I will be having small church gatherings in my house in about a month and started thinking what I need to equip it. We will probably will be having this on a monthly basis.

I will have
-one PSR2000 keyboard
-Yamaha electronic drum pads
-maybe a bass guitar
-electric guitar
-another keyboard
-5 mics

Is it too ambitious to run it all to the cheap Logitech Z-2200 speakers ?

Our home has medium size living room, probably about 600 sq feet or so. There will be about 60 people total

What else do I need ? A powered mixer ?

I have not purchased anything yet: any other recs ?

Thanks,
Han

lukitoh,
IMO you need a better sound system for all those instruments.
Terry

------------------
jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

Han,

It's possible to do this with the Z-2200s, however, packing 60 people, plus all of that equipment into 600 square feet is pushing the envelope.

The only way the sound system could handle this is if every instrument was fed through a mixer, then the system doesn't care where the signal comes from.

Good Luck,

Gary

FIVE singers, AND digital drums????
I doubt that the pc speakers can handle that load. BAss guitar too? C'mon .... let's be realistic here.

Here is a list of different products you may find interesting Han. PS: I am taking into account that you may not want to spend big bucks on any of the equipment you need for your gathering, hence I tried to find good quality for low prices when I listed the ones below. Btw, the products below can all be found at Guitar Center which is having an "End of the Summer" clearance sale going on now.

Kustom PA KPA804 PA Package
>$159.99< !!!



Here is the link to the Kustom PA system:

Kustom PA System



Nady StarPower 1 Microphone
>$6.99< !!!

Here's the link for the Mics: Nady StarPower 1 Microphone

PS: Read the reviews at the bottom of the link. You will be surprised about the Starpower 1 Mic!


Behringer Eurorack UB1202 Mixer
>$89.99< !!!



A good little 12 Input Mixer for a great price.. It is NOT a Powered Mixer though.

Here is the link to the Behringer Mixer:

Behringer UB-1202 Mixer

Here is a good price and performance Powered Mixer:

Yamaha EMX62M 6-Channel Powered Mixer
>$246.00< !!!



Here is the link to the Yamaha Powered Mixer:

Yamaha EMX62M Powered Mixer

Here is a good little speaker that packs a pretty good punch for the price:

Nady MC-8 2-Way Speaker
>$59.95< !!!



Here's the link:

Nady MC-8 speakers

Here's a .pdf file with the specs on the Nady Speakers:

.PDF on Nady MC8 Speakers

PS: Get some decent 'Cables' on whatever you decide to get Han.

Best regards,
Mike

[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 09-18-2004).]

Dave
You and I are in total agreement.
Terry



------------------
jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

Haven't heard much from you these days Terry ..... what's going on in your life? Still using the Tascam recorder?

Mike,
You are giving me great suggestions-these are the kinds of suggestions I am looking for. Not only that, you even pasted some pictures. You are a pal. Let me treat you to a lunch when you come near my place.

Looks like I'm going to Guitar Center asap ! If there are more suggestions (from anyone else is ok too), let me have it too.

Thanks,
Han

Mike/others:

Do you think the following will work ?

-Behringer mixer that you suggested (unpowered)
-and the Logitech Z-2200. It is already powered by itself. It is rated 200 watts

Since my house is not that big, this should do right ?

thks

I found that the Logitech cannot handle that much midrange volume for vocals. You might want to go one step up.

Beakybird

Han,

I sincerely believe that any, high-quality mixer that has individual EQs on each channel, will do the job--including the vocals.

I would, however, suggest that you purchase the equipment at a location that permits full refunds for returns within a prescribed time. Therefore, it the mixer, or the Z-2200 does not seem up to the challenge, pack them up and take them back to the place where they were purchased.

Personally, I sincerely believe that the Z-2200 will be more than sufficient for what you intend to do. Using a huge sound system in a small, 600-square-foot room is overkill. You would have to run it at low levels, which is not conducive to obtaining the system's peak performance level. Most sound systems perform best when operated at 50 to 65 percent volume levels. At 300 watts RMS, the Z-2200 would be pumping out a lot of sound, even in a room of this size with up to 60 guests.

If you purchase the Z-2200, I would suggest placeing the satellite speakers at a level of 6 feet or higher. This would put them above the head level of the average person and distribute the sound throughout the room.

I'm still trying to figure out how you are gonna' pack 60 people into a 600 square foot room. Hope they're all good friends!

Good Luck,

Gary

stay away from custom and those pzo horn cabs.
these are resonable.price/performance ratio for under 500$.
http://www.carvin.com/products/group.php?CID=SYS1

and again all those have more 10-15% off(on sale).

UD and Trtjazz/others,

Why won't the mixer and Z2200 speakers work ?

The room is not that big I think. Will the sound be muddled because of too many instruments and mics, etc ?

thks

The concern is headroom. That's how much power is available after the signal is sent to the amp. Lets say you start out with 200 watts. The bass and drums are pretty demanding and the first note you play "asks" the amp for 50watts of power ... the headroom is now 150 watts.
One strong singer could easily use up that 150 with a strong lead vocal, and you have 4 other singers !! PLUS - kb, bass etc !!

If you play very quietly and don;t use the bass and drums too loud, then you MIGHT get away with a home system like that 2200, but if the 5 singers were Me, Dnj, Don Mason, Rich Childs and Terry Connely ...... that system would run home to Momma ... cryin all the way !

It's all about moderation, so if you put a reasonably quiet signal INTO it, you MIGHT get a pretty good (although moderatly amplified) sound. As soon as you push it .... those tiny tweeters will self destruct. You may have better success running a mixer directly into the kb fisrt and use the compresssor. Then run the kb into the 2200s alone.

Try it ...... if you blow them up .... it's only $100 bucks, and the woofer will most likely be unaffected, so you can still use that with the kb for extended bass response.

My warning:

Don't do it.

Your decision:

????????

600/60 = 10 sq. ft. per person or 3.1 ft. square per person. Assuming no furniture or band equipment. With keyboards, wires for microphones, amps, music stands in the room?? I agree with Gary. A 600 ft living room is fairly big IMO, but still won't fit 60 people with equipment.
Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 09-20-2004).]

The YAMAHA Powered Mixer looks great but does not have stereo capabilities right? How much would be lost in sound quality if not using stereo amplifiers? Is there a recommendation for similar equipment that supports stereo?

PS: Sorry if this is a stupid question. I'm very new to all this and trying to learn as I go along. Thx, Russ

Help me understand this since I am not knowledgable on this subject:

So, the input voices and instruments, if they are loud enough can overpower the 200 w Logitech. Can't we adjust the mixer settings to prevent this ? The Behringer mixer is NOT a powered mixer. So, I am a bit perplexed at the moment.

UD: you're saying that if I connect the output (mono?) of the mixer to the "line in" (same line as mic line) and flip the switch to "IN" position on my PSR2000, I can make this work ? Use the compressor setting on the mic setting menu buttons ??
I thought 200 watts is loud enough but I guess what you're saying is if I use up 50 watts on the kybd, 50 watts x4 singers for the voice = 250 watts total , I will run out of headroom. Right ?

Starkeeper/Gary: I guess I just have to reduce the number of invited guests. I did have 70 people before and they were spread out to the family room nearby and even to the backyard. We probably have to do major rearrangements to accomodate these number of people. If it continues like this for several times then I will just have to rent a community center nearby or workout a deal with a nearby church. For now, they have to fit in somehow.

Han,

The only way you can blow out a speaker is to turn the volume up too loud. The signal coming out of the mixer is usually not sufficient to do this unless it's a powered mixer and you're using the speaker out instead of the line out. The line out is a constant level, therefore the signal going into the amplifier remains constant and the amplifier's volume control then controls how much signal is sent to the speakers--not the mixer. Give it a try, start out at low levels and if the volume level is insufficient for the crowd, take the Z-2200 back for a refund and go for something larger.

BTW: I had a country band over a few nights ago, we hooked up the Z-2200 to my Peavey mixer, and into the Peavey were two guitars, three mics and my PSR-2000. The room measures 36 X 28 feet, which is just over 1000 square feet. The gain on the Z-2200 was up half way and it was more than enough. Keep in mind, however, that there were only 8 people in the room, and most of us were playing and singing, therefore, we didn't have to contend with crowd noise. I don't know how much more volume I would have needed to deal with 60 or more folks if they were talking at higher than normal levels, which tends to be the case at some venues.

Gary

Gary, looks like it matches up nicely with my situation.

Gary/others:

Will the Behringer unpowered mixer (something like $90 which is ok with me) mentioned above by the nice gentleman be a good choice then ? What model of Peavy and others you recommend ?

thks

The Peavey I have here is a Unity 500 that's a 14-channel, stereo mixer. Unfortunately, it does not have effects, and I have to loop an effects processor throug it for vocals. Don Mason and Donny Pesce both picked up a great, six channel mixer that was only about $100 if I recall. It had good quality effects and was relatively compact. You may want to email them for the make and model.

Gary

$79.95

http://www.zzounds.com/cat--Alesis-Mixers-and-Recorders--2912

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 09-20-2004).]

Yes Russ, the Yamaha EMX62M 6-Channel Powered Mixer is Mono.

The thing you lose with Mono is of course a Stereo signal which would give you a more spatial and full sound (a more natural distribution of sound) because with Stereo you are using two or more separate Channels to reproduce the sound.

In Hans case if he used the EMX62M (the 'M' stands for Mono, btw) he may find his Live! Grand Piano sound on his PSR 2100 will sound rather unnatural because the Live! Grand Piano on the PSR 2100 is Sampled in Stereo and it most likely won't sound quite right in Mono. But he could use his 'XG' Grand Piano on the PSR 2100 and it would sound natural (fine) because the XG Grand Piano is Sampled in Mono I believe.

If you have the dough I would recommend Stereo any day of the week over Mono.

Here is a good example of an excellent 'Stereo' Powered Mixer:

EMX68S 6-Channel Powered Mixer

Btw, the 'S' in the EMX68'S' stands for Stereo. Usually the Model numbers that end in 'M' will be Mono and the ones that end in 'S' will be Stereo, at least as far as Yamaha's products are concerned anyway.

But Han will have to fork over a lot more money for this Stereo Powered Mixer.

Something he may not be willing to do.

Best regards,
Mike