Roland AC33 & 2 PA50 setup

brUKEman

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I currently play small venues like nursing homes. I am using just a Roland AC33 for my uke plug in and I also have one mic plugged into the Roland. This setup is adequate, but I also own 2 PA50's. Do I need to use them and if so what would be the best setup.

Do I get a small mixer and run everything thru it, or do I just use the 2 PA50's with a mixer.

What would be a good mixer that is easier to use?

I am not a techie, and I am looking for a quick and easy setup.

Thanks..
 
The amount of amplification required is determined by the dimensions of the room you are playing in, and by proxy the size of the audience (# of seats).

Larger rooms need more watts and more actual speakers in order to project the sound farther and wider, HOWEVER, you can achieve a same perceived 'loudness' level with more speakers at LOWER volume when compared to a single speaker with a relative higher volume setting, and due to the spread of the sound from multiple sources, this is less painful an assault on the ear drums of the audiience on account of the lower ACTUAL volume setting.

The reason for this is that the sound energy required to cover the room is actually spread across multiple transducers (speakers).

If the Roland AC33 has a 'line out' you can run that to 'line in' on one of the PA50 speakers and then using the daisy-chain/link function for those units, connect them together. A mixer is likely to add unneeded complexity if it is just you playing solo with uke and voice. In this setup, you need to manage and control the volume level of each item independently to get a proper BALANCE without killing the folks on the left side while the folks on the right side can barely hear anything.
 
I currently play small venues like nursing homes. I am using just a Roland AC33 for my uke plug in and I also have one mic plugged into the Roland. This setup is adequate, but I also own 2 PA50's. Do I need to use them and if so what would be the best setup.

Do I get a small mixer and run everything thru it, or do I just use the 2 PA50's with a mixer.

What would be a good mixer that is easier to use?

I am not a techie, and I am looking for a quick and easy setup.

Thanks..

I use a Behringer mixer, and run two PA50s in series from the left monitor output. However, I just purchased a JBL Eon-One, and I'm looking forward to trying it. If I have a small venue, and I'm solo, I can just use the JBL, but then I can't use my condenser mics, because they require phantom power. If I use the mixer, it provides the phantom power.

I can also feed the PA50s from one output channel of the mixer, and feed the JBL from the ther other, if I need more coverage.
 
Right now for small gigs I've just been using the Roland AC33 amp with my uke plugged in and one mic. Since I have the 2 PA50's I thought I should get the mixer and try to use them. I don't play anywhere that big where I would need the amp and the PA50's. Just couldn't figure out why I would want to run the amp thru the mixer.
 
The main reason I use the mixer is for better fidelity; I mic the uke, as well as using the pickup, and I mic the vocal. I also keep an a couple of extra mics setup and ready to go (at the farmers market, specifically) in case I can get someone to join me.

I use MXL 990/991 mics as my primaries, and they require phantom power. Shure SM58 mics are my backup. If I want to really scale back, I'd use one PA50 with an SM58, and just plug the uke in as well. Since I never drive the PA50s more than 50% anyway, that would be fine. Dual PA50s give me a greater dispersion for Farmers Markets, indoor or outdoor, but the JBL Eon-one may take care of that for me, if the marketing is to be believed.

-Kurt
 
I think that Roland has a line out, and if you mean Kustom PA50 I think they have a line in. You could just take a line from the Roland into the Kustom without a mixer.

But don't use more than you need just because you have it.

Bands/performers always seem to use more gear and more volume than they need. Unless you're a full-on rock act your audience probably doesn't want you to be that loud. Do you ever have to crank your amps volume to the max? If not then you probably don't need ore gear. If you find your sound it a little thin then maybe consider replacing the amp with a slightly more powerful one with a bigger speaker. That'd be way more convenient than lugging multiple speakers.

I have played lots of gigs using just a Marshall AS50D for instrument and vocs. Small pubs and nursing homes etc don't need much more than that to carry a solo performer.

With my current band our usual PA is minimal. One mixer, one 15" active PA speaker and a monitor. Never yet found a pub that needed more for what we do.
 
Right now for small gigs I've just been using the Roland AC33 amp with my uke plugged in and one mic. Since I have the 2 PA50's I thought I should get the mixer and try to use them. I don't play anywhere that big where I would need the amp and the PA50's. Just couldn't figure out why I would want to run the amp thru the mixer.

The PA50 has a 2-channel mixer already. PA50 speakers can be daisy-chained to each other. PA50 speakers also have a subwoofer output.

Gear lust will work against you in terms of more stuff to carry, which will increase the complexity of equipment setup/breakdown, as well as the time required on each side of before/after your performance.

For a nursing home performance, unless they all remove the hearing-aids and want to literally feel the earth move, combining everything is likely to be overkill.

Less is more. Keep it simple. :)
 
Here is a photo of the back of the PA50, showing the 'mixer' configuration:

powerwerks-50-watt-personal-pa-system-pw50-5.jpg


If your mic needs phantom power as Kurt has mentioned, you will need at least one more piece of gear, such as an XLR phantom power unit (about the size of a guitar pedal) or yes, in fact some small mixer that can provide that function.

However, with a dynamic mic, such as a Shure SM58 or similar, phantom power is not required.
 
The PA50 has a 2-channel mixer already. PA50 speakers can be daisy-chained to each other. PA50 speakers also have a subwoofer output.

Gear lust will work against you in terms of more stuff to carry, which will increase the complexity of equipment setup/breakdown, as well as the time required on each side of before/after your performance.

For a nursing home performance, unless they all remove the hearing-aids and want to literally feel the earth move, combining everything is likely to be overkill.

Less is more. Keep it simple. :)

The last time I played a Farmers; Market, the duo that came on after me had an amp, a single mic stand with two goosenecks and two mics, and I think the guitar also had a pickup.

I used two PA50, two speaker stands, a mixer, a preamp, the MXL 990/991 combination with two mic stands, my music stand, a drum throne (as my stool), and a small table to hold the mixer.

They were amazed that I had my stuff torn down, packed, and on my cart before they were set up.

And I had a couple of vendors ask why they could hear me clearly, but the duo was muffled.

At the farmers market, I use the dual PA50s, because of the background noise, and to get the dispersal of the sound. The room is also huge (The arcade of a theater).

In a typical nursing home performance space, I might use a vocal mic, and not mic the instrument at all (pickup or microphone).

(Bruce - you remember the stage in Proctors from the first Uke Festival in Schenectady? That is the area for the Farmers' Market, without the curtains.)


-Kurt​
 
Thanks Kurt. I usually play with my amp and one mic which is usually sufficient. I own two of the PA50's so I could plug in a mic or two and my uke. Either scenario does not call for a mixer. I think that I am just trying to convince myself that I need a new toy. Just trying to figure out if a mixer would benefit me.

Regards from Coolish Florida...
 
Hi, your AC-33 is already a 2 channel mixer for instrument and vocal with effects. If you find that you need more power, go from the line out of the Roland to the line in of a PA50.

Since the amp actually has a stereo line out, you could hook a PA50 to each output and have stereo effects. I would try it at home to see if it is something you like.

Bill
 
Thanks, Ric. My MXL mics use the more robust (40V?) phantom power...

Most modern condenser mics will work most efficiently with the standard 48v DC phantom power.

I have seen in the specs of some mics (cant remember which) that have an auto-switching DC-to-DC converter inside that can also use 32v, 15v and 9v DC, albeit with less headroom, i.e. lower output level before sound pressure from the source in front of the mic causes distortion.

This higher 48v DC is what allows condenser mics to accept an input sound pressure level of greater than 100 db, by virtue of how this higher voltage allows the charged-plate capacitor which is the mic's actual diaphragm, to respond to sound pressure (i.e. your voice or instrument in front of it).

Dynamic mics work a bit differently, and the SM58 can take >100 db of SPL at source level without problems. In dynamic mics, the IMPEDANCE is what allows for higher sensitivity before feedback, but I have already talked myself nearly to death about impedance, which you can read those posts via the link for the FAQ in my signature below. :)
 
Just a reminder, the Roland AC33 is 10 watts on battery, 15 watts on mains power.
h
 
Just a reminder, the Roland AC33 is 10 watts on battery, 15 watts on mains power.
h

Actually, its 30 watts on mains power and 20 watts with batteries. I'm always using it on batteries and its plenty loud enough. I rarely use the master volume past half way.
 
Sorry, yes you are correct, my figure is per channel.
h
 
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