#12

Honestly, why not a QSC K8 (or a pair)?

Surprisingly loud, very difficult to blow or damage, very good sound…

2 Likes
#13

TBH this was the only thing out of superbooth which got me excited (the speaker). I’m really looking forward to learning more about it in the coming months… I recently connected with a handpan and I’ve been deeply enjoying the ability to go sit outside somewhere and play. The Onde immediately had me thinking about the possibilities of incorporating something like norns along the side… (well that and/or a Continuum)

#14

I had very good results from a pair of baby Genelec 6010’s up on mic stands, on either side of 12U of modular. Surprisingly loud, good bass, stereo, super portable. They don’t make them anymore but there’s probably quite a few options in their current range and other similar small monitors from other suppliers. Can take a little bit of tweaking to get the right sound - they’re very small speakers after all - but if you want stereo and small this might be an option.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/genelec-6010a

Can just see them here:

IMG_2670
IMG_2670.jpg2448×3264 2.18 MB

Otherwise another thumbs up for the QSC Kx range. Used a few and they all sound great.

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#15

I don’t know in your town, but here I know a bunch of sound engineer who also have a PA because they do party/gig service. Another thing we often did is to borrow a PA frim some youthclub institution (not sure what they are called in proper English). Round here we have many publicly funded spaces for kids to go and do stuff so they don’t hang out in the streets. These also often organize - among other things - concerts and sometimes have absurdly huge PAs just sitting there

#16

I have a Roland KC-880, that I can play on top of (decent base for an intellijel 7U) for a quick pop up shows. Loud enough to fill a park or a decent size room. Great/Clear Mids + Highs, wish it had a bit more on the low end.

#17

Have you thought about playing an unplugged set?

#18

Uh… not really… if you’re not just pulling my leg, I’d be curious what that might mean in a n electronic music context…

#19

This isn’t really a general solution, but I’ve played a few shows with a small FM transmitter with a few boomboxes tuned to it in the space (smallish gallery spaces with weird acoustics) and it worked out pretty well!

3 Likes
#20

Cool idea, what FM transmitter are you using?

#21

I got this one in 2012, but looks like it’s been upgraded since then: https://thomashunter.name/blog/fm-transmitter-review-czh-05b/

#22

i’ve been sitting with these words for a days as theyve been stuck in my head!
i was at a house show last night and the artist said a lot of spatialization elements were missing because the available pa was in mono. thats the definition of a bummer to me!
please help give me some mono inspirational ideas?

2 Likes
#23

Every recording by Phil Spector, almost every recording by the Beatles. And then the other argument, which is - if you want to stereo fx to be essential to your live show then only 10 or 15% of the audience will be in the sweet spot to hear them properly.

3 Likes
#24

I’ll be working with a pianist soon and it occurred to me that a piano is a monophonic instrument. No one complains about that!

#25

You can make a piano, or a guitar stereo if you like, but I almost never like the effect.

#26

I’ve played several small shows in gallery type places using a pair of Roland Bass Cubes. They are portable, can be battery powered and sound surprisingly good.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MicroCubeBsRX--roland-micro-cube-bass-rx-bass-amp?mrkgcl=28&mrkgadid=39765371&rkg_id=0&campaigntype=paidsearch&campaign=Bass+Guitars-Bass+Guitar+Amps&adgroup=Roland-Bass+Guitar+Combo+Amps&keyword=roland+micro+cube+bass+rx&placement=google&adpos=1t1&creative=234618886035&device=m&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkJz0_tbi2wIVEMJkCh1RXgNoEAAYASAAEgIb__D_BwE

2 Likes
#27

My feeling is that artists should be prepared to perform or present work in mono if necessary, since 90% of the time that’s what will be available. If something needs more than one channel to ‘work’, I would rather hear something else. I’d also second others in the thread that mono isn’t a bummer, it can be great!

3 Likes
#28

To provide a counter-point, Suzanne Ciani mentioned in an interview I attended that quad is in her rider–she doesn’t perform if the venue can’t accommodate it.

I think you could consider a performance similar to an installation, and as such being deliberate about venues and sound setups would be a valid artistic consideration, IMO

Random aside, I saw an absolutely incredible set Gavin Rayna Russom performed using two giant Ampeg full-stacks (I think? They were on the stage, I may have imagined that’s where the sound was coming from).

I’m playing a show with the shoegaze-y band I play guitar in this weekend (and for the first time with this project, the modular as well). I’ll be running the guitar and a few voices from the modular (that I will be attempting to mix on the fly) all through my AC-30 inspired by that performance. This one’s at a club, so it will be mic’d and ran through their actual system too. To be determined how that turns out. It’s reverbed way out so probably not that discernible of a difference, hah.

3 Likes
#29

Welllll, it’s definitely one thing for Suzanne Ciani to demand quad and it’s quite another for, say, me to. (Granted, I also make a different kind of music from her.) If I were doing installation-type work, I’d probably feel entitled to be really invested in the minutiae of the sound, but if I’m playing a club, or a house or a record store, I just want the mix to be decent, whether it’s mono or stereo.

6 Likes
#30

totally understand what you mean, hah

1 Like
#31

Indeed.

I am also reminded that a stereo or quad sound system would have been wasted or otherwise irrelevant at a lot of shows I have gone to, or played at.

I suspect that we’re to a large extent conditioned by our home or headphone listening environments to expect to hear stereo.

Lloyd Cole has been clear in his comments that mono is alright. I was enjoying his 1D album during my lunch today, via Apple Music and my earphones. And there is definitely some nice stereo mixing and fx going on there.

All of which is leading me to feeling ok about mono for live situations…

Thanks everyone for the insights!

1 Like