pa-systems/hk-audio-actor-dx-3200w-active-pa-system.html I have heard the ADX system a few times and it does sound good!

christiana_ahm Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 17 January 2012 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 39	Post Options Post Reply Quote christiana_ahm Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 January 2012 at 7:28pm
	Ive heard them aswell... pretty impressed, but the budget was 3500 euro not punds unfortunatly. How about the comparing g-sub vs. usb/turbosound and so on... what difference does it make? throw? frequency spectra?

doober Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 03 January 2006 Location: Cornwall UK Status: Offline Points: 802	Post Options Post Reply Quote doober Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 January 2012 at 9:00pm
	Reflex subs (such as gsubs) will generally cover a wider frequency range than a bph (usb/es18/turbo). The bph will typically be more efficient (louder) though, and do great things for kick drums. With your band you probably won't miss the lower frequencies anyway. Throw is a myth really. If you make it louder at the source it will be louder 20 metres away. Great video clip, your gigs look fun!
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