Building a 4k system

Ben Gingerich

Sophomore
Oct 19, 2012
188
0
16
Warner Robins Ga
First off i understand the true costs of buying a real system but cant afford to go all in right now.

I will start with what i have i have 1 ce2000 a good set of mic's, plenty of cables, stands and 2 14 space skb cases and 2 altec 12 and horn wood speakers, i can rent powered subs and a drpa from a local dealer for $50 a night.
So what i need is everything else, console, speakers and processing.
I have found a few decent deals on used speakers 5 jbl mpro 415 for 1600 +shipping or 6 martin le300 with a 2in renkus and 15in das for 275ea plus shipping (would need to be biamped), used yamaha clubs $225ea plus shipping. Or i could go new and look at the ev elx/zlx.
Amps i'm looking for some stuff used so i dont have to completly sell out but otherwise i'm probably going to have to look at the new 4channel behringer for cost and 3 year warrenty.

My thought on a console is sl 16.4.2 or behringer X32 rack with ipad. (im not married to digital)

What am i missing what other options do i have?
Thanks for the information in advance
 
Last edited:
Re: Building a 4k system

First off i understand the true costs of buying a real system but cant afford to go all in right now.

I will start with what i have i have 1 ce2000 a good set of mic's, plenty of cables, stands and 2 14 space skb cases and 2 altec 12 and horn wood speakers, i can rent powered subs and a drpa from a local dealer for $50 a night.
So what i need is everything else, console, speakers and processing.
I have found a few decent deals on used speakers 5 jbl mpro 415 for 1600 +shipping or 6 martin le300 with a 2in renkus and 15in das for 275ea plus shipping (would need to be biamped), used yamaha clubs $225ea plus shipping. Or i could go new and look at the ev elx/zlx.
Amps i'm looking for some stuff used so i dont have to completly sell out but otherwise i'm probably going to have to look at the new 4channel behringer for cost and 3 year warrenty.

My thought on a console is sl 16.4.2 or behringer X32 rack with ipad. (im not married to digital)

What am i missing what other options do i have?
Thanks for the information in advance

Well, What kind of gigs do you want to handle with this system? 4 grand could get you in the ballpark if you are doing blues bands in small bars, but if you want to do metal in arena's you are out of luck.
 
Re: Building a 4k system

What about all the support you'l need? Take a look at this sheet Bennett put together: Quick and Dirty Bar Rig

It shows what a basic bar rig will actually cost, taking all aspects of it into account. Obviously your needs will differ slightly, but it's a very good starting point.

I'd skip the Drive Rack PA, and get something like the BSS, or the Behringer unit. IMO the DRPA is useless.
 
Re: Building a 4k system

Well, What kind of gigs do you want to handle with this system? 4 grand could get you in the ballpark if you are doing blues bands in small bars, but if you want to do metal in arena's you are out of luck.

We are looking bar band/small church rentals, i have one event that is blues but mostly light country and a little rock at weddings or the local bar.
 
Re: Building a 4k system

Would you take a chance on the martin/renkus/das monitors? Or go with a more known choice? He say's they have a crossover in them but i dont know if i should trust it. If not those mpro or club series?
 
Re: Building a 4k system

Would you take a chance on the martin/renkus/das monitors? Or go with a more known choice? He say's they have a crossover in them but i dont know if i should trust it. If not those mpro or club series?

OK, for some twisted reason I love a budget challenge like this.

It looks to me like you need mains, monitors, console, and snake. Does that sound about right?

For me I would go about it this way.....

A powered system will be the easiest thing for this size rig. I would search high and low for a set of Yorkville EF500P tops and LS801P subs. These give you a lot of bang-for-the-buck. And they can be had fairly cheaply on the used market.

Here's some listed for 2400, but maybe you could beat him up a little.
http://soundforums.net/marketplace/6231-lots-stuff.html


That leaves us with 1600 for everything else. I would go for a Yamaha 01v (original white one) here. They can be had for about 500 on ebay, and they will give you 16 channels, plus all the processing you'll ever need. A 16x8 snake should be around 300 used. That leaves us with 800 bucks for monitors.

Here is where it gets tricky. Right now in the budget category there has been one speaker that stands above the rest. The Alto SXm112a.
Amazon.com: Alto Professional SXM112A, 2-way 12" Bi-Amped Speaker / Monitor, 400W Continuous / 800W Peak, Class D Power, 16 situation EQ presets, 15mm Birch ply: Musical Instruments

These things are 300 bucks each, so right now (assuming you get good deals elsewhere) you can afford 3 of them and get really close to your 4k budget. For a while you might use the ce2000 and altecs for more monitors, but if it were me, I'd sell them asap and use that money for 2-3 more Alto's. Ideally I'd like to see 6 sxm112's plus a small powered sub for the drum mix (like the Alto TSsub12 maybe).


This gives you an all-powered, internally processed PA with up to 4 monitor mixes, 16 channels at FOH with comps, gates, and EQ. And it will fit in a reasonable sized trailer or van. It is also very expandable. The EF500p's will array side by side if you need to grow this system. That can't be said for 99% of the powered boxes in this segment.
 
Re: Building a 4k system

OK, for some twisted reason I love a budget challenge like this.

It looks to me like you need mains, monitors, console, and snake. Does that sound about right?

For me I would go about it this way.....

A powered system will be the easiest thing for this size rig. I would search high and low for a set of Yorkville EF500P tops and LS801P subs. These give you a lot of bang-for-the-buck. And they can be had fairly cheaply on the used market.

Here's some listed for 2400, but maybe you could beat him up a little.
http://soundforums.net/marketplace/6231-lots-stuff.html


That leaves us with 1600 for everything else. I would go for a Yamaha 01v (original white one) here. They can be had for about 500 on ebay, and they will give you 16 channels, plus all the processing you'll ever need. A 16x8 snake should be around 300 used. That leaves us with 800 bucks for monitors.

Here is where it gets tricky. Right now in the budget category there has been one speaker that stands above the rest. The Alto SXm112a.
Amazon.com: Alto Professional SXM112A, 2-way 12" Bi-Amped Speaker / Monitor, 400W Continuous / 800W Peak, Class D Power, 16 situation EQ presets, 15mm Birch ply: Musical Instruments

These things are 300 bucks each, so right now (assuming you get good deals elsewhere) you can afford 3 of them and get really close to your 4k budget. For a while you might use the ce2000 and altecs for more monitors, but if it were me, I'd sell them asap and use that money for 2-3 more Alto's. Ideally I'd like to see 6 sxm112's plus a small powered sub for the drum mix (like the Alto TSsub12 maybe).


This gives you an all-powered, internally processed PA with up to 4 monitor mixes, 16 channels at FOH with comps, gates, and EQ. And it will fit in a reasonable sized trailer or van. It is also very expandable. The EF500p's will array side by side if you need to grow this system. That can't be said for 99% of the powered boxes in this segment.

Thats what i like to hear tim someone else who likes to work on a budget
I guess if i kept renting subs i could get 6 of the 112's, do the ef500p go low enough for small coffee house stuff? They seem to spec wise but so do the community sls918's :roll:.
Would you go with an 01V over a new ipad thing?
 
Thats what i like to hear tim someone else who likes to work on a budget
I guess if i kept renting subs i could get 6 of the 112's, do the ef500p go low enough for small coffee house stuff? They seem to spec wise but so do the community sls918's :roll:.
Would you go with an 01V over a new ipad thing?

The 500's will do fine for acoustic stuff.

If you could stretch for the mackie dl console, that would be great. I wouldn't buy any studiolive stuff over the yamaha though.
 
Re: Building a 4k system

I've never used them, but they are probably an install version of the HPR subs. Just in a double cabinet. They look pretty good, but they are really heavy. Plus they are install stuff so you will have to put up with a lack of proper handles, pole cups and wheels. Other than that, go for it. Bartering is a great way to acquire stuff. You can send the amp module to QSC to have it fixed....
 
Re: Building a 4k system

So what i ended up with after begging and bartering, and only went over budget a few hundred bucks not including shipping
2 renkus pn121
1 qsc md 215
2 ev zlx 12powered
2 ev elx 12 non powered (waiting to be shipped)
2 altec 12 & horn monitors
1 inuke 3000 (only $300 and over budget, waiting to be shipped)
1 X32 (Found someone to cross rent 2 times a month for the next 6 months)
Still have all my mics, cables, stands, cases etc.
And a yamaha aviom card... (for sale)
 
Last edited:
Re: Building a 4k system

First off i understand the true costs of buying a real system but cant afford to go all in right now.

I will start with what i have i have 1 ce2000 a good set of mic's, plenty of cables, stands and 2 14 space skb cases and 2 altec 12 and horn wood speakers, i can rent powered subs and a drpa from a local dealer for $50 a night.
So what i need is everything else, console, speakers and processing.
I have found a few decent deals on used speakers 5 jbl mpro 415 for 1600 +shipping or 6 martin le300 with a 2in renkus and 15in das for 275ea plus shipping (would need to be biamped), used yamaha clubs $225ea plus shipping. Or i could go new and look at the ev elx/zlx.
Amps i'm looking for some stuff used so i dont have to completly sell out but otherwise i'm probably going to have to look at the new 4channel behringer for cost and 3 year warrenty.

My thought on a console is sl 16.4.2 or behringer X32 rack with ipad. (im not married to digital)

What am i missing what other options do i have?
Thanks for the information in advance


My advice is always that it doesn't matter how much you have to spend... It only matters what you absolutely need and must have will cost. Figure out what you must have and then shop for the best price.