Hey guys,
I've been thinking about making a battery powered unit for house shows. Generally the only two things that need amplified are the vocals and keyboard, maybe some computer sound.
I was thinking about using the equivlant of a Hawthorne Silver Iris 15, or just one of them, for vocals, and perhaps some sort of bass augmentator for the keyboard. Stereo would be cool, but budget might afford just one set first. However I suppose that a bass augmentator might not be needed dependin on keyboard frequencies (anyone?).
The amp is easy, I can hook one up (15w or so, battery powered). But can anyone think of some 12v DC mic/aux mixers for maybe 3 inputs, cheap, portable, power with battery. Perhaps reverb. I assume running on battery will just get rid of a lot of problems with most mixers noise issues that are inherint being in a noise ridden enviroment on the same power as everything, with a cheap adapter.
I've been thinking about making a battery powered unit for house shows. Generally the only two things that need amplified are the vocals and keyboard, maybe some computer sound.
I was thinking about using the equivlant of a Hawthorne Silver Iris 15, or just one of them, for vocals, and perhaps some sort of bass augmentator for the keyboard. Stereo would be cool, but budget might afford just one set first. However I suppose that a bass augmentator might not be needed dependin on keyboard frequencies (anyone?).
The amp is easy, I can hook one up (15w or so, battery powered). But can anyone think of some 12v DC mic/aux mixers for maybe 3 inputs, cheap, portable, power with battery. Perhaps reverb. I assume running on battery will just get rid of a lot of problems with most mixers noise issues that are inherint being in a noise ridden enviroment on the same power as everything, with a cheap adapter.
Last edited:
I use this mixer on remote/mobile gigs. Battery powered with phantom power. Behringer XENYX 1002B 5-Channel Compact Mixer | GuitarCenter
You may want to check out these before cobbling together some random parts. It has 2 mic inputs and stereo line. Behringer MPA40BT | Sweetwater.com
Bass is going to be a problem with any battery powered system, research the boominator
for good ideas.
You may want to check out these before cobbling together some random parts. It has 2 mic inputs and stereo line. Behringer MPA40BT | Sweetwater.com
Bass is going to be a problem with any battery powered system, research the boominator
for good ideas.
Maybe the biggest reason for wanting to do this is because vocals are usually inaudible most the time in house shows. There just isn't any clarity in them. Part of it is young drummer and guitar/bass players want to play loud and get attention, but still, the vocals just need work! Hence why I've been shying away from lower quality gear and thinking a little DIY.
But meager 15W won't even be noticed if you have to match
Your Silver Iris 15 look good, but drive them with authority.
The 15W you imagined might be enough in an all acoustic set, and battery power might be needed to play in the beach or woods or something, but not at home.
To match a drummer you want at least 60W for whatever you are amplifying, quite a lot more for voice(s) which need to be "loud and clear".
Your Silver Iris 15 look good, but drive them with authority.
The 15W you imagined might be enough in an all acoustic set, and battery power might be needed to play in the beach or woods or something, but not at home.
If you have access to power there is no need to haul a battery powered system around.
For vocals and keys The affordable Alto TS115A may be enough rig for your gigs, what are you using to amplify your vocal/keyboard now? A OB HIFI speaker is not the right tool for the job BTW.
For vocals and keys The affordable Alto TS115A may be enough rig for your gigs, what are you using to amplify your vocal/keyboard now? A OB HIFI speaker is not the right tool for the job BTW.
It's random.
Also I just have found without power conditioning you just get a muttle of sound with most contemporary gear.
??? What on earth are you using?
Power conditioners?
With live sound the acoustics of the room and ability of the performers to adapt to the environment is key. The juice from the wall is a non-issue 99.9% of the time.
At the mercy of the house and who wants to bring PA gear... sometimes it's guitar amps, bass amps, sometimes it's a real PA.
I agree that you can tame anything with the room functioning right. But actually AC noise makes everything bad. You don't know until you try it. I've had some wonderous tone out of some high end tube gear, that got extended headroom the player had never experienced before.
(I make power conditioners, but this project, and the people, can't dream of affording one. Once in awhile I bring them to some small venues and the results are hair-raising no matter how well setup things happen to be.)
I agree that you can tame anything with the room functioning right. But actually AC noise makes everything bad. You don't know until you try it. I've had some wonderous tone out of some high end tube gear, that got extended headroom the player had never experienced before.
(I make power conditioners, but this project, and the people, can't dream of affording one. Once in awhile I bring them to some small venues and the results are hair-raising no matter how well setup things happen to be.)
Because of noise.
The clarity that comes from getting off of, of treating AC, is night and day.
Also sometimes power is a funky thing, where cords go to and from etc. There often isn't as much avaliable as would be nice. It has to do with playing in basements etc.
The clarity that comes from getting off of, of treating AC, is night and day.
Also sometimes power is a funky thing, where cords go to and from etc. There often isn't as much avaliable as would be nice. It has to do with playing in basements etc.
Hmmmm...
In that case, I think you're crazy.
What is primarily needed here is for the singer/keyboardist to be heard.
To achieve the very basic function of this system, it needs to be loud. In fact, very loud. A 60w 1x12" guitar amp is a very difficult thing to keep up with, but I'd recommend a decent 98dB@1w 12" two-way cabinet with a solid 3-500w amp behind it. Throw the speaker on a stand to get it to a decent height, run a cable to it, sorted.
That'll get you somewhere near the volume levels you need, and pretty cheaply, too.
You could use more efficient cabinets, and less amplifier power. That'd let you get away with running on batteries.
Lets take the example above.
500w into 98dB@1w gives 125dB unclipped peaks at 1m. Should be plenty.
To get that with 100w input, you're gonna need something that's around 105dB @1w input.
Fortunately, a company called Nexo manages just the thing with their Alpha system. Everything's horn-loaded, sounds pretty sweet, and gets the required efficiency.
Rather heavy to move, and stacking the cabs to a suitable height is now a PITA: they weigh 50kg each, and you'll need at least one bass cab and one mid-high, plus something to put them on to get the tweeters over head height.
I'm sure there are other cabinets available with similar sensitivity, and perhaps they'll do full-range in one cabinet, but it can be guaranteed they'll also be big and heavy.
The batteries required to put out that power for a decent amount of time will be big and heavy, too, and you haven't added any amplifiers yet.
I'm sorry, but breaking your back and your bank can't be worth the perceived improvements in sound...
Chris
In that case, I think you're crazy.
What is primarily needed here is for the singer/keyboardist to be heard.
To achieve the very basic function of this system, it needs to be loud. In fact, very loud. A 60w 1x12" guitar amp is a very difficult thing to keep up with, but I'd recommend a decent 98dB@1w 12" two-way cabinet with a solid 3-500w amp behind it. Throw the speaker on a stand to get it to a decent height, run a cable to it, sorted.
That'll get you somewhere near the volume levels you need, and pretty cheaply, too.
You could use more efficient cabinets, and less amplifier power. That'd let you get away with running on batteries.
Lets take the example above.
500w into 98dB@1w gives 125dB unclipped peaks at 1m. Should be plenty.
To get that with 100w input, you're gonna need something that's around 105dB @1w input.
Fortunately, a company called Nexo manages just the thing with their Alpha system. Everything's horn-loaded, sounds pretty sweet, and gets the required efficiency.
Rather heavy to move, and stacking the cabs to a suitable height is now a PITA: they weigh 50kg each, and you'll need at least one bass cab and one mid-high, plus something to put them on to get the tweeters over head height.
I'm sure there are other cabinets available with similar sensitivity, and perhaps they'll do full-range in one cabinet, but it can be guaranteed they'll also be big and heavy.
The batteries required to put out that power for a decent amount of time will be big and heavy, too, and you haven't added any amplifiers yet.
I'm sorry, but breaking your back and your bank can't be worth the perceived improvements in sound...
Chris
... yeah
talking about keeping up with a mish-mash of BYO band gear, by using battery powered amps and OB speakers?
Before it can sound good, it'll first need to be heard. Start simple, and perhaps look at what is commonly done - not always the indicator of "best", but generally well proven
Very poetic statement, which makes me think that your only experience with DIY audio so far has been some small chipamp, which works better/cleaner when powered from, say, a 9V battery than from a $2 Chinese multi voltage supply set to "9V" .
Not bad, we all must start with *something*.
But translating that to the 200W RMS or more you'll need will require 4 car batteries plus a 600W converter to feed for a night's worth of entertainment.
15W? Forget it.
And there's a Catch 22 here, the converter will introduce its own weirdness in the rails.
I'd much prefer a regular PSU plugged in the wall, any day of the week.
I know of several A list bands that travel with a full power conditioning unit... Won't play without them.
It's not the PA they're worried about - it's their favorite guitar amp they won't take chances with.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.