Dan Dare

Given that OP is attempting to set up a first PA on a limited budget, that's probably not feasible. We are trying to suggest options which give him an upgrade route without his needing to throw it all away and start again if he needs to improve it.

They look very good indeed for £400 a pair. Impressive when SoS reviewed them favourably at more than twice that price. Were I in BassAdder27's shoes, I'd think very seriously about getting them.

Bill Fitzmaurice Designed Simplexx 2x12 Bass Cab with Beyma SM212 12” Drivers | eBay Looks nicely put together - one of Bill's designs, with everyone's favourite Beyma drivers. I was tempted (only a few miles from me), but really don't need any more kit.

As is your right, but we are being asked for advice by someone else who may not be in the position that we are - financially secure, etc. I can spend, within reason, what I like on toys, but not everyone is as fortunate.

I'd suggest you are in an ideal position in that you do not have a load of instruments, but appear, if the things you are considering buying are anything to go by, to be able to afford.one that you really like. Many claim to "need" dozens of instruments to "cover different styles". In reality, unless you are doing a really eclectic mix of stuff (which few are), a couple of well chosen instruments will cover all the bases - no pun intended. A P/J is a standard versatile choice and Sandbergs are very fine. I've found the ones I've played (full fat, not economy Sandbergs) preferable to any modern US Fenders I've tried. For what they are, they're not that expensive (and cheaper than Fender custom shop models). The important thing is to try a lot of instruments out, ignore brand names/labels, take your time and choose what you, not anyone else, like.

And a forklift truck to move it.

Any chance you could save a bit more? That isn't going to get you much. No matter how good the band, vocals are what most listeners focus on and a poor sound isn't going to do you any favours. Alto, etc are generic, budget Chinese boxes and won't sound good when you push them, even if the sound at showroom levels is OK. Buying used is always an option and that's fine for mixers and stands. However, smaller, less expensive PA speakers will likely have been hammered (people try to get them to do more than they are capable of before eventually deciding to upgrade), so new is the safe route. You'll get little to nothing for them when you wish to upgrade (as you inevitably will), so it's money gone. Also, better speakers will survive an upgrade - you can add subs as suggested above to increase the power. - so you don't have to start again when you want to improve the PA. £800 or so will get you reasonable 12" speakers (something like this - RCF ART 312A Mk4 12" Active Speaker - EACH - Andertons Music Co.) and a used mixer. That's only an additional £50 per band member - assuming a 4 piece - to add to your budget. If you are looking at budget models, don't get 10s for a rock band if you are not using a sub, even for vocals only. I have heard fabulous results on vocals from a single pair of Nexo 10s, but they are £2.5k a pair, not including amplification... From experience, I would advise not buying the PA jointly if possible. It's better for band members to own items individually (people own a speaker each, the mixer and so on). That way, if anyone leaves, there won't be issues/arguments over arriving at a price to buy their share out (been there).

We had our first proper (non-Jamulus) get together yesterday. Once we had got past the feeling of being let out of a cage and giving it too large, it was great. Finished the day with our first pint at the pub, sitting outside in the freezing cold. Happy days.

Phil's advice is sound (pardon the pun). You can't really go wrong with RCF for the money. You can always add active subs at a later date if you need them. I would suggest you look at mixers with at least 3 (4 even better) band eq with sweepable mid(s) if possible. Will make a big difference to vocals. If you're thinking of a digital mixer, that won't be an issue as the eq will be extensive on virtually any model,, but at the starter stage, you're more likely to be looking at analogue.

I always liked that track and the bass sound. Some live footage at - Bert Kaempfert - Medley 1978 - YouTube. Bassist is using a rather fine stack knob Jazz and playing with a pick, Sounds like he's using flats to me.

Or a similarly sized Ashdown.

I wouldn't worry about "noisy" fans. The drums will drown it out.

Swapping that for a Rumble 100 won't be a good deal for you. The Rumble will be feeble by comparison. It may solve the weight issue, but not much else. Do you have to carry the TE up stairs? If not, would a good trolley enable you to hang on to it? If you do decide to get rid of it, I'd sell it as is. Do you need a combo? Going modular - getting a separate amp and cabs - will reduce the weight you have to carry in one go. You can make several trips from the car carrying smaller, lighter boxes.

A little puzzling that ultimate lightness is the goal. If you were looking for a less weighty alternative to an Ampeg fridge, it would be understandable, but a BF One10 (even tweetered) is already less than a one-handed carry. Your money, ofc, but that GR isn't going to be cheap.

I've got this one - Luggage trolley ALU 125 (ravendo.com). Definitely a cut or two above the usual folding trolleys, with a decent sized platform. Folds completely flat. I got it from Parrs (see Workplace Equipment | Workplace Products | PARRS). From memory, it was £100ish, but it's solid and taller than many folders, which I like as I'm reasonably tall and don't have to stoop whilst using it.

Sensible. I do try to get my onstage sound the way I prefer it, but I appreciate that it won't necessarily work as well as I might like to believe out front in conjunction with other instruments, voices, room acoustics, etc. It's the engineer's job to make everything work well together in the PA. So I try to give them something clean to work with. The obvious problem with mic'ing cabs is spill from other sources, especially drums.

I agree with Lozz. I'd go for the Hartke as it's well within budget and will do the job. No sense in spending a lot more when you haven't had a chance to try and compare to see whether the extra expense is worthwhile.

If you did so in the last few days, remember it's a bank holiday weekend and they may not be there. A 12AX7/ECC83 valve is cheap - see Watford Valves :: Valves - 12ax7 - and simple to replace, so not the end of the world if it's faulty.

That's me to a T. 4 basses and one cat.

I'm 67 and champing at the bit to get out there and start doing it again. First gig in the book is July 22nd. Bring it on.

A pleasure. If you're a MU member, you get insurance as part of your membership.

Don't pay too much heed to us. We all like different things. Go to a decent shop or two and try plenty of stuff.

Might it be a little naive to expect a major artist to always play the instruments he/she endorses? Sires are excellent for the price (I reckon you'll struggle to do better) and, as far as I'm aware, are presented as such by Marcus Miller and the company. They don't claim it's the finest instrument you can buy. It's marketed as a professional quality instrument (which it is) for a good value price (which again it is). A pal has a Sire P7, which I think is the equal of my MIM P/J that cost rather more than the Sire.

I agree the D'Addarios mentioned above are a good choice. I like Ernie Ball Cobalts on my 5, which have similar gauges and are quite bright/clean. What rig do you use? To reproduce a low B cleanly at volume does take some doing.

I have a similar sized PA to yours and occasionally hire my self out (or did, until all the lockdown/covid nonsense started). Like you, I always end up doing sound in the bands I play with and having the rig gets me more gigs. More people want me to play for them because it comes with me (for a small consideration, of course). As for viability/demand, it depends on your local scene. I generally find that the size of rig we own is not quite large enough for bigger, better paid shows. I get a few jobs, but it isn't likely to pay off the mortgage. That's fine with me - I already have the rig, I enjoy doing sound and it's a paid night out. You may find you need some extra monitoring. I have 4 monitors, which I'd consider a minimum - people expect individual monitors these days (and often individual mixes). I can give them 3 mixes, so I run stage right and left and rear of stage, which covers most modestly sized situations. How many channels on your mixer? 16 really is the minimum you'll need for all but very simple bands/jobs. As far as advertising goes, how would you go about hiring a PA if you needed one? Advertising wherever you would look would be a good place to start. Have some cards and maybe small, inexpensive flyers printed and put the word out among the people you play with, at rehearsal rooms, local music shops, etc. I get most jobs via word of mouth, but I've been doing it for a while and know a lot of local musicians. Some may ask you if they can hire your rig minus you and provide their own engineer. That's a definite no no, unless you go with it and keep an eye proceedings imho. If you're providing PA and monitors plus full backline, you'll likely struggle to transport, rig and operate that (especially breaking it down and transporting it home after a long day/night), so I'd factor in the cost of taking/paying an assistant. Mics get hammered. I don't use my best ones when hiring myself out. I take out mainly old 57s and 58s and let people chew, dribble over and tread on them and leave my decent ones at home. Take a very long extension cable, plenty of plugboards and a good quality trolley. Edit: Forgot to mention. You'll often need a PAT test certificate and I'd get insurance. If one of your cabs falls on someone's head, you could be sued for a lot of money.