Function band P.A. help!

[thisisswanbon]

Hey everyone!

 

My band are in a bit of a tricky situation, our drummer (and man with the van) has told us he's leaving in June, which means we're without a van! 

 

We're now in a situation where we need to try and downscale our equipment to transport between two cars, main issue being the p.a. We've always worked with two RCF Art712(I think) and a single big alto sub... We're either going to have to get two smaller subs, or maybe a full p.a. rig! 

 

Anyone else transport gear in cars and if so... Any recommendations for p.a. or possibly just sub set ups?

[bertbass]

How about just getting another van?

[Burns-bass]

I can fit two basses, two cabs, and an entire PA system in my Dacia. It’s doable with some planning 

[thisisswanbon]

4 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

I can fit two basses, two cabs, and an entire PA system in my Dacia. It’s doable with some planning 

At the moment I get my cab, 2 basses, pedal board, amp head, cable bag, 2 speakers, 1 monitor, desk and backdrop... Still leave quite a bit for the second car (our keyboard players set up is pretty big) between the kit, sub etc etc it's just going to be a bit much I suspect 

[thisisswanbon]

6 hours ago, bertbass said:

How about just getting another van?

Did think of that, bit too big of an outlay though unfortunately; we've been lucky in that our last 2 drummers both happened to have their own vans!

[jimmyb625]

The RCF 745 gets some really good feedback from people on here. You may be able to use them without a sub,depending on the size of the room you're playing.

They've also released the 945, which could be another consideration?

[Dan Dare]

Presumably, your replacement drummer will have transport, so that's three vehicles (unless he carries his kit in a Smart car). A PA cab in each and sub in the other should be doable. You won't necessarily need two subs if you do decide to replace the Alto. It's surprising what a good quality single 12" sub can do. I often use just one of mine with 10" top boxes and it's ample for surprisingly large rooms. Your existing top boxes are 12s, so they can perform some low end duty. It doesn't seem you'll gain much by replacing them with larger 15s. Three smaller boxes - one in each vehicle - will probably be a more practical proposition.

[colleya]

We swapped our Alto sub for an RCF 702 sub. 12" speaker, sounds great and is significantly smaller & lighter.

 

I get the full PA and my rig in an Octavia estate with room to spare and the passenger seat free too. Cavernous cars.

[thisisswanbon]

56 minutes ago, jimmyb625 said:

The RCF 745 gets some really good feedback from people on here. You may be able to use them without a sub,depending on the size of the room you're playing.

They've also released the 945, which could be another consideration?

I'll check it out, thanks for the shout! 🙂

 

31 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

Presumably, your replacement drummer will have transport, so that's three vehicles (unless he carries his kit in a Smart car). A PA cab in each and sub in the other should be doable. You won't necessarily need two subs if you do decide to replace the Alto. It's surprising what a good quality single 12" sub can do. I often use just one of mine with 10" top boxes and it's ample for surprisingly large rooms. Your existing top boxes are 12s, so they can perform some low end duty. It doesn't seem you'll gain much by replacing them with larger 15s. Three smaller boxes - one in each vehicle - will probably be a more practical proposition.

New drummer's car IS the second car 😬

Replacing the alto seems like the easiest option (it's an awful flubby sounding thing). Out of interest, which sub do you use?

10 minutes ago, colleya said:

We swapped our Alto sub for an RCF 702 sub. 12" speaker, sounds great and is significantly smaller & lighter.

 

I get the full PA and my rig in an Octavia estate with room to spare and the passenger seat free too. Cavernous cars.

Do you just use the one sub?

[AxelF]

I'm using the 935s and haven't found any need for a sub. I'd recommend upgrading the speakers and switching to in ears so you can ditch the monitors too. Probably get it all in one car then.

[colleya]

3 minutes ago, thisisswanbon said:

Do you just use the one sub?

Yep. Mostly just for kick drum but I've run bass through it in bigger rooms and once when my amp output went pop but the DI still worked.

[Dan Dare]

34 minutes ago, thisisswanbon said:

New drummer's car IS the second car 😬

Replacing the alto seems like the easiest option (it's an awful flubby sounding thing). Out of interest, which sub do you use?

 

Fohhn XS22. A smaller good quality sub will beat a cheaper big one all day long. As you've found, big budget subs tend to be flub/flab boxes.

Edited March 5, 2023 by Dan Dare

[Burns-bass]

3 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

At the moment I get my cab, 2 basses, pedal board, amp head, cable bag, 2 speakers, 1 monitor, desk and backdrop... Still leave quite a bit for the second car (our keyboard players set up is pretty big) between the kit, sub etc etc it's just going to be a bit much I suspect 

That’s an awful lot! 
 

You need it to be safe when driving too, of course. 
 

I can offer no great advice on PAs. We were lucky enough to score an incredibly powerful, but compact system  on BC. 
 

We’re looking to add an active sub too, so I’ll watch this thread with interest!

[steantval]

How many people are in the band?

[jrixn1]

I know sometimes there's no alternative - but be careful loading up cars with gear which will fly forward and crush you if you have an accident.

 

 

I now always try to keep my back seats up if possible, ideally with everything in the boot; or if it really won't fit, the lightest items on the back seat.  The upright bass goes on the reclined passenger seat with a seat belt on.

[King Tut]

18 hours ago, bertbass said:

How about just getting another van?

Or insist your new drummer has a van!!

[gt4ever]

My function band had recently changed from RCF set up to a new smaller footprint and lighter PA rig.  We’ve only done 2 gigs with it but seems to work great and sound fantastic.  It’s not cheap though.  We have 2 x Electro-voice evolve 30M with the 8 channel mixer.  It comes with 2 small wedge monitors too.  All packs away really small. Not used it much yet but this is it set up.  We were using our old RCFs as monitors as the wedge monitors were in back order but we have them now. Anyway if space is an issue and you have the budget..

 

[Boodang]

Mackie DLM series is also nice and compact. Not the cheapest though. 

[Dan Dare]

2 hours ago, gt4ever said:

My function band had recently changed from RCF set up to a new smaller footprint and lighter PA rig.  We’ve only done 2 gigs with it but seems to work great and sound fantastic.  It’s not cheap though.  We have 2 x Electro-voice evolve 30M with the 8 channel mixer.  It comes with 2 small wedge monitors too.

 

Neat looking rig. The mini line array plus powered sub option does give the best bang for your buck, imho, if you can afford them. Good ones are not cheap, as you point out. They're light and their modular nature means they pack up very compact and are easy to transport. As I say above, I often use just one of my subs and a couple of 10" HK top boxes (which are normally my monitors) for smaller gigs and it does a great job.

 

I did pretty exhaustive testing/listening when buying my current PA a few years back. I went for Fohhn (XS22 subs plus LX150 tops), because I didn't want plastic boxes and because their back-up/repair is reputed to be very good (haven't had to test that out yet). They are also made in Germany, not China - a plus for me as I try to avoid Chinese stuff (try getting it repaired).

 

There are plenty of other good choices - I also liked HK Elements, LD Maui, RCF Evox and some JBLs and EVs I can't remember the model numbers of. As is usual, you get what you pay for. There are more budget models available nowadays, which are OK, but a bit limited when you want to push them harder.

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Dan Dare

[acidbass]

17 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

The RCF 745 gets some really good feedback from people on here.

 

That's what my rock band uses.  No issues putting kick drums etc through them for bar gigs, but for a function room type gig I would definitely think about adding at least one sub.

[funkgod]

iv just got rid of my VW T4 van after 15 years, as it needed far too much work and was sick of patching it up,  so im looking for something else at mo like a little caddy or something like, in the mean time im squeezing what i can in to a VW golf, its amazing what you can get in that little tardis iv found.

2 x HK actor Bins

2x HK actor tops

1 x SWR red head

1 x bass

1 big box of leads

1 x box of bits, mics, tools, spares, pa junk.

3 x microphone stands

1 x bass bits bag

1 x  mackie desk in a flight case.

 

All in a golf 🙂

 

just stay right outtaa my way if you see me comming toward you with a "no brakes" look on my face 🙂

Edited March 6, 2023 by funkgod

[police squad]

5 hours ago, gt4ever said:

My function band had recently changed from RCF set up to a new smaller footprint and lighter PA rig.  We’ve only done 2 gigs with it but seems to work great and sound fantastic.  It’s not cheap though.  We have 2 x Electro-voice evolve 30M with the 8 channel mixer.  It comes with 2 small wedge monitors too.  All packs away really small. Not used it much yet but this is it set up.  We were using our old RCFs as monitors as the wedge monitors were in back order but we have them now. Anyway if space is an issue and you have the budget..

 

Is that The Park Inn in Folkestone?

[skidder652003]

I have an old banger 05 plate berlingo.

I took out the back seats.

 

I can fit 

4 x 15" powered RCF Tops

2 x 15" powered H/H subs

1 x 410 Ampeg HLF Cab

1 x Ampeg SVT Head

2 x large boxes of leads

1 x Large Box of Lights

1 x bass hard case

1 x pedal case/board

3 x mic stands

4 x speaker stands

 

or all the above less the 410 and the SVT head and instead a Markbass combo, orange 410 and Marshall Tube head, 1 bass and 2 guitars and 2 effects cases.

Its amazing what you can squeeze in if you don't care about the interior getting trashed!

Starting to feel like the Yorkshireman sketch...

[Happy Jack]

1 hour ago, funkgod said:

iv just got rid of my VW T4 van after 15 years, as it needed far too much work and was sick of patching it up,  so im looking for something else at mo like a little caddy or something like, in the mean time im squeezing what i can in to a VW golf, its amazing what you can get in that little tardis iv found.

 

 

I bought something pretty much identical to this: https://www.japanesempv.co.uk/vehicle/toyota-alphard-30-v6-petrol-4wd-in-uxbridge-london-29523ba4-b30f-4455-a48e-20f63077b9e8

 

It's a 3-litre V6 with permanent 4WD and, as a top-of-the-range MPV in Japan, it arrives fully-loaded.

 

I ripped out the rear pair of seats and chucked them in a skip, reversed the middle bank of three seats, and ended up with the fastest and most comfortable small van in London.

 

[gt4ever]

2 hours ago, police squad said:

Is that The Park Inn in Folkestone?

Yes mate