Sound Engineer help please?

[ddwilkins]

I'm thinking of venturing into the field of being a sound engineer.  Around my area there is a demand on sound engineers to do live shows and stuff.  I was wondering what are you guys take on powered speakers versus passive speakers.  I went to Samash a week ago, because of the sale, and the salesperson was telling me that it was better to go with powered speakers instead of passive.  I see the upside to that but I also see the downside to it as well.  Also, I've only done one concert where the engineer used powered speakers.  Also, what brand would you guys recommend.  the salesperson let me hear Samson and JBL powered speakers and subs, and actually the Samson sounded better, but I'm not sold on Samson just yet.  Suggestions please???????

[uriahsmusic]

...keep all systems seperate so when one thing breaks...recovery is cheaper...also Samson is made by Sam Ash...so they will always sound better at Sam Ash!....But dont just go by sound...trust me.....there are many names out there and in discriminating situations the top names pretty much sound alike!
 power amps and other components need to be as quiet as possible...get shure sm58's for mikes.(also check out mikes that reject feed back)..you can drop them and they dont break......get the best cables you can afford!...98% of your nightmares will come from cables!

The bottom line with a soundman is that people want as much clean sound that they can get...without feed back for a great performance!

And look into a good monitor system...that is the #1 complaint outside of turn me up!..and feedback!

beware of great sounding great deals!....they usually have poor resale value!

[ddwilkins]

Thank you Uriah.  Now I know why he was trying to sell that brand.  I've always been stuck on the SM58s, but he was trying his best to push for the Samson Q7.  Do you have any recommendations for a system?

[uriahsmusic]

...I AM A FAN OF JBL SPEAKERS!...THEY HAVE MANY DESIGNS THAT EASY TO SELL WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED WITH THEM...AND THEY ARE IMPRESSIVE WHEN FOLKS SEE THAT YOU HAVE THEM.  THIER SOUND IS MORE BALLSY TO ME THAN SOME OTHERS BUT THE POWER AND CLARITY IS THERE!


pOWER AMPS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS...I WOULD GO TO A REPAIR SHOP AND JUST STRAIGHT UP ASK....WHAT DO YOU REPAIR THE MOST?...AND AVOID THAT......!!!!   ASK A COUPLE OF PLACES TO TEST FOR LYING....AND ALSO ASK WHAT WOULD THEY BUY!....ONLY YOUR REPIAR MAN KNOWS FOR SURE!

DONT BE CHEAP ON THE MIXER...I LOVE MACKIE!.....THE RIGHT PRICE FOR A TON OF GREAT SOUND!
GET A BOARD WITH AS MANY OUTS AS YOU CAN AFFORD!...YOU WILL NEVER REGRET OUTS!

[ddwilkins]

Uriah,

I think I've pretty much decided on a system.  I wanted your input on it.  Here's the line up:

2 JBL MP418SP subs
either 2 MP415s powered by the subs or 2 EON15 G2s for main speakers
4 EON10's for monitors (just enough to get started but will add more later)
SM58's for sure
20 Channel Allen and Heath mixer.
Not sure what type of condensor mics for choir yet.

I'm stuck between the two different model of main speakers because the eon's are powered and makes it a lot easier to add more mains if needed, but the MP415's are passive and if I add 2 more, I would need a seperate power amp for them.